International Business - English - 4 years - Full-time
The IB programme will prepare you for a successful international business career. Anywhere in the world. You’ll build strong foundations in economics, marketing, sales, finance and management. Lectures and workshops in the various modules aim will provide you with in-depth knowledge and experience working in a global team. You’ll get to put knowledge into action during a semester-long internship at an international company.
Structure of International Business - English - 4 years - Full-time
Lectures
20 - 24hours per week
Self-study
20hours per week
Projects
10hours per week
Study credits
60in year one
Year 1
The first year is the foundation (propaedeutic) year
Year one is the foundation (propaedeutic) year. The first two semesters in year one, will give you the theoretical basis you need to understand international business in its various forms.
Timetable
Year 2
Delve deeper
In year two, you get to build on the knowledge and skills you acquired during your first year courses, but that’s not all. You can also attend courses like E-business, Sustainability and Business Ethics and Management Information Systems. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to learn a foreign language. You can choose from French, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Russian. International Business (IB) students know the importance of working alongside other cultures in our international classroom and language electives. This intercultural approach adds value to everything we do.
Years 2 and 3 (semesters 3 to 6)
In years two and three, you get to build on the knowledge and practical skills you acquired during your first year courses. While some course in year two will help you gain deeper understandings of subjects that were covered in the foundation year, others will add to your business management tool kit.
IB works closely with a Business Advisory Council, a committee of international business professionals, alumni and industry experts to evaluate and update the curriculum.
Courses you can expect in semester 3 and 4
- Innovation and Creativity
- International Business Awareness
- Management of Information as Ditigal Citizens
- Ethics and Social Responsibility
- Intercultural Proficiency
- Marketing and Sales
- Finance and Accounting
- Operations and Supply Chain Management
- Organisation and People
- Business Research
Year 4
Final thesis
It’s year of the daunting thesis! Well, that might be the case if you were to write a 30,000-word masterpiece on a boring subject. But what if we told you that your thesis could possibly save an SME or international company thousands of Euros? And what if your thesis can land you a well-paid job after graduation? On IB, most students write their thesis about their internship company. One student analysed the Dutch consumer market to see if it was ready for Tom’s of Maine’s natural toothpaste. Another student researched RealeGroup’s cybercrime insurance market potential in Turin. Other graduates have landed themselves jobs at Karl Lagerfeld, Nike, BlueLynx, BMW and Boston Consulting Group on the strength of their final thesis.
Study Abroad
You’ll get to spend a semester on an exchange as an IB student. You won’t be stuck for choice with 170 partner universities in around 43 countries to choose from. During this semester you’ll experience different cultures, teaching and learning styles and take new business modules. This year, over 200 of our students took their exchange semesters in the USA, Canada, Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, South- Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany and Sweden.
One of the IB students tells about her internship in Peru.
Internships
Once you have some theory under your belt and practical training in classroom projects, you are ready to put these to the test in the professional field on an internship. You can complete your internship at a company abroad or in The Netherlands. You’ll engage in the day-to-day running of a global business while developing your intercultural, personal and professional skills.
Your lecturers
Minors
Shape your degree
Our minors give you the time to dive deep into a business subject, specialise and broaden your expertise. They are made up of lectures, workshops, projects and guest spots by industry experts. We offer a wide range of IB minors that get updated every year.
Examples of minors include:- Business and Service in Marketing
- Branding and Trends in Marketing
- Finance
- Supply Chain Management
- Human Resource Management
- Sustainable Business
- Business in Asia - Business in Africa - Business in Latin-America
Working methods
Lectures, seminars, study visits, self-study, group activities and project work
Each semester CFO’s and CEO’s from the business world give guest lectures. Last year, Niels Vink, a manager of data analytics at PricewaterhouseCoopers, gave an inspiring talk on how to influence human behaviour.
The curriculum is focused on developing you as a business professional. You’ll progress steadily from lectures and workshops to internships and work experience. From theory to practice. To do this we run courses such as Management Skills, Intercultural Competency, Communication in International Business and Personal and Professional Development throughout the programme.
News and Events
Contact the study
You can find us on Facebook as well.
Contact a student
You can email with one of our students
Karlijn Damen
Contact Karlijn
Thanh Tran Trung
Hi, I am Miro and I come from Slovakia. My hobbies are cooking, travelling, sports or hanging out with my friends and socializing. Do you have a question about study life at the Hague University of Applied Sciences, finding a room, life in The Hague and Holland, or any other? Please let me know by sending me the form and I shall email you back as soon as possible.
Contact MiroMichelle Groenendijk
My name is Michelle. I am 22 years old and live in The Hague. I am currently a third-year International Business student minoring in Supply Chain and Operations. Next spring (2019), as part of IB, I will be going on exchange to Osaka, Japan. If you have any questions about IB, or if you want more information about my minor or my exchange please feel free to contact me and I will help you!
Contact MichelleAssistance during your studies
Mentoring, coaching and advice
As an IB student you’ll be paired with a mentor to support your personal and professional development on and off campus. In year one, your mentor can act as a sounding board and help you settle in as you leave home and get used to an international classroom and the Dutch culture. Later on, mentors can support your academic growth, help you face any challenges and be on hand during semesters abroad and internships.
Collect ECTS
Binding Study Advice (BSA)
To continue your degree programme after the first year, you need to earn 50 of the 60 credits (ECTS). Some degree programmes also set other requirements to pass onto the second year of the course. This could, for example, be a specific subject that you must pass and that counts towards the 50 credits. We call this a qualitative requirement. If you meet the credit requirements as well as the qualitative requirement where applicable, you will receive a positive binding study advice (BSA) from the Examination Board at the end of your first year.
If you earn less than 50 credits and do not meet the qualitative requirements where applicable, you will receive a binding negative study advice and will have to leave the degree programme. This is why this advice is called a Binding Negative Study Advice (NBSA).
Your academic progress may be affected by personal circumstances such as illness or the professional practice of a sport. It is important that you inform the Examination Board immediately of any personal circumstances that might apply to you. The Board can take these into account when issuing its study advice.
Read all the rules for the binding study advice in Chapter 7 of the Programme and Examination Regulations (PER) for your degree programme.