MBA in Netherlands at Amsterdam Graduate Business School

Amsterdam Graduate Business School:
The Amsterdam MBA is offered by the Amsterdam Business School, the business school from the University of Amsterdam. It has an internationally renowned faculty and is set in the cosmopolitan, cultural and business centre that is Amsterdam. We have been offering business education for 85 years. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is the key qualification for managers to advance their careers. Our courses are stimulating, demanding and comply fully with the specification of an MBA as defined by EQUIS and AMBA. Our programme is designed to incorporate three Rs: rigour, relevance and reliability. The language of instruction is English.

A multidisciplinary general management programme such as an MBA has to be taught with academic rigour. Practicalities of applying a MBA differ across industry, geography and time and this is why we emphasise the importance of understanding underlying theories. We link theory to practice, centre our work on real life examples, bring the business world into the classroom and take the student into the business world. Last, we think reliability is important - students need to be confident in their knowledge while at the same time understanding its limitations. A business manager needs to be able to talk to various specialists in their own language but also know when to defer to their expertise.

Leadership programme:
We are aware of the importance of leadership competencies in personal professional development and therefore have initiated the Amsterdam Leadership Programme. Our goal is to give students a high-quality business and management education to enable them to develop into effective leaders. Leaders who convey what our MBA stands for: internationally oriented and with a strong understanding of the importance of a genuine personal approach.

Tailormade approach, international study trip:
By choosing 2-4 electives, the Amsterdam MBA can be tailored to your own business interests. Also an international study trip is part of the core course curriculum.

Diverse student profile:
With more than 19 nationalities represented, the Amsterdam MBA has a very diverse student population. The full-time programme attracts over 90% non-Dutch students and even for the part-time programme this is close to 60%. The average age is between 28 and 32, and women make up for 40% of our classes. The diversity, combined with the high level of interactivity of the course provides an additional dimension to your learning experience.

Master in International Finance (MIF):
Another master programme taught by the ABS' renowned Finance Group, is the Master in International Finance (MIF). The MIF programme introduces students to cutting-edge developments in international corporate finance, asset management and banking. The curriculum aims to prepare students for a professional rather than an academic career. Nevertheless, high academic standards are maintained and students are introduced to the most recent research in respective areas. At the same time, experts from the financial services industry are regularly involved in developing and evaluating the curriculum, thus guaranteeing that the course material offered has a high degree of practical relevance.

What you learn when obtaining your MBA is as important as the qualification itself. An MBA must cover a wide range of subjects in a limited time. We believe our graduates should have a sound understanding of the subjects they have studied. However, the electives on offer may be adjusted to reflect student demand, changes in the business, both practical and academic.

Schedule:
The MBA is offered as a full-time, one year course and a part-time, two-year course. The exact dates for the programme change from year to year but the introduction days, an enjoyable opportunity to meet the other students, familiarise yourself with the university facilities and get to know Amsterdam, are usually towards the end of the first full week in September, with the academic courses starting the following week. The electives and core courses will finish around mid June. There is usually a break in teaching of about three weeks around Christmas and the New Year and a week in early spring.

MBA full-time programme

Block 1
Corporate Finance
Corporate Strategy
Quantitative Methods
Financial Accounting

Block 2
Corporate Finance
Corporate Strategy
International Business and Economics (part 1)

Block 3
Corporate and Tax Law
Marketing Strategy
International Business and Economics (part 2: international study trip)
Elective

Block 4
Information systems
HRM
The Executive Process
Elective
Summer: Master thesis and Internship (optional)

The Amsterdam Leadership program runs throughout the year.

Part-time programme
The part-time programme is an evening programme designed to allow students to work full-time while completing the programme. Two nights a week the classes take place, taking up between 6-8 hours. Class preparation, casework and assignments will demand a further 10-12 hours a week. On Fridays no courses are scheduled.

Consultancy project and thesis
At the final stage of their MBA programme students can choose to do an in-company internship. Some choose this option to gain work experience in The Netherlands, others use the internship to gather data for their thesis. All students conclude the MBA programme with an individual thesis, under the supervision of MBA faculty.

Please find below a list of the admission requirements:

- Bachelor or Master degree: Applicants are required to hold a recognized Bachelor or Master degree;
- Work experience: A minimum of three years of relevant business experience is required;
- GMAT or GRE: The GMAT or GRE is compulsory for all applicants to the full-time programme. Applicants with a PhD may apply for an exemption. We require a minimum GMAT score of around 600 and a minimum analytical writing score of around 4.0. The required minimum GRE score is around 620 (quantitative) and around 4.0 for analytical writing (the combined score should be 1200 or higher). If you apply to the part-time programme you can opt to take our in-house test as a substitute for the GMAT or GRE. You can ask the test institutions to send your score report directly to us.
- English language proficiency: We require evidence of English language proficiency. Minimum TOEFL score: 100. Minimum IELTS score: 7.0. You can be exempted from this requirement if you are a native speaker of English, you have 2 years of international professional experience, you have taken an English-taught Bachelor or Master degree, (please note that your diploma or transcripts should mention that the language of instruction was English. If the language of instruction is not mentioned on the transcript or diploma, you will need to submit a letter from your higher education institute stating that the curriculum is completely taught in English), you obtained a Dutch VWO high school diploma.