Frequently Asked Questions

At SBS Swiss Business School Barcelona, we offer a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and two Master of Science (MSc) programs: in International Business or Business Analytics.

Yes! SBS Swiss Business School was founded in Zurich in 1998 and was recently accredited as a higher education institution by the Swiss federal government as a University of Applied Sciences Institute and internationally by the British Accreditation Council. SBS Swiss Business School Barcelona delivers two accredited programs at Bachelor and Master levels, which have been internationally accredited by IACBE and ACBSP. On completion of the course, your degree will be officially awarded by the Swiss Business School in Zurich, Switzerland.

Classes usually take 2 hours, and take place from Mondays to Fridays. Some days are reserved for guest speakers, company visits and special events. Outside of the classes you will have time for self-study, internships and part-time jobs.

Classes usually take 3 hours, and take place from Mondays to Fridays from 17:00 – 20:00 pm. Some days are reserved for guest speakers, company visits and special events. Outside of the classes you will have time for self-study, internships and part-time jobs.

Yes. All the classes of our bachelor’s and master’s programs are taught in English. All our international faculty members are fluent in English.

Since the classes take place in English, you should be proficient in English. This is why a proficient English level is required for non native speakers, and you might still have some time to improve your language skills before classes start. Moreover, in your first semester you will be able to take a class on Academic Writing which will help build your confidence in working with English in this type of context.

The classes take place at our SBS Barcelona Learning Hub. We are located in the @22 district of Barcelona in the Poblenou neighborhood (Carrer Sancho de Ávila, 105) and we’re based in a co-working space with a terrace, a gym and great opportunities to network.

Our classes are taught in person in Barcelona. We believe that an important part of business is having the chance to build professional relationships and network. Our course is full of these opportunities and we wouldn’t want you to miss out on making important connections. However, there might be additional online events so you can connect with people outside of Barcelona.

We are integrating our students into a business and technology environment from day one: classes are taught by business professionals, and networking events and company visits are part of the curriculum. Moreover, the classes take place in a coworking space that allows students to connect with other entrepreneurs and business professionals. At the same time, we follow a personalized approach. Classes are small, so that you can benefit from mentoring and enjoy a family-like study and work experience.

Yes! Our BBA course starts at the beginning of March and October. The MSc programs start at the beginning of January, March and October. Since class sizes are small and the places limited, we suggest applying as soon as possible to not miss out on the opportunity to study at SBS Barcelona. You can apply here!

Yes, absolutely! If you are a student in your last year of high school you can still get ahead of the game and apply by submitting a copy of your current grade transcripts, a copy of your passport photo page or ID card, English proficiency in TOEFL, IELTS or equivalent along with the €75 application fee payment. Once we receive these, we can move forward with submitting the documents to the academic committee for review, then we will invite you for an online interview with our academic dean.

Although a business-related bachelor’s is beneficial, you do not need to have a degree specifically from this field, as we want to give the opportunity to career changers and students from other fields to improve their business skills.

Yes! We do accept transfer students, we would need to see your current grade transcripts so we can assess what credits you can transfer over to us.

• A certified copy of your secondary education diploma or equivalent (high school diploma, IB diploma: minimum 28 points, A-Level: minimum grade C in each of the three subjects).
• A copy of your official grade transcripts of the last 2 years of study.
• Your CV indicating professional experiences and description of responsibilities.
• A motivation letter.
• English proficiency for non-native speakers (TOEFL iBT 90, IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 120-125, or equivalent).
• A copy of your passport or ID card (the student needs to be 18 when they start the program).
• A front-facing photograph (in high quality and JPG or PNG format).
• €75 non-refundable application fee payment.

If you don’t have all the documents ready, get in touch and share what you have. We’ll take it from there!

• A certified copy of your bachelor’s degree (transcript and diploma).
• Your CV indicating professional experiences and description of responsibilities.
• A reference letter from a professional or academic contact.
• English proficiency unless previous proof that education was conducted in English (TOEFL iBT 90, IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 120-125, or equivalent).
• A copy of your passport or ID card.
• A front-facing photograph (in high quality and JPG or PNG format).
• €75 non-refundable application fee payment.

If you don’t have all the documents ready, get in touch and share what you have. We’ll take it from there!

Our application process is very simple! These are the steps to apply:

1. Submission of your documents and application fee payment through our online application link.
2. Video call interview with our academic department.
3. Issuance of your conditional acceptance letter (stating payment structure and deadlines).
4. Payment of the administration fee and the first tuition fee.
5. Issuance of your admission letter and visa documents.
6. Start of your visa application process and accommodation search (student services are here to lend you a helping hand).
7. Barcelona is waiting for you!

We much prefer meeting our students ‘face to face’ rather than setting them a written entrance exam. The interview works 2 ways, we can get a better feel for who you are, and if you would be a good fit for what SBS Barcelona stands for, but also it gives you a chance to see if we suit your needs and expectations!

To apply for either the bachelor’s or master’s programs you would need TOEFL iBT 90, IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 120-125, or equivalent.

Don’t worry! TOEFL or IELTS is required for non native speakers. You have two options, you can either book to take the TOEFL or IELTS test, or alternatively we can share our in-house SBS Barcelona English test link with you. It’s free of charge and you can take it in your own time. It’s a Google form with a variety of English questions, you can work through them and click submit. We will grade the test and let you know the results by email.

You can apply for the BBA and the MSc programs without any work experience. In order to complete the master’s program, you will need 9 months to 1 year of work experience. If you don’t have the work experience before you join the program you can do it after you finish your year on campus.

You can find the cost for the bachelor’s program here and the master’s program here, both in the Tuition Fees section.

Tuition fees can be paid in full or in installments. Speak to our admissions team to arrange a payment plan that suits your needs. You can find the contact information here.

We really like to get to know our students, their motivation to join us, and any experiences and skills that they can bring to the program. There are partial scholarships available, and we decide the eligibility for it on a case to case basis. If you think you could be eligible for a scholarship, please speak to a manager.

That depends on what country you are from. Students from the EU and the EEA do not need a student visa to study in Barcelona. A student visa is mandatory for all non-European Union citizens (including UK nationals) wishing to study in Spain. Our student services team can point you in the right direction if you have any questions or concerns about the visa requirements.

The visa process starts at the end of the admission process once you have received your admission letter and study plan documents.  The first steps are to submit your required documents and have the video call interview with the academic dean. Then you will receive your conditional acceptance letter with the information about the program and also the payment deadlines. Once the administration fee and the first semester tuition fee has been paid, we can issue you the admission letter and necessary documents for the visa process. With these documents you are able to start your visa application process in your home country by booking an appointment with your local embassy.

Yes, sure. The first step would be to get in contact with your local embassy. We do offer assistance with the visa process through our service provider, they will offer assistance throughout the whole visa process. If you would like to be in touch with them once you have your admission letter then please contact the admissions department. 

While we cannot guarantee a certain cost of living because everyone has a different lifestyle, Housinganywhere has made this cost estimation in 2023.

Barcelona is an entrepreneurial hub, with many local and international businesses and start-ups, so you have many internship opportunities to choose from. During the networking events you have the chance to make valuable business contacts that help you during that phase. Also, our mentors support you during the internship process.

Yes, certainly! Our bachelor’s students from the second year have the opportunity to start an internship and for our master’s program it’s slightly different in that to graduate having work experience of at least 9 months is required. If you already have 9 months minimum work experience you could graduate without having to do an internship while studying, but if you are joining the master’s with no work experience, don’t worry, you will be able to complete it while you are studying before you graduate.

For BBA and MSc here are the ways in which internships usually arise: 

1. Maybe you come across an internship yourself that you are interested in, which happens more often than one might think!
2. An opportunity can come through one of our faculty members and/or personal mentors which in our case is highly likely given the background/profile of our faculty.
3. From the business network at our building itself – there’s a lot of interest here. 
4. From our internship partner.
5. Or maybe you would like to do an internship with SBS Barcelona itself.

Yes, sure. Once you are enrolled on the program and have received your admission letter and other visa documentation from us, the first step would be to get in contact with your local embassy and book an appointment. They will assist you with the documentation you need to submit (in each country it might vary). We do offer assistance with the visa process if needed and our service provider can offer assistance throughout the whole visa process.

Although Barcelona airport is really well organized with a variety of transport methods to take you to the city center from a regular shuttle bus to the train, we have added a more personalized and exclusive way to travel to your new accommodation. If you wish to book this service please contact our student services department.

We have partnered with Flywire with the intention of helping our students make fluid payments with minimal stress! Flywire is great for a number of reasons (please see attached flyer), you can follow your payments from beginning to end, hassle free!

We have partnerships with several accommodation providers within the radius of the building, from university residency buildings, or shared accommodation. Some of the providers we work with include special discounts especially for our SBS Barcelona students! It depends on your budget and requirements! Once you have your admission letter, we will offer assistance to you to find the perfect place for you to stay on arrival to Barcelona.

We focus primarily on getting our students integrated into a business environment from day one, this is why we are located in a building where our students are crossing paths with other business professionals on a daily basis. What’s more, we take our students to networking events, company visits, conferences etc. on a regular basis. As well we aren’t a huge university so we have this community feel to our school, everyone knows each other and the class sizes are small so you get a more personalized experience.

It’s small class sizes, very hands- on practical based approach, lots of team working and collaboration. Your ideas are listened to, we like to help students build their own businesses if they want, and we focus on current business trends in our classes. The learning environment is relaxed and collaborative, we have lots of communal work spaces for our students.

We use a variety of online platforms that allow students to develop the digital skills they need to succeed in today’s workplace and to have the ability to embrace other digital tools when they arrive. In terms of innovation we are always trying to learn from new trends and decide on how we can use them to enhance the education of our students. We also connect with major events like Mobile World Congress and 4YFN.

This is a very important value for us. We love the fact that our students come from all over the world but we have a responsibility to make sure that that diversity also comes with a real sense of inclusion and belonging. We want everyone to feel connected to the community here and to be a valued member of it. We are working hard to have a gender balanced faculty team so that young women in particular can feel that they have the right to have good opportunities in business and to help young men to be allies for women at work.

The main academic resource is our faculty! We have gathered an amazing group of talented and experienced people from all over the world. We’re not looking for folks to pop in and teach a class but to connect with our students and to introduce them to the business world they inhabit. We also have loads of online tools that students can use to connect to each other and to their teachers and an online library so that they can explore the ideas they are encountering in more depth.

It helps that we are based in a co-working space, which means students are surrounded by people who are building and running their businesses. We also encourage students to do internships and for the bachelor students it’s something they need to do twice in the course of their program. Our faculty members work hard to connect the students to the local startup-ecosystem through networking events and other activities that can help students build their own business networks and develop their own identities as entrepreneurs.

This is so important for us because we are aware that most of our students are far away from home and can experience huge waves of emotion when they first arrive in Barcelona. Our campus team is very watchful and our teachers also keep an eye on students and we react quickly when we think that a student needs some support. Formal psychological help is also available for students who need it. We also want to create a fun and warm atmosphere so that students feel safe with each other and can support one another when times are tough

Partly through our curriculum where we have courses like Sustainable Leadership and ethics, partly through setting an example by being in a building where sustainability issues are taken very seriously. We are only taking up the space that we need which means we keep our carbon footprint low and avoid waste. Having said that, this is an issue that will need to become a priority and feature in all courses in the future so that students can see how sustainability issues impact every area of business.