Business has become data-rich, even the more ‘traditional’ sectors of business. They need people who can find the business benefits through decision-driven analytics. Think of supermarkets with their abundance of data, or logistics and its dependence on routing and timing information. 

You’ll learn to understand, solve and communicate operational, tactical and strategic challenges from data in organisations in this specialisation in our one-year, full-time MScBA study programme. 

What these challenges have in common is their complexity. They need advanced analytics. The results can be extremely valuable for business. You will learn to look beyond correlations for causal relationships that can help you tackle real-life problems in the business world. 

After completing your core courses, you can choose from electives such as Analysing digital footprints, Supply chain analytics, or Fintech: business models and applications. You’ll then write your thesis.

  • 102 average number of students in cohort 
  • 48% international MSc students in programme 
  • 95% of MSc graduates employed within 3 months after graduation 
  • Examples of industries where graduates work: consulting, financial services, retail, CPG industry 
  • Examples of graduates’ job titles: marketing analyst, data scientist, business analyst, supply chain analyst, financial analyst, financial modeller, customer journey specialists 

Master Open Day

On 23 March 2024 we will welcome you again to the Master Open Day. Please note: The MScBA Business Analytics & Management application has closed for the academic year 2024/25. Learn more for the 2025/2026 academic year.

Programme highlights

  • Decision-driven rather than data-driven analytics

    Analytics should not revolve around using fancy methods but helping decision-makers. The “who can do what better now” is a central tenet in this programme.

  • Explore and conquer business challenges

    Choose elective courses to develop your understanding of business models and challenges that organisations face in the marketing, operations, finance, and accounting domains.

  • First-hand experiences

    Learn from the real deal: faculty members share findings from their analytics research, and are regulary consulted by practitioners on how to improve the state of analytics inside their organisations. 

  • Exciting learning methods

    Investigate business analytics in lectures, workshops, analytics assignments, and real business cases that are data-rich and have a lot of company involvement.

More about the programme

Curriculum

Do you want to know more about the MScBA Business Analytics & Management programme?

The video below will answer the most frequently asked questions about the programme.

Q&A with students

Overview

In the one-year MSc in Business Analytics & Management specialisation, you’ll follow the compulsory core courses in the autumn semester (20 EC). Master electives are offered in Block 2 of the autumn semester (6 EC) and in the spring semester (10 EC). The business analytics workshop (6 EC) takes starts in January. During the year, you’ll work on a master thesis project (18 EC) between February and mid-June. 

You’ll learn to detect patterns and trends from instructors who each have their own expertise in particular business and management domains. They will train you to apply your analytical skills in each domain. This specialisation of our MScBA programme also benefits from the Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA); its network of companies and the on-campus Data Lab provide a rich environment for you to develop your skills and knowledge.

MSc programmes are often associated with a research group, guided by accomplished researchers making meaningful contributions in their respective fields. For a closer look at the exciting research initiatives by our academic faculty, we encourage you to explore the department of Marketing Management under which the MScBA in Business Analytics & Management falls.

Please note that core courses and electives are subject to change each academic year. While some electives are very popular and we can place most students in the elective(s) of their choice, there are no guaranteed places.

The core courses will fill your analytics toolbox. You will acquire the necessary skills to conduct an analytics project such as programming, data management and experimentation, as well as immerse yourself into the classes about analytics, diagnostic analytics (understanding why something happened), predictive analytics (predicting what will happen), and prescriptive analytics (determining how to make something happen).

In Block 2 we offer three core electives* that teach you more about specific business domains:

  • Marketing 
  • Operations and business information management 
  • Finance and accounting

Each of these courses familiarises you with core models in the respective business domains, relevant challenges, and some of the analytics used to tackle these. You will have the opportunity to follow two out of the three offered electives, substantially broadening your business knowledge. 

In the electives in Block 3 through 5, which run in parallel to the thesis trajectory, you can select two electives that either focus on a specific class of analytics tools with broad application or a business domain with a specific set of analytics tools.

A list of electives can be found below: 

  • Digital Economy Analytics
  • Principles of Financial Modeling
  • Customer Analytics
  • Marketing Models
  • Business Analytics Applications with Python
  • Supply Chain Analytics
  • Analyzing Digital Footprints
  • FinTech: Business Models & Applications

*Please note that certain electives may be very popular. Although we can place most students in the elective(s) of their choice, there are no guaranteed places.

For a detailed description of all of the courses including electives, please view the course catalogue (for reference only, catalogue continually updated throughout the year).

Can students from outside RSM take our electives?

Learn more

You can get a taste of working life – from large multinationals to fast-growing start-ups – by applying your new wealth of knowledge to a real company problem during your internship, which is optional in your programme. The RSM Career Centre will support you in finding a suitable position. Many students acquire their first job after graduation from the contacts they make during their internship. 

Explore the world and broaden your study experiences by going on international study trips and exchanges at other top schools. RSM has an extensive partner school network of more than 100 business schools and universities worldwide, including top business schools such as ESADE in Barcelona and The Wharton School in the USA. An international exchange is an optional element after you’ve studied for your master for at least one year.

Career opportunities

Business Analytics & Management is a new specialisation of our MScBA designed to fulfil the growing business demand for graduates with strategic business and management skills who can create business benefits using advanced analytics. RSM master graduates combine intellectual curiosity with practical skills geared towards creating positive change in business. In our most recent survey, more than 90 per cent of all RSM graduates find a job within six months of graduating – in many cases even before they graduate. Students choosing this master programme may consider career paths as: 

  • Data scientist 
  • Business analyst 
  • Financial analyst 
  • Supply chain analyst 
  • Marketing analyst 
  • Financial modeller 
  • Customer journey specialist 
  • Omni-channel specialist 
  • Assortment and pricing specialist 

Our graduates enter a range of industries including retail, banking, insurance, and consulting. They typically enter in advanced starting roles where they become part of a team of analysts that works closely with the problem owners, the people on the business side whose practices they are trying to improve and simplify through the use of analytics. Our graduates also often serve as bridges between the business and functions such as data engineering. 

Curious to see what our alumni are doing?

Explore their LinkedIn profiles. You can filter per programme and graduation year.

Good to know

Non-EEA nationals who have earned a diploma from a higher education institute in the Netherlands can apply for a special residence permit called the orientation year after completing their studies. The 'Orientation Year for Graduates Seeking Employment' is a residence permit aimed at retaining foreign talent for the Dutch labour market. During this orientation year you are free to work without a work permit. Participants who find a job during this period can change their orientation year into a residence permit for Highly Skilled Migrants under more favourable terms.

For the most up-to-date information please visit the following website.

What's next after your studies? The RSM Career Centre is your guide for an impactful career. Its expertise in the labour market, personal branding and connections with employers will prepare you for your business career. Get ready for some exciting job fairs, workshops, speed interviews and coaching. You may land your first internship or job before you even graduate!

You’re a member of the RSM community from Day 1. After you graduate, you’ll also be a member of the RSM alumni network. The countless benefits include networking events worldwide with local chapters, lifelong learning and professional development, mentoring opportunities and access to the latest business knowledge and research. Your study at RSM is the first step towards being part of this inspiring community that you’ll be part of forever.

Studying at RSM

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Fees & scholarships

The 2024-2025 tuition fee for the MSc programmes is approximately €22,500 for non-EEA students. The Dutch government contributes towards this cost for students who hold a nationality from a country belonging to the European Economic Area(EEA). These students therefore only pay the statutory fee €2,530 in 2024-2025.

For EEA nationals who have already completed a master in the Netherlands (and obtained the diploma) the tuition fee for a 2nd master is approximately €13,200.

Please note that all these tuition fee tariffs are subject to change.

There are other costs associated with the Master programmes, for more information please review the “Other expenses” section below thoroughly. 

Scholarships

The number of scholarships is limited and mainly merit based. If a scholarship covers only the tuition fees, be aware that you need to finance your own living expenses (rent, food and insurances) for the duration of your studies. RSM does not offer scholarships for the pre-master programme. We do however offer a maximum of 2 scholarships per academic year to RSM pre-master students enrolling in an MSc programme.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) offers multiple scholarships to prospective students from non-EEA countries who are not entitled to pay the EEA tuition fee, provided their grades are considered ‘excellent’. RSM also offers one scholarship, the Erasmus Trustfonds Scholarship, to students from EEA countries. 

Besides scholarships awarded by RSM, there are also scholarships awarded by the Dutch government or other organisations that are available if you meet certain criteria such as nationality, age, etc We have listed some of them below but we encourage you to use resources such as Grantfinder or the Scholarship Portal to find additional scholarships.

Scholarship tips

  • Contact the Ministry for Higher Education in your home country to see whether there are scholarship options.
  • We have virtual information session covering all you need to know about scholarships and financial aid. Watch it here.

For students from the Netherlands or the EU/EEA, it may be possible to apply for limited funding towards payment of your tuition fees. Find out whether you meet the nationality and age requirements and read more information about the application process here.

IM/CEMS is a program that - if you are still eligible - entitles you to a maximum of 1 year's use of your DUO entitlements. Students who have received a basic grant and possibly a supplementary grant from DUO in the first year of IM/CEMS and meet the following additional conditions may be eligible for an additional half year (6 months) of financial support, which is equal to the grant received in the last month during the program. Please contact the student counselors for more information.

Conditions Financial Support Fund
Students eligible for financial support due to extended master programmes are those who: 
a) are enrolled full-time in a public funded Erasmus University Rotterdam degree programme, which is extended on the base of article 7.4, paragraph 8 of the Dutch Higher Education and Research Act; 
b) are enrolled as first enrollment (hoofdinschrijving) in the study programme as referred to under a, for which the student pays statutory tuition fee; 
c) for this program, is or was entitled to study finance (prestatiebeurs hoger onderwijs) as referred to in the Wet Studiefinanciering 2000, and during the period corresponding to the study load that exceeds 60 ECs, and is no longer eligible for student finance in the form of an additional grant.

Other expenses

After having filled in all of the necessary application information on the Online Application Form (OLAF) and uploaded the required documents, applicants with a degree obtained outside the Netherlands will be asked to pay a non-refundable €100 handling fee. This fee can be paid online via the Erasmus Payment System which uses either iDEAL (for those with a Dutch bank account) or PayPal (which can be linked to any bank account or credit card worldwide). It is important that applicants complete the payment process as indicated, otherwise the system cannot register the payment.

The additional expenses in addition to tuition and general living costs (see below) vary per programme and may include:

  • Study materials such as books, readers and business cases
  • Costs involved in kick-off meetings
  • Costs related to travel, international excursions and compulsory exchange semesters or internships abroad

Approximately € 300 - 500 (per year), these costs differ per programme.

For a reasonable standard of living in the Netherlands, you should have an income of between €1,235-€1,735 per month depending on your lifestyle. Further information about the costs of living in the Netherlands and related subjects can be found on this website. Below is an example of monthly expenditures:

Furnished accommodation, including gas and electricity €   500-1,000
Medical insurance €   50
Telephone/internet€   15-40
Food€   300
Books, recreation, clothing€   300
Public Transportation€   50
Total€  average 1235 - 1735
Other potential expenses: 
Buying or renting a bike€  100 - 250 (per year)
In private residence (not student housing) yearly municipal and water taxes€  100 - 300 (per year)
Study trip or other study related travel€  300 - 500 (per year)

Please ensure, prior to your arrival at RSM, that you have or will have sufficient funding available to finance your stay at RSM. Finding a part-time job, may be an option, but can not be guaranteed. You should therefore not rely on finding other ways to supplement your income during your studies. For additional information on obtaining a part-time job, visit the website of the Nuffic.

For EEA students there are no formal restrictions in finding work in the Netherlands, but students with a lack of Dutch language skills will find it difficult to secure employment. Non-EEA students are subject to labour regulations, which makes the likelihood of obtaining a work permit very small. We therefore ask students not to rely on this possibility. We do not encourage students to combine studies with the heavy workload from a part-time job.

Admission & application

On this page we have listed the minimum admissions requirements. Please read the information carefully before moving to the application process. Also make sure to check out our extensive Frequently Asked Questions section.

Application for the September 2024 intake opened 1 October. This is a capped programme, which means that the maximum number of applications we accept is 255

This maximum for the 2024 intake was reached on 20 October and this application is currently CLOSED. The application for the 2025 intake will open on 1 October.

Immigration & housing

Immigration & visas

Find out everything you need to know about entry visas & residence permits for non-EU or EEA students at RSM.

Housing

Finding housing in Rotterdam can be tricky. To help you in your search for housing, we have compiled some helpful resources

Hear from our current students

After my business bachelor, a business analysis internship at Amazon (Luxembourg) and working as a web developer at Accenture (Bulgaria), it was time for me to combine my business and technical knowledge, and extend it even further with the MSc in Business Analytics & Management at RSM.

Kameliya Stefanova, Bulgaria (first cohort, MScBA Business Analytics & Management 2021)

 Kameliya Stefanova portrait photo

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