Master's in Sustainable Business and Innovation

This programme focuses on transforming business and marketing processes toward a sustainable future. It takes a multidisciplinary approach, recognising the connections between business, food systems, environmental issues, and agricultural sciences. You will receive the official diploma of the Master’s in Management, Economics, and Consumer studies, specifying a Master's in Sustainable Business and Innovation.

The programme runs annually beginning in September each year. It consists of 120 credit points (ECTS), equivalent to two academic years. The academic year consists of 6 periods. Period 1,2,5 and 6 comprise six weeks of classes, one week of self-study and the exam week. In these periods, students often follow two courses worth 6 credits each. Period 3 and 4 entail of four weeks in which both the lectures and the exams take place. In these periods, students follow one course worth 6 credits. The expected workload is 40 hours per week.

For more detailed information about this programme's profile and learning outcomes, check the Study Handbook.

Download the course's overview of the first and second years. 

You will begin with core programme-specific courses such as Business Theories & Sustainability, Strategic Marketing for Market Transformation, Leading & Organising Sustainability, Conceptual Innovation Lab, Analytical Methods, and Critical Reflections on Business that integrate social-science, natural-science, and business perspectives.  

Programme specific courses (30 ECTS)

• Business Theories & Sustainability (YSS37006) - 6 ECTS 
  Which theories underlie the decisions that managers make on a daily basis? How useful are these theories if businesses also aim to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals? What alternative theories are emerging? This course will teach you how to use theories to analyse and evaluate sustainable business models, their commercial and societal potential and pitfalls.
  
• Strategic Marketing for Market Transformation (MCB33806) - 6 ECTS 
  How do companies change the rules of the game in the market and business ecosystems? What instruments do they use for advertising, product development, channel development and pricing? How do they engage with vital stakeholders, address greenwashing, compete, and deal with unwilling consumers? In this course, you will study business cases on companies at the forefront of sustainable change and learn by playing a market game against other students.
  
• Leading and Organising for Sustainability (BMO36306) - 6 ECTS 
  How to change organisational structures, processes, competencies, policies, and incentives to foster sustainability? How do leaders change norms and build corporate cultures that foster change for sustainability? What are the organisational hindrances and flows? By studying living business cases and receiving direct feedback from multinational corporation (MNC) managers, your knowledge will expand.
  
• Conceptual Innovation Lab (YSS38606) - 6 ECTS 
  Different types of innovations can be accelerators for the sustainability transition of global food systems towards the achievement of the SDG goals. Innovative concepts and development frameworks that can create understanding and guide actions into the transition process are abound. This course will teach you a scientific, robust, and step-wise approach on how to develop innovative conceptual frameworks. Concepts of creative conceptual thinking, scientific reflection, active and lively discussions to develop academic skills will pass by in this course.
  
• Analytical Methods (YSS38806)  - 6 ECTS 
  This course provides students with the analytical methods to support businesses, policymakers, and researchers when making decisions on sustainability and innovation. Students will learn how to develop a research design and decide which research methods are best to use.

For more information on the course offered at WUR, check out the Study Handbook MME-A.

Academic Master's Cluster - 12 ECTS 

Academic Consultancy Training (9 ECTS) and Modular Skills Training (3 ECTS): In Academic Consultancy Training, you will work with students from different master’s programmes on an assignment for an external client. In this way, you can apply the knowledge you gained during your studies and experience what it’s like to work as a consultant. Your group will be supported by an academic expert focusing on the contents of the project and a coach focusing on the group process and personal development of the team members.

• Academic Consultancy Training (YMC60809) - 9 ECTS  
  In the ACT course, students work in teams of 5 to 7 on a transdisciplinary academic consultancy project for an external client, such as a government agency, private company, or civil society organisation. Teams are formed based on the required disciplinary mix and students’ preferences, and are supported by an assigned process coach and an academic advisor (content coach) relevant to the project. Working in multidisciplinary, often multicultural teams, students carry out design-oriented projects that may involve developing technologies, formulating policy recommendations, devising business strategies, crafting communication plans, or preparing research proposals. The course emphasises integrating academic knowledge with practical insights, collaborating closely with the commissioner, and translating complex analyses into actionable advice for real-world decision-making. 
  
• Modular Skills Training - 3 ECTS
  In Modular Skills Training, you select modules to work on specific skills that you would like to develop, like scientific writing, management skills or career orientation.

Electives - 12 ECTS

Within this master’s programme students can follow two elective courses in the fields of digitalisation, creative data science, consumer behaviour, digital marketing, governance, economics, and econometrics and also in supply chain analytics and management. Students can follow any relevant master's course that adds to their master’s programme, given it is of relevant difficulty and adds to the programme being studied.

Typically students of Sustainable Business and Innovation choose courses in entrepreneurship, digital and sustainable marketing, organisational design, data science or choose an elective from another master program.

Thesis - 36 ECTS

In the Sustainable Business & Innovation Master's programme at WUR, your thesis is your opportunity to deeply explore a topic that excites you, about how people interact with products, food, or services. Rather than only studying theories, you will engage directly with a real-world research question that connects to your interests and ambitions.

You start by picking a topic that sparks your interest. Then, you dig into what's already out there – what researchers have said, what studies have found – and figure out where there's still room for more insight. Next, you design your own study. It could be surveys, interviews, or whatever method suits your topic. You collect your data, analyse it, and then report everything in an official paper. It's not just about getting it right, but about showing you've really thought deeply about something you're passionate about. It's like your academic rite of passage into the world of Sustainable Business & Innovation.

Examples of our student’s thesis topics:

• Stakeholder engagement in Double Materiality Assessment: Decision Making Under Heuristic and Self-Reinforcing Effect
• How to future-proof an arable family farm? The integration of Dutch arable family farms into horizontal collaboration
• Brand equity: Investigating the brand equity of PRO Bikegear within the bike components market in relation to competitors: a customer's emotional approach
• Optimizing the Promotion Calendar of Kraft Heinz at Jumbo.com
• Coworking spaces from a multinational perspective: drivers and barriers for innovating the office.
• Farmers’ acceptance of Battery Electric Tractors in the DACH region – An empirical study

Internship - 24 ECTS

Doing an internship while finalising your Master's in Sustainable Business & Innovation is like taking a real-world joyride through the fascinating landscape of business. It's not just about hitting the books, it's about diving deep into the practical side of things. You get to swap the classroom for a hands-on experience, where the theories you've been absorbing start making sense in the wild.

You might find yourself working with industry pros, getting the lowdown on how businesses understand and cater to management needs. You're not just observing, you're part of the action, trying to figure out why people do what they do, whether it’s working in digital marketing, jumping on financial numbers, or managing a new brand launch. Combined with this internship, you will also write a research report. It's the kind of real-world insight you can't get from textbooks alone, and it sets you up for a one-of-a-kind learning experience as you cruise through your master's journey.

Example of companies where our students did their internship:

•  Albert Heijn e-commerce, working on nudging towards sustainable choices
•  VBDO, working on responsible investment strategy implementation
•  Ministry of Finance, environmental impact of export-credit financing
•  KWS Infra, climate adaptation and nature inclusion in infrastructure projects

• Lectures: lecturers teach the main contents of the course you are following.
• Tutorials: focused sessions for individual or group assignments. 
• Labs: practical computer sessions focusing on economic and statistical models.
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL): working in teams to solve complex cases under supervision. 
• Self-study: time you can arrange yourself to study the materials taught in the lectures or to repeat the contents of the tutorials and/or practicals. 
  

At Sustainable Business and Innovation, we aim to build a personal bond with our students. In our programme, you have your own study adviser who knows your name and is available to advise and assist you with all facets of studying at WUR. From personal intake and advice on electives to brainstorming thesis topics and seeking internships. We value this personal connection and invite you to get comfortable in your own master's programme, shaping it as you like with the guidance you need. 

Related programmes:

• Master's in Consumer Studies 
• Master's in Sustainable Supply Chain Analytics
• Master's in Resilient Farming and Food Systems
• Master's in Governance of Sustainability Transformations
• Master's in Economics of Sustainability

Graduates from Sustainable Business and Innovation have numerous career opportunities in generalist roles, consulting, and management positions in the business sector and governmental departments. Graduates also start PhD trajectories or take on advisory roles. 

If you need help in your orientation towards your future career Student Career Services facilitates students towards the labour market.

Interested in the MSc Sustainable Business and Innovation? 
Check if your background matches the entry requirements.

Purpose and reason for the admission requirements

The admission requirements for the Master’s programme in Sustainable Business and Innovation are designed to ensure that students can successfully complete the programme within the standard two-year period. The programme aims to educate and empower future change-makers who can drive sustainable transformation in businesses and society from a management and marketing perspective. Accordingly, applicants are expected to have sufficient knowledge of concepts and methodologies in business administration, innovation management, and/or marketing as well as sufficient background in research methodology.

This page describes the previous knowledge and skills required for admission to the Sustainable Business and Innovation programme specifically. For the additional general admission requirements of Wageningen University & Research, application deadlines, and the application procedure, visit How to apply for a master's programme. 

The criterion used for admission is

Students with a WUR BSc degree in Business and Consumer Studies or with a BSc degree and a WUR Innovation and Entrepreneurship minor are automatically admitted.

Students with the following portfolios are very welcome, but first are evaluated by the Admission Board:

A bachelor’s degree with at least 30 ECTS in one or more of the following disciplines: 

• Business studies (business administration)
• Business economics (accounting, financial management)
• Decision theory (logistics, operations management)
• Information technology/management
• Organisational behaviour
• Management studies (innovation management, strategic management, industrial organisation)
• Marketing studies

The student should have covered at least 10 ECTS in Management and/or Marketing courses.

And have at least 10 ECTS in research methodology including statistics (linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), hypothesis testing) (either in the Bachelor's programme or in addition to the Bachelor's programme).

Method of assessment to determine whether this norm is met:

• Transcript of records displaying the content of previous course subjects and project work;
• Curriculum vitae displaying relevant work, internship and/or project experience on an academic level in a relevant field if applicable.

Scores attributed by the Admission Board

Admitted / not admitted / admitted under condition of obtaining the BSc or MSc degree / not admitted with offer of pre-master's.

Ready to start your application process? Find everything you need to know about Application & Admission before applying for a master's.

The Admission Board may allow and/or suggest compensation of knowledge gaps by:

• a GPA of 7.0 or higher for the previous education, for small discrepancies, as new knowledge is sufficiently easily acquired; 
• a GPA of 7.0 or higher and an individual pre-master’s programme for larger discrepancies that can be compensated within 30 ECTS and one year of study. 

Minimum GPA Requirement for International Applicants

Check the Application & Admission page for master's for the international credentials evaluation guide on international equivalencies to a Dutch GPA of 7.0. This guide includes compensating factors for a slightly lower GPA that the Admission Board may include in their judgment. 

Pre-master's programme

A  pre-master's programme can be constructed based on the deficiencies of your bachelor's degree to meet the entry requirements of the master's programme. A pre-master's runs from 12 ECTS to 30 ECTS, depending on your situation. The example below applies to a university of applied sciences student lacking a statistical background. Please note that no rights can be derived from this example. 

Contact the study adviser directly via mme.msc@wur.nl to discuss your possibilities at WUR, options for pre-masters' based on your transcript of grades, and how to mitigate knowledge gaps if you are still in the process of obtaining your degree. Find out more about pre-master's programmes. 

Study programmes with knowledge gaps

University of Applied Sciences (NL: HBO) students often are required to follow additional courses in a pre-master's or as a minor during the previous study programme to cover the required previous knowledge. This usually consists of courses on: mathematics, quantitative research methodology and statistics, business economics, operations research and/or information technology.

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Wageningen offers a diverse, enjoyable, and amiable student community. Despite being a small town, you get to know people from all over the world because of Wageningen University & Research's global atmosphere. Everything in town is relatively accessible by bicycle, and the campus is contemporary and green. Whether it's a sporting event, a party, or a laid-back evening with friends at one of the student associations, there's always something going on. Additionally, there are parks, forests, and a river nearby, so if you enjoy the outdoors, you're in the right area. It's a fantastic combination of learning, socialising, and taking in the scenery.

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