MBA in Sustainable Business

Management Theory + Business Cases, Challenges, and Skills

Focus on the foundations of Financial, Human Resource, Marketing, and Supply Chain Management; combine with courses from our contemporary Global, Digital, Sustainable, and Social Business clusters; choose additional courses from among shared electives; improve your business skills throughout the program; and bring it all together in a Business Plan or Business Project.

Everyone’s professional career is different, and we’ve always believed that your academic career can be too. You will be the one customizing your program based on your previous studies, current interests, and future ambitions. You will also attempt courses with students from other programs and concentrations through shared electives. Our program is modeled after our academic partner’s long-standing MBA program, through which it is also validated. We’ve made it our own and refined it for young metropolitan professionals such as yourself.

• 60-credit and professionally-oriented Master's program for Bachelor-qualified recent graduates and young professionals with or without work experience
• Private Master of Business Administration (UIBS), programmatically accredited by ACBSP & ECBE + Metropolitan Graduate Degree in Business Administration
• 9 to 12 months full-time, or 12 to 36 months part-time, with 8 starting dates per year
• English as the language of instruction at our campus in downtown Amsterdam

Starting dates

Our academic calendar is based on a quarter system with four 10-week quarters per year that consist of two 5-week terms each. We refer to these quarters as Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer, and to these terms simply as A and B. Our program’s flexible structure and modular design allow you to optimally plan your studies and choose from multiple starting dates in October, November, January, February, April, May, July, and August.

Modular design

Our flexible program structure is based on the American model of higher education, allowing students to choose their courses (with some limitations) based on program requirements which are different for each of our programs and which have to be met in order to finish.

Program requirements

2 courses from the Financial Management cluster

• 20-21-FIN5002 – Budgeting (2 EC)
• 20-21-FIN5004 – Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis (2 EC)
• 20-21-FIN5006 – Financial Statement Analysis (2 EC)
• 20-21-FIN5008 – Working Capital Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-QUA5001 – Applied Financial Calculus (2 EC)
• 20-21-FIN5007 – Mergers and Acquisitions (2 EC)
• 20-21-FIN5003 – Capital Budgeting (2 EC)
• 20-21-FIN5001 – Applied International Financial Management (2 EC)

2 courses from the Human Resource Management cluster

• 20-21-HUM5004 – Personnel Performance Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-HUM5005 – Personnel Planning and Work Design (2 EC)
• 20-21-HUM5006 – Personnel Recruitment and Selection (2 EC)
• 20-21-HUM5007 – Personnel Training and Development (2 EC)
• 20-21-HUM5001 – Compensation Strategy and Systems (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAN5006 – Knowledge Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAN5003 – Change Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-HUM5002 – International Labor Relations (2 EC)

2 courses from the Marketing Management cluster

• 20-21-MAR5001 – Analyzing Marketing Opportunities (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAR5007 – Creative Advertising (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAR5008 – Developing Marketing Strategies (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAR5011 – Planning Marketing Programs (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAR5002 – Applied Consumer Behavior (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAR5013 – Applied Sales Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAR5006 – Applied Brand Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-BUS5003 – e-Commerce (2 EC)

2 courses from the Supply Chain Management cluster

• 20-21-OPE5507 – Applied Operations Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-OPE5508 – Applied Production Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-OPE5509 – Applied Project Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-OPE5001 – Enterprise Resource Planning (2 EC)
• 20-21-OPE5010 – Total Quality Management (2 EC)
• 20-21-QUA5003 – Operational Decision-making Tools (2 EC)
• 20-21-INF5001 – Business Intelligence (2 EC)
• 20-21-QUA5002 – Management Science (2 EC)

2 courses from the Business Cases cluster, of which at least the module highlighted in bold below

• 20-21-BUS5151 – Comprehensive Cases in Digital Business (4 EC)
• 20-21-BUS5152 – Comprehensive Cases in Global Business (4 EC)
• 20-21-BUS5154 – Comprehensive Cases in Social Business (4 EC)
• 20-21-BUS5153 – Comprehensive Cases in Sustainable Business (4 EC)

2 courses from the Business Challenges cluster, of which at least the module highlighted in bold below

• 20-21-ECO5505 – Circular Economy Insights (4 EC)
• 20-21-ECO5504 – Digital Economy Insights (4 EC)
• 20-21-GLO5001 – Global Economy Insights (4 EC)
• 20-21-ECO5506 – Sharing Economy Insights (4 EC)

2 courses from the Business Skills cluster

• 20-21-COM5501 – Business Communication Skills (2 EC)
• 20-21-HUM5503 – Business Leadership Skills (2 EC)
• 20-21-COM5006 – Business Negotiation Skills (2 EC)
• 20-21-MAN5506 – Cross-Cultural Skills (2 EC)

6 free-to-choose shared electives

Electives can be any course scheduled that does not already count towards other program requirements.

1 Final Project, a Business Project focusing on Sustainable Business

The Final Project consists of a Business Plan or Business Project + an Applied Research Seminar. This Final Project will enable students to gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of the application of the theory and concept from their studies in practice. The module is undertaken over a minimum ten-week period during which time each student is supported by an academic mentor and a business mentor (where appropriate). This module will provide students with an opportunity to develop a real business plan or project, which is agreed upon by all parties and includes a set of specific, measurable, and achievable outcomes. During the Final Project, the student will be supported by an academic mentor to ensure the experience meets their learning needs and to supervise any research activity undertaken. At the same time, the student may be supported by a business mentor based within the organization. The business mentor’s role is to provide guidance and offer feedback to the student related to their business plan or project development. Both mentors will maintain contact throughout the Final Project to ensure the student’s needs are fully supported. The module is assessed by a substantial piece of written work, comprised of a number of components.

There are other concentrations in Digital Business, Global Business, and Social Business. The program can also be completed without concentrations. Slightly different program requirements apply.

Program duration

You can complete the program in a full-time format within 1 academic year of 3 quarters of 20 credits each for a total of 9 months, or within 4 quarters for a total of 12 months, spreading the workload.

Alternatively, you can complete the program in a part-time format within 3 academic years, depending on our course planning and your course selection. Completing half of the typical workload of a full-time format will equal twice the typical duration. The more flexible you are with your professional or other activities, the more courses you may be able to join in order to complete the program faster.

Teaching schedule

We schedule most courses on weekdays throughout the day, typically in blocks of 3 hours between 8.30 and 18.30, but there may be several evening courses between 19.00 and 22.00, weekend courses on Saturdays, and/or seminar courses with visiting faculty in two or more consecutive days. Some courses may be scheduled in a hybrid format, partially on-campus and partially virtual, or in a fully virtual format. When students combine on-campus and virtual courses, we refer to that as a blended program.

Additional options

After finishing the program, you can register for a 90-credit Dual Master program, or for a professional internship.

During the program, you can register for private tutoring per hour or per course, or for distance learning per course.

Before starting the program, you can register for a customized Pre-Master Foundation program designed for Bachelor-qualified students who previously studied something other than business and management, or for one or more Pre-Master Seminars designed as a refresher for those who did study business and management.

Quality assurance

Our Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is programmatically accredited via UIBS by the US-based Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) and the EU-based European Council for Business Education (ECBE). UIBS was ranked in the Global Top 200 and the European Top 60 in the 2019 QS MBA ranking, as a Tier One program in the 2020 CEO Magazine Global MBA ranking, 41st in the 2019 CEO Magazine Global Executive MBA ranking, and 4th in the 2020 CEO Magazine Global Online MBA ranking.

Metropolitan qualifications

Upon successful completion of the program, students receive their own Metropolitan Graduate Degree in Business Administration, as well as an international private (programmatically accredited) Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree awarded by UIBS from Zurich, Switzerland. The UIBS-validated degree is issued based on the recommendation of our local faculty members and Examination Committee (and of those from other campuses or partners where credits were earned).

Blockchain-verifiable

All our qualifications are awarded not only the traditional way on paper in a school-branded diploma cover but also as a blockchain-verifiable award on the Ethereum blockchain. With this cutting-edge technology, we are adding a whole new dimension to diploma verification, from which students and alumni benefit. One major benefit of secure document verification is the instant verification by employers during the recruitment process.

Career center

With the help of our dedicated career services, students and alumni get the career support they need to help their professional careers take off. We organize relevant career seminars and guest speaker events on a regular basis, and our online career center provides 24/7 access to the latest job offers and internship opportunities, as well as to a wide range of videos and articles with helpful tips and advice.

Honor society

The top 20% of our students each academic year who also achieved a GPA of 3.25 or higher are eligible to become a member of our Omicron Rho chapter of the Delta Mu Delta honor society. The local chapter welcomes alumni holding a Bachelor, Master, and/or Doctoral degree from UIBS. Delta Mu Delta membership itself is limited to students and graduates of business programs accredited by ACBSP. Delta Mu Delta recognizes and encourages the academic excellence of students at qualifying colleges and universities to create a DMD community that fosters the well-being of its individual members and the business community through lifetime membership. Membership in this exclusive honor society comes with the relevant academic regalia and framed membership certificate.