Understanding today’s global economic and business landscape requires insights from both economics and business studies. Therefore the specialisation International Business (IB) combines both fields of study, focusing specifically on their relevance for firms that operate in an international environment.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ib
In this specialisation, you can opt for a Master’s in Business Administration or a Master’s in Economics. The difference lies in the focus of the studies:
In this specialisation, you will be offered a strategic perspective on ways of gaining a competitive advantage in the global marketplace that aim to create both economic and social value. This suggests adopting a balanced outlook on relations with market and nonmarket stakeholders for a sustainable performance, seeking responsiveness and global efficiencies in marketing efforts, and innovating in emerging and developing markets.
In this specialisation you are taught to answer questions such as: What are the consequences of the rise of emerging economies, such as China and India, for the structures and strategies of multinationals? How does the success of a cross border merger or acquisition depend on differences in institutions and cultures between host and parent countries? And what are the effects of trade agreements on the (location) strategies of multinationals?
- A broad perspective on issues that are relevant for globally operating firms
- A focus on recent scientific insights and modern methods of applied research
- An excellent reputation in the Netherlands and abroad
- Small group teaching and close contact with professors and their research
- Good career prospects across the world
In the IB/Economics specialisation, we combine the latest economic theories with the cultural aspect of doing international business. Therefore, graduates will understand that doing business globally requires more than an understanding of economic principles. In the IB/Business Administration specialisation, we push the boundaries of our conventional thinking by reflecting theoretically and empirically on what mainstream international business perspectives mean for emerging and developing markets as well as nonmarket actors for the mutual creation of economic and social value. Graduates will be able to give their future employees a new and fresh look on the process of globalisation and how their company can manoeuvre and position themselves in multiple countries and markets.
One of the most important skills graduates of the Master’s specialisation in International Business will acquire is to report independently and thoroughly on various issues within the broad realm of international business. You will learn to include empirical and theoretical studies as well as the outcomes of your own independent research, not as a means to an end but in as far as it is relevant to the given advice. In other words, creating a policy paper of academic quality that is both understandable and practicable for businesses. And in order to remain a strong, self-sufficient professional you will learn how to continually maintain a critical attitude towards your own work and that of others in your field.
Our graduates have the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to work for large and medium sized international companies, consultancy firms, government and not-for-profit organisations, banks or within research or education. In particular, it will be multinational enterprises and consultancy firms that advise on international mergers and acquisitions, that will be very interested in your skills and know-how after completing the International Economics and Business Master’s specialisation.
The Master’s specialisation International Economics & Business looks at all aspects of both international financing as well as international entrepreneurship, of both the flow of capital as well as the flow of trade.
- International financing
Students will study the latest developments in financial markets, monetary policy, exchange and interest rates along with their consequences for the risk management and finances of firms. Should a firm seek its financial backing for an international expansion in the parent or host country? To answer this question you will not just need knowledge of exchange rates and such but also need to understand the economic system of the host country. The type of service/product a firm has to offer often determines the course of action. Can financial backing for a certain sector be gotten at banks or is it more likely to be gotten in the form of private equities?
- International entrepreneurship
As for international entrepreneurship, students will take an in-depth look at different options for expanding abroad: opening branches or factories, outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. Students will deliberate the pros and cons of certain options. Is a joint venture desirable, or, as is the case in China, is it mandatory? What could hinder a merger? What activities could we outsource abroad without quality loss?
- Differences in institutions and culture
Students will come to understand that the success rate of cross border business is not just about economic principles but is also influenced by differences in institutions and culture of host and parent countries. Therefore, besides the firm's profitability, this Master’s specialisation also focuses on the differences in formal rules (institutions) and informal customs and forms of communication (culture). These aspects are relevant for almost all international organisational activities.
Important to note is that this Master’s specialisation is about the multinational firm and the economic, social and political environment it has to operate in. It is not about internal organisational processes, such as personnel management or account management. We focus on issues concerning global marketing and understanding the general international arena that these companies engage in. This knowledge enables students to determine if expansion to certain regions and economic systems is feasible or even desirable. Can we protect our intellectual property in country X? Is a joint venture our best option or is it our only option?
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ib
This course involves combining communication studies, applied linguistics, international management and intercultural communication.
Economic globalisation and rapid developments in ICT mean that many organisations now operate on an international scale, or at the very least interact with consumers, clients and/or partner organisations in other countries. Even ‘local’ companies and organisations may have a multicultural workforce, or offer their services or products abroad. As a result, communication has become increasingly international and intercultural.
Organisations seek to create communication strategies that support their overall strategy and objectives. In doing so, they need to interact with stakeholders who may have a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. These stakeholders may include employees, customers, suppliers, financial backers or even local governments. In the Master’s specialisation in International Business Communication, you’ll learn about the all factors, including cultural and linguistic ones, that play a role in communication and need to be taken into account in order to create effective communication strategies.
In your future career as a business executive or communication specialist, you’ll need to be able to assess the quality, reliability and validity of the research that informs your practical decisions ‘on the job’. In other words, you’ll need to be able to judge whether existing research – as well as your own – complies with the ground rules of academic rigor. The programme therefore places emphasis not only on training your research skills but also on developing your awareness of what ‘good research’ entails.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ibc
- This is one of very few programmes in Europe (and the only programme in the Netherlands) that also focuses on the cultural and linguistic dimensions of international business communication.
- The specialisation deals with theory and insights that are relevant to achieving effective communication in various organisational contexts; from interpersonal communication in a meeting with (multicultural) colleagues, to marketing communication aimed at reaching international target audiences.
- Students do a (group) internship in which they work towards solving a particular communication issue or answering a specific communication question for a company or organisation. This provides hands-on experience in a relevant organisational setting.
- This specialisation attracts students from different countries and because admission to the programme is selective (max. 50 students per year), you’ll be part of a small group of highly motivated Dutch and international students. This means that to a certain extent, your learning environment is international as well.
- Guest speakers are regularly invited to share their knowledge about current developments in business, management and organisational communication.
- Although the main focus is on international communication in larger, multinational companies, graduates of this programme will be able to apply what they’ve learned in a variety of organisations – for profit, non-profit or governmental institutes.
Languages form the heart of communication and that is why this Master’s specialisation is taught within Radboud University’s Faculty of Arts. The programme places a strong focus on the role that languages play in effective corporate communication. Of course, the languages used are not the only factor to consider in a multicultural environment - which is why you will be encouraged to also consider communication issues and strategy from an international management perspective.
In short, you’ll explore the impact of globalisation on business communication, the role of linguistic and cultural diversity in corporate communication, and the human and operational consequences of organisations’ language policy or strategies. In doing so, you’ll also come to understand how such issues can shape and affect an organisation’s performance.
With a Master’s specialisation in International Business Communication, you could pursue a career in government, semi-government, business or academia. For example, our graduates work as internal or external communication managers or press spokespeople in companies, government departments, health institutions or non-profit organisations. Many work in marketing communications at multinational companies, as communication trainers for consultancies, as social media managers or as PR consultants.
- International perspectives
Since the programme focuses on communication in international contexts, and on communication with international target groups, a sizable number of graduates have found jobs outside the Netherlands or with international organisations operating from the Netherlands.
- Wide range of communication functions
Job openings for our graduates can cover a wide range of communication functions, organisational types and (business) sectors. This is because organisations have increasingly come to realise that effective communication is essential to all organisational functions (e.g. marketing, PR, HRM, R&D, finance), and have made a real effort over the past decades to professionalise communications, making (international) business communication an increasingly important discipline.
Corporate communication involves orchestrating internal and external communication instruments to support an organisation’s core activities and to manage its relationship with different types of stakeholders. Due to the internationalisation of markets and businesses, corporate communication has gone global in recent years. Organisations that operate internationally need to take different cultures and language backgrounds into account when designing their communication. Culture and language(s) may affect international communication at three levels:
- The management level: e.g. when CEOs communicate with internal or external audiences
- The organisational level: e.g. when a company communicates about its Corporate Social Responsibility policy
- The marketing level: e.g. when products or services are promoted to an international audience in (corporate) advertising.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ibc
Our Master's programme in Business Administration - unlike other similar programmes - emphasises the social processes that constitute organisations. How do social processes determine the ways in which organisations and management operate and perform? In addition, in Nijmegen we have chosen an integrated approach. This focus on the big picture, including social relationships is what creates a better understanding of the importance of good management and can eventually improve the performance of organisations of all kinds.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/business/
Before the programme starts, you will choose a specialisation:
- Business Analysis and Modelling
- Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Management
- International Business
- Marketing
- Organisational Design and Development
- Strategic Human Resource Management
- Strategic Management
This programme is closely associated with the research carried out within the Institute of Management Research, where the focus is on research into relationship management, institutional dynamics, decision making and innovative management. You will become familiar with both the theoretical and practical aspects of your special subject. The programme combines a thorough training in methodology with action-based learning: you apply the theory you have learned to concrete cases and learn to develop appropriate solutions. And in our Visa Skills Lab, students use computers to make scenario analyses and simulate decision-making processes within organisations.
We provide internationally oriented education and research training. Our students have the opportunity to take part in a Master’s level project on European Human Resource Management, a cooperative venture among six leading European business schools and universities. Here, students work in a multi-cultural team and follow a consultancy in-company project in one of the six countries involved.
- Career Perspective for Strategic Management
The Master's specialisation in Strategegic Management is an advanced study that prepares future leaders for the business world. It offers thorough knowledge of strategic processes from a disciplinary perspective, linked with insights from other business areas. Therefore, the Master's specialisation in Strategic Management trains students in conducting academic research and decision-making and helps them to develop ideas of underlying business solutions based on a thorough academic understanding of business practice. Graduates of our master program face a stimulating future career. Our graduates are greatly valued by their employers for their analytical skills and sound academic understanding of business practices. A master degree in business administration with a specialisation in Strategic Management offers students a wide range of career perspectives, such as consultant, business analyst, researcher and manager.
- Career Perspective for Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Management
The Master's specialisation Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Management prepares you for the function of a diversity professional in public and/or private organisations. Our graduates are likely to be tasked with the development and implementation of specialized gender and diversity policies and/or diversity and inclusion programs, or can be employed in more general talent management and/or organisational change jobs. Students are trained to become critical academic professionals, and are well positioned to enter national or international management trainee programs. Other jobs, such as policy advisor, program manager, consultant or recruiter are also possible. Students with an interest in academic research have the option to pursue a PhD.
- Career Perspective for Organisational Design and Development
As the Master's specialisation Organisational Design and Development engages you with the construction of labour organisations, the degree offers you a career perspective as a consultant, a staff member or a researcher on redesign and change processes within organisations. Later on in your career, you may move on to senior management positions.
- Career Perspective for Marketing
A Master's degree in business administration with a specialisation in marketing offers you a wide range of career perspectives, such as brand manager, product manager, management consultant, marketing researcher and account manager. Later on in your career, you may move on to senior positions, such as marketing director, or even to a CEO position.
- Career Perspective for Strategic Human Resource Management
The Master's specialisation in Human Resource Management focuses on new insights into personnel and organisation issues. This involves, among other things, using the human resources concept and resource-based staff and organisation management. In addition, topical themes are addressed such as competence management, training management and culture management. The Master's specialisation in Human Resource Management is therefore interesting for students who want to contribute to the development and implementation of personnel management in organisations in the role of adviser, scientific researcher or staff member.
- Career Perspective for International Business
The IB programme prepares students for a position as an International Manager or an International Professional in international business. The manager or professional is able to use a scientific methodological framework to analyse developments in the international external and internal environment of MNEs by looking at management processes from a cross-cultural point of view.
- Career Perspective for Business Analysis and Modelling
Most of the students in the BAM specialisation and in the two-year European Masters in System Dynamics (of which BAM is the Nijmegen component) will find jobs at advisory bureaus or the strategic planning departments of large companies.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/business/
The Master in International Business and Management programme is aimed at graduates of usiness administration or other businessrelated disciplines. Suitable candidates can be admitted directly into this master’s programme and work experience is not required. You will apply business and management theories to current international business practice. The programme provides the perfect preparation for a successful career in international business. There is a strong focus on the key professional skills of intercultural communication, creative thinking, personal development and leadership. It prepares ambitious graduates for international management and consulting positions in, for example, the areas of marketing, HRM, supply chain management and finance and accounting. Our alumni are based around the world and can be found in companies and organisations of all sizes, from consultancies and start-ups to large multinationals.
You will study various dimensions and aspects of globalisation, notably as this relates to socio-economic and spatial development for different parts of the world, the Global South in particular. Core issues on which this master specialisation will focus include: changing relationships of global and local societies through the rise of new social and spatial inequalities brought about by global processes, migration and mobility and the emergence of transnational identities versus local interpretations in so-called multicultural societies. Overall we give particular emphasis to the relationship with urban contexts of these issues, but do also link it up with rural domains, e.g. in studying sustainability of livelihood strategies and development policies in different regions.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/gmd
Our graduates are employed in a wide range of jobs in- and outside the Netherlands. To give some insight in the scope of the work they do we have categorised this as follows, adding that this list is not exhaustive:
1. Working for the Dutch government at local, regional, national and international levels regarding development issues such as poverty, livelihoods, social exclusion and empowerment:
- Policymaker / programme researcher for city municipalities focusing on integration and multi-cultural issues, especially in the low-income neighbourhoods;
- Policy development expert for Provincial Governments in The Netherlands;
- Policy expert or programme/field officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Programme officer with Nuffic (Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher education)
2. Working as an NGO practitioner in development cooperation:
- Field officer for Max Havelaar or Fair Trade, visiting developing countries to establish business contracts with local farmer organisations;
- Research officer for the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (http://www.cbi.nl/) promoting and facilitating entry of entrepreneurs from developing countries in the European market.
- Researcher/programme officer with development aid related organisations such as: Cordaid, VSO, SNV, Novib/Oxfam, Hivos and COS (Association of Centres for international cooperation at the provincial level), or a migrant (umbrella) organisation.
3. Pursuing an academic career (research and education) with one of many research institutes studying migration, globalisation, integration or development issues in the Netherlands and abroad:
- Conducting highly innovative PhD research on migration and development, health and urbanisation, the rural impact of globalisation, etc. (see http://www.nwo.nl/ for past research proposals)
- Working for a research institute/organisation involved with migration and globalisation: e.g. MPI, IOM, Refugee Studies Centre in Oxford
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/gmd
