International Business Management

Programme

The master’s degree programme in International Business Management (IBM) enables you to assume greater responsibility for business operations in many different fields. In this programme you develop your skills in business development from the perspective of new business models, corporate strategy, required changes in the firm’s operations, and impact on employees and other stakeholders. Business development is looked at from a technological perspective, including digitalisation and FinTech (financial technology), as well as a geographic perspective, the Nordic countries.

IBM is a holistic education in business administration. The aim is to give you up-to-date competences in central corporate functions, including strategic management, leadership, finance, and marketing. These competences give you the skillset needed to develop the firm, and act and react in a changing world. In practice, the programme gives you skills to move from a specialist role to a business leader role.

In this programme, you study a general knowledge course module, after which you choose between two specialisation modules: Business Development in the Nordics or Business Development, Digitalisation and FinTech.

Business Development in the Nordics

Arcada is the only university of applied sciences (UAS) in Finland with a master’s degree programme that focuses on the Nordic business environment. While we examine Nordic countries in particular, these learnings can also be applied in a broader context. The focus is on both theoretical and practical means for geographical expansion, as well as business opportunities in Nordic countries. We work with practical and real market entry business cases, analysed from inception to implementation.

Business Development, Digitalisation and FinTech

Digitalisation involves the use of technology to create new business models or improve the efficiency of existing operations. The focus is on various technologies that drive digitalisation, such as analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchains, and machine learning. While these technologies can be applied in a broad context, we will examine the impact particularly in financial technology (FinTech).

The IBM programme comprises 90 ECTS with studies lasting either one and a half years (full-time studies) or three years (part-time studies), which allows for studying alongside full-time employment. The part-time and full-time programmes contain exactly the same courses, the difference being that the schedule is more intense for the full-time programme. All lectures are typically held in the afternoons from 4:30 PM onwards, or during weekends.

What you will learn

The programme gives you a broad skillset ranging from customer facing processes such as customer relationship management and marketing, to internal processes in finance, strategy development, and working with the board of a company. A key focus is also on how to lead change in these areas.

Examples of future positions

• Marketing Manager/Director
• Customer Relationship Manager/Director
• Country Manager/Director
• Nordic Business Manager/Director
• Strategic Marketing Manager/Director
• Strategy Manager/Director
• Board Member

Top-quality teaching in a supportive environment

As a student in the IBM programme, you can expect top-quality teaching during your studies. Our teachers are a mixed group of business professionals and academics, with some having a long experience in the industry and others having done extensive research in the topics covered in our courses. In addition, we typically invite guest speakers from the industry to each course, thus ensuring that you are provided with the latest business knowledge and research.

At Arcada, we take pride in the personal guidance teachers give their students, and this is also something our students and alumni continue to highlight as one of the top advantages of studying at our UAS.

Excellent networking opportunities and strengthened intercultural competence

As Arcada is the most international Finnish UAS in relation to its size, here you are guaranteed to meet and collaborate with new people of diverse backgrounds. IBM, itself a mixture of international and Finnish students, gathers curious and ambitious people of different backgrounds who wish to share ideas and perspectives. In other words, we offer a diverse study environment with great networking opportunities.

Specialise according to your own interests

The master’s thesis (30 ECTS) develops your skills to independently solve demanding and practical problems in a creative way. You can select a problem to be solved based on your personal interests. Often, this is done in cooperation with a client or your employer. In your thesis, you will develop new knowledge and innovative ways of working. Another crucial part of the thesis work is to learn how to argue for and defend a stance or viewpoint, typically based on previous research or new empirical data. The skills you gain will help you define a problem, gather data, and analyse data in a systematic way.

How to apply

Please visit the Application pages for all the information on how to apply.

Tuition fees and scholarships

Please note that applicants from countries outside the European Union/EEA are required to pay tuition fees. This master’s degree programme, consisting of 90 ECTS, costs 11 000 euros. In case a student is unable to complete the degree within the given study time, the student needs to pay 4 000 euros per each extra semester until the degree is completed.

No scholarships are available for master's degree studies, but we do have an early bird offer. Learn more on our Application pages.