BSc in International Business and Politics

The BSc IBP teaches you how economic and political forces shape a globalising world — and how companies adjust their business strategies and working methods to meet political challenges.

About the programme

Firms and institutions constantly have to face many new and intense challenges. In recent years, for example, issues associated with inequalities, sustainability, gender and race have become prominent. BSc IBP considers these challenges and looks at the ways they are changing the relationships between businesses, governments, international organisations, and civil society organisations. The programme will prepare you to tackle them.

BSc IBP interweaves training in political economy, economic theories, and core business studies subjects. You will also learn both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, including how to craft an independent research project and conduct an analysis. BSc IBP students are known for their capacity to both ‘dig in’ to produce fine-grained analyses, as well as being about to ‘zoom out’ and locate the broader context for how business operates in our society and across societies.

Understanding political economy
The BSc IBP considers the ways in which political and economic systems are always linked. Our starting point is that if you want to do business then you need to know how governments works, and if you want to govern then you need to know how business works. You will learn about formal political systems as well as the ways in which politics shape markets, institutions, and the environment for business. Many courses in IBP examine the relationship between regulation and markets. This includes how rules and standards are fought over, how they inform business strategies, and how interactions between regulation and markets create winners and losers. You will learn to analyze these interactions at both the domestic and international levels, exploring how businesses and governments navigate them, as well as understanding their political and economic consequences.

Understanding business
You will learn how to analyse a company and its activities and consider how firms develop and implement strategies in national and international business settings. You will gain an understanding of companies from both an economic and an organisational point of view. This includes strategy and decision-making to optimize quality and product innovation, on pricing and market tactics, and the development of risk profiles. You will also study organisational behaviour, that is, how people act within a company including how they deal with ethical dilemmas and questions of diversity. This is important. For example, the leadership style of a CEO can have an influence on organisational culture, which can further impact employee motivation, and therefore lead ultimately to an increase or decrease in employee productivity.

Understanding economic foundations
A firm must always take the economic context in which it operates into account. If there for example is a recession or inflation, it can change purchasing patterns, which can in turn have effects on production, employment, incomes and the pricing of products. You need certain tools to understand the character of markets and the potential impact of government economic policies. BSc IBP gives you these tools and a broader understanding of supply and demand, as well as markets, inflation, exchange rates and trade policy.
 

Hear students share their insights about BSc IBP

Hear students at BSc IBP share some experiences and their thoughts about the programme.

What you should be interested in
To study BSc IBP successfully and be happy with the programme it would be useful to be interested in:
 
  • the complexities of globally oriented companies and the global markets in which they operate.
  • politics, political economy and political regulation in a global context.
  • not just the individual fields of study, business, politics and economics – but especially in how they relate to and impact one another. This includes how politics and political regulation impact industries and companies, how economic and political factors impact each other and how companies, NGOs and the public sector interact and affect each other.
 
WHY STUDENTS CHOSE BSC IBP
Students at CBS come from all over the world, and all have different backgrounds. Hear students at BSc IBP share their background, and why they chose to apply for the programme.
 

Challenges and considerations
BSc IBP has some particular challenges that are important to think about before you choose the programme. How well do these challenges correspond to the sort of person you are, how you like to work and the things you are good at?

Ambitious study environment
Some students experience the study environment at BSc IBP as quite ambitious. Certainly, students tend to focus on their results and achievements in the programme as well as in other areas of their lives. At the same time, students are helpful and supportive towards each other and tend to consider each other as future colleagues and network. It may be a good idea to consider if you would thrive and feel comfortable in such an environment.

Abstract theories
In parts of the programme you will work with quite abstract and diverse theories. You need to be comfortable working in an academic and analytical way with topics that are very complex and where your studies sometimes lead you to more questions than answers.

Courses within different areas
BSs IBP courses moves across areas of political economy, economics, and business studies. It is a lot to learn and it may take some time before you fully understand how the different courses and topics relate to one another. Often it is not until the second or third year that everything comes together in your head and you get a clear picture of all the aspects of the programme’s scope. As a BSc IBP student you therefore need to be open to feeling a little confused and not yet seeing the full picture for the first semesters of the programme.

International study environment
Even though the programme has a very international focus the share of international students is usually not as high as in most of the other CBS programmes taught in English. This is worth thinking about if an international study environment is an important factor in your choice of study.

Maths as a tool
In about half of the mandatory courses in BSc IBP you will use maths as a tool. You will not use maths that is complicated beyond the entry requirement for the programme, but you need to be comfortable having courses where you use maths and do calculations at a practical level.

Data science skills
Some of the teaching in BSc IBP requires you to learn basic coding. You will learn to work with R which is a system that can be used for both qualitative and quantitative work, ranging from content and text analysis applications to advanced statistical analysis. Learning R can be a bit difficult and frustrating but you will get the support you need to develop the skills so that you can use it for you research in all other areas. You do not need any previous coding experience.

Studying in English
If you are not used to studying in English or if you are not a native speaker, we recommend that you read more about what to consider before applying for an English-taught programme. 

See Studying in English on Student Life

Hear a student guidance councellor share some challenges and considerations you should be aware of before applying to BSc IBP.

The study environment

What is it like to study at BSc IBP?
Hear students share some thoughts on the class environment, and how CBS and Copenhagen offers a great work-life balance with many social and academic possibilities.

 
Career options and Master's programmes
Competencies after BSc IBP
The programme will give you:
 
BSc IBP provides you with core business competencies and interdisciplinary training to place business dynamics in a broad political, economic and social context. The degree provides you with the competence to:
  • locate socio-economic, macro-economic, and political changes
  • analyse firms’ market and non-market strategies
  • understand the logics behind economic and managerial behaviour
  • interpret corporate accounts and financial statements,
  • develop their analytic skills via quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

The programme promotes critical, independent thinking and fosters a reflexive approach towards data

You can find more information about what you learn on the programme in the Competence profile for IBP

Master's programme after BSc IBP
The clear majority of students from BSc IBP continue to a two-years master’s programme for a total of five years of study. It is very much the master’s rather than the bachelor programme that determines which career paths that lay open to you.

Most BSc IBP graduates tend to end up in private or public companies or organisations with an international profile – but they work within many different fields of business, economics, politics and regulation. Read more about master’s programmes and career options.

Hear a student guidance counsellor give insights to how you can create your own profile as well as share thoughts on career options and master's programmes.

Entry requirements

 

English - language requirement A
English - specific entry requirement B with min. 6.0 grade average (Danish scale)
Mathematics B
Social Studies OR International Economics OR History of Ideas OR Contemporary History  B
Motivational essay Yes - See Selection quotas

Read about entry requirements and how to apply at bachelor admission.

Admission statistics
Grade point average 10.6                       
Number of enrolled students 126
Quota 1  / Quota 2 60% / 40%
Applicants (quota 2) 1223 (1057)
Foreign students 44%
Gender distribution - men / women 60% / 40%
Average age 21,4 year

See Admission Statistics for all bachelor programmes.

 

Sidst opdateret: Web editor - Student Communications // 01/10/2024