You might know the Netherlands as a student-friendly country. Indeed, this small country is home to several cities with renowned academic institutions. This is certainly the case for Utrecht, Leyden, Wageningen, Rotterdam, Amsterdam or Maastricht. All these cities have outstanding academic facilities such as big libraries, study cafes, companies offering internships, as well as bars, clubs, cinemas and other establishments.
If you are interested in enjoying such great infrastructures while doing an MBA, we are confident that Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Maastricht will offer you amazing options. Indeed, on top of being student-friendly cities, their main universities all are “Triple Crown accredited” schools.
In this article, EDUopinions introduces you to the various MBA programmes offered in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Maastricht and Venlo. You will find technical information such as the price and the reputation of the schools, as well as practical information about living in these three cities. First, however, let’s look at what being a “Triple Crown accredited school” means.
Triple crown accreditation
The “Triple Crown accreditation” is a title of excellence for business schools. It represents a list of a hundred universities accredited by the three most influential business accreditation companies: NAACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS. The Rotterdam School of Management, the Amsterdam Business School, and the School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University all are on that list. In fact, the Netherlands is one of the rare countries with three universities holding that accreditation. This shows the strong business spirit of the country.
the best dutch universities for MBAs
Rotterdam school of management
The Rotterdam School of Management is located in the heart of one of Netherlands’ most modern cities: Rotterdam. It is not a typically Dutch city with little houses and canals, as it looks more like a business metropolis. It hosts branches of several consultancy firms and is an amazing place to work in finance and marketing.
The school is currently ranked at the 55th position on the prestigious Financial Times list for the best MBAs. It offers four different MBAs:
- The International MBA is a 12-months long full-time programme. It will prepare you to take on any job in business, wherever you may be.
- The Executive MBA is a 22-months part-time programme. It will train you to make sustainable decisions under the supervision of experienced professionals.
- The Global Executive OneMBA is a 21-month long part-time programme. It has been designed by a partnership of several international business schools to provide you with a diverse, high-quality programme.
- Finally, the Cologne-Rotterdam Executive MBA is a 24-months long part-time programme. It will provide you with a double degree from Germany and The Netherlands.
The prices of these MBAs are slightly over EUR 50,000 and they are addressed to professionals with working experience in international organisations who want to be a force to a positive change. The university provides numerous scholarships every year, offered on a case-by-case basis depending on financial needs, academic performance and other factors. Lastly, if you are an Erasmus Alumni, you automatically get 10% off the price of your MBA at this school.
Amsterdam business school
The Amsterdam MBA programme is a combination of theory and practice. The modern curriculum consists of four domains addressing various key challenges for future leaders in business and society. Students become an expert in Leadership Qualities, Strategic Thinking, Quantitative Skills and Managing Contemporary Challenges. For the latter, students learn how to address present-day issues in subjects like Purpose-driven Strategy, Conscious Marketing, Ethics, Responsibility & Sustainability and Digital Business. Additionally, there are electives focusing on organizational growth or entrepreneurship, a study trip to South Africa, individual careers coaching and a leadership programme. With a limited class size of just 25 carefully selected students, the International Full-time MBA at Amsterdam Business School is a true “Boutique MBA”.
Fontys University of Applied Sciences
The 2-year part-time MBA at Fontys is offered in cooperation with FOM University of Applied Sciences, Germany’s largest private university. While studying in Venlo, you earn a German MBA degree within 2 years. As the MBA is part-time it allows combining work and studies. Lessons take place in English, usually 2-3 times a month, on Friday evening and Saturday. You study in an international setting of typically 10 to 15 students from different countries. Entry requirements: Bachelor degree and min. 1 year professional experience and current working employment in an MBA-relevant setting. With total tuition fees of just €12.750, the MBA in Fontys offers an excellent price-performance ratio.
Maastricht University, School of business and economics
The School of Business and Economics is part of Maastricht University. Maastricht is a smaller city than Rotterdam and Amsterdam. However, its size does not prevent it from offering some of the highest quality education in The Netherlands. The university created two MBA programmes: the Executive MBA, and the EuroMBA. The former one is a thorough journey that will help you connect academics with practice. It also offers incredible opportunities to network and plans a successful career in business. The EuroMBA is a part-time programme for students who want to pursue their studies next to their professional life. The courses can be followed in-person or online, therefore increasing the flexibility of the programme. It will also lead you to spend three weeks following courses from European top schools.
The programmes at the School of Business and Economics are more affordable, respectively at 28,000 and 25,000 euros. Nevertheless, the university offers scholarships, and flexible payment methods, and has made the fees tax-deductible.
TIO Business School
TIO’s MBA programme is a fantastic way to invest in a career. Its education is aimed to transform students into academically schooled all-around professionals within large companies or multinationals. It is a twelve-month master’s programme available on any Tio campus (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Groningen, Eindhoven or Hengelo) after obtaining a bachelor’s degree – no work experience is required. The curriculum consists of a core programme, a specialisation programme, a development programme and a final thesis project. During the master’s programme, students specialise in the field of international management, hospitality or commercial management.
Conclusion about The Best MBAs in The Netherlands
In conclusion, we hope that this article has successfully outlined some of the differences between those programmes. If you don’t think that the Netherlands is the right place for you to study, you can learn about the best MBAs in the UK, the Best Part-Time MBAs in Barcelona, and more on our blog. If you would like to receive guidance from one of our experts, then contact us to get free advice
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