International Economics and Finance

Firms work in an environment that is becoming more and more international, not only as a result of the internationalisation of business itself, but also as a result of stronger international impact on local environments. Mobility of production factors as labour, capital and technology has increased and, especially in Europe, national policies are more and more subjugated to international policies. Examples are real policies as value added taxation, trade taxation, merger policy and competition policy, and, especially since the introduction of the Euro, financial policies such as currency market intervention and possible enlargement of the Euro area with its implications on the role of the Euro as an international invoicing currency and reserve currency. Sometimes policy decisions are taken beyond the European level, as in the case of banking supervision or in the case of reactions to financial crises. In all of these area?s international policies influence the environment of business. Moreover, even where other policies remain mostly the domain of national authorities (as income taxation and capital income taxation) they give rise to cross border effects regarding the location of economic activity. This also holds for European versus outside policies. It is these and related aspects that are the object of study of the MSc International Economics and Finance (IEF).

Semester 1 *International Accounting *International Financial Management *International Management *International Marketing *Elective Semester 2 *Seminar International Business *Elective *Master's Thesis Please note that this programme may be subject to changes without prior notice. Tilburg University cannot be held responsible for any inconvenience this may cause. Teaching methods For the regular courses, the core method is interactive teaching in small groups (approximately 40 students in class), based on both theory and cases. When applicable, other methods, like lectures for larger audiences, are used. The Master's thesis is always written on an individual basis. A personal thesis advisor is assigned to each student. However, if the business problem is too large to be handled by one student, team work is sometimes allowed, even if this spans more than one business field. Subsequently, the broader problem is split up into several smaller theses. The language of the entire programme is English. The instructors, who are experienced in teaching and research in an international setting, come from various countries, all over the world. The international nature of the programme is further strengthened by the discussion of international cases. Also, student teams that are formed to work on assignments have members from several countries. In that way, students will become familiar with dealing with cultural differences. Last changed: Monday 22 November 2004 International Business, Business Studies (for candidates with at least 10 ECTS credits in each of the four key business disciplines), Business Administration.With a Master of Science Degree in International Business you will have a completed academic education with excellent career opportunities, both professionally and scientifically. In terms of professional orientation, an International Business graduate should be able to achieve careers in all areas of business: General management jobs (within multinationals and firms that deal with foreign companies) Marketing (specialised marketing consultancy firms, multinational companies) Corporate Finance (corporate finance and treasury departments within companies, commercial banks, assurance companies, other financial Institutions, corporate finance consultancy firms) Accounting (financial reporting, financial analysis, accounting & control departments within companies, accountancy firms, management consultancy firms) Organisation (organisation & strategy within companies as well as consultancy firms); more specific examples of career opportunities are international management trainee, international marketing and sales consultant, international (business) consultant and international financial manager. In terms of the scientific career perspective, an International Business graduate is able to join a PhD programme in one of the four main areas of Business Administration. He or she is likely to be qualified to write a PhD thesis on topics such as Comparative Management, Strategic Marketing, Empirical Corporate Finance, and Behavioural Accounting. Career opportunities after finishing the PhD programme can be found in private and public research organisations (universities, business schools, consultancy firms, and research departments of larger multinationals).