The world is your playground
No one seems to be surprised these days if you say you work in Barcelona or are stationed in Paris. The rise in international trade and worldwide relations means that there is a growing demand for young internationally-oriented managers. You could be one of them!

The International Business Studies programme is about business with an international character. As a matter of fact, you will work together with students from all over the world. In our project-based learning system you will study four years fully taught in English.

The main subjects are:
Management;
Finance;
Marketing;
Economics.
Add to this communication and language skills and you are prepared for an international career.

Level
Bachelor's degree

When does this programme start?
-End of August

Duration
4 years

Location
Breda, the Netherlands

What are the costs?
Check the tuition fees and the living expenses. Furthermore, you should be aware that you have to spend approximately € 900 euros for the study books in year 1.

Scholarship
Read all about our scholarship programme.

More information
Are you interested in studying a degree programme at Avans University of Applied Science, but you still have more questions? Our International Office can help you. Please contact them by email at internationaloffice@avans.nl or by telephone on +31 (0) 76 523 80 01.

Studying in English: quite a challenge?
All classes for the International Business Studies programme are taught in English. At first this may be a bit of a challenge for you. But you'll be surprised how soon speaking English will become second nature to you!

Project-Based Learning
In the professional field, working on projects in teams has become very common. Problems are often too big to be solved by one person, so cooperating in a project team is essential for an effective solution. We use Project-Based Learning as an educational system. We offer a very practical, hands-on course in which you will deal with real-life business situations. This may include setting up an export plan for multinationals such as Nestlé! Or...producing a business plan for a product you have developed yourself.

Curriculum
The IBMS curriculum covers a wide range of international business aspects. In addition to Law, Economics and languages, subjects are concentrated in 3 core areas:

Marketing
Finance
Operations

Training sessions help you to develop in the following areas:
Negotiation skills
Presentation skills
Interviewing
Report writing
Handling conflicts

You will also be trained to use modern communication media and information systems.

Major in International Business Studies

Watch our graduation movie 2010

Diplomas and certificates

Dutch Havo (higher general secondary education) or an international equivalent

• Culture & Society in addition to Economics or Management & Organisation
• Economics & Society
• Science & Technology, in addition to Economics or Management & Organisation or one modern foreign language
• Science & Health, in addition to Economics or Management & Organisation or one modern foreign language

Dutch Vwo (pre-university level diploma), International Baccalaureate (IB) school diploma (at least 24 points) or an international equivalent*

• Culture & Society
• Economics & Society
• Science & Technology, in addition to Economics or Management & Organisation or one modern foreign language
• Science & Health, in addition to Economics or Management & Organisation or one modern foreign language

*Dutch VWO students or international students with a Certificate of Qualification for higher education (such as the German Abitur) can start the IBS programme in February. They are granted an exemption from Q1 and Q2 of the first year and will start in Q3. An intake interview is part of this exemption procedure.

Mbo (level 4) (intermediate vocational education) or an international equivalent

In addition to the minimum diploma requirements, adequate knowledge of Mathematics, Finance or Economics is an absolute must. Naturally you will also need good writing and conversation skills in English.

Foreign diploma
If we are not familiar with your foreign diploma we will contact the NUFFIC (the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education) to have your documents evaluated.

English
Non-EU students must be able to produce an IELTS certificate, score 6.0 (no subscore below 6.0) or an accepted equivalent**. 

**Check which English language tests results are equivalent to the IELTS test results.

Intake interview
An interview is also part of the application procedure.

Olga Nesterova, IBMS student from Russia
I spent two enjoyable years studying at the wonderful Avans University of Applied Sciences. I had the opportunity to follow the Double Degree programme and had a magnificent time at Avans as a student.

Starting as a first year student in 2008, I knew instinctively that this would be the right decision and appropriate educational path for me, but I never expected it to be as worthwhile as it turned out to be. My time in Breda has not only taught and challenged me in terms of educational matters, but has helped to shape my personality and my character as well as inspiring me to think about the opportunities and goals I want to achieve in my future.

Avans University of Applied Sciences, by providing excellent facilities for students and, most important, wonderful lecturers and support staff, is a great example of a well-structured leading institution with a focus on essential priorities.

The people at Avans have challenged me in many areas, they have provided me with a level of support and advice that I could never have imagined and I am indescribably grateful for that. It has been a significant experience that has shaped me as a person, has shown my limits and how to turn challenges into opportunities and has been, therefore, more than just an excellent educational programme.

I am truly looking forward to the opportunity to continue my studies in the United States. Nevertheless, it must be said that I will certainly miss this wonderful university of applied sciences and its atmosphere.


Teutza Popoaca, IBMS student from Romania
I am in the middle of my third year and I decided to follow a master’s in Innovation Management in Denmark. I really miss the Netherlands, Breda and most of all .. Avans University of Applied Sciences.

When I think about the time I spent there ... I wonder if it really happened. Since then ... every school I hear of and even my university ... I compare them with Avans and its atmosphere, facilities and everything that made my time there an incredible experience.

Ilse van der Veeken, IBMS student from the Netherlands
From the first moment I applied for International Business and Management Studies at Avans University of Applied Sciences, I knew that I wanted to take part in the double degree programme in the United States. Since I was a child, it had always been my dream to study in the United States of America for an extensive period of time. Avans has given me a chance to fulfil this dream.

In the years that I was enrolled at Avans, most people wanted to take part in the double degree programme with the United States. The schools only allow a limited number of students to participate in this programme. This meant that Avans had to operate a ranking system to select the best students to take part in the programme. It was hard work during the first two-and-a-half years of study at Avans to hold onto a position in the ranking list, but all the hard work paid off as I was one of the selected students who were given the opportunity to travel to the USA. I chose to do my double degree programme at Eastern Kentucky University. The reason behind my choice was completely influenced by the opinions of students who had previously completed the double degree programme at EKU. In January 2009, I was finally where I wanted to be: at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. Like many other people, you might have some preconceptions about Kentucky – some of them are true, and some of them are not. In the USA, Kentucky is known for basketball! The University of Kentucky has a winning college basketball team. The University of Kentucky is located in Lexington, Kentucky.

Richmond is a student town. The bars are usually packed with students on Thursday nights for cheap drinks. Lexington is located near Richmond – it is about a 30-minute drive. Lexington has a lot more to offer than Richmond because it’s a larger city. Lexington is known as the horse capital of the world. It has an annual horseback riding event in April: Keeneland. Here you can legally gamble on horse races. The horses race every day for four weeks in April. Louisville is a larger city than Lexington but is about an hour-and-a-half away. In April, Louisville has the largest firework show in the world. Kentucky is surrounded by many states. During the one-and-a-half years I spent in the USA I was able to visit a lot of the East: Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas. The best way to travel in the USA, in my opinion, is by going on a road trip. You have the freedom to go anywhere you want!

I had an amazing time in Richmond, Kentucky. The school, Eastern Kentucky University, is huge compared to Avans in Breda. You can find anything on campus: restaurants, a gym, a football stadium, a doctor, the library, and so much more. During my first semester, I lived in a dorm called Brockton. It is officially called a dorm, however it looks more like a two-story apartment complex. I shared my room with another Dutch student. We had three rooms which included a bedroom/living room/kitchen, a backroom with two closets, and a bathroom. Most international students live in Brockton. This makes it a place where you can easily meet new people. It almost felt like you were camping on one of those traditional Dutch camping sides in Southern France where everyone knows each other. You can live off-campus in semester two and three if you are 21 or older. Living off-campus is a lot cheaper than living on-campus. I rented a two-bedroom apartment for about $ 250 a month because I shared it with my previous roommate. Brockton had cost us about $ 500 per month per person!

Classes are mostly held in the Business and Technology (BTC) building because we have a business major. This is about a 20 minute walk from Brockton. EKU provided a bus service which took us to the BTC building every 15 minutes. Classes, known as courses at Avans, are easier than at Avans University of Applied Sciences. On the other hand we had more classes, six per semester, than at Avans, where we took only one class besides our language classes. Every professor expected us to work for every class as though our life depended on it. They expected us to do a lot of work and read all the books.

I decided to try out for some sports at EKU as well. I had played field hockey for 15 years before I came to the USA. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a field hockey team, only an ice hockey team. Since field hockey has a lot of similarities to soccer, also known as football in Europe, I decided to try out for the EKU Club Soccer Team. The varsity team is better than the club team. On the other hand, the girls in the varsity soccer team have a scholarship to play for EKU. The club soccer team is the second team of EKU. The girls in the club soccer team don’t receive a scholarship to play soccer and joining is voluntary. I joined the club soccer team during try-outs and was surprised that they had selected me to play with them. I played in the club soccer team for one semester. Sports are a good way to meet new people. I saw my teammates at least three times a week. We practiced every week after the try-outs and when the university was open for the spring and fall semester.

After I had completed all my classes in the spring and fall semester, I took part in the graduation ceremony in December. I wore the traditional gown and cap. I had found a work placement in September 2009 at Big Ass Fans – a company that designs and produces large ceiling fans between 6 ft (1.8m) and 24 ft (7.3m) in diameter. I started my work placement in January 2010. The company had assigned me the task of writing an export plan for Germany. Besides that they had me working on internal sales projects such as entering new customers in the database or creating clear sales visuals. I have learned a lot from my time at the company because it showed me how the company really worked and what the sales process depended on. I have noticed that working in the USA is different from working in the Netherlands. Some differences are the work ethic and the number of vacation days.

To conclude my story: I have met amazing people, made awesome trips, and experienced life! If you have always dreamed of coming to the USA, DO IT! I can assure you that you will have the time of your life!

Master and Post-graduates
Once you have completed your IBMS studies you can, for example, apply for a post-graduate study programme leading to an MBA degree (Master of Business Administration) or an MSc degree (Master of Science). These master’s programmes are held in high regard all over the world.

We are currently working together with several universities to develop a short master’s programme for IBMS graduates.

If you have decided to follow this study programme at Avans University of Applied Sciences, you can enrol for it here.

Before you apply for this study programme, make sure you have informed yourself about the Rules and Regulations of Avans University of Applied Sciences.

Foreign students who are interested in IBMS and want more information can contact the international office at:
internationaloffice@avans.nl or on +31 76 523 80 01

Dutch students can contact the Avans School of International Studies (ASIS)-office at:
info.asis@avans.nl or on +31 76 5250630