Prospectus

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Business Studies

Master

Programme

The MSc specialisation Business Studies bridges science, medicine, and business, by focusing on areas such as technology management, innovation, entrepreneurship, operations, and decision making. To achieve this, the programme forges strong relationships to other groups within the university and industry. The Business Studies specialisation brings together students from across the Leiden Science Faculty, LUMC, and beyond, with an interest in management careers, industry, and technology commercialisation. The specialisation emphasises interactive teaching that connects students with management practice. This means opportunities for students to learn through real-life business case discussions, guest speakers, and hands-on business experience in internships.

The Business Studies specialisation consist of the following courses:

Curriculum (40-60 ECTS):

  • Strategy and Technology (5 ECTS)

  • Strategic Financial Management (3 ECTS)

  • Marketing Science (3 ECTS)

  • Operations Management (4 ECTS)

  • Research Methods (5 ECTS)

  • Electives (0-20 ECTS)

  • Business Studies Internship (20 or 30 ECTS)

Qualifications for Admission

Admissible to the specialisation Business Studies are all students that are admitted to a Master Programme of the Faculty of Science or the Master Programme in Biomedical Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine (LUMC), provided that the rules and regulations of the subject Master Programme do allow so.

Application

Step 1. Make sure you have applied for the corresponding master programme (e.g. Biology & Business Studies) through Studielink. Please find the application procedures & deadlines on your master's information page.

Step 2. You will need to enroll for the business courses ivia MyStudyMap to make your registration final before the start of the semester.

Schedule

This track is organised twice:

  • Starting in September - ending in December

  • Starting in February - ending in May

The exact schedule can be found in MyTimetable.

Further information

You can find more information on our website.

Main courses Business Studies (20 ec)

Curriculum

The specialisation consists of 40-60 ECTS and comprises the following elements:

  • The mandatory courses are Strategy and Technology, Marketing Science, Strategic Financial Management, Operations Management, and Research Methods (20 ECTS). These courses are taught as a block and offered twice per year starting in September and in February. These courses are designed to familiarise students with the basic managerial toolbox and to provide an introduction to key concepts and frameworks across management subfields.

  • In addition to these mandatory courses, students can take courses from the Business Electives course portfolio, and/or of approved courses that are offered as electives elsewhere.

Brightspace

For each course a separate Brightspace page is created. Students are automatically enrolled in this course if they enroll themselves for the course in MyStudyMap. Lecture notes, assignments, important announcements etc can be found at Brightspace.

Application

Students have to register for the courses within the Business specialisation via MyStudyMap

Organisation

This specialisation is organised by Science Based Business.

For questions please contact info@sbb.leidenuniv.nl.

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Main Courses
Marketing Science 3
Operations Management 4
Strategy and Technology 5
Strategic Financial Management 3
Research Methods 5

Business Electives (0-20 ec)

The Business Studies specialisation comprises at least 40 EC, of which 20* EC should consist of the main master courses from the Business Studies programme (as listed in the overview) and minimally 20 EC of the Business Internship.

An additional maximum of 20 EC of electives can be chosen from the listed electives, or from the main MSc programme of the student. The choice of electives from the main MSc programme should be made in consultation with a study adviser (* For Biomedical Sciences only 15 EC is required.)

Students that have followed the SBB minor can choose courses from the business electives to replace the already completed courses within their track.

Note: Electives have limited places available and are offered only once per academic year.

Students that are interested in following one or more of these business electives, are asked to follow these steps:

Step 1: Check the (preliminary) schedule for the course(s) in the e-Prospectus and/or the SBB website to see which courses fit within your own schedule. Attendance for these classes is mandatory. If you need consultation about your schedule, please send an e-mail to info@sbb.leidenuniv.nl to make an appointment.
Step 2: Register for the course(s) in MyStudyMap.

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Business Electives
Entrepreneurship 3
Machine Learning for Business Analytics 3
Management Science 3
Leading and Managing People 5
AI for Strategy 3
Accounting 3
Systems Optimisation 3
Digital Transformation 5
Financing Technology Ventures 3
Lean Six Sigma 3
Marketing Analytics 3

Business Internship (20 or 30 ec)

  • During the Business Studies Internship (20 or 30 ECTS) students put into practice and further develop knowledge and skills learned in class. Students also become a subject matter expert in the field of the internship, and gain valuable experience towards the job market. Internships last between 3-6 months and can be done in the Netherlands or abroad. Examples of recent internship projects can be found on the SBB website.

As of September 1st, 2024, the 40 EC variant of the Business Internship is no longer offered. Students that started their specialisation before that may be able to complete a 40 EC Business Internship after consultation with the specialisation manager.

  • Before starting the internship the course Research Methods must be completed succesfully.
Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2
Business Internship 20/30

Business Specialisation (MSc) after Minor SBB

Students that have followed the previous SBB minor can also follow the Business Studies master specialisation.

If you have followed the SBB minor, students can replace the 15 EC of the 'management courses' (Strategy, Marketing Science, Strategic Financial Management, Operations Management*) with Business Electives (see other tab). Next to that, students will need to follow the course Research Methods (5 EC), which is not part of the minor.

In addition to the 20 EC worth of business courses, students will need to perform a business internship of 20 or 30 EC.

In total, by following both the former minor SBB and the Business Studies master specialisation, students can take more business related courses than if they were to follow either the minor or master specialisation. For students who would like to supplement their science knowledge with business knowledge, it is therefore an interesting option to choose both the minor and master specialisation.

If you have followed the SBI minor, students can't replace courses anymore and need to follow the whole Business Studies program.

*The course Technology and Operations Management is part of the minor since September 2017. Students that have done the SBB minor before that, will have to follow this course as part of the master programme.

Career Preparation

Career Orientation

During the Business Studies master specialisation program we want to provide you with the best possible preparation for the job market. In addition to knowledge, it is important that you develop skills, gain practical experience, orientate on positions & careers, and reflect on your own profile and development.

How can you use the knowledge and skills you are acquiring during your study program and apply your learnings in the job market? Which direction do you choose within your study and why? Which capabilities do you have, and what skills do you still want to learn? How do you translate the courses you choose into something you would like to do later?

These and other questions may come up at various times during your studies. You may have already discussed this with the study advisor, mentor, tutor, the Science Career Service, fellow students or made use of the Leiden University Career Zone.

All kinds of activities are organized where you get the chance to orientate yourself on the job market and gives opportunities to reflect on your own development, possibilities and (study) career profile as well. Central to this are the questions: "What are my capabilities?", "What do I want?" and "How do I achieve my goals?".

Not only is the substantive knowledge you acquired during your studies important for future employers, they also pay attention to the so-called transferable skills. These are, for example, your cognitive skills such as critical thinking, reasoning and argumentation, innovation, flexibility, initiative, appreciation of diversity, communication, responsibility and conflict resolution. Transferable skills, such as cognitive skills, are usually developed unconsciously during and outside your studies. Awareness of these and all other skills contributes to the development of yourself as a professional to the best of your capabilities.

In the e-prospectus, learning objectives have been formulated for each subject to inform you which subjects are offered to you that contribute to the development of your (study) career profile and preparation for the job market.
In addition to the assortment of activities related to career choices, various workshops and courses are organized as well that should help you to develop your skills or reflect on them. You then will be given the opportunity to think about subjects such as:

  • Which skills do I already have and which ones can I still learn?

  • In which subjects do I want to specialize further?

  • Which subject do I choose for my Master Research Project?

  • Which electives suit my wishes for the future

  • What else do I want to learn besides my studies

  • Where do I want to work later?

  • What are my work values?

  • How do I present myself when applying and at networking events?

  • How do I build a network and how do you do that, networking?

Activities

Business Studies Specialization year

  • Company guest lectures and presentations

  • Colloquia Nights

  • Workshops and Career Colleges Science Career Service

  • De Leidsche Flesch meetings

  • Master Career Orientation Day via De Leidsche Flesch

  • Science Career Event

  • Master's Open day (Leiden University)

Next to the above activities, an important part of the master specialization is the mandatory Business Internship. By doing this Business Internship you can put your learned knowledge into practice, discover the work life at a company and at the same time it helps you as a good preparation for the job market.

LU Career Zone

The Leiden University Career Zone is the website for students and alumni of Leiden University to support their (study) career planning. You will find advice, information, video recordings of webinars and tools such as professional tests to get an idea of your personal profile. You can also explore positions and sectors, you will find tips about CV, job application, LinkedIn and there is a vacancy platform that you can make use of.

Mentornetwerk

Leiden University likes to prepare students and young alumni well for the job market. For this we use the knowledge and experience of Leiden alumni. To bring students and young alumni with questions about their careers into contact with experienced alumni, Leiden University has established the Mentornetwerk. Students and young alumni can register for free.

Contact

Do you have questions about your (study) career choices and has the above information not been able to help you further? Please contact the Business Studies programme coordinator.