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Discover challenging new research opportunities

Research Master Business Data Science (Tinbergen Institute)

The Research Master in Business Data Science is a two-year programme consisting of 120 ECTS. It is tailored for recent Bachelor's degree graduates, or those currently still enrolled in an undergraduate degree programme, who are looking to pursue a solid course of training leading to a doctoral degree.

Data Science Foundation - Acquiring skills
In the first year, the primary objective is to build a solid data science foundation and expose students to a variety of methodological approaches. These skills are applied to various business disciplines in the field courses.

Business Foundation - Building knowledge
In the second year, students focus on a business discipline, selecting from: 1) management science (entrepreneurship and innovation, marketing science, human resources and organization, knowledge and information networks, management and strategy) 2) operations analytics 3) quantitative finance and accounting. The courses have been carefully selected by a team of experts with the aim of ensuring the perfect learning trajectory that will lead to substantive contributions in each discipline and its subfields.

Research practice - Aligning skills and knowledge
The curriculum starts with an overview of the business problems that data science can address, which also exposes students to fundamental components of multiple fields in business. This early exposure helps students to absorb and process materials presented later in courses on methodology, with respect to the various business perspectives. Students become further acquainted with research topics in business during seminars held throughout the first year and internships, as well as during the research hackathon. The hackathon makes students think about how to approach the problems that arise in the various disciplines and puts their knowledge to the test.

First year students will address problems in all of the different business fields; second year students will focus on addressing the problems linked to their field of specialization. The Research Master thesis represent students’ final moments of integrating business and data science, and will showcase their ability to identify relevant problems and address them using cutting-edge techniques to make a substantive contribution to the field.

Unique features

The Business Data Science program distinguishes itself based on the following unique features:

  • The program is a two-year research master (120 EC) aiming to train future PhD students. Students who successfully complete the research master Business Data Science are assisted in finding PhD positions at one of the three partner universities or elsewhere.
  • It has a strong focus on data science, presented to the students at a higher theoretical level than in a traditional master program.
  • It ties the foundations of data science directly to different business fields. 
  • It is a small-scale program, where students work in close collaboration with faculty. The class-size limit of 30 students guarantees a high level of interaction in the classroom, detailed feedback from faculty, and the support of a strong cohort. Individual field courses will generally have fewer students due to their concentration in the various tracks.
  • It is embedded in the fervid research culture of three leading universities, benefitting from the expertise and research network of top-notch faculty. Not only are the rich variety of topics and methodological approaches covered in this program unique, the broad network employed/drawn on by participating faculty (with connections at MIT, NYU, LBS, and JADS, to name a few) is a valuable asset for future scholars. The cooperation between the three Schools guarantees first-rate education provided by highly qualified scholars, embedded in an excellent infrastructure.
  • Students are provided with excellent facilities. Most of the classes are organized in Amsterdam (Zuidas) with assigned classrooms, student work places and IT facilities for Research Master students. Classes will also be offered at the Woudestein Campus at EUR in Rotterdam with good facilities for students. Teachers are ready to offer diverse learning paths aligned to the current context of Covid-19 to our students if needed (in-class, online, blended), while keeping a highly interactive environment.
  • Students are assisted with immigration procedures and housing. Travel costs for coursework are reimbursed. Scholarships are available for selected students.

Contact the Business Data Science programme

For questions about the programme content, please send an e-mail to admissions@businessdatascience.nl. For more general questions, please send an e-mail to Studentdesk@vu.nl .

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