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The International Design Business Management (IDBM) is a joint master's programme between all the Schools of Aalto University: School of Arts, Design and Architecture, School of Business, School of Chemical Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering, School of Engineering and School of Science. IDBM educates students with arts, business and engineering backgrounds to make better business with meaningful innovations and design, providing a strategic view into design-intensive businesses management. Graduates of the IDBM programme will be able to drive creativity and innovation and lead initiatives to undertake new business ventures within global environments.

Academically rigorous and practice-oriented IDBM programme prepares students to lead and collaborate in interdisciplinary teams. The objective is to gain knowledge in multiple disciplines and to learn to connect one's own disciplinary expertise to a wider interdisciplinary design business framework. During a real-life industry project students explore and develop innovative product, service, and business concepts. Projects are coached by interdisciplinary faculty and expert industry tutors.

The global approach of IDBM program prepares students to work in multi-cultural settings and collaborate across national and cultural boundaries. On the practical level, the global aspect refers to the continuous development of international networks through student selection, industry cooperation, research activities and study exchange. 

Degree level intended learning outcomes

In addition to the goals stated in (794/2004) 7 §, the aim of the Master of Science and Master of Arts degrees in International Design Business Management is to provide students with

• a comprehensive understanding of the area of specialisation, including its potential to address environmental, economic and social sustainability challenges
• the ability to identify and analyse sustainability challenges and business opportunities and creatively develop solutions
• the ability to independently retrieve, assess, apply and create knowledge in the field of business and economics
• the ability to reflect on the ethical foundations and implications of business decision-making for different stakeholders and to act accordingly; and
• the ability to communicate effectively and to foster diversity, equity and inclusiveness in organisations. 

Programme level intended learning outcomes

Graduates of the IDBM programme will be able to drive design-oriented innovation and lead development initiatives within global environments.

This includes the ability to:

• use a design approach in product, service and business development
• lead and collaborate in multi-cultural and interdisciplinary teams, deepening and connecting one’s own disciplinary
• expertise to a wider business context
• lead radical creativity in interdisciplinary teams
• drive change and development activities in organizations
• co communicate concepts and ideas both verbally as well as visually at an operative (tactical) and strategic level
• understand and utilize academic research in defining and approaching problems in systematic and systemic manner

MSc and MA degree studies in International Design Business Management consist of the following study modules: Major studies, Specialisation/Minor studies, Thesis and Electives studies. The extent and content of modules varies between different fields and tracks, kindly check more details as per your targeted degree and school.

Code: ARTS216
Responsible Faculty Member: University Lecturer Nuria Solsona Caba

The approval of the master’s thesis and the master’s thesis evaluation are handled in the IDBM Programme Committee meeting. Please follow the deadlines of your own school.
For instructions on writing and handing in the thesis please see the page Completing your Master's thesis.
 

Students are highly recommended to undertake courses from schools or departments other than their own discipline, area of expertise or competence as elective studies. The aim of the elective studies is to widen student's perspective and t-profile by providing understanding, knowledge and skills to design, business and engineering.. Please note that for some of the courses, there might be eligibility and acceptance restrictions. In addition, students need to ensure that they fulfil all the pre-requirements set for the courses. Students choose 30 ECTS of elective studies. As elective studies, students can complete minor studies and/or take individual courses from other programmes at Aalto University or other Finnish universities, participate in an international student exchange programme, do an internship in Finland or abroad.

• Studies at other Aalto schools or in Finnish universities
• Minors in Aalto 2026-2028
• Personal Impact courses

Language study requirements 

The courses available are listed at Language Centre's page.

Students educated in Finnish or Swedish

For students educated in Finnish or Swedish language studies are designed to be completed as part of the Bachelor of Arts (Art and Design) or another Bachelor’s degree. Students who have not completed the required language studies before starting to pursue the master’s degrees specified above must complete them either as elective studies or in addition to the studies required for the degree. In such cases, the language requirements are as follows:

• 9 credits: 3 cr in written and oral communication, 3 cr in the second national language of Finland, and 3 cr in one foreign language.

Student whose language of primary and secondary education is other than Finnish or Swedish

Students who have received their primary and secondary education abroad or whose language of primary and secondary education is other than Finnish or Swedish must demonstrate their foreign language proficiency either by completing three (3) credits of language and communication studies corresponding to the degree requirements in one foreign language, or by completing three (3) credits of language and communication studies in Finnish or Swedish.
Note: Students who have begun their studies on or after 1 August 2022 must fulfil the foreign language requirement of the degree in one of the following ways: by taking English courses at the CEFR starting level B2; by taking Chinese, French, German, Russian or Spanish courses at the CEFR starting level B1; or by taking Finnish or Swedish courses at the CEFR starting level corresponding to their skills. Courses fulfilling the foreign language requirement of the degree are marked (o) for oral skills, (w) for written skills, or (o,w) for both.

Recommended elective studies

See the list of recommended electives in the Planning your studies -tab.

Code: BIZ223
Responsible faculty member and Programme Director: TBA

The programme study module includes a Master's thesis. The thesis must demonstrate readiness for scientific thinking, command of research methods, conversance with the topic of the thesis, and ability for scientific communication.

In many programmes, the students also take part in a thesis seminar, which is designed to help the students to prepare their thesis work. The seminar commonly consists of meetings, completing thesis, presenting the research topic to the seminar group and acting as an opponent for a fellow student’s thesis. Seminar lasts usually the whole semester, and it is organised during both autumn and spring semesters.

The elective studies must be university level, as a rule, part of the degree studies of the Higher Education Institute organizing the studies and meet the objectives of the degree completed at the Aalto University School of Business. Elective studies cannot overlap with other studies included in the degree in terms of content and intended learning outcomes. 

Higher education institutions also offer studies outside degree education aimed at a wide audience, the suitability of which for the degree is assessed in relation to the intended learning outcomes of the degree. For example, courses that can be completed freely online and scope 1-3 ECTS are generally not accepted as part of the degree.   

Elective studies are selected so that the scope of the degree of 120 ECTS is met.   

Elective studies can include basic, intermediate or advanced level courses. You can use the module e.g.

• Completing an elective minor
• Broadening your skills and knowledge via multidisciplinary studies by: 
  • completing individual courses in  the fields of technology, art and design
  • Completing University Wide Studies
  • Completing studies via
  • Completing studies via different networks, like Hilma network of gender studies
• Acquiring entrepreneurial skills
• Deepening language and communication skills by: 
  • completing studies at the Aalto University Language Centre either as individual courses or as an entire minor
  • completing language studies offered by the
• Broadening or deepening expertise in your own field by:
  • completing studiesfrom other degree programmes or majors in the School of Business
  • completing additional courses in your compulsory minor
  • completing a Customized Business project BIZ-E0100 (instructions ) or Non-governmental Organization project BIZ-E0110 (instructions)
• Acquiring working life skills  by completing an internship (read more at During your studies > Other studies)
• Learning  self-leadership skills, finding meaningfulness, and developing study wellbeing by completing Personal Impact courses
   

Elective minor

The International Design Business Management programme requires students to complete a compulsory minor of 24 credits in the field of business and economics, and the minor options are listed in the curriculum. In addition, students can complete an elective minor as part of their elective studies. The scope of the minor varies depending on the minor. Please check each minor's requirements. An elective minor included in the International Design Business Management master’s degree can of be:

1. A minor organized by Aalto University
2. International minor completed in an Exchange programme of Aalto University at a university abroad or in a programme fulfilling the requirements of the Exchange programme as a free-mover student.
3. A study module completed at another university in Finland or abroad. As a rule, the minor must be a confirmed minor or similar study module in the Higher Education Institute’s curriculum.  
    

Mandatory language studies

If you have mandatory language studies in your master's degree, they are included in the elective studies module. You have received information about these in the beginning of your studies, if this applies to you. If you are uncertain of whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency in the master's degree, please contact your programme's planning officer to get further information about the matter. 

• If you have completed your bachelor's degree in Finland (in Aalto or in another higher education institute), you have fulfilled the compulsory language requirements in the respective degree or received the exemption. You do not need to complete language studies in the master's degree.
• If your language of education is Finnish or Swedish and you have completed your bachelor’s degree outside of Finland, you must demonstrate proficiency in national languages by writing the maturity test in your language of education (Finnish or Swedish) and complete the language proficiency tests in the other national language. Read more about the language of education here. You may also apply for an exemption of demonstrating proficiency in national languages. See also the following bullet.
• If you have completed your bachelor’s degree outside of Finland, you must complete minimum of 3 ECTS in English including both oral and written proficiency. Courses on a sufficient level and including both oral and written proficiency are marked with ‘o’ and ‘w’ in the course name. You can choose any course on B2 level or higher. Students, whose language of education is not Finnish or Swedish, may alternatively complete an elementary course in Finnish or in Swedish. The courses in national languages can be at any level on CEFR scale.

Recommended elective studies

See the list of recommended electives in the Planning your studies -tab.

Students of Aalto CHEM, Aalto ELEC and Aalto ENG

Students of Aalto SCI*

^{*students selected ºÚÁÏÍø SCI in 2023 or earlier follow the curriculum 2022-2024 or earlier.}

After studying the minor the graduate 

• is able to identify and discuss the relevant theoretical knowledge base in the specialisation area
• is able to apply the relevant theoretical knowledge in practical applications of the specialisation area
• is able to apply profound engineering knowledge in an international, competitive and highly innovative working environment.

Students of the School of Chemical Engineering

Code: CHEM27
Responsible faculty member at Aalto School of Chemical Engineering: Senior University Lecturer Kristiina Lillqvist

Students of the School of Electrical Engineering

Code: ELEC28
Responsible faculty member at Aalto School of Electrical Engineering: Senior University Lecturer Salu Ylirisku

Students of the School of Engineering

Code: ENG31
Responsible faculty member at Aalto School of Engineering: Prof. Jan Akmal

Students of the School of Science*

Code: SCI33
Responsible faculty member at Aalto School of Science: Prof. Niina Nurmi

Engineering minor 20 ECTS

Graduates of our major can combine technological, economic, and social expertise in developing and managing the operations of companies and other organisations. To acquire appropriate level of knowledge in a technical discipline, the student can choose the technical minor from the offering of Aalto schools of technology. The minor must be advanced level and technical, therefore there are some restrictions. 

General principles for choosing the minor:

• The objectives and content of the minor must be clearly from a field of technology
• Some minors contain courses that are offered by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management (course code format being TU-9XXX) or the School of Business (varying course codes, check the organizer or classification from the course description in Sisu). Replace these courses with other courses accepted in the minor.
• All advanced level minors do not fulfill our requirements, for example:
  • Creative Sustainability
  • USchool
  • Real Estate Economics
  • Analytics and Data Science
  • Computational Finance and Risk Management
  • Startup Minor
• Some minors may also contain courses that have strong business, societal, or varying content although they are offered by departments in the Schools of Technology. These types of courses must also be replaced with other courses in the minor.
• Ask the IDBM planning officer, when in doubt

^{*students selected ºÚÁÏÍø SCI in 2023 or earlier follow the curriculum 2022-2024 or earlier.}

Students of Aalto CHEM, Aalto ELEC and Aalto ENG

At the end of their studies, students are required to complete a master's thesis corresponding to 30 credits. The thesis is ideally written on a topic combining knowledge from the major and specialization studies. The topic is agreed between the student and the thesis supervisor. The supervisor and advisor requirements follow the guidelines of the student’s school. Thesis advisor(s) must have at least a master’s degree. Master’s thesis work includes a seminar or equivalent presentation. The master’s thesis is a public document and cannot be concealed in any part.

Students of Aalto SCI*

At the end of their studies, students are required to complete a master's thesis corresponding to 30 credits. The thesis can combine knowledge from major and minor studies. The topic is agreed between the student and the thesis supervisor. The supervisor and advisor requirements follow the guidelines of the student’s school. Thesis advisor(s) must have at least a master’s degree. Master’s thesis work includes a seminar or equivalent presentation. The master’s thesis is a public document and cannot be concealed in any part. 

^{*students selected ºÚÁÏÍø SCI in 2023 or earlier follow the curriculum 2022-2024 or earlier.}

Students of Aalto CHEM, Aalto ELEC and Aalto ENG complete 25 cr of elective studies. 

Students of SCI* complete 20 cr of elective studies.

Students are highly recommended to undertake courses from schools or departments other than their own discipline, area of expertise or competence as elective studies.

The aim of the elective studies is to widen the student’s perspective and t-profile by providing understanding, knowledge and skills to design and business.  Please note that for some of the courses, there might be eligibility and acceptance restrictions. In addition, students need to ensure that they fulfil all the pre-requirements set for the courses.

Practical training

• School of Chemical Engineering: 3-5 cr
• School of Electrical Engineering, 2-5 cr
• School of Engineering, 1-5 cr
• School of Science, 1-10 cr

Elective minor

The International Design Business Management programme requires students to complete a compulsory minor of 20 or 25 credits (depending on the major) in the field of technology. In addition, students can complete an elective minor as part of their elective studies. The scope of the elective minor varies depending on the minor. Please check each minor's requirements. For a list of all the minors at Aalto University, see .

Mandatory language studies

If you have mandatory language studies in your master's degree, they are included in the elective studies module. You have received information about these in the beginning of your studies, if this applies to you. If you are uncertain of whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency in the master's degree, please contact your programme's planning officer to get further information about the matter. 

• If you have completed your bachelor's degree in Finland (in Aalto or in another higher education institute), you have fulfilled the compulsory language requirements in the respective degree or received the exemption. You do not need to complete language studies in the master's degree.
• If your language of education is Finnish or Swedish and you have completed your bachelor’s degree outside of Finland, you must demonstrate proficiency in national languages by writing the maturity test in your language of education (Finnish or Swedish) and complete the language proficiency tests in the other national language. Read more about the language of education here. You may also apply for an exemption of demonstrating proficiency in national languages. See also the following bullet.
• If you have completed your bachelor’s degree outside of Finland, you must complete minimum of 3 ECTS in English including both oral and written proficiency (marked with ‘o’ and ‘w’ in the course name). Students, whose language of education is not Finnish or Swedish, may alternatively complete an elementary course in Finnish or in Swedish. The courses in national languages can be at any level on CEFR scale.

Language studies are included in students’ elective studies and are agreed in the personal study plan (HOPS). Language center offers the language studies.

Recommended elective studies

See the list of recommended electives in the Planning your studies -tab.

^{*students selected ºÚÁÏÍø SCI in 2023 or earlier follow the curriculum 2022-2024 or earlier.}