Why this programme?

International Business

In the International Business programme, you'll discover the ins and outs of running international businesses, from the small details to a global perspective. You'll look at issues such as:

Where do you get your raw materials?
How can you manage your people and your finances?
How should you make, market and sell your product?
What’s the best way to evaluate sales and adjust the strategy as needed?

You’ll cover topics from accounting to marketing, and supply chain management to information management. And you’ll also develop the personal qualities you’ll need to succeed in the international business world: adaptability, creativity, self-assurance and more. It’s little wonder that this programme tops the Dutch rankings year after year.

What you’ll actually do:

Learn by doing in small teams with students from around the world.
Address the types of challenges you'll encounter in your career, within a study setting that mirrors a real working environment.
Examine the latest developments in international business and solve real-world cases.
Discover how to run a business, considering factors such as law, taxation, ethics, and globalization.
Develop essential skills including teamwork, conflict resolution, leadership, presentation, and intercultural communication.

You’ll like this study if you …

like to get involved, take an active role and share your opinions
enjoy travelling and other cultures
want to work in international teams to address real-life business cases
wish to gain a greater understanding of global markets, and the companies and people that comprise them

Problem Based Learning

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an innovative, student-centred instructional method widely used at Maastricht University. You will work in small tutorial groups of 12 to 15 students, and collaboratively seek practical solutions to real-world problems. Instructors act as facilitators, giving help as it’s needed. This allows you to build independence and develop research skills. As opposed to lectures – which are still the primary teaching method at most universities – PBL is dynamic, requiring active participation in a variety of tasks such as:

deciding how to approach a given problem
setting learning goals
organising tasks to achieve those goals
sharing your findings with one another

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With PBL, you’ll develop the practical skills you need in the workplace by taking skills trainings tailored to your courses.

Skill trainings you might take include:

quantitative methods
managing takeovers
interview skills and techniques
customer relations management
country risk analysis

Maastricht University students on Problem-Based Learning

Study abroad

During this bachelor programme you’ll be required to study abroad for at least half a year. This gives you the opportunity to expand your knowledge of other cultures and practices. The School has an extensive network of more than 130 partner universities around the world, in countries including Australia, Singapore, South Africa, the United States, and throughout Europe. The semester abroad at a partner university is a compulsory part of the curriculum. Depending on your study programme, you go on exchange either in the first or in the second semester of your third year of your bachelor’s.

On a yearly base, up to 750 SBE students spend part of their studies abroad within an exchange programme, and about 740 exchange students visit SBE.

The International Classroom

As the world becomes increasingly globalised, those doing business must be able to work with people from many different cultural backgrounds. Students and staff come from all over Europe and the rest of the world, and Maastricht itself is at an international crossroads between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. An additional 450 exchange students from 39 different countries come to study at our faculty every year. Such diversity creates a strong international atmosphere.

We Are Global

Strength in diversity

UM embraces the International Classroom, an environment where our differences become our strengths. From day one, you’ll be challenged with differing viewpoints and experiences as you interact with staff and students from all over the world. This kind of interaction brings you closer to the programme’s goal of teaching you not only facts and concepts, but also international accessibility and intercultural understanding.

Specialisation in Emerging Markets

As part of the International Business programme, you can choose to follow a specialisation in Emerging Markets. This specialisation focuses on Growth Economies in Africa, Asia or South-America. You’ll follow this specialisation along with students from the bachelor’s programme in Economics and Business Economics.

Internships

Within this bachelor’s programme, there are two internship possibilities: a curricular and an extracurricular internship. The curricular internship involves replacing part of the programme (4 ECTS) with an internship. The internship should be between 6 and 14 weeks full-time. Most students opt for an internship during the summer break, either in the second or third year. The extracurricular internship is an addition to your bachelor’s programme and does not replace any part of your programme curriculum. The internship should be between 8 and 26 weeks full-time.

To assist students in finding an internship, SBE maintains a database with internship opportunities for each programme. The SBE Internship Office is also on hand for guidance and counselling.

Skills training

You’ll develop the practical skills you need in the workplace by taking skills training tailored to your courses. These include training on research methods, using software for statistical analysis and presenting your findings.

MaRBLe excellence programme

Through the Maastricht Research Based Learning programme, MaRBLe for short, we offer talented third-year bachelor’s students the opportunity to conduct their own research project. You will be guided by experienced academic staff who will help you further develop your critical thinking and research skills. This will help prepare you for a career in scientific research or research positions in business.

More about MaRBLe

Reinforce your mathematics skills

At Maastricht University, we want to offer all the support we can to help you succeed. Students who discontinue economics programmes often cite difficulties with the level of mathematics required for the coursework. To prevent this, we offer an online preparatory course during the summer that helps to reinforce your math skills. Although the course is not obligatory, we recommend that you take it before starting the programme. The assessment test will help you determine your skill level before registering for the course.

The online preparatory course is a supplement to your education and cannot be used to meet the mathematics requirements for admission to this programme.

More about the online mathematics preparatory course