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Studies & Degrees in Commercial Engineering

Commercial engineering (Ingeniería Comercial) is the name used in Chile, and in some other Latin American countries, for the long university degree in business and economics. Despite the name, it is not an engineering degree in the technical sense. The Universidad de Concepción describes it as scientific and technical training in the areas of economics and business administration. Graduates receive the professional title of Ingeniero Comercial.

The degree is close to what other countries call business administration or business economics, with a stronger quantitative core. Students take mathematics, statistics and economics alongside accounting, finance, marketing, operations and people management, and they finish with strategy and project evaluation.

What students learn

The study plan of the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (USM) shows the usual mix. The first semester combines introduction to economics, algebra and geometry, business administration, and programming and data handling for management. Later semesters add differential and integral calculus, financial and management accounting, micro- and macroeconomics, econometrics, operations research, corporate finance, strategic management and six semesters of English. Each student also completes two work placements of two months each.

The Universidad Autónoma de Chile lists marketing, finance, economics, operations, business analytics and talent management as the fields its graduates apply. The Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins (UBO) says its graduates are prepared to create and manage companies and to carry out economic and financial studies.

Qualifications and levels

In Chile the degree is regulated by law. The professional title of Ingeniero Comercial is one of the titles that require a prior academic degree of licenciado, in this case in economic sciences or in business administration sciences. At the Universidad de Concepción students choose between the two; at the campuses of Chillán and Los Ángeles only the business administration degree is offered.

  • Standard length. Five years (10 semesters) at USM, the Universidad de Concepción, UBO, the Universidad Autónoma de Chile and the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh). Finishing often takes longer: the Universidad de Concepción reports a real duration of 12 semesters, citing official data from the Chilean higher education information service (SIES).
  • Online and shorter formats. The Universidad SEK Chile teaches the degree online in 8 semesters, with an intermediate title of Técnico de Nivel Superior en Administración de Empresas.
  • Intermediate degrees. UACh awards a Bachiller en Gestión de Empresas on the way to the licenciado degree and the professional title.
  • Belgium and Europe. A related degree in Belgium is called business engineering. The University of Antwerp, for example, offers a Master of Business Engineering with a specialisation in financial engineering: two years, 120 ECTS credits, taught in English.

Admission and costs in Chile

Chilean universities admit students through the national Sistema de Acceso, run by the Ministry of Education, with the university entrance test PAES (Prueba de Acceso a la Educación Superior). Each university sets its own weighting. At UACh the weighting is 20% school grades (NEM), 30% ranking, 15% reading, 25% mathematics and 10% history or sciences. The access system has a separate portal for foreign applicants, and universities also have special admission routes, so students with foreign schooling should ask the admissions office which route applies.

Annual tuition for the 2026 intake, as published by the universities, is CLP 5,923,000 at UACh in Valdivia, and between CLP 5,152,000 (Temuco) and CLP 6,359,000 (Providencia, Santiago) at the Universidad Autónoma de Chile. The Universidad de Concepción lists CLP 6,504,863 on its admission page (checked in October 2026, year not stated). The online degree of the Universidad SEK Chile is listed at CLP 2,860,000 per year. Enrolment fees are charged separately.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 13 active schools for commercial engineering. Seven are in Chile and two in Ecuador; the Netherlands, Denmark, Mexico and Brazil have one each. In Chile the degree is taught in Valparaíso and Santiago (USM, at its Casa Central and Vitacura campuses), Concepción (Universidad de Concepción), Valdivia (UACh), Santiago, Talca and Temuco (Universidad Autónoma de Chile) and Santiago (UBO, Universidad Diego Portales and Universidad SEK Chile). The list also includes the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral and the Universidad Internacional SEK in Ecuador, VIA University College in Denmark and HZ University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands.

In Chile and Ecuador the degree is taught in Spanish. The schools in Denmark and the Netherlands use other programme names for their business and engineering courses, so check the programme list of each school.

Careers

Graduates work in private companies and in the public sector, in areas such as finance, marketing, commercial management, human resources and project evaluation. The Universidad de Concepción also names academic and research institutions, international organisations, postgraduate study and starting a business. USM highlights the analysis and evaluation of investment projects.

As an indication of employment, the Universidad de Concepción reports that 72.1% of its commercial engineering graduates are employed in the first year after graduating and 80.8% in the second year, citing SIES data on mifuturo.cl (figures shown by the university in 2026). The figures refer to that university only; the ministry's site mifuturo.cl publishes them for each institution.

Frequently asked questions

Is commercial engineering an engineering degree?

Not in the technical sense. It is a degree in economics and business administration with a strong quantitative component. In Chile it leads to the professional title of Ingeniero Comercial and to a licenciado degree in economic sciences or in business administration sciences.

How long does the degree take?

The standard length in Chile is five years (10 semesters). The Universidad SEK Chile offers an online version of 8 semesters. Real completion times can be longer: the Universidad de Concepción reports 12 semesters.

What is the difference between commercial engineering and business administration?

The content overlaps to a large extent. Commercial engineering is a longer degree with more mathematics, statistics and economics, and in Chile its title is defined by law together with the licenciado degree.

Is the degree taught in English?

In Chile and Ecuador it is taught in Spanish, although plans such as that of USM include several semesters of English. Related business engineering degrees in Europe may be taught in English, such as the master's degree at the University of Antwerp.