During the programme
As well as working on two themes per year, you get to colour your own specialisation, allowing you to realise your dreams and ambitions. You will have work placements in year 2 and 4.
What makes IB truly international?
In your second and fourth year, you will do a work placement - one of these has to be outside of the Netherlands. Additionally, you may study a semester abroad in your third year. All of your classes are in English and you have the additional opportunity to reach business fluency in four other languages: French, German, Spanish or Dutch. Your fellow students and your tutors come from all continents.
Study content
In your first year, you get to know Utrecht, the university, your fellow students and the programme. In two 20-week blocks, you are introduced to the main themes and subjects you will be working on in the next four years.
After successful completion of year one, you will receive the propaedeutic (foundation phase) diploma required for continuing the IB programme.
- Semester 1: An international business simulation in which you familiarise yourself with key roles and positions in business. Subjects include: marketing and sales, finance and accounting, operations and supply chain management, and organisation and people. You will learn about sustainability, gain essential digital business skills and discover interdisciplinary thinking and working skills.
- Semester 2: Focus on business innovation. We provide you with the latest insights in design thinking, and you experience of what it takes to create a business model for a new idea.
Courses year 1
During the Finance course you will start with an introduction to Accounting and Business. Beside this you will learn more about Financial Statements, analyzing Transactions, Accounting for Merchandising Business, Inventories, Internal Control and Financial Statement Analysis. But also how to manage Accounting Concepts and Principles, Cost Behaviour and Cost-Volume-Profit, budgeting and Excel infographics and dashboards.
Culture and leadership play a significant role in international business in the latter part of the 20th century. To prepare you adequately for such future challenges in companies, this module assists you to achieve intercultural competences and good leadership qualities with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitude. You are provided with both explanation of the topics for good understanding and practical training including cases from multinational companies and experimental exercises.
During this module you will take your first steps towards communicating effectively. You will learn how to write proper business emails that cater for a multi-cultural business environment and you will learn how to write structured pieces of texts like reports and proposals. In addition, you will also reflect on your own performance and skills where communication is concerned. By knowing who you are and how you function in your team, you will be more equipped to communicate your needs and wishes.
This module covers topics on the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDG’s) and how companies engage with these goals in doing sustainable business. You will start with making a framework in which you examine local and global sustainability challenges. The study of literature and in-class sessions as means to develop empathy, give you a sense of community, clarify values, understand sustainability from multiple perspectives, and motivate you to act. You will learn aspects of leadership theory in practice to encourage you to get into action yourselves. In the end you will apply cultural aspects to a Sustainable Business setting.
This Spanish course is highly practical and offers you a basic knowledge of Spanish with the objective to gain sufficient knowledge to prepare you for an internship or study abroad in a Spanish speaking country. All skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) will be practiced on a basic level for day-to-day situations and simple business situations. The course starts at level 0 and will also focus on cultural similarities, differences and how to solve intercultural conflicts. After the course students will have listening and reading skills at A2 level and speaking and writing skills at A1 level (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
In this module you learn everything you need to know in order to communicate successfully with German speaking business partners on an intermediate (B1) level. The B1 level is defined according to the following definition of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Communication and Culture Dutch (semester 1) is a training course for basic Dutch. We will focus on communication for everyday purposes in class and students will be encouraged to use what they have learned in real life with fellow Dutch students and native speakers outside the HU. In this way the training course will help students get acquainted with the Dutch by using it in practice.
To offer you a home, a tribe, a community or a support system:
- To build meaningful relations
- To learn how to learn
- To support each other
- To inspire each other
During the main phase of the programme, you broaden and deepen the knowledge acquired during the first year. The final term of your second year consists of a ten-week work placement with a company active in the international business arena, either in the Netherlands or abroad.
- Semester 1: Focus on sustainable production and the global value chain.
- Semester 2: Individual elective modules and first work placement (in the Netherlands or abroad).
In your third year, you take part in a student exchange programme at an internationally recognised partner university. We have agreements with institutions in countries as varied as the US, the UK, Thailand, France, Spain, Germany and New Zealand, among others. The exchange programme is mandatory for students whose previous education was in the Netherlands, and highly recommended for our international students.
- Semester 1: Study abroad/minor.
- Semester 2: Focus on global strategic issues facing business.
Your fourth and last year focuses on your graduation. You complete a five-month work placement at a company of your choice and write a research-based dissertation, resulting in graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree.
- Semester 1: Research or consultancy project, plus orientation for your graduation project.
- Semester 2: Second work placement (in the Netherlands or abroad) and graduation project.
International Business
More information
From day one, you are allocated a personal study career coach (SCC), who supports you during your time with us. Your SCC helps you with all study-related issues, from time management to study methods and career planning.
Our teaching methods vary depending on the module, but the focus is always on student participation. Typical methods are: small groups and individual tutorials, research, workshops, appropriate training in relevant technology, a combination of online and offline learning and self-study.
Courses conclude with exams, tests, assignments, essays or portfolios. Exams may also be broken down into partial exams (or partial tests). Exams are held at the end of each term and are posted on the examination timetable.
During this programme you work in learning teams: small groups of students who learn together to build their knowledge and skills collectively and individually. An IB learning team consists of five to seven students, guided by a professional development coach and lecturers.
You will undertake two work placements during your time with us. At least one of these has to be done outside the Netherlands. They give you the practical skills you need for a successful international career.
"The minor offered me the opportunity to apply my knowledge in the real world"
Dafinka Mihaylova (Age 25) Fourth year student
"The minor offered me the opportunity to apply my knowledge in the real world"
Dafinka Mihaylova (Age 25)Fourth year student
Innovation is one of the most important concerns and top priorities for organizations nowadays. Thus, I wanted to learn more about it. I participated in the minor “Business Innovation Design” offered by HU in cooperation with Business Models Inc., Greenberry and Utrecht Inc.
First, we were prepared with foundational skills such as leadership and entrepreneurial capabilities, lean start up, design thinking, customer development etc. Then we were assigned to work with the company PON Equipment and we did a lot of research to understand the company’s background and environment.
In the second phase we prototyped our ideas with the intentions of helping the company to be more innovative - in order to be more successful and cope with the challenges arising. In the end, we validated solutions and transferred the innovation capabilities to the organisation.
I was able to learn so much about innovation thanks to the teachers, research, but also by the cooperation with other students coming from different countries and studies. Having the opportunity to apply the knowledge in a real company and knowing that it could have an impact and lead to improvements, made it a very useful experience!”
"The IB programme helps me to prepare for the future by offering internships."
Michael Sprehe (Age 22) First year student
"The IB programme helps me to prepare for the future by offering internships."
Michael Sprehe (Age 22)First year student
The programme International Business at the HU is a truly international and inspiring programme. Working on real-life case studies helps me to understand the various aspects of business such as marketing, finance and logistics.
After my graduation I want to work in a big and international company in The Netherlands. The IB programme helps me to prepare for the future by offering internships. I will be able to apply the knowledge that I gained and develop my professional skills further.
"The class is an intercultural mix of countries all over the world, allowing students to gain experience working together with different nationalities."
Chiel van Ewijk (Age 27) Second year student
"The class is an intercultural mix of countries all over the world, allowing students to gain experience working together with different nationalities."
Chiel van Ewijk (Age 27)Second year student
I applied at HU for the International Business programme because of the possibility to do a FastTrack programme, and because of the outstanding extracurricular possibilities. In the FastTrack programme students are personally coached and the motivation level is skyhigh. Additionally, the class is an intercultural mix of countries all over the world, allowing students to gain experience working together with different nationalities. The honours programme at HU allows students to stand out by obtaining stars, for example for Leadership and Professional Drive. There are possibilities for students to showcase their own projects, or to participate in projects facilitated by the University. Therefore, I think students are able to get the most out of their education at HU.
Why choose HU?
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A truly international experience
Work placements and studying abroad, our international team of tutors, our international student population and the completely English-based programme.
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Practice-based education
Your teachers are in direct contact with the professional world. You and your fellow students will work in exciting real-life projects for international companies.
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Colour your individual specialisation
Within prescheduled themes you can choose your own path, allowing you to create the programme that suits you best.