Business and Social Impact Utrecht University

Overview

Businesses increasingly have to reinvent themselves to meet the demands of a world characterised by societal challenges such as climate change, population growth, migration and globalisation. 

Pressure from consumers, regulators and other stakeholders stimulates organisations to combine financial and social goals, rather than focusing solely on shareholder value.

The Business and Social Impact programme at Utrecht University is based on Utrecht University’s world-class research in business strategy, organisation, marketing, entrepreneurship and innovation. 

The academic staff of Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E.) excel in integrating business perspectives with broader socio-economic issues. 

This comes to the fore in our Sustainable Finance Lab, the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative and its link with the business world and policy practice.

Programme Objectives 

The Master’s in Business and Social Impact provides you with:

• The tools, skills and techniques to transform businesses and strengthen their social value creation;

• Market analysis and empirical techniques for such analysis, including customer development;

• Strategy creation abilities. Special attention is paid to redesigning strategies to meet (new or existing) missions and values in line with the SDGs;

• Competences for dealing with tensions and synergies between businesses’ growth ambitions and social goals;

• Knowledge of the types of finance that businesses aiming to create social value can draw upon.

Career Prospects

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) expert, manager, controller or adviser;
• Social marketer;
• Sustainable finance expert;
• Social business developer;
• Start-ups;
• Consultant;
• Policymaker.

Accreditation

Accredited by the NVAO