Esade’s Barcelona–Sant Cugat campus, where the school will base its new Bachelor in Business and Artificial Intelligence, welcoming its first cohort of students in fall 2026.
By the time today’s high school seniors graduate from college, artificial intelligence likely won’t be a skills businesses look for on candidate resumes. It will be the infrastructure on which they operate.
Esade Business School in Spain has launched a new Bachelor in Business and Artificial Intelligence (BBAI) with an eye to this very scenario. The four-year program, taught entirely in English, is designed to graduate professionals who can both understand how AI systems work and decide how they should be deployed inside organizations.
The move reflects a broader shift in business education acknowledging that future leaders must be fluent not only in strategy and finance, but also in machine learning, data systems, and AI governance.
‘THINK LIKE ENGINEERS, DECIDE LIKE MANAGERS’
The goal is not to turn students into software engineers, but to train what Esade calls “business technologists” — graduates who can understand AI systems deeply enough to shape how organizations use them while translating data into decisions, products, and business models.
Joan Rodon
“AI is revolutionizing leadership, giving it a more strategic function designed to manage organizations where people and AI systems can coexist and complement each other,” says Joan Rodon, Esade’s deputy general director, in a release. “The program we’ve designed prepares students to think like engineers but decide like managers from day one.”
The program will be heavily experiential, built around real-world projects, collaborative work, and applied problem-solving. Students participate in hackathons, datathons, boot camps, and company simulations that require them to design and implement AI-driven business strategies.
The degree requires an international exchange semester in the fourth year, drawing on Esade’s network of more than 80 partner universities worldwide. Students can study at institutions in Europe, Asia, or the United States. It also includes a mandatory internship, completed in Spain or abroad, and students can opt for Esade’s Solidarity Internships (SUD) in developing countries, applying their technical and business skills to projects with social impact.
The degree targets undergrads who are drawn to technology and innovation, and who want to understand how data and AI actually shape business outcomes. Applications are now open, and the first cohort will begin in September 2026.
AN OPTION FOR US UNDERGRADS?
For decades, the United States has been the top destination for international business students. In the same vein, fewer U.S. students enrolled abroad as international students because they had so many world-class business programs from which to choose right in their own backyards. That was (and still is) especially true at the undergraduate level.
But, that dynamic may be shifting. As U.S. debates over academic freedom, immigration policy, and DEI intensify, more students are weighing not just where they can study, but where they want to build their lives and careers.
Recent data from Studyportals, a leading indicator of global enrollment trends, shows that international student interest in studying in the United States has dropped to its lowest level since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, interest among U.S. students in domestic degrees fell sharply in the first quarter of 2025, dropping more than 20% year over year. At the same time, interest in European destinations surged.
“Southern Europe, in particular, is experiencing a sharp rise in popularity. Portugal saw a 23 percent jump in U.S. interest over the first half of 2025, followed by Ireland (16.3 percent) and Spain (13.1 percent),” notes Benjamin Stevenin, former director of business school solutions and partnerships at Times Higher Education, in this article for Poets&Quants on the Studyportals data.
“This regional expansion is not solely about cost or weather. Many of these programs offer English-language instruction, more diverse international classrooms, and post-graduate visa policies that appeal to students seeking both global mobility and a foothold in the European job market.”
The soaring price of U.S. institutions is also forcing families to rethink value, debt, and what a globally competitive degree should deliver. Tuition for Esade’s BBAI, by comparison, is set at €20,500 (~ $23,876), with scholarships available covering up to 100% of tuition.
With campuses in Barcelona and Madrid, Esade enrolls 12,000 students each year from more than 100 countries across its three academic units: the Business School, the Law School, and Executive Education.
A MORE SPECIALIZED PATH INTO AI-FIRST BUSINESS
While Esade has offered a double degree combining business administration and artificial intelligence since 2021, the new BBAI is a standalone, more specialized option. It deepens the school’s presence in tech-focused education and signals a bet on where undergraduate demand is heading.
The curriculum integrates technology within the traditional business curriculum. Over four years, students study machine learning, deep learning, data science, generative AI, natural language processing, computer vision, software development for business, and cloud systems. Those technical courses run in parallel with finance, marketing, operations, and strategy.
Meanwhile, Esade has made ethics and responsibility a core component of all its degrees. Courses in legal frameworks, sustainability, and human-centered AI are woven throughout the curriculum, consistent with the school’s broader mission around responsible leadership and social impact.
The program is based at Esade’s Barcelona–Sant Cugat campus and carries 240 ECTS credits. The school is hosting a series on online information events about the degree over the next several weeks. You can sign up for one here.
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