The Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) (Spanish: Instituto Barcelona de Estudios Internacionales, English: Barcelona Institute of International Studies) is an interuniversity research institute and postgraduate education center located in Barcelona, established in 2004 as a joint initiative between the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs and five universities in the Barcelona metropolitan area (Pompeu Fabra University, University of Barcelona, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Open University of Catalonia), as a center of excellence in international studies. The President of the Institute is Narcís Serra, former Minister of Defense and former Vice President of Spain, and the Director is Jacint Jordana, Professor of Political Science at the Pompeu Fabra University.
Students at IBEI are awarded a degree jointly by Pompeu Fabra University, the University of Barcelona and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. All master programmes are taught in English, and the Master in International Relations has an English-Spanish bilingual version. IBEI also hosts the Erasmus Mundus Masters Program in Public Policy.
IBEI is an affiliate member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA). IBEI's masters are accredited as official university master's degrees. Students are mostly from abroad; every year students from more than 40 countries are admitted. A high level of internationalization of IBEI academic programmes has been recognized by the distinctive mention International Master's Program (IMP2013) granted by the Generalitat de Catalonia for the Master in International Relations. IBEI has experienced a steady increase in the affluence of students. More than 150 students are currently enrolled in its master programmes.
Several professors from universities in Barcelona and from around the world complete the teaching staff. The Institute has developed a scientific production that focuses on the relationship between domestic affairs and the international dimension into four major areas: Global Governance, Networks and Institutions in a Globalized Economy, Development and Security, and Power and Multilateralism in a Global World. IBEI is currently one of the focal points at European level in the field of Political Science and International Affairs.
Location
Since September 2014, IBEI is located at Pompeu Fabra University's Ciutadella Campus in the center of Barcelona, next to Barcelona Zoo, Parc de la Ciutadella and the Olympic Port. The Institute was located in Elisabets Street for ten years, in the neighborhood of El Raval, Ciutat Vella in Barcelona. The sixteenth-century building, located next to the CIDOB, is part of the complex of the House of Mercy, an old school for orphaned girls.
IBEI is placed at Mercè Rodoreda Building, designed by Juan Navarro Baldeweg, in Ramon Trias Fargas Street, 25-27. The campus is next to the subway Ciutadella - Vila Olimpica station, to the light rail stations Wellington and Ciutadella - Vila Olimpica, and to the bus stops Marina - Doctor Trueta, Icària - Parc Carles I and Sardenya - Pg. Pujades. The Institute shares the building with several research groups.
Study programmes
IBEI's academic programme currently consists of four postgraduate courses: Master in International Relations, Master in International Security, Erasmus Mundus Master in Public Policy (Mundus MAPP) and Master in International Development. Summer Courses about topics of interest within the sphere of international relations and international economic policy are also organized every year. The teaching language is English, although the Master in International Relations has an English-Spanish bilingual option. Students are required of a college degree and an advanced level of English to enroll.
Master's in International Relations
The Master's in International Relations was the first to be launched and gets the larger inflow of students. It has an average of 90 students enrolled every year from more than 30 different nationalities. It's taught in two versions: bilingual (English-Spanish) and English, as well as full-time in one year or part-time in two.