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BA IBMS

The Webster Leiden Dual Degree in International Business and Management Studies (IBMS)

Students who finish this program will receive both an American BA Management or BS Business Administration degree and a Dutch HBO Bachelor degree International Business & Management.

The program combines the practical orientation of the Bachelor degrees granted by the Dutch Universities of Professional Education with the rigorous American academic standards of liberal arts college education.

Most important features are:

  • It is international, both as to the educational contents and the student population;
    It is taught entirely in English;
  • It is based on a combination of elements from the traditional economics programs in the fields of marketing and sales, finance, and management;
  • It focuses on the complexities of international trade and commerce and the entrepreneurial environment;
  • It offers practical training in international companies;
  • Structural participation of foreign students leads to a high degree of international exposure;
  • Students acquire an excellent preparation for their future professional careers. 

Dutch, American and truly international - with this program students from the Netherlands and other EU countries receive a business-oriented education that is truly unique. The Webster Leiden dual degree in IBMS offers an immediate entry point into the international business job market. At the same time, because it is an accredited American degree, it is an excellent entry point into further academic studies at the Masters level either in the Webster University Worldwide system or at other Anglo-Saxon universities throughout the world.

The IBMS program has four study specializations or afstudeervarianten: General Management, International Business, Marketing Management, and Business Administration. The first three lead to an American Bachelor of Arts in Management degree, the fourth to an American Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Each four-year program consists of 240 ECTS credits, the equivalent of 128 American credits. All years have 60 ECTS; much of the final year is taken up with the required internships.

Students choosing the IBMS program at Webster University Leiden follow a set route through their program, starting with the first general year. This first year addresses general management skills (such as team building and cross-cultural skills), communication and presentation skills, study and research skills, and composition. This academic foundation year also covers many of the so-called "General Education" courses that are an essential aspect of an American liberal arts college education.

Students who choose to choose Webster University Leiden to obtain a Dutch HBO Bachelor degree in International Business Management thus get a broad American academic education that will stimulate them to think critically, continue to study throughout their career and to be creative in managing change and other challenges.

Although many of the General Education courses can be covered in the first year, the student will find that he will encounter GE courses throughout the four-year program. In the program overview below, General Education courses are marked in red.

There is also a Portfolio requirement which addresses the student's personal and professional (career) development. 

The courses that make up the Webster Leiden IBMS program for each of the four specializations fall into four categories:

  • Business and Management Core (required)
  • General courses (required)
  • Variable courses or Electives ("vrije keuzeruimte"). The courses as listed are recommended to the students. However, in consultation with the Study Advisor, other approved courses may be substituted. This may happen if the student has courses from prior learning which can be transferred in, or when the student has a justified reason to choose approved courses from other clusters
  • Specialization courses (required for the specialization or afstudeer-variant). The 'Algemeen Management' variant has no specialization courses.

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