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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Master's Degree Programme

About the programme
Language: English  (See language requirements)  | Place of study: Aarhus  |  Commencement: August / September (no winter intake)

Introduction

Business Intelligence (BI) bridges the gap between modern data science and business applications by transforming data into insights that enable strategic business decision-making. The MSc in Economics and Business Administration – Business Intelligence takes a data-driven approach to solving business problems by focusing on:

  • extracting and analysing information from data to predict behaviour and recognise natural patterns
  • visualising and presenting results to support managerial decision-making. 


Data-driven business projects

The BI programme aims to prepare the students to use a variety of state-of-the-art data analytics tools and apply data science to solve the complex and interdisciplinary challenges that businesses face. During the BI programme, the students will work with data-driven business projects such as:

  • Recommender systems: Design and build systems that deliver customised recommendations to online shoppers.
  • Fraud detection: Use machine learning to detect fraudulent activities in the financial service industry.
  • Data-driven business development: Implement intelligence-based decision-making in organisations.
  • Visual analytics: Build dashboards and interactive apps that provide actionable insights to managers.
  • Data management: Design and manage data structures to facilitate the data flow from sources to reporting and visualisations.
  • People analytics: Identify a company’s most valuable employees and suggest actions for retention.
  • AI adoption: Help firms adopt AI solutions for optimising customer service operations using chatbots, contact centre automation, etc.
  • Customer analytics: Use segmentation and forecasting techniques to predict the inventory that will sell the most in a given outlet in a chain of stores.
  • Automated data decisions: Train and deploy advanced deep neural networks for automatically tagging pictures featuring a company’s brand.


Acquired skills and competences

A solid business understanding needs to be combined with hard analytical skills to turn data into business value. The BI programme will give the student the hard analytical skills required to take up managerial and data specialist positions in private and public companies and in consulting firms. The student will be able to work with the planning and implementation of business intelligence solutions. The student will work with the latest methods of machine learning, data mining, and deep learning and learn how to create business value using large and complex (i.e., Big Data) datasets. The student will learn to use data analysis programming languages (such as R, SQL and Python) for data structuring, extraction, pre-processing, modelling, communication, and deployment.   

Careers

Graduates who complete the Business Intelligence programme acquire analytical skills that are highly demanded by both the public and private sector. BI graduates take up positions in international or Danish companies, public institutions, and consulting firms as BI consultants, business analysts, data scientists, data engineers, or product owners.

MSc in Business Intelligence Mikkel from Vestas and Uffe from Inspari explains why there is a need for graduates from this degree programme. Lene is a graduate from the Business Intelligence programme.

Admission Requirements

Legal right of admission

Applicants with a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Administration (HA) from Aarhus University have the right to be admitted to the Master's degree programme in Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.) at Aarhus University on the condition that application is made for admission to the Master’s degree programme no later than three years after completion of the Bachelor’s degree programme. The legal right of admission requires receipt of the application by Aarhus University within the appropriate period of time.

Bachelor's degrees with direct admission

The following Bachelor’s degrees fulfill the admissions requirements for the Master’s degree programme in Economics and Business Administration at Aarhus University but are not automatically secured a spot at the programme:

  • Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with supplementary subject (erhvervsøkonomi med tilvalg) at study plan 2017 and onwards from Aarhus University.
  • Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Commercial Law (Erhvervsøkonomi-erhvervsret (HA jur.)) from Aarhus University.
  • Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration (HA - general business economics) from one of the Danish universities.*
  • Applicants a Bachelor´s degree in Economics and Business Administration (HA) from Aarhus University who no longer have legal right of admission.*

* With a diploma older than 2000, your Bachelor’s degree will be assessed according to the specific admission requirements described under the section: “Students that hold a degree from another university”. 

Students that hold a Bachelor's degree from another university

Other Bachelor´s degrees can provide admission to the Master’s degree programme. When you apply the university will access if your Bachelor´s degree corresponds in level, extent and content to a BSc in Economics and Business Administration/HA from Aarhus Universitet. The assessment will prioritize the sufficient content of the following subjects and ECTS-points:   

Subject

ECTS

Methods*

15 ECTS

Marketing

7,5 ECTS

Finance

7,5 ECTS

Accounting

7,5 ECTS

Organisation- and Leadership Theory

7,5 ECTS

Microeconomics

5 ECTS

Operations Management

5 ECTS

Additional ECTS points within the abovementioned areas

25 ECTS

Total ECTS within Economics and Business Administration

80 ECTS

*Please note, applicants must have at least 15 ECTS within methods including at least 10 ECTS within quantitative methods or statistics. However only 5 ECTS can be covered by Mathematics.

Admission to the MSc in Economics and Business Administration for applicants with a professional bachelor’s degree (professionsbachelor)

In order to meet the admission requirements for the MSc programmes in Economics and Business Administration, applicants with a specific professional bachelor’s degree must have completed specific elective courses as part of their qualifying exam. In this table the requirements for elective courses are laid out.

Language requirements

As English is the language of instruction in all subjects, all applicants are required to provide evidence of their English language proficiency.
Please see the page on language requirements.

Download appendix for your application

If you apply for admission with an international Bachelor's degree, you must fill in this appendix and upload it in the application portal. The appendix serves to help the Admission Board assess your Bachelor's degree in regard to the admission requirements. 

Download appendix

Restricted admission from 2022

As from the intake 2022, the Master’s degree programmes in Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.) only admits a limited number of students each year. Therefore, meeting the admission requirements does not in itself guarantee admission to the programme. 

Please note, for programmes with restricted admission special rules regarding supplementary Bachelor’s courses apply. Therefore, we no longer offer pre-assessments for the programme in Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.).

Read more about supplementary Bachelor’s courses.

Selection criteria

If there are more qualified applicants than available seats, the Admissions Committee assesses each applicant based on the average mark (i.e. GPA) of the Bachelor’s degree at the time of application. Marks/grades obtained after the application deadline will not be included in the GPA. The Admissions Committee assesses each applicant’s marks based on the information provided by diplomas and transcripts.

Programme Structure

ACADEMIC REGULATIONS

Below is an outline of the courses:


The study programme consists of two semesters in the first year which cover the compulsory courses in the programme specialisation and two semesters in the last year which are reserved for the student's own specialisation.

In the first semester you follow the prerequisite courses that form the methodological and academic basis for the further study programme.

In the second semester you follow the specialisation courses of the programme.

In the third semester you can choose elective courses within your areas of interest. The courses can either be taken at Aarhus BSS during the semester, at the Summer University or at one of our more than 300 partner universities abroad. You can also participate in project-based internship programmes either in Denmark or abroad.

The fourth semester is devoted to the final thesis. You may choose the topic of the thesis freely and so get a chance to concentrate on and specialise in a specific field of interest. The thesis may be written in collaboration with another student or it may be the result of your individual effort. 

Please note that you must select the specific Master's degree programme, Business Intelligence, in the tabs just above the study diagram!

Student Life

Learning in an International Context

At Aarhus BSS, we conduct research at the highest academic level.

All researchers employed are engaged in research projects covering a wide range of different subjects and focusing on knowledge and skills considered essential for professional business activities in the global marketplace. All faculty have both research and teaching responsibilities, which means that our teaching is continually based on the latest research results.

Aarhus BSS is very internationally oriented. The broad scope of our research activities and educational programmes enable us to attract researchers, teachers, and students from all over the world, and this creates an international environment for research and learning in which academic views are exchanged, experiences are gathered and friendships are formed.

Aarhus University is a leading university in Denmark in building student exchange opportunities. The university encourages all students to spend time studying abroad. Every year, more than 700 students from Aarhus BSS go abroad to participate in exchange programmes around the world at our more than 300 partner universities. About the same number of students from all over the world come to participate in the exchange programme in Aarhus, and this contributes to a truly international learning atmosphere.

Follow the student life at Aarhus University

-experienced, photographed and filmed by the students themselves.

With thousands of pictures #AUInternational, #AarhusUni gives insight into the everyday life as a student at AU; the parties, procrastination, exams and all the other ways you’ll spend your time at university.

The photos belong to the users, shared with #AUInternational and #AarhusUni.

Career

Tasks as a Graduate

The chart shows the five most common types of work for graduates 1-2 years after finishing their degree. The data is derived from a survey made by Epinion for the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and Aarhus University in 2020.

Profile of competencies

The specialisation in Business Intelligence gives the student the skills to fill positions as BI consultants, business analysts, data scientists, data engineers, and product owners as well as positions focusing on market research.

This research-based MSc study programme in Economics and Business Administration builds on the competencies and insights acquired in the BSc study programme in Economics and Business Administration.

The MSc study programme provides the graduate with specialist knowledge within the disciplines of the study programme, which gives the graduate high academic qualifications to develop solutions to issues pertaining to business administration in companies and organisations in the public and private sectors.

The study programme also qualifies the graduate for further studies, including PhD studies.

Through the study programme, the graduate has acquired knowledge that enables the graduate to:

  • understand and consider knowledge pertaining to the various disciplines as well as identify academic issues
  • master the scientific methodologies and tools of the various disciplines as well as master general skills associated with employment within the areas studied
  • assess and choose among the scientific methodologies and tools of the various disciplines as well as develop new analysis and solution models
  • discuss professional and academic issues with both specialists and laymen
  • manage work and development situations that are complex, unpredictable, and require new solution models
  • initiate and carry out, on an independent basis, monodisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration and take professional responsibility
  • take responsibility, on an independent basis, for own professional development and specialisation.


Jobs

Below, you can find information about what a number of our alumni work with in their first job after graduation.

  • Administrative
    Reporting, coordination, presentations, proposals, stock control.
  • Project Management
  • Analysis
    Market analysis, data analysis, employee satisfaction analysis, customer satisfaction analysis and statistics.
  • Economy and Accounting
    Book keeping, SAP, accounting, financial planning and projection.
  • Other
    Interpreting, marketing and communication, IT (development of performance systems and implementation, business warehouse), teaching, packing, SQL, contact and support to costumers and sale.

From studies to first job

Network, be proactive in your job search, and be creative; especially with the economy today, it may be necessary to take a position that would not be your first choice - until the day your first choice comes around.
(MSc in Business Intelligence)

Form a network and use it. Use your friends to read your application. Learn to write good applications and have a can-do spirit. Start your job seeking while you are writing your master thesis and visit career fairs.
(MSc in Business Intelligence)

We want to help our students find successful careers. Students can always contact our Career Services for advice and assistance with getting onto the Danish labour market. Check out our careers page to see the range of services we offer.