Bachelor's Business Analytics - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Make companies smarter with data and maths

Do you want to analyse data to improve business results? Are you interested in mathematics and business? Then choose Business Analytics!

The study programme

With the bachelor's in Business Analytics, you will use the power of mathematics, data analysis, computer science and business to improve the results of companies, government, non-profit organisations, municipalities and services. During the programme, there are three main areas of study:

Data Analysis/Mathematics (50%, statistics & optimisation)
Computer Science (35%, artificial intelligence & programming)
Business (15%, organisation, finance & logistics)

Theory and projects

These areas of study are interspersed with challenging real-life projects of renowned organisations in small project groups. You apply theory and work immediately on a solution and final product for the company. You will develop your communication and consulting skills and make regular presentations. You will receive lectures from highly experienced lecturers and guest speakers from the business world, and you will also regularly visit companies such as IBM and Deloitte yourself to see what the possibilities are after your studies.

Solutions to complex questions of organisations

Business Analytics is an interdisciplinary degree in which you can explore what suits you best. For example, you will work on the following issues:

How do you reduce ambulance response times to save more lives?
Can you predict cancellations of hotel bookings so you know how many extra rooms to book?
Can you predict which news articles will be most popular based on a dataset from an online news website?

The Business Analytics course has been around for 30 years and has good connections with alumni, companies and organisations. Will you become a sought-after professional for any potential employer? Make Business Analytics your gateway to an (international) career.

Are you curious about the differences between the programmes Econometrics and Operations Research and Econometrics and Data Science? Then view this comparison chart!

The programme starts in September.

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1st year
2nd year
3rd year

First year

In the first year, you are introduced to computer science, business economics and in particular mathematics. You learn the basic principles of calculus, probability and decision-making based on mathematical modelling. You learn how to code using R and Python. Every six months, you join a handful of your fellow students on a small project team, using simplified datasets to solve real-world problems.

Subjects

Calculus 1
English Language Test
Introduction to Business Analytics
Introduction to Programming (Python)
Calculus 2
Project Business Analytics 1
Sets and Combinatorics
Operations Research
Linear Algebra
Probability Theory
Accounting
Project Business Analytics 2

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the Study guide

Second year

In the second year, you dive deeper into the key subjects from maths, computer science and business economics. In the first semester you learn to work with statistics and models involving uncertainty. In the second semester you focus on different aspects of data and data analysis. You also further develop your programming skills in the Advanced Programming course and learn to program in Python.

Subjects

Advanced Programming
Statistics
Stochastic Modelling
Finance
Business Simulation
Business Intelligence and Analytics
Dynamics and Computation
Statistical Data Analysis
Databases
Project Big Data

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the Study guide

Third year

In the first semester, you choose a minor to specialise in. To conclude the programme, you collaborate with four fellow students on a final project. This is a practical case study on a topic such as the pricing of cargo for transportation by air. Which price do you use for which destination? How do the weight of the cargo and the date of the flight factor in? What is an acceptable price? Using data and algorithms, you come up with innovative solutions.

Subjects

History of Science
Machine Learning
Combinatorial Optimization
Bachelor Project: Business Case
Philosophy and Ethics

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the Study guide

1st year
First year

In the first year, you are introduced to computer science, business economics and in particular mathematics. You learn the basic principles of calculus, probability and decision-making based on mathematical modelling. You learn how to code using R and Python. Every six months, you join a handful of your fellow students on a small project team, using simplified datasets to solve real-world problems.

Subjects
Calculus 1

English Language Test

Introduction to Business Analytics

Introduction to Programming (Python)

Calculus 2

Project Business Analytics 1

Sets and Combinatorics

Operations Research

Linear Algebra

Probability Theory

Accounting

Project Business Analytics 2

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the Study guide
2nd year
Second year

In the second year, you dive deeper into the key subjects from maths, computer science and business economics. In the first semester you learn to work with statistics and models involving uncertainty. In the second semester you focus on different aspects of data and data analysis. You also further develop your programming skills in the Advanced Programming course and learn to program in Python.

Subjects
Advanced Programming

Statistics

Stochastic Modelling

Finance

Business Simulation

Business Intelligence and Analytics

Dynamics and Computation

Statistical Data Analysis

Databases

Project Big Data

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the Study guide
3rd year
Third year

In the first semester, you choose a minor to specialise in. To conclude the programme, you collaborate with four fellow students on a final project. This is a practical case study on a topic such as the pricing of cargo for transportation by air. Which price do you use for which destination? How do the weight of the cargo and the date of the flight factor in? What is an acceptable price? Using data and algorithms, you come up with innovative solutions.

Subjects
History of Science

Machine Learning

Combinatorial Optimization

Bachelor Project: Business Case

Philosophy and Ethics

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the Study guide

"Maths was always one of my favourite subjects in high school, but studying maths alone was a bit too dry for me. I also found computer science and business studies interesting, but both not interesting enough to do just that. That's how I ended up with Business Analytics which combines all these studies nicely."

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