International Business & Management Studies

Contents

Inholland University of Applied Sciences strives to prepare its students to perform well in today's ever-changing and complex society. Working closely with our business partners, we have drawn up a skills profile that any budding professional ought to possess in order to find employment in an international business environment.

The programme allows students with excellent study results to obtain a BBA within 3 years. After the first year, these students are assessed before they can be admitted to this programme. One of the requirements is the prior completion of a propaedeutic diploma in one year. The programme is similar in workload to a 4-year programme, but it can only be taken by highly motivated students.

Major/minor

Like all bachelor's degree programmes at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, International Business and Management Studies is based on the major/minor model. The programme consists of a major subject and a differentiation minor. The major focuses on Business and Management studies. It covers all the competencies necessary to be a professional in an international business environment. These courses will be covered in your first and second year of the programme. The differentiation minor will allow you to mould your study profile to suit your own personal interests and ambitions, enabling you to distinguish your degree from the rest.

Differentiation minor

Minors can include specialist business courses, a second language and cultural studies, such as:

• International Management
• Asian Business Studies
• Corporate Finance
• Human Resource Management
• International Management
• International Trade China
• Doing Business in a Global Environment
• Marketing
• Psychology at Work

Work placement

In your third year, you will do a work placement. This will allow you to put the knowledge and experience you have gained over the previous two years into practice. Work placements can be completed anywhere in the world. You will work for a real international company for five months. Your student advisors will stay in close contact with you and your employer to ensure that all parties involved are benefiting from the experience.

Graduation specialisations

In order to graduate, you will need to pass all your courses, complete your work placement and successfully defend your dissertation. When you graduate from this programme, you will receive a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. This internationally recognised degree will allow you to apply for master's degree programmes in the Netherlands and abroad.

English-speaking students can opt to continue their education by taking a master's degree, for example, at a university. You can enrol on a master's degree programme at universities such as Erasmus University, Free University of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam or London South Bank University, in cooperation with our university.

Location(s): Amsterdam/Diemen, Haarlem and Rotterdam

What is the study counselling situation?

At Inholland University of Applied Sciences, we have student counsellors who can help you with issues that may be affecting your studies. We also have student career advisors who will provide personal development and career coaching during your time here.

Comparable/related programme(s)

It is important to find out early on whether you have chosen the right programme or not. That is why you will take part in an assessment activity during the initial stages of the first semester. Your personal qualities as well as your weaknesses and strengths will be assessed to see whether you should continue with this particular programme.

If you decide the programme is not for you, it may be possible to transfer to another one. Unfortunately, this is not all that easy with English Stream courses, especially for foreign students. Dutch-speaking students have more opportunities as they can transfer to courses taught in Dutch. If you wish to switch programmes, a student counsellor will help and advise you, and will discuss the options available with you.

How is the programme structured?

The IBMS programme combines theory and practice. Classes are competency-based and designed to support each term's theme. As well as attending classes and participating in workshops, you will work intensively in small multicultural teams, solving real-world business cases.

You will also be given an opportunity to take a double-degree programme. This is an option unique to IBMS. It means that you can obtain two bachelor's degrees within four years - one from Inholland University of Applied Sciences and one from one of our partners. Alternatively, you can opt for an exchange semester with one of our partners. You will live and study at a partner university abroad for one year in year three of the programme. After meeting the requirements of the double-degree programme, you will receive a second bachelor's degree from the partner university of applied sciences. Our partner universities for the double-degree programme are located in the following cities, among others:

• Nice, France
• Helsinki, Finland
• Surabaya, Indonesia
• Michigan, U.S.A.

What subjects are taught?

The IBMS programme covers a wide range of subjects, including:

• Accounting and Finance
• Business Organisation
• Business Information Systems
• Business Communication
• Quantitative Analysis for Business
• International Marketing
• Introduction to Trade Law and European Law
• Human Resource Management
• European Business and Strategic Change
• International Corporate Strategy
• European Business Environment
• Business Ethics

Alongside competencies in all the relevant fields of business, you will work intensively on so-called generic competencies, such as:

• multicultural communication
• leadership
• planning and organisation

First year

The first year of the IBMS programme is designed to give you a sound foundation in business. The classes are essential not only to understanding how international business works, but also to understanding how to work in an international environment. There will be large projects, including:

• Go International
• Manage the Challenge

As you progress through your foundation courses, you will develop basic business competencies as well as intercultural communication skills.

Second year

During this year, you will take a more in-depth look at the subjects studied in year one. You will continue to work on your knowledge of business, and your business skills will continue to improve.

Third year

In your third year, you will do a work placement. During the second half of your third year, you will be able to take a minor in the IBMS programme. Another option will be to choose a double-degree programme at one of our partner institutions all over the world or the exchange programme at one of our partner schools.

Fourth year

During the final year, you will focus on the specialisation aspect of your degree. In the first semester, you will be free to select another minor course or to complete a placement in an international environment if you have chosen the double-degree programme. In the second semester, you will work on your dissertation.

Graduation and continuing education

In order to graduate, you will need to pass all your courses, complete your work placement and successfully defend your dissertation. When you graduate from this programme, you will receive a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. This internationally recognised degree will allow you to apply for master's degree programmes in the Netherlands and abroad.

English-speaking students can opt to continue their education by taking a master's degree, for example, at a university. You can enrol on a master's degree programme at universities such as Erasmus University, Free University of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam or the London South Bank University, in cooperation with our university.