Maastricht University, School of Business and Economics

Maastricht University School of Business and Economics (Maastricht SBE) is the business and economics faculty of Maastricht University, a public research university founded in 1976 and located in Maastricht, the Netherlands. It was one of the first universities in Europe to adopt Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as its primary instructional method — a small-group, discussion-driven pedagogy that originated in medical education and was adapted here to economics and management. The school sits within a university that grew unusually fast into international prominence, and Maastricht SBE today reflects that internationalist instinct: more than half its students and a substantial share of its faculty come from outside the Netherlands. Its academic identity is shaped by an explicit belief that rigorous quantitative analysis and collaborative, applied inquiry are not in tension — they reinforce each other.

Accreditations and Rankings

Accreditations

• AACSB accredited
• EQUIS accredited
• AMBA accredited (Triple Crown)

Rankings

• Financial Times European Business School Ranking: ranked among the top European business schools (2023)
• QS World University Rankings — ranked in the top 250 globally (2024)
• Maastricht University ranked #1 in the Netherlands and #7 in Europe in the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings (2023)
• Financial Times Masters in Management ranking: Maastricht SBE MSc programmes ranked in the top tier internationally (2023)

Executive Education at a Glance

Maastricht SBE's executive education portfolio is built around the same Problem-Based Learning structure that underpins its degree programmes — which means open programmes are notably more interactive and case-intensive than the average European offering. The school offers both open enrolment programmes and customised company programmes, with particular depth in areas including supply chain management, sustainability and responsible business, data-driven decision making, finance, and leadership development. Programmes range from short intensive formats of two to three days up to multi-module journeys running several months, with delivery across in-person (Maastricht campus), online, and blended formats. Notable open programmes include offerings in strategic management, financial management for non-financial managers, and leadership in a complex world. Fees for open programmes typically range from approximately €1,500 for shorter workshops to €6,000 or more for extended multi-day programmes. Custom programmes for corporate clients are designed in close collaboration with the client organisation and can be delivered on-campus, on-site, or internationally.

Campus and Facilities

Maastricht SBE is based in the heart of Maastricht, a compact and historically rich city in the southern tip of the Netherlands, bordered by Belgium and within easy reach of Germany. The university makes extensive use of the city's heritage architecture — including several restored medieval and early-modern buildings — which gives the campus an atmosphere that is simultaneously scholarly and distinctly European rather than corporate. Facilities for executive participants include dedicated seminar rooms designed around small-group PBL tutorials, modern AV and collaborative working spaces, and access to the broader Maastricht University infrastructure. The city itself is a meaningful part of the experience: Maastricht is home to the European institutions that drafted the Maastricht Treaty, making it an unusually fitting location for programmes on European business, governance, and cross-border strategy.

Faculty and Research

Maastricht SBE's faculty is highly international, with researchers and educators drawn from across Europe, North America, Asia, and beyond — reflecting the university's founding commitment to being a European rather than merely Dutch institution. Research strengths particularly relevant to executive education include governance and institutional economics, behavioural economics, sustainability and circular economy, global supply chains, and organisation and strategy. The school is home to several research institutes and centres that feed directly into teaching, including the Maastricht Centre for Corporate Sustainability and work conducted within the Graduate School of Business and Economics. Faculty members are actively encouraged to bring live research questions and industry collaborations into programme rooms, which means participants regularly engage with findings that have not yet made it into textbooks.

Student Body, Alumni, and Career Outcomes

Executive education cohorts at Maastricht SBE are notably international — the school's location in the Euregion (the cross-border region spanning the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany) means that participants frequently arrive from multiple countries even in short programmes. The broader Maastricht University alumni network spans over 180 nationalities and encompasses more than 100,000 graduates worldwide, with strong concentrations in financial services, consulting, multinational manufacturing, healthcare, and European public institutions. Alumni hold senior positions at organisations including ING, Philips, DSM-Firmenich, and various European Commission bodies. For executive participants specifically, the relatively small and discussion-intensive cohort format means peer relationships formed during programmes tend to be more durable than those built in larger, lecture-hall settings — an outcome the school points to as a deliberate design feature rather than a side effect.