Master of Science in Business Economics (Accountancy)

The Business Economics programme is aimed at students with an interest in the business scene. It prepares them for the active and flexible fulfilment of a wide range of responsibilities in the financial, industrial, trade and service sectors in which companies and social profit organisations operate.

Master's Programme
1 year 60 credits
Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
English
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About the programme
Programme summary
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Off to a good start
After graduation

What

In the Business Economics programme students become acquainted with almost every functional aspect of the business world: how and why a company is established, how it is financed, how it organises itself administratively, how it produces goods and services, how it markets and sells those goods and services, how it deals with personnel and how the company’s management co-ordinates and steers all those activities. The emphasis is on the inside of the business. The Master’s programme offers three disciplines that allow you to tailor your curriculum according to your own interests, and become an expert in one of the three functional fields.

In the functional field of Accountancy, you are trained to start a career as an auditor or a user of accounting information. You will learn how to prepare annual reports, in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards, which aims to inform investors, shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, the government and other stakeholders about the organisation’s performance. Based on (international) auditing standards, you will learn how to check the reliability of these financial statements. The organisation’s internal accounting system, as part of the information system, produces important accounting information (budgets, product costs, etc.). Managers use this information to make business decisions as well as to measure managerial performance which influences their behaviour. Management control will teach you how to deal with these different purposes of accounting information. The curriculum also covers research methods related to the field of accountancy, focusing on important academic research questions with a relevance for practice. Several course units use a problem-based methodology, by means of which students analyse and work out specific case studies in small groups.

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For whom

The admission requirements vary. Depending on your prior education, you are either able to enrol directly, or there are additional requirements.

Structure

The Master’s curriculum has a modular structure, which falls outside the traditional term system. Course units are arranged in modular blocks of six weeks each. Each block contains only two course units, which allows you to process the content in a more focused and in-depth manner. The teaching methods are challenging: case studies, group assignments, discussion panels, lectures, business games, etc. You sit exams of the two course units at the end of each modular block, but the blocks also contain interim assessments and (group) assignments. As a result, you no longer sit exams in January or June.

In the second term you will take a practical course unit that ties in with your specialisation, and in which you become acquainted with the professional field. You will have enough time in the programme to work on your Master’s dissertation. That Master’s dissertation is a crucial element of your training. It testifies to your ability to apply the acquired knowledge to a problem independently.

If you want to combine your Master’s degree with a Teacher’s degree, then there is the option of taking a Master's Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: 'Educatieve master') instead of the above described master. The Master's Programme in Teaching, however, is a Dutch-taught programme. More information can be found on www.ugent.be/educatievemaster.

It is possible to participate in a double degree programme with the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen or with the University Clermont Auvergne. In a double degree programme students receive a degree of both the home and the host university.

Labour Market

The largest outlet for Business Economics graduates is the business world. We find graduates in every possible position in companies and social profit organisations. Most graduates start their career in the discipline they chose in the Master’s programme, but this often shifts after a few years. Some graduates are given greater responsibilities within the original field and become a marketing manager or financial director, and eventually grow into CMO,CFO or even CEO positions. Others expand their career within a different functional field or are promoted to general management posts. The broad orientation of the programme makes such career moves easier. A significant number of graduates chooses what is called an economic profession: accountant, corporate consultant, fiscal advisor, marketing consultant, etc. These professions can be practised as an employee or as a self-employed person. Finally, we also find Business Economics graduates in banks, at insurance companies, government services and services close to the government.

Some examples of jobs for graduates in Business Economics:

  • auditor
  • accountmanager
  • digital marketeer
  • credit control officer
  • executive director
  • business advisor
  • marketing & communication officer
  • project finance consultant
  • M&A analyst
  • treasury analyst
  • financial controller
  • business consultant
  • senior accountant
  • ...