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Business Administration Schools and Programs in Barcelona, Spain

About Business Administration Schools and Programs in Barcelona, Spain

Business Administration covers how companies are run: accounting and finance, marketing, human resources, operations, economics and strategy. In Spain the standard university qualification is the bachelor's degree in Administración y Dirección de Empresas (ADE). Barcelona has one of the widest choices in the country, from public universities to private universities and business schools, with many programmes taught partly or fully in English.

How the degrees are organised

A bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits, usually over four years, and an official master's degree has 60, 90 or 120 credits, according to Royal Decree 822/2021. Business schools also offer master's programmes and MBAs, and many of these are the institution's own qualifications (títulos propios) rather than official degrees. Official degrees are listed in the ministry's Registro de Universidades, Centros y Títulos (RUCT).

A shorter vocational option is the higher-level FP qualification Técnico Superior en Administración y Finanzas, a 2,000-hour course.

Where to study Business Administration in Barcelona

  • Public universities: the RUCT lists the bachelor's degree in Administración y Dirección de Empresas at the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) offers the same official degree online.
  • Universitat Ramon Llull (URL): its member schools teach several business degrees. Esade's degree in Dirección de Empresas (BBA) is listed in the RUCT, and Esade also offers double degrees, for example the BBA with Law. IQS School of Management teaches ADE in English or moving progressively from Spanish to English, and La Salle teaches a degree in Dirección de Empresas Tecnológicas in Catalan, Spanish and English.
  • Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC Barcelona): an eight-semester, 240-ECTS ADE degree with 100 places, taught in Catalan, Spanish and English, and an English Programme taught entirely in English.
  • Universitat Abat Oliba CEU (UAO CEU): a four-year bilingual degree in Dirección de Empresas with 70 places. The first year costs €10,995 in the 2026-27 academic year, according to the university.
  • Business schools: EAE Business School offers a 240-ECTS ADE degree in Barcelona in Spanish or English, and EADA offers a Global BBA. For postgraduate study, EADA, UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM) and other schools in the city offer master's programmes and MBAs.

Admission and recognition

Students who finished secondary school outside Spain usually apply through UNEDasiss, the UNED service that evaluates international students' academic records and runs the tests needed to enter a bachelor's degree. The application for a place is then made to each university, within its own deadlines. Private universities and business schools also run their own admission process.

Business administration is not a regulated profession in Spain. Holders of a foreign business degree therefore cannot apply for homologation, which gives access to a regulated profession, but they can ask the ministry for a declaration of equivalence of their academic level.

Careers

Graduates work in finance and accounting, marketing and sales, human resources, consulting, logistics and general management, in companies of every size and in the public sector. Barcelona's business schools add internships and contact with companies to many of their programmes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I study Business Administration in English in Barcelona?

Yes. UIC Barcelona has an ADE English Programme taught entirely in English, IQS School of Management teaches ADE in English, and EAE Business School offers its Barcelona ADE degree in English as well as in Spanish.

Which public universities in Barcelona offer ADE?

The Universitat de Barcelona and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra both have an official bachelor's degree in Administración y Dirección de Empresas listed in the RUCT. The UOC offers it online.

How long does a business degree take in Spain?

An official bachelor's degree has 240 ECTS credits, which normally means four years of full-time study. An official master's degree adds 60 to 120 credits.