International Financial Management and Control - English - 4 years - Full-time
On IFMC we’ll prepare you for your future career. You’ll get a basic grounding in all-things finance - and so much more. They’ll be real-life case studies, assignments and business scenarios, taught by lecturers with stories to tell from their own international business careers.
You’ll see finance from both entrepreneurial and ethical perspectives and learn all about management and marketing, with the practical experience a university of applied sciences offers. But the main focus will be on financial and cost accounting, using economic data to make a difference.
In year one, you’ll get a solid foundation in finance and business administration and set up investment plans for regional, national and international companies.
In your second year, you’ll get a ‘finance-plus’ grounding, solving business issues during hands-on group projects. You’ll also choose from elective courses, including Entrepreneurship and Data Analytics.
In year three, you’ll start your journey as a finance professional on your first internship at a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), government institution or multinational organisation either in the Netherlands, or anywhere in the world.
In your final year, you’ll take two of our cutting-edge minors at THUAS or one of our global partner universities. You can also take two pre-masters minors, which will prepare you for the three masters degrees in Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Control, and Accounting and Auditing at Erasmus University, Rotterdam and allow you to take the masters in one year. Finally, you’ll complete your graduation project during a second internship, making sense of the numbers and applying calculations to real scenarios.
Structure of International Financial Management and Control - English - 4 years - Full-time
Lectures
20hours per week
Self-study
20hours per week
Projects
10hours per week
Study credits
60in year one
Year 1
The first year is the introductory (propadeutic) year
In your first year you’ll find out why finance is at the heart of a business. You’ll learn about the financial and non-financial impact of company operations and understand the crucial role of a financial controller. Interpreting numbers with an analytical approach, you’ll be able to assess company performance.
Each term’s main theme is explored during a hands-on project. You’ll work in groups with people from all over the world - over half of IFMC students are international. As well as doing lots of calculations, you’ll also learn about Excel and creating dashboards with Power BI. You’ll improve your business communication and research skills and get a basic understanding of statistics, management and marketing.
Timetable
Year 2
Go figure!
In the second year, you’ll investigate an organisation, analysing its numbers and learning how to turn advice into profits. You’ll work in project groups and use IT tools, such as Excel and SAP, to get a better understanding of a company. You’ll go beyond the numbers and discover how a company can make an impact in society and different cultures.
It’s not all study. There are other opportunities to grow as an individual and connect with your fellow students outside the classroom. As part of your personal journey, you can become a first year buddy, tutor or student assistant. Or join the PR team that promotes our programme on social media, activities organised by student support teams and focus groups that evaluate and improve our curriculum.
Year 3
Specialisation and internship
The third year kicks off with a 15-week internship, which you can do in the Netherlands, or anywhere in the world. You’ll get the chance to apply all the things you have learnt during the first two years.
Our IFMC students make a real difference at our partnering internship organisations, which have included Mercedes Benz and Nutricia, plus pension funds and investment companies.
In the second semester, you’ll explore Strategic Management and Risk Management in depth during interactive group projects and related courses.
Year 4
Minors and graduation project
In your final year, you can cement your business experience by taking two cutting edge minors at THUAS, including Risk Management, Controlling, Blockchain, Circular Business and Data Science for Business Improvement. Or you can choose to do your minors on an international exchange at a partner university. You can also take two pre-masters minors which will prepare you for the masters in accounting, auditing, finance and control at Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
You’ll finish off with a second internship researching current business issues for your graduation project at an organisation of your choice. You could follow in the footsteps of Deniss Korotkovics, one of our first IFMC graduates. He researched how to improve the cash flow at Nutricia, a subsidiary of the Danone Group and made a positive impact on the financial results at Danone.
Your lecturers
Erik Van Den Ham
Erik Van Den Ham studied Business Administration for the Financial Sector at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. He then worked as an IT and business consultant in the retail industry, applying IT solutions to improve financial and business processes.
In 2015, Van Den Ham joined the IFMC programme as a lecturer and researcher. He teaches Excel, Operations Management and other courses with a strong IT component. His research focuses on the future of the finance function where IT has a dominant role.
One of the main tasks of a business controller is making data-driven decisions. Van Den Ham developed the minor Data Science for Business Improvement to teach students how to manipulate and analyse data to make better business decisions.
Van Den Ham considers the move from the commercial sector to IFMC as the best decision in his life. He very much enjoys the creativity and interaction with IFMC students.
Feel free to contact him if you are interested in acquiring the IT skills needed to advance your career.Rob Dorpmans
Rob Dorpmans studied Business Administration at Nyenrode Business University in Holland and has an MSc in Strategic Marketing from London School of Business and Finance. He started teaching at THUAS in 2009 after a 20-year career in management functions at various international IT companies. He also ran his own small business in consumer electronics for five years.
Dorpmans co-developed the IFMC three and four year programmes and has taught Business Environment, Strategic Management and Sustainability since the start. He enthusiastically shares his business experience with students on his courses and during various hands-on projects based on real-life company case studies.
Cristiano Giordano
Cristiano Giordano is originally from Rome, where he gained his Bachelors in International Economics. He moved to the Netherlands in 2017 to study a Masters in Policy Economics at Erasmus University, Rotterdam and wrote his thesis on populism and income inequality in Europe, from 2000 to 2018.
During his student career, Giordano worked as a researcher for the International Research Project in Zambia, analysing the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on environment, social and political conditions in the field. He also conducted research on corporate governance for six months during his internship as an analyst at Dutch Development Bank.
In February 2020, Giordano was appointed senior lecturer in Research Skills, Corporate Finance and Advanced Finance on the IFMC programme. He enjoys being able to share his knowledge and connect what is taught in class with current worldwide economic, financial and social phenomena. He also dedicates his time to macroeconomic and social research.
Prof. dr. Theo Bosma
In 2010, he joined Megatrend University, Vienna (now known as University John Naisbitt) as a professor, where he received the title Professor Honoris Causa for his exceptional contribution.
In autumn 2014, Prof. Bosma and his family moved back to his native Holland and joined THUAS as a senior lecturer. He predominantly teaches research, management and subjects related to information systems and financial applications. He also mentors graduation year IFMC students through their practical research and bachelor thesis writing. Since 2019, Prof. Bosma has been chief internationalisation officer for IFMC, responsible for developing the international agenda and implementing strategic partnerships with global universities.
Godelieve Alkemade
As a lecturer, Ms. Alkemade adopts a pragmatic and proactive approach. At THUAS she teaches international law, ethics and compliance, data privacy and IT risk management. During IFMC lectures she focuses on what is most important for finance students and encourages discussions on relevant topics. In her lectures, you’ll experience working in an international and multicultural English-speaking business environment with your fellow students.
Robert Adriani
Adriani joined the IFMC programme at THUAS a number of years ago and describes his job as the most satisfying to date. He teaches Business Information Systems, Business Intelligence, Business Processes, Business Statistics, Professional Skills and a few other subjects.
As a native English speaker, he is able to help his students achieve a very high level of fluency in (business) English. He challenges his students, while creating a relaxed classroom environment.
Rachel Dede
Ms. Dede has been working for the IFMC department since 2019. As well as teaching, she works with students on their internship process and post-graduation plans and mentors first year students. She enjoys the fact that every day is exciting and everyone is positive in the IFMC department.
Egbert Willekes
Casper Verschoor
Over the years, Mr. Verschoor has taught a wide range of business communication courses and has carried out many other activities, such as organising introduction weeks and managing the first IFMC International Week 2020.
Since April 2019, Mr. Verschoor has been the programme coordinator for IFMC and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the course. So, if you have any questions about IFMC, don’t hesitate to get in touch with him. IFMC is relatively small-scale and he really enjoys the social interaction with both students and colleagues. It makes him proud to see students develop during their time on the programme and the international environment really appeals to him.
Irénee Dondjio
Dondjio has published Mathematics for Finance, Business and Economics with Wouter Krasser (2012), Managing Your Business with Robert Haafst (2017), various articles (see LinkedIn publications) and is currently writing Doing Business, due in 2025.
He was awarded the accolade of ‘lecturer of the year’ by the IBMS department in 2016.
Marcel Veloo
Testimonials
On how her aspirations align to the programme
Sevara Majitova
I have a background in taxation and spent time in the travel industry. In 2013 I founded and run a successful small company in Dubai, UAE, however, simply focusing on a profit did not align to my core values. It was from this experience that I made the decision to study International Financial Management & Control (FMC) and to learn about finances along with sustainability goals.
On individualised attention
Mina Bozhilova
''IFMC is a program that gives you an insight into the world of finance and business. Despite the fact that most of the lectures were online, so far my experience has been great, as I have learned a lot about the corporate structure of the world, developed new skills and met people from all over the world. IFMC is a small program, so everyone gets individual attention, which really helps during these difficult times.''
On the international vibe
Kharim Ohab
''My academic focus was to specialize in the financial field, whereas IFMC has provided all the tools necessary to make this happen. IFMC opened doors for me to learn and familiarize with not just finance, but also sustainability in business, blockchain technology, digital trading etc. which I believe is essential for future development. What is special about IFMC is how international the energy and atmosphere is and the effort the lecturers put in to make the class interesting, interactive and easy to follow. Due to the pandemic, it was challenging at first to get used to the online classes and class interactions, but after some time, it was adaptable and IFMC organized online activities to keep us connected.''
Minors
Shape your degree
In the first semester of year four, you can take two minors at THUAS or another international university and get a head start as a business controller.
Our minor in Risk Management equips you with tools to help an organisation meet its long term goals with minimal risks. You’ll learn why some businesses fail and how to prevent this from happening.
You could choose our Controlling minor and find out how managers oversee an organisation and help them stay on track with the right strategy.
We also offer minors in ‘hot topics’ which support the core business of IFMC. Our popular Blockchain minor will give you invaluable knowledge about this revolutionary technical innovation and how to use it.
You’ll focus on multiple value creation in the Circular Business minor, which prepares you to become a groundbreaking finance professional, aware of the bigger picture. Or explore the business processes dealing with ‘big data’ on the Data Science for Business Improvement minor.
We offer two pre-masters minors in partnership with Erasmus University, Rotterdam, as launch pads to their masters degrees in accounting, finance, accounting and control. Take prerequisite courses in statistics, mathematics and finance to skip the pre-masters course at Erasmus.
Working methods
Lectures, seminars, study visits, self-study, group activities and project work
Our IFMC lecturers come from as far and wide as Greece, Italy, Nigeria and the USA. But each term we also invite guest lecturers from global businesses. You’ll gain the hands-on experience of a university of applied sciences and leave enriched with communication, analytical, cultural, teamwork and research skills. That’s what makes IFMC stand out from programmes at research universities. We’ll arm you with the essential IT skills for your chosen profession. For example, in year one you’ll gain essential IT skills with Microsoft Excel. In year two you’ll learn how create dashboards with Power BI to look at KPIs and the wider picture at organisations. You’ll have that edge in the job market with these latest technologies in your toolkit.
Contact the programme
If you have any further questions about admission requirements, enrollment or about following the IFMC programme, please make use of our contact form.
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Contact a current student
Eirisdalys Amalia
My name is Eirisdalys Amalia and I am 22 years old. I am currently in my first year of the International Financial Management and Control course.
I'll be more than happy to assist anyone with any questions you have concerning the course or the school. Don't hesitate to contact me 😊
Anna Fridrichová
Hi! My name is Anna. I am a 21 year old first year student of International Financial Management and Control (IFMC). I will be happy to answer any questions you might have about the program, university or studying abroad :).
Ask Anna a questionAssistance during your studies
Study coaching and advice
We assume your time at IFMC will run smoothly. However, we do offer personal assistance if you are experiencing any problems. You’ll be allocated a mentor who can help you keep track of your progress. They can help you improve your time management skills, or find the right people within the programme to answer more complicated questions. They’ll also support you if you have any personal problems that can impact your study.
Collect ECTS
Binding Study Advice (BSA)
To continue your degree programme after the first year, you need to earn 50 of the 60 credits (EC or Credits). In some cases, the degree programme may also require that you pass a specific subject as European art of the credit requirements. 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 and you will be able to continue your degree programme.
If you earn less than 50 credits or don’t meet the qualitative requirements where applicable, you will receive a negative binding study advice and will have to leave the degree programme. This is why this advice is called a Negative Binding 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 Education and Examination Rules and Regulations (OER) for your degree programme.