Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen
Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Business Professional
Groningen, Netherlands
MSc
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2027
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: The Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Business Professional at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen trains you to tackle complex, real-world problems through interdisciplinary study, applied research and professional skills development. The programme rests on three pillars—Applied Research, Interdisciplinary Assignments and Professional Skills Development & Ethics—includes the Innovation Assignment, the BOKS, six themes (sustainability, technology, transition, innovation & entrepreneurship, ethics, applied research) and a master thesis with industry partners.
Career Outcomes: Graduates pursue roles in public and private sectors, including Business consultant, Policy and project advisor, Business analyst, CRM manager, Researcher, Performance marketeer, and related roles in sustainability.
Interdisciplinary Business Professional
The Master Interdisciplinary Business Professional is an intensive, ground-breaking one-year international master programme in the domain of business studies, designed for ambitious students who are eager to make a difference. You will contribute to solutions and innovations for complex problems that organisations are facing. These problems are interdisciplinary issues that require innovative and diverse answers for organisations that add value to both people and our planet.
Programme pillars
The master’s programme consists of three pillars: Applied Research, Interdisciplinary Assignments and Professional Skills Development & Ethics. These three pillars are based on the view that the future business professional needs to be equipped with critical thinking skills along with analytical skills to be able to handle complex issues. The interdisciplinary assignments enhance cooperation and communication skills with professionals from various disciplines and backgrounds. The pillar Professional Skills Development focuses on the ability to reflect on one’s own behaviour and development and to adapt accordingly. Applied research and professional development are integrated in the programme. In the Professional Skills Development classes you can focus on an area you would like to improve in, such as leadership, presentation skills, or time management.
Innovation Assignment
The Innovation Assignment module holds a pivotal role within the MIBP programme. It kicks off with networking event where you will have the opportunity to acquire your research project. During this event, clients ranging from professorships, research centers, and companies will present real-life complex projects and questions they are working on, allowing you to find your ideal match. Subsequently, you will collaborate in interdisciplinary teams over the following weeks to find innovative solutions for these professional challenges. This module integrates co-creation with peers and industry experts, academic rigor through (guest) lectures and professorships, and provides an evidence-based approach drawing from diverse disciplinary perspectives.
Main themes
Both (guest) lectures from experts in the field and the Community of Learners will support you throughout the master’s programme. Your knowledge development is enhanced by the six themes and accompanying topics, that encompass the core disciplines of the master’s programme:
- Sustainability: e.g. Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Development Goals, degrowth
- Technology-Driven Society: e.g. Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data.
- Transition Management: e.g. Interdisciplinarity, Systems Thinking
- Innovation & Entrepreneurship: e.g. Design Thinking, Lean Start-Up, Disruptive Innovation
- Professional Skills Development & Ethics: e.g. Systems Thinking, In the Boardroom
- Applied Research: e.g. Research Philosophy, Empirical Cycle, Academic Writing
The ‘Body of Knowledge and Skills’ module (BOKS) is the theoretical foundation of the programme and serves as a starting point to dive deeper into topics related to the themes above, including globalization vs. localization.
Master thesis
Your master thesis is the centrepiece of the programme. You will demonstrate that you can execute an applied research project independently in an interdisciplinary professional context. You will complete the full research cycle and prove that you can conceive and apply innovative and relevant solutions. For your thesis you might continue on the theme of your Innovation Assignment and choose a topic of your interest to dive into. You might be able to contribute to a large research project from one of the seven research groups and their partners from the industry involved in the programme: Human Capital, International Business, Marketing/Market-focused Entrepreneurship, New Business & IT, Organisational Design and Change, Sustainable Financing and Entrepreneurship, or Sustainable HRM.
Learn more about the programme components, course structure, projects and highlights on the programme webpage on our website, linked below.
Semester 1
The master’s programme kicks off with an intensive week where you will meet fellow students and focus on a case study based on a real business issue. In the following weeks you will work in interdisciplinary teams on an assignment centered around one of the themes of the master’s programme. During these weeks you will receive intensive training on your research skills.
Innovation Assignment
Via the Networking Event at the start of the Innovation Assignment (INA) module, you are enabled to do your research project acquisition. In the following weeks you work in interdisciplinary teams on complex issues from the professional field. This module provides a dynamic combination of co-creation with fellow students and the professional field, academic depth provided by (guest) lectures and professorships, and an evidence-based approach with insights from different disciplinary perspectives.
Knowledge Based Skills
The Knowledge Based Skills (BOKS) module runs alongside the Innovation Assignment so that you can incorporate the theories and models offered in this module in the Innovation Assignment and in the second semester in the Thesis module. The BOKS also provides you with the skills and content knowledge serve as a foundation for you to write a thesis at the master level.
Professional Skills Development
The Professional Skills Development & Ethics focuses on your professional skills development based on the assumption that an interdisciplinary business professional, being an individual within a social context, influences and reacts from his individual authenticity in professional settings. In parallel you will develop change agent professional skills on leadership, project design and future planning.
Community of Learners
The purpose of a Community of Learners (CoL) is to offer a learning environment in which one can analyse and discuss. Cooperation and reflection are key notions: Learning is not a solely individual process, but also a matter of interaction with others. There is a clear collective dimension to learning in the IBP master programme: knowledge is shared, analysed and collectively (re)constructed. In this way, you do not only develop your own competencies, but also develop new knowledge for complex problems in the business world. Input comes from practice as well as the professorships.
Semester 2
In the second semester of the master's programme, you will work on your master thesis. Your master thesis is the centrepiece of the programme. You will demonstrate that you can execute an applied research project independently in an interdisciplinary professional context. You will complete the full research cycle and prove that you can conceive and apply innovative and relevant solutions. For your thesis you might continue on the theme of your Innovation Assignment and choose a topic of your interest to dive into. You might be able to contribute to a large research project from one of the seven research groups and their partners from the industry involved in the programme: Human Capital, International Business, Marketing/Market-focused Entrepreneurship, New Business & IT, Organisational Design and Change, Sustainable Financing and Entrepreneurship, or Sustainable HRM.
Learn more about the programme components, course structure, projects and highlights on the programme webpage on our website, linked below.
Degree: Master of Science
Hanze UAS has various scholarship possibilities to aid students financially if they meet the requirements.
For more information, please visit the scholarships overview below.
Graduating from the Master Interdisciplinary Business Professional programme opens up a wide range of career opportunities in both the public and private sectors. Having received your Master of Science diploma, you'll be equipped to tackle complex, real-world challenges using an interdisciplinary and innovative approach. The programme’s strong emphasis on applied research, co-creation with industry, and sustainable value creation prepares you to work in roles that require critical thinking, collaboration, and a future-focused mindset. Positions that our alumni take on are:
- Business consultant
- Policy and project advisor
- Business analyst
- CRM manager
- Researcher
- Performance marketeer, etc.