Utrecht University

Master of Science in Business and Social Impact

Exploring sustainable ways of doing business- together

Businesses face pressure from consumers, regulators and other stakeholders to combine financial and social goals, rather than focusing solely on shareholder value. Many try reinventing themselves to meet the demands of a world full of societal issues such as climate change, population growth, and injustices. But for organisations, this poses a fundamental strategic challenge. Working with cases ranging from local start-ups over national NGOs to global businesses, we jointly rethink the dominant logic that sustainability values always have to be a trade-off.

Do you want to discuss global challenges, dilemmas, and opportunities with experts in the field? Do you want to develop the knowledge and skills required to assess and enhance business ecosystems? Do you want to become an expert in designing new strategies for societal value creation? Our innovative Master’s programme in Business and Social Impact provides you with a solid grounding in economics and management, and equips you with practical skills, tools and networks for a rewarding career with organisations that lead the way on corporate responsibility. We do this in a small, personal, and inclusive enviroment where we co-create the learning experience and discuss issues on eye-level.

The real world perspective

The Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E.) aims to contribute to an economy where people flourish. We enrich economics with other disciplines to better solve problems and identify opportunities, from a business and a government point of view. Scientifically rigorous and societally relevant. The real world perspective. This means engaging with a range of business, government and NGO stakeholders that form the BSI company ecosystem.

Research Expertise

We practice what we teach. This programme is based on Utrecht University’s world-class research in business strategy, organisation, marketing, entrepreneurship and innovation. The academic staff of Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E.) excel in integrating business perspectives with broader socio-economic issues. Our core team - Helen Toxopeus external link, Friedemann Polzin external link, and Katrin Merfeld external link - work on many international research projects addressing, e.g., green energy, financing nature, and marketing fair trade. This further comes to the fore in our Strategic Theme Pathways to Sustainability, Sustainable Finance Lab, the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative and its link with the business world and policy practice. Our team takes their insights right from the field to the classroom, ensuring that what impacts the real world is discussed in our programme.

Content of the Programme

In this Master’s programme in Business and Social Impact, you will focus on:

• the role of business in today’s society;
• understanding and appreciating the wider context of business and business ecosystems, along with the various stakeholders;
• developing strategies for doing business for society, in connection with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
• dealing with the challenges, opportunities, tensions and dilemmas that come with combining financial and social value;
• the role of marketing in doing business;
• obtaining and managing finance for business that combines financial and social goals.