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Make companies smarter with maths, AI, and data.

Business Analytics

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Do you want to use data to improve how organisations work? Business Analytics turns advanced mathematics, statistics and programming into practical insight for companies, government, non-profit organisations and public services.

The study programme

  1. Data Analysis / Mathematics (50%): statistics and optimisation
  2. Computer Science (35%): programming, algorithms and artificial intelligence
  3. Business (15%): organisation, finance and logistics

Theory and projects

Every semester you work in a small project group on a real case for an organisation, applying theory directly to a working solution and final product. You develop your communication and consulting skills, present your work regularly, and visit companies such as IBM and Deloitte. The programme is taught in English and starts in September.

Curious how Business Analytics compares with Econometrics and Operations Research or Econometrics and Data Science? View the comparison chart

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First year

You are introduced to computer science, business economics and, above all, mathematics. You learn the basics of calculus, probability and decision-making through mathematical modelling, and how to code in R and Python. Each semester you join a small project team and use 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

You go deeper into the core subjects from mathematics, computer science and business economics. In the first semester you work with statistics and models that involve uncertainty; in the second you focus on data and data analysis and strengthen your programming in the Advanced Programming course.

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. You finish the programme with a final project: a practical case, tackled with four fellow students, in which you use data and algorithms to design innovative solutions.

You can find the complete course overview in the study guide, and you can also check out the year schedule for a high-level overview.

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

    You are introduced to computer science, business economics and, above all, mathematics. You learn the basics of calculus, probability and decision-making through mathematical modelling, and how to code in R and Python. Each semester you join a small project team and use 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

    You go deeper into the core subjects from mathematics, computer science and business economics. In the first semester you work with statistics and models that involve uncertainty; in the second you focus on data and data analysis and strengthen your programming in the Advanced Programming course.

    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. You finish the programme with a final project: a practical case, tackled with four fellow students, in which you use data and algorithms to design innovative solutions.

    You can find the complete course overview in the study guide, and you can also check out the year schedule for a high-level overview.

    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

“Business Analytics nicely combines multiple studies”

“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 interesting, but not enough to study either on its own. That is how I ended up with Business Analytics, which combines all of these nicely.” - Fenna Brakenhoff

Explore your study programme.

Recent student projects

Business Analytics is an interdisciplinary degree, and our students apply it to problems that matter. Recent examples:

  • Faster emergency response: a simulation study redesigned where Amsterdam’s fire trucks are stationed, so emergency services can reach incidents as quickly as possible (Wenjie Hu, 2025).
  • Better cancer treatment: reinforcement learning was used to optimise chemotherapy dosing in the gynaecology department of a Dutch hospital (Roza Hoek Spaans, 2025). 
  • Detecting money laundering: explainable AI flagged suspicious transactions at a financial firm on the Amsterdam Zuidas (Rens van Haasteren, 2025).

Analytics with a purpose

At VU Amsterdam you learn to use analytics responsibly, for people, society and the planet. Student work has tackled problems from healthcare to financial integrity, and even suicide-prevention research, and dedicated courses address the ethical and societal side of working with data and AI.

Study abroad

You can spend part of your bachelor's at a partner university abroad. Our students have studied in destinations such as Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong and Barcelona, choosing from more than 50 partner universities across Europe, Asia, the Americas, Australia and Africa.

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