Program Overview

Master in Management Science

The Master in Management Science is a demanding programme that aims to train students in all core disciplines and areas relevant to business management. Its key distinguishing features are the size of its first year common core (advanced mandatory courses)which provides students with a solid base of knowledge and skills, its strong emphasis on analytical skills, and its multi-disciplinary nature (law, economics, management, communication, and languages)which provides students with a breadth of tools and approaches to evolve in an increasingly complex and dynamic world.

Programme Objectives

The programme's objectives are to:

• Train students in all core disciplines and areas relevant to business management
• Provide students with a solid base of knowledge and skills
• Emphasize analytical skills
• Offer a multi-disciplinary approach (law, economics, management, communication, and languages)

Teaching Team and Methods

The programme emphasizes the acquisition of both analytical and problem-solving skills. It combines conceptual courseswhere students learn techniques and their theoretical underpinningswith practical workshops and individual and team-based projectswhere students can test their understanding of the theory and develop their ability to apply it creatively to real problems. Critical, creative, and independent thinking is required.

International/Openness

The programme prepares its graduates for careers in multicultural and international environments. The curriculum includes language courses, which enable students to work in multilingual environments. Most courses cover the international dimensions of policy and management decision-making. Lastly, students can avail themselves of a rich offering of study-abroad programmes. These international experiences offer them an opportunity to enrich their curriculum and broaden their horizons, and are an essential element of professional life in a globalised world.

Programme's Added Value

What the Solvay Brussels School has to offer:

• A location at the heart of Europe, within a comprehensive research university: the Université libre de Bruxelles.
• An international faculty with a staff of high-level researchers and accomplished practitioners, who work together to ensure that the training they provide is both relevant for business and policy practice and corresponds to the state of art.
• A tradition of rigorous and demanding curricula based on solid multidisciplinary and analytical training, promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• A diversity of teaching methods that are constantly revised to ensure teaching effectiveness.
• A diverse and international student body (up to 80% in some Master programmes).
• A comprehensive educational offering covering economics and business from the bachelor to in-company training.
• Accreditation from EQUIS (European Foundation for Management Development) and AMBA (Association of Masters of Business Administration). AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation is underway.

Career Services

The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management offers its students a number of resources for career development:

• Credited work placements (full-time, 3-month minimum 6-month maximum) allow participating students to gain work experience, apply their academic training, and develop their professional network before graduation.
• Career services provide practical guidance and preparation for the job market (workshops, writing a CV and a cover letter, simulated interviews, LinkedIn profile management, etc.) and organise events (lectures and seminars) with prominent business figures, presenting companies and their employment opportunities. Over the years, the SBS-EM has developed a wide network of recruiters and alumni and has established contacts with companies throughout Belgium and around the world.
• From their graduation onwards, students benefit from a strong and active alumni network with 23,000 members in 100 countries.

Study-Abroad Programmes

The Master in Management Science offers several opportunities to study abroad:

• The international exchange programme, with more than 130 partner universities in 40 countries
• The Master with the QTEM network

Access Conditions

The access conditions to the Master in Management Science programme are as follows:

• Full Admission Rights: Granted to holders of a degree obtained in the French-speaking Community of Belgium, without supplement.
• Admission with Supplement: Granted to holders of a degree from a non-University Higher Education Institution (long course), with a supplement of additional courses.
• Admission Following Submission of a Dossier and Decision by the Jury: Granted to holders of a degree similar to the degrees awarded in the French-speaking Community, with additional conditions determined by the jury.
• Accreditation of Prior Experience: Recognises knowledge and skills acquired through professional and/or personal experience, with a minimum of five years of activity.

Admission Criteria

The admission criteria for the Master in Management Science programme are as follows:

• Strong technical and analytical background in the core disciplines of management and economics
• ECTS grade of B or higher
• GMAT compulsory for holders of non-EU BA degrees
• TOEFL or IELTS recommended for non-native English speakers without a BA degree in English
• Additional evaluation criteria include motivation, professional and extra-curricular activities, and international exposure

Programme Structure

The Master in Management Science programme is a 2-year programme, with a total of 120 credits. The programme is divided into two units: Unit 1 and Unit 2.

Unit 1

Unit 1 consists of the following courses:

• Law for Managers
• Managerial Economics
• Research Methods in Management
• Advanced Accounting
• Advanced Corporate Finance
• Organizational Behaviour and Leadership
• Strategy and Strategic Analysis
• Advanced Marketing Management
• Data Management and Business Analytics

Unit 2

Unit 2 consists of the following courses:

• Students can choose from three specializations: Managing People and Organizations, Cross-Border Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Managing Global Businesses.
• Each specialization has its own set of mandatory and elective courses.
• Students can also choose to do a Master's thesis, an internship, or a field project.

What's Next?

The comprehensive and multivalent nature of this programme gives our graduates access to a wide range of careers, from consulting and audit to executive positions, including:

• Executive positions in any type of organisation (public, private, or NGOs) and sectors
• Management, strategy, and IT consulting
• Auditing or management control
• Entrepreneurship
• Commercial management

Notable alumni include:

• Bernard de Launoit, Executive President, Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth
• Olivier Legrain, Chief Executive Officer, IBA (Biotechnology)
• Natalia Vazilenko, Strategy and Operations Lead, Google Search and Assistant
• Daniel Weekers, Chief Executive Officer, Be TV
• Olivier Willocx, Chief Executive Officer, Chambre de Commerce et Union des Entreprises de Bruxelles (BECI)