Our 1-year Master’s in Accountancy and Control prepares you for a career in accountancy or financial management. The programme offers you a challenging combination of academic development and the practical application of accounting and financial management topics. You develop a questioning mindset, which you apply to subjects like International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and complex real-life business cases.
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In this Master's programme, you choose one of the 3 tracks. You will experience a combination of general courses and track-specific courses. You can switch tracks after you have started. It is also possible to complete both the Accountancy and Control tracks, or all 3 tracks. However, note that choosing all 3 tracks will extend your studies by an additional semester.
If your prior education does not (completely) fit the entry requirements, this pre-Master’s is your stepping stone to getting admitted to our MSc Accountancy and Control.
Obtaining your MSc degree is a great step for your career. Expert teachers will challenge you to think differently and form your own views and opinions to tackle complex issues. You will also start building your network of experts and leaders in your specialisation (track). Future employers will reward these achievements with a favourable starting salary and good promotion opportunities.
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Are you looking for a quick introduction into the Master's Accountancy and Control? Watch our pitch video and get some great insights.
The tracks of the Master's Accountancy and Control are also available as part-time programmes and are taught in Dutch. These programmes are for (finance) professionals who want to combine work and study.
With a Master’s degree you prove you can handle high intellectual pressure. The difference is not just knowledge: it is the level of complexity you learn to handle. Whereas the Bachelor’s provides broad foundations, this Master’s offers specialist depth in accounting, auditing and financial reporting at an advanced academic level. You develop the professional judgement that employers expect from a graduate-level hire. The MSc title also opens doors, including access to the post-Master’s trajectory, that a Bachelor’s degree alone does not.
The Master’s programme moves at a fast pace. Our courses cover a substantial amount of material in just 12 months, with exams following one another in quick succession. Managing your time well and staying on top of multiple courses simultaneously is critical to your study success.
AI is changing the profession, but is not replacing it. Routine tasks like data processing and transaction checking are increasingly automated. While this allows accountants and controllers to focus more on judgement, interpretation and advisory work, it also creates new challenges such as critically assessing the validity of the AI output. This programme prepares you for that shift, with training in data analytics alongside the professional and ethical skills that AI cannot replicate. Find out more about AI-related courses on the track-specific pages.
As a graduate, you enter a relatively strong labour market. Qualified financial professionals remain in short supply, which allows you to be selective about where you work and negotiate competitive salaries and career conditions. Non-EU graduates can apply for the Orientation Year Permit, which allows them to live and work in the Netherlands for 1 year after graduation. Find out more on the track-specific pages.
The programme takes 12 months, so you invest a relatively short time in a specialist degree. With a Master’s you can demonstrate the specialist knowledge and professional credibility that employers expect, which a Bachelor’s degree alone does not show. One year of focused study significantly expands both your earning potential and the range of roles available to you.
Requirements depend on your prior education: Dutch, EU and non-EU applicants each follow a different admission route. This Master’s does not have a numerus fixus.
The pre-Master's programme (a minimum of 1 semester of 6 months, depending on your Bachelor’s degree) bridges the gap and grants access to the Master's the following September.
Deadlines vary by visa requirements and housing needs, ranging from 1 April to 1 June for the September start.
The tuition fee depends on your nationality and whether you qualify for the statutory or institutional rate. Outstanding students with a non-EU nationality can apply for 2 scholarships: the Amsterdam Merit Scholarship and the Amsterdam Economics and Business Talent Fund, both with a 15 January deadline.