Master's Programs

International Master's in Management

The Program

International Master's in Management at Nova SBE

This is a highly selective Master’s Program that provides students with the tools, concepts, and training to succeed in a professional international context.

About the program:

  • In Year 1 (first and second semester), students follow the Master's in Management curriculum and benefit from exclusive and personalized support from a dedicated Nova SBE Career team to prepare for their career abroad. Exclusive language courses in Portuguese and Spanish are also offered (limited slots).
  • In Year 2 (third Semester), students complete their Master's Thesis by developing a Work Project with an international scope.
  • The International Master’s in Management includes a compulsory internationalization requirement that can be completed either through an international internship* or through a study abroad experience during the Master's program**.

 

*International Internship: 8-week international internship outside of Portugal & outside country of origin. It must be completed after the Bachelor's degree, between 2nd and 3rd semester of the program or immediately after the Master's. Students may carry out their 8-week internship as follows: 8 weeks at company or through the accumulation of two 4-week international internships.

** Study abroad experience can be completed through the following options: Exchange Semester, in the 3rd or 4th semester of the IMM program, adding 1 extra semester, outside Portugal and outside the country where the Bachelor’s degree was obtained, CEMS MIM Exchange Semester (for students simultaneously enrolled in the CEMS MIM Program); Partner School Master’s (for students simultaneously enrolled in one of the Double Degree Programs).

The International Master’s in Management (IMM) is designed for bachelor’s students who want to have an international career after their master’s program and ambition a fast career progression in a multinational company.

Program Overall Structure

Find out what this Master’s degree will offer you during the 3 semesters at Nova SBE!

You will have  mandatory courses, but you will also have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of electives, allowing you to tailor-make your curriculum according to your own goals.

  • Master’s in Management Curriculum
  • Exclusive language Course**
  • Exclusive Career Accelerating Program provided by a dedicated team from the Nova SBE Career Office
  • Students must carry out a Work Project (thesis) in their final semester. Check the formats available below.

    Please note: students pursuing the CEMS MIM or a Double Degree are required to complete the Work Project within the format, deadlines and offer of those programs.

Master's Programs 2025/26

Applications are open for the following intakes:

• Fall (September 2025): all Master's Programs
• Spring (February 2026): Master's in Management only

For more information, please contact us by emailing leadyourfuture@novasbe.pt or calling +351 213 801 699.

Get to know the Mandatory courses and Electives

Candidates’ fluency in several languages is valued by multinational companies. Therefore, we expect the International Master’s in Management (IMM) students to reach the following language levels upon graduation:

  • Language 1: English C1
  • Language 2: Mother Tongue or B1 (if English is the mother tongue)
  • Language 3: A2

To reach these objectives, applicants must meet the following requisites at application:

  • Language 1: English language certificate minimum C1 (or English mother tongue)
  • Language 2: Mother Tongue or any language B1 level (if mother tongue is English)
  • Language 3: A1 level certificate


* Nova SBE provides exclusive courses of Portuguese or Spanish to International Master’s in Management (IMM) students. These are intensive courses, taking place twice per week, with mandatory attendance. Slots are limited.

  • Finance

The course focuses on the practical and theoretical frameworks that support the proper financial analysis of management decisions and equips students with the tools to make sound investment and financing decisions. It covers fundamental topics such as financial statement analysis, investment and financing decisions, as well as payout decisions (advanced).

  • Human Resources

The course explores the strategic dimension of people within organizations. It emphasizes understanding the importance of human resource management in the context of broader organizational objectives, and the challenges managers face in attracting, managing and retaining talent. Key topics include talent recruitment and selection, performance management, employee development and engagement, and more.

  • Marketing

The course provides students with foundational knowledge of marketing principles and strategies. It covers key topics such as understanding customers and markets, segmentation, target and positioning, marketing mix decisions, and more. Students learn to systematically plan marketing activities to achieve organizational goals.

  • Statistics

The course equips students with essential quantitative skills for data-driven decision-making. The course covers fundamental statistical concepts such as descriptive statistics, sampling, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, and data interpretation.  Students learn to analyze data, draw insights, and make informed business decisions based on statistical findings.

  • Strategy

The course introduces students to core concepts and frameworks of strategic management. It focuses on understanding how businesses create and sustain competitive advantage by formulating and executing effective strategies, locally and internationally. It covers topics such as competitive analysis, industry dynamics, business, corporate and competitive strategies, internationalization and innovation.

 

*Please note that this information may be subject to changes.

Areas of Expertise

Digital and Data-Driven Business

Entrepreneurship

Financial Management

Financial resources, cost efficiency and effectiveness, are management subjects that make you work better and harder. Check the following courses for a career in Corporate Finance.

  • Applied Corporate Finance
  • Auditing
  • Banking
  • Corporate Governance
  • Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Capital
  • Financial Statement Analysis
  • Futures and Options
  • Investments
  • Mergers, Acquisitions, Restructuring
  • Private Equity


Marketing

If you like to communicate, launch, and improve products and services, deliver superior customer value, the Marketing expertise area may be the right one for you. Take a look at the following courses:

  • Advanced Branding and Brand Development
  • Applied Qualitative Studies
  • Applied Quantitave Studies
  • Asian Brands
  • Big Data Analysis
  • Brand Management
  • Brand Management for Hospitality
  • Brands and Marketing in Asia’s Emerging Markets
  • Consumer and Managerial Decision Making
  • Consumer Behavior
  • Cracking the Sales Code
  • Cross-Cultural Issues for Marketing
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Digital Marketing
  • Digital Strategy and Transformation
  • E-Commerce and Metaverse
  • Innovation and Value Creation Wheel
  • Integrated Marketing Communications
  • International Marketing Strategy
  • Luxury and Fashion Marketing
  • Marketing Analytics
  • Principles of Shopper Marketing
  • Product Design and Development
  • Sales & Retailing
  • Social Marketing
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Special Course: L'Oreal Brandstorm Competition
  • Tourism Marketing


Operations Management

Can you develop and implement techniques to improve business processes and production? With these courses, you will. Tackles such issues as business process re-engineering, quality management, improving customer service, inventory systems, managing manufacturing, supply chain management, and project management.

  • Hospitality Operations Management
  • Innovation and Value Creation Wheel
  • Modeling Business decisions for Operations
  • Operations Management
  • Operations Strategy
  • Project Management
  • Quality Management
  • Sustainable Operations
  • Technology Strategy


Sports Management

The Sports Management Area of Expertise aims at providing students with the theoretical knowledge, skills, network, and personal attributes to build a career in the sports industry. The students benefit from our in-house world-renowned management expertise and of our main partner, the Portuguese Football Association and many other leading international sport organisations institutions that provide internship opportunities.

  • Applied Qualitative Studies
  • Applied Sports Projects
  • Big Data Analysis
  • International Events Management
  • Leadership and Change Management
  • persuasion and Negotiation
  • Sports Careers Seminar Series

 

Strategy and International Business

Do you see the world as a big marketplace? This expertise area will help you understand customers and competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, the complex business and institutional environments, and the existing resource constraints, on an international scale.

  • Asian Brands
  • Brands and Marketing in Asia’s Emerging Markets
  • Business Model Innovation
  • Business Strategy and Practice
  • Competition Policy
  • Corporate Strategy and Transformation
  • Digital Strategy and Transformation
  • Doing Business in China
  • Doing Business in Emerging Markets
  • E-Commerce and Metaverse
  • Family Business
  • Geoeconomics and International Relations
  • Innovation and Value Creation Wheel
  • International Business
  • International Events Management
  • Mental Models for Strategy
  • Modeling Business decisions for Operations
  • Negotiation
  • Persuasion and Negotiation
  • Small Business Management
  • Strategic errors in organizations
  • Strategic Foresight and Scenario Planning
  • Strategy Consulting
  • Strategy Implementation
  • Sustainable International Business
  • Sustainable Operations


Sustainability

“Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).

To ensure global sustainability over time, the green transition focuses on responding to the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation but also to the need to work for an economic and societal transformation, integrating all three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social, and environmental.

That is the goal of this Area of Expertise, which will be taught in partnership with Nova’s School of Science and Technology (FCT).

  • Applied Social Entrepreneurship
  • Circular Economy:  Eliminate, Circulate and Regenerate
  • Corporate Governance
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Design Thinking for Social Innovation
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Energy and Climate change
  • Finance and the transition to net zero
  • Fundamentals on Environment and Sustainability
  • Impact Investments
  • Impact Makers
  • Leading Social Enterprises with impact in International Development
  • Performance and Progress
  • Responsibility and Ethics of Business
  • Social Marketing
  • Sustainability Evaluation of Policies, Plans and Projects
  • Sustainable International Business
  • Sustainable Operations
  • System Change


*Please take note of the following:

— Students can qualify for only one area of expertise, but it is not mandatory for students to choose one.
— Areas of expertise and respective courses might be subject to change from one academic year to the next.
— Some courses might not be offered every academic year.
— Students may attend elective courses from other Master's programs, subject to availability.

  • AI Impact on Business
  • Algorithmic governance
  • Applied Corporate Finance
  • Applied Entrepreneurship
  • Applied Hospitality & CX Innovation
  • Applied Qualitative Studies
  • Applied Quantitative Studies
  • Applied Social Entrepreneurship
  • Applied Sports Projects
  • Asian Brands
  • Asset Management
  • Auditing
  • Banking
  • Better Marketing for Consumer Wellbeing
  • Big Data Analysis
  • Blockchain fundamentals
  • Brand Management
  • Brands and Marketing in Asia’s Emerging Markets
  • Business Model Innovation
  • Business Strategy and Practice
  • Circular Economy:  Eliminate, Circulate and Regenerate
  • Competition Policy
  • Competitive Strategy: an analytical approach
  • Computational Thinking and Data Science (includes Applied Statistics)
  • Consumer and Managerial Decision Making
  • Consumer Behavior
  • Corporate Governance
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Corporate Strategy and Transformation
  • Corporate Valuation
  • Cracking the Sales Code
  • Cross-Cultural Issues for Marketing
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Data Analytics for Finance
  • Data Curation
  • Data Visualization
  • Derivatives
  • Design Thinking for Social Innovation
  • Digital Marketing
  • Digital Strategy and Transformation
  • Digital Transformation in Hospitality
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Doing Business in China
  • Doing Business in Emerging Markets
  • E-commerce and Metaverse
  • Economics of Education
  • Economics of Health and Health Care
  • Economics of Health Systems
  • Energy and Climate change
  • Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Capital
  • Entrepreneurial Strategy
  • Entrepreneurship
  • European Union: Governance and Crises
  • Evidence-based practices for wellbeing
  • Family Business
  • Finance and the transition to net zero
  • Financial Crises in History
  • Financial Statement Analysis
  • Fintech Ventures
  • Fundamentals on Environment and Sustainability
  • Futures and Options
  • Game Theory
  • Geoeconomics and International Relations
  • Hospitality and CX Innovation Fundamentals
  • Hospitality Expansion & Internationalization
  • Hospitality Operations Management
  • Impact Investments
  • Impact Makers
  • Innovation and Value Creation Wheel
  • Innovation Management
  • Integrated Marketing Communications
  • International Business
  • International Events Management
  • International Marketing Strategy
  • International Tourism Policy
  • Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism Industry
  • Introduction to Programming
  • Investments
  • Leadership and Change Management
  • Leading Social Enterprises with impact in International Development
  • Luxury and Fashion Marketing
  • Luxury Management
  • Machine Learning 
  • Management in the Public Sector
  • Management of Non-Profit Organizations
  • Marketing Analytics
  • Media and Politics
  • Mental Models for Strategy
  • Mergers, Acquisitions, Restructuring
  • Modeling Business decisions for Operations
  • Negotiation
  • Network Analytics
  • Open Innovation
  • Operations Management
  • Operations Strategy
  • Organizing for Good in the digital age
  • Performance and Progress
  • Persuasion and Negotiation
  • Pricing Strategies
  • Principles of Shopper Marketing
  • Private Equity
  • Product Design and Development
  • Project Management
  • Quality Management
  • Responsibility and Ethics of Business
  • Revenue Management
  • Sales & Retailing
  • Science-Based Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  • Service Excellence
  • Small Business Management
  • Social Marketing
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Special Course: L'Oreal Brandstorm Competition
  • Sports Careers Seminar Series
  • Strategic Costing
  • Strategic errors in organizations
  • Strategic Foresight and Scenario Planning
  • Strategic Planning and Control
  • Strategy Consulting
  • Strategy Implementation
  • Sustainability Evaluation of Policies, Plans and Projects
  • Sustainable International Business
  • Sustainable Operations
  • System Change
  • Talent Development
  • Technology Strategy
  • The Essence of Philanthropy
  • Tourism & Hospitality Consulting
  • Tourism Marketing
  • Value-Based Health Care
  • Venture Simulation
  • Web 3 a new frontier in business and finance
  • Work & Family
  • WPP Master Class

*This information may be subject to changes.

The Skills Accelerator Program is composed by 4 areas. Students must complete 1 module in each area, according to their Master's program.

  • Digital

Technology for business: concepts, tools, and software.

  • Ethics

The concept of ethics and its importance in life (personal and professional). Exposure to ethical challenges and practical discussions on how to address them.

  • Market Links

Career and job market related activities organized by the Careers office, student clubs, or faculty. Depending on the module selected, corporate partners and other companies are invited to participate. Competencies you might acquire and/or accelarate: self-awareness, collaboration, teamwork effectiveness, critical thinking and problem-solving, job market knowledge, Alumni networking.

  • Leadership

Leadership concepts and tips: self-leadership and leading others.

* Please note that for the academic year of 2024/2025 this information may be subject to changes.

As part of the degree requirement, students must carry out a Work Project (thesis) in their final semester. There are four formats available:

Field Lab

Students address a real business challenge with an international scope in a group setting.

Internship Field Lab

Students carry out a work project within the context of an internship with an international scope.

Business in Practice Simulation and Thesis

One-month intensive Program (June 2024) based on a business simulation and immersive Role Plays, followed by an individual reflective Thesis.

Directed Research*

Students showcase their knowledge and expertise by investigating a research problem of scientific nature in a relevant area of interest.

* This format is generally reserved for those intending on pursuing their studies. with, for example, a PhD.

Please note: students pursuing the CEMS MIM or a Double Degree are required to complete the Work Project within the deadlines, format and offer of those programs.

Grading is based upon the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) a grading scale developed to facilitate the understanding and comparison of grades given according to different national systems.

The awarding of ECTS grades per curriculum component breaks down as follows:

28 ECTS
Mandatory Courses

2 ECTS
Career Program – IMF & IMM

28 ECTS
Elective Courses (minimum)

2 ECTS
Skills Accelerator Modules

0 ECTS
MS Excel Certification

30 ECTS
Work Project

90 ECTS (minimum) in total to graduate
You need a minimum of 90 ECTS to complete your Master’s, but if you need 120 ECTS to proceed with your studies, you can extend your Master's by completing one extra semester with courses (28 ECTS) and modules (2 ECTS).

Q&A Sessions

Q&A Sessions

Watch the IMM Video and attend one of our live Q&A sessions to learn more about the IMM program, and clear any doubts you may have.