Study programme

You will take eight courses (six required, two electives) worth 5 EC each, two courses worth 2.5 EC each and a Master’s thesis worth 15 EC. You can also download the Master's programme Strategy, Competition and Regulation year schedule as a PDF-file for easy reference. Please note that the names of the courses may change next year.
Courses
A description of the courses is provided below.
Thesis
Your Master’s thesis is the culmination of the MSc in Strategy, Competition and Regulation. Done well, your thesis is a piece of work that will make you proud. You can choose to complete your thesis in a number of ways. Though a thesis is typically written in the context of one of the ongoing research programmes at the Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E.), you can also choose your own thesis topic or combine it with an internship (external research) and record the outcome in a research report
Each year we select a winning Master's thesis for each U.S.E. 1-year Master’s programme. These theses need to be written and completed in semester 2 and are chosen for its relevance, academic merit, and particularly for its integration of a ‘real-world perspective’ into an economics issue. From these winning theses, one overall winner is selected by a jury. This thesis is recognized with the U.S.E. Master's Thesis Award. The author of the winning thesis of U.S.E. is awarded with a certificate and cash prize during the Master’s Graduation ceremony.
This programme provides you with a rigorous analytical basis for looking at regulatory problems both from a government and a business perspective.
Educational methods
Below you can see the overview of the educational methods in this programme.
Academic Calendar
Consult our Academic Calendar, where you can find more information about the Master's schedule per period, course registration periods and holidays.