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Master's Programme in People Management and Organizational Development
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Curriculum 2026–2028
About the programme
Degree level learning goals
In addition to the goals stated in Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004) 7 § the aim of the Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration is to provide students with
- Business knowledge: A comprehensive understanding of the area of specialisation, including its potential to address environmental, economic and social sustainability challenges.
- Problem-solving and opportunity creation skills: The ability to identify and analyse sustainability challenges and business opportunities and creatively develop solutions.
- Scientific thinking: The ability to independently retrieve, assess, apply and create knowledge in the field of business and economics.
- Ethical behaviour: The ability to reflect on the ethical foundations and implications of business decision-making for different stakeholders and to act accordingly.
- Communication and teamwork: The ability to communicate effectively and to foster diversity, equity and inclusiveness in organisations.
Programme level learning objectives
Business knowledge
- Graduates know and are able to critically evaluate state-of-the-art knowledge of sustainable people management and organizational development theories, practices, and trends.
Strategic and analytical skills
- Graduates can systematically analyze people management related data to identify business opportunities and challenges in changing business, societal, environmental, and technological environments and create future oriented solutions for sustainable organizational development.
Scientific thinking
- Students are able to ask relevant questions and answer them by collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and interpreting data with the help of the theories and conceptual tools relevant to the field of people management and organizational development as well as examine and assess the practical implications of their findings.
Responsible people management
- Graduates are able to reflect on and articulate the implications of people management practices and tools for different stakeholders and make ethical decisions accordingly.
Effective communication skills
- Graduates have diverse communication skills that they are able to use to support change, facilitate teamwork, and nurture the wellbeing of others in organizations.
Inclusive mindset and behavior
- Graduates value and are able to demonstrate and foster diversity, equity, and inclusion to enhance the sustainable success of organizations and the overall wellbeing of society.
Degree structure
Total
120
ECTS
ECTS
ECTS
*including Master's thesis 30 ECTS
Programme studies 90 ECTS
Code: BIZ233
Scope: 90 ECTS
Programme directors: Marjo-Riitta Diehl and Anastasia Koulouri
| Code | Course name | ECTS | Teaching |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNGT1/2/3/4.thes | Master's thesis | 30 | I-V |
| MNGT-E1016 | Master's thesis Seminar | 2 | I, III English |
| MNGT-E1003 | Quantitative Methods | 3 | II, IV English |
| MNGT-E1011 | Qualitative Methods | 3 | II, IV English |
| MNGT-E2011 | Global Political Economy | 6 | I English |
| MNGT-E1009 | Leading Yourself, Teams and Organizations | 6 | I English |
| MNGT-E2008 | Strategic People Management | 6 | II English |
| MNGT-E2015 | Data Analytics for Managers, module 1 | 3 | II English |
| MNGT-E1017 | Current Issues in People Management | 6 | III English |
| MNGT-E1010 | Managing Organizational Behavior | 6 | III English |
| MNGT-E1018 | Capstone: Organizational Development | 7 | IV-V English |
| MNGT-E1019 | People and Organizational Analytics | 6 | IV English |
Choose 6 ECTS from the following list |
|||
| 21E16001 | Sustainability in Business | 6 | I, V English |
| ABL-E1377 | Financial Management | 6 | II English |
| MNGT-E1004 | Managing Diversity and Inclusion | 6 | II English |
| MNGT-E1005 | Strategy in Action | 6 | II, III English |
| JOIN-E3911 | Design Thinking for Innovation | 1 | I-V English |
| MNGT-E4001 | Influential Organizational Communication | 6 | V English |
| 32C31000 | Työsuhdejuridiikka | 6 | IV English |
| 51E00100 | Business Ethics | 6 | IV English |
| MNGT-E4003 | Strategic Change Management | 6 | IV English |
| MNGT-E1020 | Core Skills for Future Leaders | 2 | I-IV English |
| LC-0610 | Intercultural Communication L | 3 | I, III, V English |
| BIZ-E0100 | Customized Student Business Project | 6 | |
Elective studies 30 ECTS
Elective studies must meet the following requirements: they must be completed at a university or a university of applied sciences; they must, as a rule, be a part of the degree studies of the university or university of applied sciences organising the studies; and they must 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 that are outside degree education and are aimed at a wide audience; the suitability of such studies for a degree is assessed in terms of how they relate relation to the intended learning outcomes of the degree. For example, courses that can be completed freely online and have a scope of 1–3 ECTS are generally not acceptable to be included as part of a degree.
Elective studies are selected with an aim of meeting the scope of the degree in credits (120 ECTS).
Elective studies can, for example, be used for:
- completing a minor
- broadening your skills and knowledge via multidisciplinary studies by
- completing a second minor or individual courses in the fields of technology, art and design
- completing University Wide Studies
- completing studies at European Unite! universities
- completing network studies, for example from the Hilma network of gender studies or other networks
- 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 studies in language and multicultural studies offered by European Unite! universities
- broadening or deepening expertise in your own field by
- completing additional studies in your programme or major
- completing studies in other programmes or majors
- completing additional studies in a minor
- completing the Customized Student Business project BIZ-E0100 (read more here) or Non-governmental organization project BIZ-E0110 (read more here)
- acquiring working life skills by completing an intership (read more at During your studies > Other studies)
- Learning self-leadership skills and developing personal well-being and meaningfulness with respect to studies Personal Impact courses.
A minor can be
- a minor organised by Aalto University (find the list of offered minors here)
- an international minor that is completed through the Aalto University exchange programme at a university abroad or in a programme otherwise fulfilling the requirements of the exchange programme for free mover students (instructions here)
- a study module completed at another university in Finland or abroad. As a rule, the minor must be either a confirmed minor or a similar study module that is in the curriculum of the higher education institute offering the module.
The scope of the minor is determined according to the requirements of the minor.
If you are required to take language studies for your master's degree, they are located in the elective studies module. If this requirement applies to you, you received information about it at the beginning of your studies,. If you are uncertain whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency for the master's degree, please contact your programme's planning officer for further information.
- If you have completed a bachelor's degree in Finland (at Aalto or another higher education institution), you either fulfilled the language requirements there or you received an exemption. You do not then need to complete language studies for the master's degree.
- If your language of education is Finnish or Swedish and you have completed a bachelor’s degree outside of Finland, you must demonstrate proficiency in the national languages by writing the maturity essay in your language of education (Finnish or Swedish) and completing the language proficiency tests in the other language. Read more about the language of education here. You may also apply to receive an exemption from demonstrating this proficiency. Read the following bullet also.
- If you completed a bachelor’s degree outside of Finland, you must complete a minimum of 3 ECTS credit in English to demonstrate both oral and written proficiency regardless of your language of education. You can choose any course at a level of B2 or higher. Courses that are at a sufficient level and include both oral and written proficiency are marked with an ‘o’ and a ‘w’ in the course name. Students whose language of education is neither Finnish nor Swedish may alternatively complete an elementary course in Finnish or in Swedish. These courses in the national languages of Finland can be at any level on the CEFR scale.
Suggested electives offering by career track
We have collected here suggested courses for the elective studies of the degree for three possible career tracks: People Management Professional; Consultant, finance/analytics focus, and Consultant, generalist. Note that some of the courses can also be included in the PMOD programme studies as an optional course (marked with *).
Courses suitable for all career tracks
- MNGT-E1020 Core Skills for Future Leaders (2 ECTS) covering emotional intelligence, communication, change management and stakeholder management*
- Communication
- MNGT-C4001 Management Communication (3 ECTS)
- MNGT-E4001 Influential Organizational Communication (3 ECTS)*
- LC-0561 Interaction in Teams and Projects (3 ECTS)
- LC-0330 Leadership Communication D (3 ECTS)
- Intercultural Communication
- LC-0610 Intercultural Communication L (3 ECTS)*
- LC-0615 Intercultural Communication in Teamwork (3 ECTS)
- Strategy
- MNGT-E1005 Strategy in Action (6 ECTS)*
- Financial Management (Note that you cannot take both ABL-E1344 and ABL-E1377.)
- ABL-E1344 Introduction to Financial Management (6 ECTS)
- ABL-E1377 Financial Management (6 ECTS)*
- Ethics
- 51E00100 Business Ethics (6 ECTS)*
- Change Management
- MNGT-E4003 Strategic Change Management (6 ECTS)*
People Management Professional
- MNGT-E1004 Managing Diversity and Inclusion (6 ECTS)*
- 32C31000 Työsuhdejuridiikka (6 ECTS)* (Employment law, course in Finnish)
- ABL-E2606 Data Protection (6 ECTS)
- 21E16001 Sustainability in Business (6 ECTS)*
Consultant, financial/analytics focus
- Project Management
- 37E01500 Capstone: Project Management and Consulting Practice (6 ECTS)
- TU-C3015 Introduction to Project Management (5 ECTS)
- TU-EJ2000 Strategic Project Management (5 ECTS)
- Finance
- FIN-A0103 Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (6 ECTS)
- Analytics courses (to be taken in this order)
- ISM-C1004 Business Analytics 1 (6 ECTS)
- ISM-E1004 Business Analytics 2 (6 ECTS)
- ISM-E1006 Decision Analytics for Consulting (6 ECTS)
Consultant, generalist
- Project Management
- 37E01500 Capstone: Project Management and Consulting Practice (6 ECTS)
- TU-C3015 Introduction to Project Management (5 ECTS)
- TU-EJ2000 Strategic Project Management (5 ECTS)
- Finance
- FIN-A0103 Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (6 ECTS)
Minor recommendations
Below you can find our recommendations of suitable bachelor as well as master level minors on offer at Aalto University. You can include a minor from either level to your master’s degree from any of the Schools of Aalto University or even from another university. Note that completing a minor is not mandatory.
The Department of Management Studies offers great minors that support the work of people management professionals. The department offers the following minors:
- International Business
- International Design Business Management
- Organizational Communication
- Strategy
- Sustainability Management
- Sustainable Entrepreneurship
We strongly recommend that students that do not have a bachelor’s degree in business studies would choose a minor in the fields of accounting or finance in order to have sufficient understanding of financial statements and corporate finance to operate in management positions in the corporate world.
Improving data analytics skills will also be of great importance in the future for any of our degree students, see Minor in Business Analytics. Also coding skills may come handy, see Minor in Computer science.
For those wanting to study throughout the summer we recommend Information Technology Programme (ITP) as a minor. ITP is a full-time academic summer programme, which is interactive, hands-on, international, and organized in close cooperation with companies in the fields of information technology and digital design.
There is also a possibility to focus on gender studies through Hilma, the National Gender Studies Network. Hilma studies enable you to gain a deeper understanding on gender equality and other forms of non-discrimination in working life and society at large.