Organization Studies Tilburg University

Education Department Organization Studies

Understanding organizations requires a multi-faced approach. Therefore, our education programs are interdisciplinary and integrate several scientific disciplines and a wide array of research methods, which students are trained to apply in a variety of contexts.

Organization Studies is about the human side of organizations. Consequently, organization sociology and organization psychology feature prominently in our education programs.

  • Bachelor Organization Studies (in Dutch)
    The three-year bachelor program teaches the breadth and depth of Organization Studies as a field of science and its connection to practice. The first year is an introductory year where students learn to understand the various aspects of organization. This includes organizational structure and culture and their effect on how organizations work, as well as strategy, which explains how organizations operate in their environment as for example, the market. The second year deepens the knowledge acquired in the first year. Students learn to work with several organization theories and how to apply them to fields such as networks of organizations and innovation in organizations. In the third year, students are trained to conduct scientific research. Assignments are an important part in all three years. The bachelor diploma gives access to all our Master programs.
  • Bachelor Global Management of Social Issues (in English)
    This three-year multidisciplinary program in the social sciences has a strong focus on complex questions that are relevant to today’s societies in an increasingly global world.
  • Pre-Master Organization Studies (in English)
    The pre-Master and master organization studies together form an intensive two-year academic education, which is of particular interest for foreign students and students from Dutch polytechnic schools (HBO). The pre-Master program teaches the full range of topics and theories of organization studies via an attractive package of lectures, work groups and assignments and provides the basis to successfully follow the Master's Organization Studies and its various tracks.
  • Master Organization and Management Studies (in English)
    The one year Master in Organization Studies provides students with a critical understanding of organizational behavior and its theoretical foundations and is especially focused on organizational complexity and dynamics. Students learn how to use the core organization theories and apply the appropriate research methods in analyzing organizational problems in areas such as teams, (inter-) organizational networks, organizational change, strategic decision making and institutional pressures and subsequently develop practical management implications.
    On the basis of the Master Organization Studies we currently offer the following variants:
    The Extended Master Organization Studies , which runs for 18 months and combines academic education and scientific research during the Master's thesis trajectory with in depth work experience in an organization, where students do a 12 month junior trainee-ship.
  • Master track Organizing and Managing Digital Transformation (in English)
    In this track students examine how digital technologies impact core organizational processes and reshape relationships between and within organizations. They study how organizations respond, adjust, and navigate technological transformations from multiple perspectives. They learn how to advise organizations that are facing these challenges. Students will analyze organizational changes triggered by the introduction of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and the Internet of Things. In addition, they will develop the skills to examine new organizational forms and business models centered around digital technologies and learn to leverage emerging innovation trends to evolve businesses.
  • Master track within Global Management of Social Issues
    Global management of social issues addresses the topic of sustainable development by adopting an interdisciplinary, multilevel perspective. In particular, it draws on the disciplines of human resource studies, organization studies, and sociology to understand complex social challenges and trigger the social and economic drivers of sustainable development. The Master’s programs Organization Studies, Sociology, and Human Resource Studies offer the possibility to choose for a track in the specialization global management of social issues.
  • Research Master Social and Behavioral Sciences (in English)
    In this two year program students are trained to understand, conduct and present cutting edge research in the area of organization studies using advanced methods under the supervision of an experienced researcher. Besides courses in Organization Studies, methods and statistics, students are actively involved in ongoing research projects within the research program of the department.