ESCI-UPF International Business Program
The International Business Program is jointly offered by the ESCI-UPF International Business School and the UPF Education Abroad Program. The program is aimed at undergraduate students with a major or minor in business who wish to acquire an international perspective and a better understanding of the successful management practices needed to compete in the global economy. Moreover, the program is designed to offer students insight into international business from a multicultural perspective and to improve their professional qualifications.
Our experience with summer programs and regular exchange agreements with many European, American, and Asian academic institutions make us confident that the program is a useful and enjoyable experience for all participants. Our faculty is looking forward to working with international students interested in learning how to manage companies in the global economy and to providing them with the skills and knowledge they need for a successful start to their business careers.
All students who complete the ESCI-UPF International Business Program will be awarded a joint certificate from the ESCI International Business School and the UPF Eduation Abroad Program attesting that they have successfully completed at least two international business courses.
Key Areas
- International Business
- International Management
- International Finance
- International Economics
(!) All ESCI courses will take place at ESCI-UPF Edifici Born, which is about a ten-minute walk from our Ciutadella Campus. They have different codes for the Fall/Winter terms. Please, be aware of this when configurating/registering your class schedules.
Calendar | Apply | Fees | Policies
Program Requirements
The ESCI-UPF International Business Program is designed primarily for students majoring or minoring in business. Most students pursuing a degree in business administration or economics will not need to complete any additional prerequisites. Applicants pursuing degrees in other fields should make sure they have fulfilled the recommended prerequisites specified for each course.
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Applicants should have a 3.0 GPA minimum at their schools of origin.
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The program is suitable for both students with a strong command of Spanish and for those wishing to take courses only in English, as it includes courses taught in both English and Spanish.
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Please, note that to take courses taught in Spanish, students are strongly advised to have completed at least four semesters of college-level Spanish.
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Applicants should come from a university or study abroad provider that has a study abroad partnership with UPF
Academic Structure
The certificate requires a full semester course load (normally 4-5 courses, equivalent to 24-30 ECTS credits) with the following breakdown:
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One compulsory core course: International Management
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At least one of the program elective courses: International Finance, International Economics, Doing Business in Europe, Corporate Finance, New Trends in International Marketing, Economic Global Order, Financial Risk Management, Strategic Brand Management, Consulmer Behavior or Cross Cultural Management and Intercultural Communication.
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Two or three additional courses, to be chosen from among the following:
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Another program course
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The ESCI-UPF undergraduate course offering
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The Barcelona Program for Interdisciplinary Studies course offering (culture and Spanish language courses)
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Deadline for applications:
Fall: May 30 | Winter and Spring: October 30
Academic offerings & Schedules
SYLLABI: All ESCI IBP and ESCI regular syllabi are available in this link: select the bin "cerca per assignatura", type the ESCI course code and select the button "veure plan docents". Then select the language (catalan/spanish/English) and download.
SHEDULES: Customized timetables timetables can be checked on this link (using the ESCI CODE)
51634 / 51701 - International Management
Credits: 6 ECTS
Term: Fall 22 / Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Business Organization
The International Management course focuses on the opportunities and challenges created by globalisation. It examines a series of cross-cultural and management issues related to management in an international marketplace. The aim of this course is to enable students to analyse and understand the opportunities and challenges that companies face when expanding their activities internationally and when dealing with international competitors in their home markets. Special attention is placed upon the different tools and analytic competences available to the different specialised managerial roles when competing internationally.
The course comprises three segments. The first builds a better understanding of the challenges in the international environment. It focuses on the analysis of country differences in political economy and political risks as well as cultural and social heterogeneities. In this segment, the course covers the major facets of the international management environment (legal, political, economic and cultural). The central debates surrounding the cultural construct, formal and informal institutions, economic development and regional integrations are presented in class, along with the major frameworks that have been used to describe these phenomena.
51655 / 51705 - Corporate Finance
Credits: 6 ECTS
Terms: Fall 2022/ Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Business Organization
51636 / 51704 - Doing Business in Europe
Credits: 6 ECTS
Terms: Fall 22 /Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Business organization
51633/51703 - International Finance
Credits: 6 ECTS
Terms: Fall 22 / Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Accounting, Financial Management
51669 / 51706 - New Trends in International Marketing
Credits: 6 ECTS
Terms: Fall 22 / Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Introduction to Marketing
This course aims to ensure that students understand new trends in the marketing arena and appreciate their relevance to business and the global economy. By linking theory and practice, the course gives students an international perspective and hands-on experience developing new marketing trends.
51745 / 51746 / 51780 - Cross Cultural Management and Intercultural Communication
Credits: 6 ECTS
Terms: Fall 22 / Winter 23 / Spring 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Schedules Spring 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Business Organization
51751 / 51752 - Consumer Behavior
Credits: 6 ECTS
Terms: Fall 22 / Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Introduction to Marketing . Not compatible with 40204
51728 / 51729 - Financial Risk Management
Credits: 6 ECTS
Terms: Fall 22 / Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Corporate Finance
practices (such as loss control, loss financing, and internal risk reduction mechanisms) as well as their advancement in the future. Hence, risk management course is of importance to business students expecting to deal with business and professional lives in the future in a global context.
This course covers all kinds of financial risks such as credit risk, currency risk exposure, interest rate risk, price volatility risk, among others. Hedging financial risk with various risk management concepts, tools, and techniques will be held by the derivative products: Futures, Forwards, Options, and Swaps.
51730/ 51731 - Strategic Brand Management
Credits: 6 ECTS
Terms: Fall 22 / Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Marketing management
NEW! 51870-Digital Business Modeling and Competitive Strategy
Credits: 6 ECTS
Term: Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Business organization, Business strategy
business models. The Gartner Hype Cycle, the life cycle of technological industries, the concept of competitive paradigm, and the analysis of multi-layer platform models.
NEW! 51871-Marketing Research
Credits: 6 ECTS
Term: Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Business organization, Business strategy
51837-Sustainability Management
Credits: 6 ECTS
Term: Winter 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Business organization
51741 -Business Innovation
Credits: 6 ECTS
Term: Spring 23
Modality: Face-to-face learning options
Schedules Winter 23 (updated, November 8)
Recommended prerequisite: Business organization