Adolfo Ibanez University

Adolfo Ibanez University (UAI), an institution with over half a century of tradition, has been systematic in pursuing its mission: to educate young adults in the sciences so that they may contribute productively to society. To this end, it has taken a leading role in the innovation of university education.

In 1953, in true visionary fashion, it established the Valparaiso Business School, the first institution in Chile to provide professional education in the field of business administration.

In 1960 it began establishing links and developing programs in partnership with world-class foreign institutions such as Harvard and Stanford. This has made it possible for world-renowned professors such as Michael Porter, Theodore Levitt, Howard Stevenson, Hirotaka Takeuchi, Mark Albion and W. Carl Kester, among others, to teach at UAI.

In 1965 the university made the humanities the basis of its educational programs, thereby balancing the previous excess of professional content.

In 1966 the Social Market Economy Institute, a think tank dedicated to a free society, was founded. This institute quickly took the lead in its field, introducing issues which were previously unknown in Chile.

In 1979, the university returned to its role as an educational pioneer by introducing a Master in Business Administration and by developing what is now known as continuing education in the field of business and management. This has allowed its graduates, as well as other professionals, to keep on top of a rapidly changing world.

In 1981, it inaugurated the Institute of Humanities, which introduced an innovative way to take humanities majors and offered extension activities such as the prestigious History of Western Christian Society course.

In 2001, almost 50 years after its founding, Adolfo Ibanez University is again leading the field in academic innovation with a successful educational model that will have a profound impact on future generations of Chilean students, due to the fact that it was designed to deal with the main characteristic of contemporary society - change.

In 2002, specialty masters programs were introduced to add depth to students general professional formation. These programs make it possible to simultaneously obtain professional certification and a specialty master degree, in approximately the same amount of time as an ordinary master. These programs are an integral part of the UAI educational model, and are backed by the university extensive experience and the prestige of its graduate programs.

The nearly 5,000 alumni of the MBA programs testify to the consistency and prestige of the Business School both in Chile and abroad. This, added to the more than 4,000 executives who attend our seminars and diplomas every year, explains the protagonism of the Adolfo Ibáñez University in the formation of Latin American leaders. This is demonstrated by the opening in 2006 of the Adolfo Ibáñez School of Management with its headquarters in Miami, the first foreign Business School with authorization to grant US academic qualifications; this is where the top leaders of our continent are trained. In the fifty years since it was founded, the Business School has always been a pioneering and innovative institution, and these are the characteristics which have made it the leading Business School in Chile and which will continue to mark its future.

Our Business School has the accreditation of AACSB and AMBA, international accreditation bodies for business schools which certify the excellence of our MBA programs.