Master of Science in Business Administration (Commercial Management)
The Master of Science in Business Administration opens doors to executive positions in corporate life, where management is key. The programme offers a choice of five main subjects: Taxation, Finance and Risk Management, Management and IT, HRM and Organisational Management, and Commercial Management.
This program is accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB is a global nonprofit association whose accreditation processes are ISO 9001:2015 certified.
What
The focus of Business Administration is on how a business is organised, and on how it does business. You gain insight into the structure of a business, its internal dynamics and its external relationships with stakeholders, and you learn to understand those stakeholders better. This will enable you to make successful business decisions. The Master’s programme offers you an understanding of one of the domains that traditionally constitute an important challenge for businesses. We prepare you for managerial positions in one of the functional management domains (e.g. HRM, taxation, finance). You learn how customers think, what the importance is of a fiscal environment, how to set up an efficient HR policy, how to use IT to monitor profitability, what points to consider when financing new activities, or how to make strategic goals more feasible by means of an optimal business structure.
The Commercial Management main subject offers an understanding of which products and services an organisation has to develop and make available, which accompanying services are needed, the type of pricing policy to pursue, the relevant forms of communication to use, and the appropriate sales techniques and distribution channels to implement in various segments of the market. Thanks to our multidisciplinary and enterprising approach you learn to integrate insights from economics, social psychology and IT in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. Our course units serve to develop and hone your creative, entrepreneurial and analytical skills further. In this main subject, we focus on a strong integration of case studies, guest speakers and/or assignments issued by the business world, and in so doing, we build a strong bridge between academic and professional skills.
For whom
The admission requirements vary. Depending on your prior education, you are either able to enrol directly, or there are additional requirements.
Structure
We offer a choice of five main subjects: Taxation, Finance and Risk Management, Management and IT, HRM and Organisational Management, and Commercial Management. Each of these main subjects encompasses a work placement in the second term, as well as the course unit ‘Strategic Management’, including a business game.
In addition to the (domain) Master’s programme described above, you can also choose a Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: Educatieve Master). Find out more at www.ugent.be/educatievemaster (in Dutch).
Labour Market
The Master of Science in Business Administration opens doors to executive positions in corporate life, where management is key. You acquire a broad range of competencies, allowing you to find your way in the many challenges a modern business has to face. You will find yourself holding a responsible position, in which you will experience personal fulfilment. Other options are the government, public institutions or non-profit organisations. Finally, there is the option of becoming a self-employed accountant, tax advisor or management consultant.
Commercial Management graduates also find employment in marketing and sales departments of small and large businesses alike. Many of our graduates end up at market research agencies, consulting companies and communication agencies.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Doing business: our programme provides broad insight into the functioning of (private) organizations. We study these organizations as an integrated whole of processes and actors. Our students explore the various functions, tasks and processes of an organization, and learn to co-ordinate these to achieve the organizational objectives. When making decisions, students take into account these internal relationships and processes, as well as all the relevant external players. Our programme familiarizes students with various theories, models and methods that help them to make well-founded business decisions.
- Practice-oriented: our programme takes an academic approach to problems and the application of knowledge (based on state-of-the art academic research) in order to analyze and address the complex problems and challenges organization have to face an economic context. This is reflected in the fact that students conclude their Master’s curriculum by writing a Master’s dissertation on the one hand, and by undertaking a company work placement on the other.
- Entrepreneurship: our programme encourages entrepreneurship among students and teaches them to set up a project successfully. In the compulsory course unit ‘Entrepreneurial Skills’ students draw up a business plan and experience the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. The compulsory work placement allows students to apply their acquired knowledge in the workplace. Our programme contains a learning pathway with ‘managerial’ course units and supports enterprising students (e.g. student entrepreneurship).
- Sustainability: our programme makes students aware of and offers them the necessary skills and competencies to do business in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. We achieve this by means of an integrated approach throughout the Bachelor’s programme, as well as in specific course units such as Corporate Social Responsibility. In addition, we participate in various Ghent University initiatives regarding sustainability.
- An open mind: the Business Administration programme teaches students to look at society, and the business world in particular, with a critical yet open mind. Their basic knowledge and independent approach to challenges should help them to adapt their conceptual frameworks to rapidly succeeding evolutions. Working in a team, knowledge of foreign languages and an awareness of the international perspective are important skills with which the Business Administration graduates can help solve fascinating and complex business issues in a project-based manner.
Strengths
- Curriculum: we continuously monitor the structure of our curriculum. We have recently implemented curricular reforms for an improved alignment with our programme objectives, i.e. to deliver well-developed professionals who at once have sufficient specialized knowledge and a broad perspective to help make rational strategic decisions.
- Talent development: our programme wants to offer students room for optimal talent development. By means of a student-oriented approach, regular consultations among lecturers, remedial actions and extensive tutorial services, we want to encourage motivated students to become the best version of themselves. This is a trajectory that starts even before the actual academic year has begun, e.g. in the form of preparatory course units (refresher course in mathematics, preparatory course in accounting,…) and information to facilitate study choice. We also want to give our students the opportunity to tailor their study trajectory according to their own interests and preferences. After completing the broad Bachelor’s curriculum, students can choose from a wide range of main subjects with a deepening focus in the Master’s. The main subjects cover the functional disciplines of a business. The academic bridging programme for holders of a professional Bachelor’s degree makes our Master’s programme accessible to a wide group of students.
- Enthusiasm: our programme boasts a team of strongly committed and highly enthusiastic lecturers. Regardless of the teaching context (e.g. lecture, seminar, …), lecturers are easily approachable for students who have questions or comments.
- Tailor-made approach: despite the fact that we have large student numbers, we offer students many opportunities to tailor their study trajectory to their own interests. This starts with the choice of language in the first year, the offer of elective course units in the second and third year, and a focus on internationalization (ranging from elective course units and short-term initiatives to an Erasmus exchange). The endpoint is the choice of the main subject in the Master’s, the Master’s dissertation, and the work placement.
- Solid quality assurance: in close collaboration with students and lecturers, our Programme Committee strives for continuous optimization of the study programme. Based on student feedback and feedback from the professional field, every aspect of the study programme is critically assessed. Adjustments are made if necessary.
Challenges
- Internationalization should be part of the DNA of any programme that prepares students to work in a commercial environment. That is why we want to continue to encourage and support students in integrating international/intercultural components into their education. This is a joint responsibility. A work placement abroad, short-term internationalization initiatives and study abroad initiatives are already among the possibilities. However, we want to invest in further internationalization opportunities and make students even more enthusiastic about this.
- Sustainability in the Master’s programme is also an aspect we would like to strengthen.
- Closer involvement of alumni in the programme. Alumni involvement in the programme is currently too limited. We want to improve this by reviewing the selection of alumni in the study programme committee and better aligning of the mutual expectations (between program and alumni).
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This program is accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB is a global nonprofit association whose accreditation processes are ISO 9001:2015 certified.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.