Business Administration

How can companies compete in a global environment? What is the best way to do business in an emerging market? What do international teams need in order to overcome challenges and work effectively? How do we prepare individuals and teams to excel in cross-border businesses?

The Business Administration: International Management Master’s programme will combine several teaching methodologies to answer these questions. The right blend of lectures that explore theoretical developments and hands-on experience with real-life cases ensures that you will not only learn the methods it takes to succeed, but also how to apply those methods in practical ways. You’ll be challenged to distinguish yourself among your like-minded colleagues, and will have the opportunity to address real-life, multinational business challenges. You’ll learn how the international context affects different aspects of business, and learn the practical skills necessary to address complex international business challenges. What’s more, you’ll learn what it takes to lead the international business world into the future. 

Your Master’s degree in International Management from VU Amsterdam combines a variety of teaching methodologies to ensure you emerge as a well-rounded manager with the skills and experience to lead. In addition to your course work, you will participate in workshops that give you hands-on experience with current international business challenges. Your selection from a wide range of electives will allow you to tailor your Master’s to your interest. 

How can you effectively lead a group of people to a common goal when they each have differing interests? How can you create a compelling call to action when addressing multiple stakeholders?

The Leadership & Change Management Master’s programme offers a unique proposition: it teaches you to lead a team through organisational change, to manage the change project, and to get buy-in from all involved. Leadership and change are a natural combination – no change management can be effective without good leadership, and only an effective leader can create positive change. Having completed the programme, you’ll come away with the organisational, political and rhetorical skills you need to be a successful future leader. Whether you want to find a role in consultancy, work internally for a large firm, or become an entrepreneur or project manager – this is the first step. 

The Leadership & Change Management programme will set you up as an academic professional, with knowledge of the theories of organisational change and leadership, as well as skills in implementing change and being an effective leader. In addition to courses that are unique to the Leadership & Change Management programme, you’ll also be able to take electives from the other Business Administration specialization programmes.

Do you want to find out if a career as a consultant is for you? In the Management Consulting specialization, you acquire the knowledge and skills you need to become a successful consultant. The specialization draws on insights from various different disciplines and you will learn in a project-based environment which will equip you with the research, communication, and presentation skills you need to excel in the consulting world.

Prepare to work hard – just like you would at a consultancy company. You will learn about various key aspects of the consulting process, such as the acquisition of clients, change management, the development of business models, communicating your recommendations, and the ethics involved in management consulting. You will also have the opportunity to carry out a consulting project for a real client from A to Z. You’ll be combining an academic mind-set (learning theories and thinking critically) with consulting in practice (gaining real-life experience with businesses in the field). In order to be a management consultant, you need to be able to excel various different tasks.

If you are up for the challenge, the Management Consulting specialization is your place to start! In addition to Management Consulting core courses, you’ll be able to take electives from other Business Administration specializations.

How can HRM help workers and organizations thrive? How do you ensure inclusivity and equality in recruitment and selection? What is the key to creating successful and sustainable careers for workers in and outside of organizations? What’s the best way to find – and keep – the best possible people in the right jobs? What is the influence of current developments such as the increased use of AI and remote working?

With your Master’s in Business Administration: Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM), you won’t just learn the answers to these and other key SHRM concerns. You’ll also know how to put them into practice and develop a career of your own. The programme balances quantitative and qualitative research, hands-on experience and direct contact with major corporations to ensure you have the hard and soft skills you need to excel in the world of HRM. At VU Amsterdam, we focus on making sure you have all the tools and support you need to carve your own path to success. 

The SHRM programme teaches you how to speak both the language of strategic HRM and that of the business, and shows you how to apply cutting edge scientific research to make employees thrive and organizations more successful, better employers. More and more organizations are beginning to realise how crucial recruitment, selection, retention, development and mobility are to organizational success. We’ll give you the tools to become an invaluable part of any organizations long-term business strategy. In addition to SHRM courses, you’ll be able to take electives from other Business Administration specialization programmes. 

How do you formulate and implement a business strategy that keeps you competitive in a dynamic market? What does it take to strategically engage with other organisations – including competitors, consumers and NGOs? What are the components of a strategy that not only ensures financial success, but also sustainable and socially responsible business practises?

If you're curious about the answers to these questions, then you’re the right fit for the Strategy & Organisation Master’s programme. You’ll learn to manage strategic and organisational challenges and develop profound skills in analytics, reflexivity and critical thinking. You’ll gain the skills to act responsibly and with foresight in complex and dynamic environments. In short, you’ll learn what it takes to not only develop the strategies that succeed, but also how to bring them to life within complex organisations looking to you to solve their real-life challenges.

The Strategy & Organisation Master’s from VU Amsterdam will teach you how to develop and design competitive strategies and how to put them into practice. After two core courses, you can choose one of two study tracks. One related to rethinking relationships with competitors, the other related to stakeholder demand for improved Corporate Social Responsibility.