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Bachelor
Business Administration
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The study programme

Business Administration is a broad discipline. You take courses such as finance, marketing, accounting, strategy, international business, business ethics and data management. These are all essential aspects of running a company efficiently and effectively.

The programme

You will complete many assignments in small teams. This process will teach you to cooperate quickly and effectively with fellow students, each of whom has a different (potentially international) background. Employers highly value this skill as well.

During the 1st year of this Bachelor's the lectures will be given in English. You will have the option to take your seminars in the 1st year in Dutch if you prefer.

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Principles of Economics and Business 1
    Period 1
    6
  • Strategy and Organisation
    Period 1
    6
  • Principles of Economics and Business 2
    Period 1
    Period 2
    Period 3
    6
  • Business Research Methods
    Period 2
    6
  • Economics
    Period 2
    6
  • Organisational Behaviour
    Period 4
    6
  • Quantitative Data Analysis 1
    Period 4
    6
  • Project Qualitative Research Methods and Analysis
    Period 4
    Period 5
    Period 6
    6
  • Business Operations and Processes
    Period 5
    6
  • Financial Accounting 1 for Business
    Period 5
    6
COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Management Accounting 1 for Business
    Period 1
    6
  • Marketing
    Period 1
    6
  • Finance 1 for Business
    Period 2
    6
  • Quantitative Data Analysis 2
    Period 2
    6
  • Project: Quantitative Research Methods and Analysis
    Period 2
    Period 3
    6
  • Information and Data Management
    Period 4
    6
  • Restricted-choice electives
    Period 4
    6
  • Project: Company Assignment
    Period 4
    Period 5
    Period 6
    6
  • Business Law and Ethics
    Period 5
    6
  • International Business
    Period 5
    6
COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Free-choice electives: Minor's programme, or Studying abroad, or Company Internship, or Electives
    Period 1
    Period 2
    Period 3
    30
  • Your study week

    Expanding your knowledge and at the same time developing your skills is key. That is why you will participate in a variety of teaching activities. Most of the courses are evaluated with one or more tests. This is usually a written examination, but it can also be an essay, a report, or a presentation.

    Lectures
    Lectures give an introductory overview into the course content. You will attend them together with your fellow students. You take notes and have the opportunity to ask questions.

    Seminars
    During seminars you will discuss specific subjects from the lectures in smaller groups. Exercises and practice assignments will help you to become adept with the theory.

    Self-study
    During your study week, you spend time to study theory, go over lectures and seminars, and prepare for exams and presentations.

  • Year 1: develop a steady basis

    The first course that you take is called Principles of Economics and Business. You learn about fundamental themes and theories in economics, business economics and business administration.

    4 business perspectives

    Business administration is a multidisciplinary science that draws on different disciplines for solving business problems. We’ve divided the various disciplines into 4 pillars:

    • organisation
    • people
    • economics
    • methods

    The courses in this year are placed under these 4 themes.

  • Year 2: deepen your basis and work on a business case

    In the second year, you dive deeper into specific business functions like marketing or finance and combine these later during courses such as:

    • International Business: learn about doing business (and collaborating) across borders: an absolute must in the international business community;  
    • Information and Data management: learn about the digital revolution and its impact on companies.

    Real-life business case
    To finish off this year, you work on your first real business case. In this assignment, you use your knowledge and skills to develop a plan for setting up your own business.

  • Year 3: internship, study abroad or minor

    You have the freedom to structure this last year according to your own interests:

    1. Choose one of these options:
      Do an internship: work at a company where you can put the experience and skills that you have gained into practice.
      Study abroad: spend a semester studying at a different university to give you an exciting international experience.
      Take a minor: expand your knowledge and stand out from the crowd with a mini study programme in a completely different field such as Philosophy, Law or Italian Studies. You can choose between 121 Dutch and 73 English minors at the UvA.
      - Deepen your knowledge: choose between more than 40 specialised courses in the area of business and economics to deepen your business knowledge, ranging from Intercultural Skills to Consulting Methods, Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Analytics. 
    2. Choose a specialisation that suits you: 'Accountancy and Control', 'Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity', 'Finance' or 'Management in the Digital Age'.
  • Thesis

    Is there a particular recent development that sparks your enthusiasm or do you have a great idea of your own? Writing your thesis, you have the chance to explore it fully while simultaneously training your ability to independently conduct relevant academic research. Your thesis is the final requirement to be completed for your graduation. Under the supervision of our staff, you will follow a clearly defined path that will lead to your graduation with an internationally recognised Bachelor's in Science (BSc) degree.

  • Watch the recording of the online information session
    Online information session
    Online information session

    Dr. Frank Belschak, programme director of the Bachelor’s programme in Business Administration, explains what you can expect of this challenging Bachelor's programme during this online information session. Additionally, 2 of our students share their experiences with this Bachelor’s and student life and our Admissions officer explains which steps you need to take to successfully participate in our selection procedure.

Copyright: EB
Hi, I'm Ana! I'm a Bachelor’s student in Business Administration from Georgia. Got questions about studying at the UvA? Get in touch. Chat with Ana
Additional options during your studies
Student review
How does the selection procedure work?

Bachelor’s student Nika shares her experiences with the selection procedure

Real-life case: Strategic choices when prices rise

Food prices are rising due to scarcity of certain ingredients. Now the food industry is facing the problem on how to handle this situation. Imagine you are a potato chips producer. Potato and oil prices are rising by 20%. What do you do? Do you increase the price of chips packages by 20%? Will customers accept an increase in price of 20%? Negotiating with supermarkets to maintain low prices can be risky. Another option is to consider reducing the quantity in a bag of chips. Customers are not likely to notice a decrease in package sizes as easily as an increase in price, but is it ethical? Isn’t it deceiving customers?

Responsibility, sustainability and ethics integrated to the curriculum

In this Bachelor’s programme, you will not only learn all about international business, finance, strategy and marketing, but also about the concepts and theories of sustainability, ethics and corporate social responsibility. You will learn how ethical, social and sustainability issues factor into business decisions and can be integrated into business strategy and management practices.

How are these themes integrated into the curriculum?

  • Year 1: Principles of Economics and Business 1 and 2

    The course Principles of Economics and Business 1 and 2 focusses on main theoretical concepts in economics and business administration. Through practical assignments based on current topics in the media and real business cases, you will learn how to apply the literature to a current problem. These problems are related to ethics, corporate social responsibility or sustainability.

  • Year 2: Business Law and Ethics

    In the 2nd year, you take the Business Law and Ethics course, where you study topics such as data protection, privacy, business ethics, liability for human rights violations and international dispute resolution.

  • Year 3: electives

    In the third year you can choose several different elective courses on sustainability or ethics & corporate social responsibility (e.g., Environmental Economics, Social Entrepreneurship, Non-Growth Entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Responsibility).

Throughout this 3-year Bachelor’s programme, ethics, (corporate social) responsibility and sustainability will remain important topics and come back during the different business courses like Marketing, Finance, Economics or Organisational Behaviour.

Copyright: abs
You have to be independent and self-reliant Halil Kaynak, student BSc Business Administration Read Halil's review
Frequently asked questions
  • Is there a difference between Business Administration and International Business Administration?

    The main difference is the name of the degree programme. UvA’s Bachelor’s programme in Business Administration is taught in English. The students, teaching staff and study materials are international and students have the opportunity to go on an exchange to a university in another country, allowing them to study abroad for 6 months. In addition, the curriculum includes specialist courses on internationalisation, such as International Business and International Management. In short, the UvA’s Business Administration Bachelor’s programme’s focus on international business is reflected in its curriculum.

  • What's the difference between the Bachelor's in Business Administration and Economics and Business Economics?

    Although these 2 Bachelor’s programmes share certain aspects, there are major differences between them. Economics and Business Economics is an economics-focused, analytical degree programme that largely seeks to address mathematical issues. As a consequence, Economics and Business Economics students spend most of their time looking at issues relating to figures, such as in accountancy and finance, from a business administration perspective. Business Administration deals with everything involved in managing a business, especially strategic aspects and aspects related to people (customers, staff). This makes Business Administration a multidisciplinary Bachelor’s programme that involves a greater variety of disciplines than Economics and Business Economics.

  • Do you need to excel in mathematics before you start with Business Administration?

    As part of this 3-year Bachelor’s programme, you will learn how to solve business related problems with the help of a variety of disciplines. One of those is mathematics. In addition, you’ll acquire extensive knowledge on bookkeeping, finances and statistics - disciplines for which you will need to use your mathematical skills. This means that you will have an advantage if you are good at and enjoy mathematics.

  • Will you be mentored during your studies?

    To make the transition from secondary school to university as easy as possible, you will receive extra guidance in the 1st year and will be assigned a tutor. This tutor will introduce you to both the campus and the city of Amsterdam, so you will quickly feel at home. This senior student will also give you tips on how to study smart and you can discuss your study goals and progress. Also during the rest of your studies you can count on support from our study advisers, mentors, tutors and our Economics and Business Career Centre. You can contact our experienced student advisers for questions about your Bachelor's programme, study planning or personal circumstances that may affect your studies.

  • Where can I find more information on the selection procedure and the selection test?

    On this page about application and admission you find answers to frequently asked questions about enrolment, entry requirements, the selection procedure and selection test.