Study programme

This Master’s programme prepares professionals for the exciting and fast-paced world of business development and entrepreneurship. It combines the rigour of an economics education with the relevance of providing the knowledge and skills for new business development. The rigour of an Economics qualification is reflected in analytical courses such as Empirical Economics, Financial Management, Entrepreneurial Finance and a targeted Research Project (advancing the lean startup method). The relevance of applying theory while keeping the bigger picture of new business development in sight, is especially emphasised in courses such as Intrapreneurship, Entrepreneurial Marketing and Strategy and Innovation. Next to these core courses there are electives taken from other domains to broaden your horizons within the programme and enable you to tailor it to your ambitions and affinities. The final Master’s thesis enables you to demonstrate mastery of that what you’ve learned in this programme.

Course schedule

Below you will find the courses of the Master's programme Business Development and Entrepreneurship.

Period 3: choose two electives from the list*, but at least one of the following courses

* Electives Period 3

Mergers and Acquisitions
Multinational Organisation
Management Control Systems
Financial Regulation
Asset Pricing
Economics of Global Challenges
Behavioural Economics and Public Policy
Platform Economy and Business
Entr. Ecosystems & Economic Development
Business Development Analytics
Valuation in M&As
This course will focus on the methods and tools to value corporation in the context of M&A. This knowledge is important for investors, managers, stock pickers and acquisition hunters. The course will discuss two main methods of valuation, the discounted cash flow method along with all its related principles and concepts, like the discount rate, the growth rate, the free cash flow and the terminal value. This involves analysing available accounting information, coming up with economically meaningful forecasts of future performance and incorporating the same as part of valuation models that are appropriate to the firm-specific context. The second method will be valuing companies by using multiples and comparative ratios. To provide hands on experience, in the workshops we will apply the theories discussed each week to estimate different valuation inputs to complete a real-world valuation exercise by the end of the course. Students will conduct a full-fledged valuation exercise through the course project.
Learning objectives
At the end of the course the student should be able to:
- Compute companies' values using several different models and techniques;
- Analyse companies' accounting statements and the corresponding management discussion;
- Forecast future cashflows, to determine the cost of capital, and to apply discounted cashflow valuation techniques appropriate to the context of the firm.
- Understand the assumptions underlying the various valuation methodologies (discounted cashflow models, and valuation multiples) and the differences and the similarities therein.
- Appreciate the role of judgment in financial accounting and analysis.
- Collect financial data from various Internet sources;

Period 3 and 4

Thesis (compulsory)

Period 1-4

Professional skills

You can also download the Master's programme Business Development and Entrepreneurship year schedule as a PDF-file for easy reference. Please note that the names of the courses may change next year.

Thesis

Your Master’s thesis is the culmination of the MSc in Business Development and Entrepreneurship. 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.

Educational and examination methods

Below you can see the overview of the educational and examination methods in this programme.

Extra opportunities

Utrecht University offers several honours programmes for students looking for an extra challenge. Honours education is followed on top of your regular Master's programme and goes beyond the regular curriculum.

Academic Calendar

Consult our Academic Calendar, where you can find more information about the Master's schedule per period, course registration periods and holidays.

Study programme

Course schedule

Course Overview

Period 1

Period 2

Period 3

Period 4

Thesis

Educational and examination methods

Educational methods

Examination methods

Extra opportunities

Academic Calendar

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