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IESE allocates more than €9 million in scholarships to attract global talent
Scholarship funding has grown by 35%, supporting 787 students at a time when access to higher education is becoming increasingly challenging
March 25, 2026
IESE Business School has strengthened its scholarship program for the 2025–2026 academic year, allocating more than €9.1 million—35% more than the previous year. With this investment, the University of Navarra’s business school aims to facilitate access to its degree programs for talented students from around the world, at a time when some markets are experiencing growing difficulties in accessing higher education.
In total, IESE has awarded scholarships to 787 students across its degree programs: the Master in Management (MiM), the full-time MBA, the Executive MBA (EMBA) and Global Executive MBA (GEMBA), and the doctoral (PhD) program.
The scholarship program is primarily funded by IESE’s own resources, which account for 79% of the total, while the remaining 21% comes from donations and alumni contributions. As a non-profit institution, IESE reinvests all its profits into its academic activity and initiatives that strengthen its educational mission. This year, scholarships accounted for more than 7% of the school’s program revenues.
“At IESE, we aim to attract the best talent from around the world, regardless of their financial situation. That’s why our goal is to support young people with a vocation for leadership who want to create a positive impact on society through business,” says Franz Heukamp, Dean of IESE Business School.
An increasingly diverse scholarship program
IESE offers various types of scholarships that combine academic merit and leadership potential with support for candidates facing financial need.
In recent years, the school has expanded its offering with new initiatives developed in partnership with international institutions and companies. Among the most recent is the Laidlaw Foundation scholarship, aimed at women pursuing an MBA, with the goal of fostering female leadership in business.
Additionally, last year IESE launched the Coca-Cola Africa scholarship, designed to support the development of executive talent seeking to study at the school and later contribute to economic and business growth across the African continent.
These initiatives complement other scholarships aimed at promoting geographic diversity, entrepreneurship, and social impact among participants in IESE programs.
New approaches to financing support
In addition to its scholarship program, over the past year IESE has strengthened various tools to facilitate access to its programs.
One notable initiative is the Post-Graduation Payment Aid (PPA), developed with the support of the European Union, which allows selected MBA and MiM students to defer part of their tuition fees until after completing their studies and entering the job market. In the 2025–2026 academic year, 52 students have benefited from this deferred payment option. Looking ahead, this option will also be extended to students of the new Master in Finance (MiF), which the school will launch in September.
IESE also maintains financing agreements with governments, banks, and other international institutions that offer favorable conditions for students to access educational loans. These solutions complement scholarships and help expand access to IESE programs for high-potential candidates from around the world.
