Bachelor in Economics and Business Economics
Groningen, Netherlands
DURATION
36 Months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 May 2025*
EARLIEST START DATE
01 Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 13,100 **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for Dutch students, EU/EEA students, non-EU/EEA students
** for non-EU/EEA| EU/EEA: EUR 2530
Introduction
Study economics and business economics in Groningen to get a solid understanding of the economic tools and knowledge to tackle the important societal challenges of today.
Why are some countries rich and others poor? How does this relate to globalization, sustainability, inequality, and climate change? What can central banks do to curb inflation? Can taxes and subsidies stimulate firms to care for the environment? How do corporations decide where to invest their money, and what is the value of corporate social responsibility?
During the three-year BSc Economics and Business Economics programme, you will engage with questions like these through a wide range of courses: micro, macro, and international economics, finance, accounting, ethics, and sustainability. These main areas are supported by quantitative and skills courses to provide you with solid analytical, data, communication, and team skills.
During the first, foundational year, all students take the same courses. Next to the fundamentals of their discipline, some courses take an economic view of current societal challenges such as pollution, inequality, social welfare, sustainable economic growth, and corporate responsibility. In year two, you choose one of three profiles:
- Business Economics is for students who are interested in the decision-making of companies, with a focus on finance and accounting.
- Economics is for students who are interested in understanding economic policy and economic theory.
- International Economics and Sustainable Development is for students who are interested in how countries develop their economies and how this is linked to international trade and current societal topics such as sustainability.
In year three, you will do a minor at our faculty, university, or abroad, at one of our many international partners all over the globe.
Why study this programme in Groningen?
- Get uniquely equipped to use economics and business economics theories and models to engage with – and help solve – some of the current societal challenges, such as inequality, poverty, ethics in business, and climate impact.
- Develop your data and analytical skills to a high level, along with your communication and presentation skills, while building strong connections with the business world through our Career and Employability Events.
- Gain scientific understanding and hands-on experience in working in and with diverse and inclusive teams. In our programme, a third of the students are internationals with over 35 nationalities.
- Become an attractive prospect for future employers You have direct access to a wide range of master's programmes in Finance, Economics, International Economics and Sustainable Development, and many, many more.
- Pursue your learning path by choosing from an exciting range of specializations, minors, electives, and extracurricular activities, such as an internship.
- Groningen is one of the few programmes in the Netherlands that allow students to specialize in International Economics and Sustainable Development.
Admissions
Curriculum
Year 1
Year one offers a solid introduction to economics and business economics. In your first course "Introduction to E&BE" you will explore how institutional contexts (such as democracy and capitalism) affect people's wealth and well-being and how societal challenges like inequality, poverty, ethics in business, and climate impact can be evaluated from an economic point of view. You will also dig into the fundamentals of corporate finance and financial markets, micro-, macro-, and international economics as well as accounting and marketing. Also, you will get to know the basics of mathematics and statistics applied in an economic context.
You will develop important skills in research and data analysis, working in teams, and communication – think, for example, of the writing and presentation skills that today's labour market demands.
Semester 1a
- Introduction to E&BE
- Mathematics for E&BE
- Microeconomics for E&BE: Consumers & Firms
- Financial Accounting for E&BE
Semester 1b
- Macroeconomics for E&BE
- Statistics for E&BE
- Data Analysis for E&BE
Semester 2a
- Marketing for E&BE
- Writing and Presenting for E&BE
- Asset Pricing and Capital Budgeting
Semester 2b
- International Economics for E&BE
- Research Project for E&BE
Year 2
In the second year, you will add an extra layer to the core courses of the first year and you will continue to work on your research and data skills. In this year, you also choose from one of the three profiles (or specializations) we offer:
Business Economics is aimed at students who are interested in the decision-making of companies, with a focus on financial decision-making. Finance deals with deciding on large corporate investments, and the financing of it, the value of corporate social responsibility, the functioning of financial markets, and the determination of security prices like stocks. You will also learn about banking, accounting, financial statement analysis, business ethics, marketing, logistics, and human resource management.
International Economics and Sustainable Development is aimed at students who are interested in how countries develop their economies, why some countries are wealthy, and others stay poor, how this is linked to international trade and government, geography, culture, and history, and how that affects current societal topics such as sustainability, inequality, and climate change.
Economics is aimed at students who are interested in understanding economic policy and economic theory. This specialization deals with consumer and firm behaviour, the performance of markets, the origins of economic growth, the labour market, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and political economics. Questions addressed are for example: what can policymakers do to stimulate consumers to reduce their energy consumption? And, what can central banks do to combat high inflation?
Semester 1a
- BE - Matrix Analysis and Optimization
- BE - Monetary Macroeconomics
- BE - Trade Policy and Economic Integration
- ECO - Matrix Analysis and Optimization
- ECO - Monetary Macroeconomics
- ECO - Trade Policy and Economic Integration
- ED&G - Matrix Analysis and Optimization
- ED&G - Monetary Macroeconomics
- ED&G - Trade Policy and Economic Integration
Semester 1b
- BE - Management Accounting for BE
- BE - Microeconomics - Industrial Organization
- BE - Operations and Logistics Management
- ECO - Intermediate Mathematics
- ECO - Microeconomics - Industrial Organization
- ECO - Public Finance
- ED&G - Global Development Studies
- ED&G - Microeconomics - Industrial Organization
- ED&G - Technological Change & Innovation
Semester 2a
- BE - Capital Structure and Financial Planning
- BE - Econometrics for E&BE
- BE - Human Resource Management for BE
- ECO - Capital Structure and Financial Planning
- ECO - Econometrics for E&BE
- ECO - Growth, Institutions and Business
- ED&G - Capital Structure and Financial Planning
- ED&G - Econometrics for E&BE
- ED&G - Growth, Institutions and Business
Semester 2b
- BE - Business Ethics, Sustainability and Law
- BE - Economics of Banking
- BE - Empirical Research Paper for E&BE
- ECO - Economics of Banking
- ECO - Empirical Research Paper for E&BE
- ECO - History of Economic Thought
- ED&G - Business Ethics, Sustainability and Law
- ED&G - Economics of Banking
- ED&G - Empirical Research Paper for E&BE
Year 3
In the third year, you choose a minor. Some students choose courses offered within our degree programme (with more economics, finance, and data skill courses) or follow a faculty minor (such as Data Analytics, Taxation or Entrepreneurship), while others take a minor from a different faculty of the University of Groningen (such as Psychology, Law or Neuroscience) or one that involves studying abroad for a full semester – in Europe, Latin America, Australia, Canada, China, the USA or elsewhere in the world.
After your minor, you continue with your specialization, make a selection from many electives, and you will write your empirical Bachelor's thesis on a current topic.
Semester 1a
- BE - Minor (30 EC)
- ECO - Minor (30 EC)
- ED&G - Minor (30 EC)
Semester 1b
- BE - Elective BSc E&BE-BE
- BE - Intermediate Asset Pricing
- ECO - Elective BSc E&BE-Economics
- ECO - Intermediate Macroeconomics
- ED&G - Elective BSc E&BE-ED&G
- ED&G - Growth and Development Economics
Semester 2a
- BE - Bachelor's Thesis E&BE-BE
- ECO - Bachelor's Thesis E&BE-Economics
- ED&G - Bachelor's Thesis E&BE-ED&G
Semester 2b
- BE - Elective BSc E&BE-BE
- BE - Intermediate Corporate Finance
- ECO - Elective BSc E&BE-Economics
- ECO - Intermediate Microeconomics
- ED&G - Elective BSc E&BE-ED&G
- ED&G - Sustainability and Globalization
Study abroad
- Study abroad is optional
In this programme, you have the option of studying abroad for one semester in Year 3 (30 EC). You can do this at one of our many international exchange partners in Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia or Asia.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
A degree in Economics and Business Economics from our university can open a lot of doors for you on the job market. The skills and knowledge of our students are greatly valued by (international) corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, policy institutes (like a central bank or the WTO), regulators (like the Financial Market Authority), commercial banks, government (such as ministries and local governments) or in education (such as high schools) and research institutes (such as universities).
Most of our BSc graduates continue their studies with a Master's degree. This is a good way of gaining more specialized knowledge in your field so that you will have more interesting career options when you graduate. Some MSc students make use of our many double degree possibilities, where you will also study at another foreign university, for example in China, Chili, Sweden, Hungary, or Germany.
Job prospects
There are many related Master's programmes you can immediately access after completing this degree. A Master's degree in Finance offers career opportunities in corporate finance, corporate governance, financial markets, and portfolio management, with job opportunities at multinationals such as PwC, Google, Coca-Cola, or Toyota. A Master's degree in Economics grants you access to the world of banking or the government sector, where you could help develop economic policy. A Master's degree in International Economics and Sustainable Development opens the gateway to multinationals, intergovernmental institutions, or international organizations. All of these degrees could help you become an analyst for a research institute, consulting firm, or university.
With a Research Master's degree, you can move into academia. You might even decide to go further and earn a PhD at a university in the Netherlands or abroad.
Job examples
- Financial or stock market analyst at a commercial bank (e.g. Rabobank)
- Policy advisor at a ministry (e.g. Ministry of Finance)
- Researcher at a central bank or university (e.g. DNB)
- Risk analyst at an insurance company (e.g. Achmea)
- Consultant at a consultancy firm (e.g. Deloitte)
- Financial Manager at a corporation (e.g. ASML)
- Economist at a policy institute (e.g. Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis)
- Trade expert at an international organization (e.g. the United Nations)
Student Testimonials
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.