From the second year onwards, you will either attend the broad Leisure & Events Management programme or choose one of the six specialisations. Each specialisation is different. Whichever specialisation you choose, you will learn a great deal about the theory and practice of the leisure industry. You will work on real-life assignments for the professional field, attend guest lectures, and regularly visit companies.

You will also explore topics such as AI, sustainability, critical thinking, and ethics. Consider, for example, how to ensure that leisure activities are accessible to everyone, or how to limit the environmental impact of a festival.

During the programme, you can do two twenty-week placements or one forty-week placement at a company in the field. It is also possible to combine this with an exchange at a partner university abroad. 

Within this programme, you have a fair amount of flexibility in choosing your own study pathway.

Exchange

Studying abroad is the perfect opportunity to push your boundaries. You build up an international network, learn a new language, and gain insight into intercultural differences. BUas works with universities all over the world, so as an exchange student you have plenty of options.

Minor

With a minor, you choose for yourself: do you want to specialise in your field or broaden your knowledge? You can take a minor at BUas, but you can also choose to do a minor at another Dutch university of applied sciences, or even abroad. 

Pre-master

In your final year of study, you may choose to attend the academic pre-master's track in Strategic Business Management and Marketing (SBM). This pre-master will give you direct access to Master of Science programmes at top universities such as Maastricht, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Antwerp (B), and Warwick (UK). You can also move on to our university master's degree in Leisure and Tourism Studies. This way, you can earn a university master's degree in just five years – or even in four years, through the accelerated (three-year) track. 

The Leisure & Events Management programme is very diverse, but its foundation is project-based work. You will work in groups of two to eight people. There are projects in which you will collaborate with students, lecturers, and industry professionals; these are known as learning communities. In addition to the projects, you will attend workshops, guest lectures, field trips, and study trips.

You may assume that you will be spending a full working week on your studies. Of course, this also depends on your approach and motivation. Throughout your studies, you will be guided by lecturers and coaches. In a personal and accessible environment, you will have the opportunity to develop yourself as fully as possible.

A typical week

Contact moments are spread across all days of the week. There is variation in the teaching methods, so every week looks different.

Monday 

• 10.00 – 12.00 hrs: Guest lecture by a company from the industry
• 13.00 – 15.00 hrs: Collaborating with your project group
• 15.00 – 16.30 hrs: Workshop on concept development  

Tuesday  

• 10.00-12.30 hrs: Check-in with your coach about the project
• 13.00-15.00 hrs: Presentation by an events agency    

Wednesday 

• 9.00 - 12.30 hrs: Check-in by project group and class about your project
• 13.00 - 15.00 hrs: Personal and Professional Development: lecture on preparing for the oral examination   

Thursday

• 13.00 - 15.00 hrs: Financial Management
• 15.00 - 16.00 hrs: English

Friday  

• 10.00 – 12.00 hrs: Pitch on your first concept  
• 13.00 – 15.00 hrs: Workshop on project management 

Student well-being
BUas encourages and helps you to make the most of yourself, whatever your circumstances. Maybe you have a chronic illness, are a family carer, a competitive athlete, or juggle your studies with running your own business? Our study coaches, student counsellors and student psychologists are here to help. Do you need extra support or advice? Or extra facilities? Then take a look at the options here.

After your propaedeutic phase, you can choose to continue with the regular study programme of Leisure & Events Management, or you can opt for one of the specialisation areas. The specialisation areas are offered in English and in Dutch. Within the Dutch-taught variant, you will study a substantial part of the programme in Dutch, such as certain meetings and sessions, and creating documents and products. This will prepare you for a career in the Netherlands, but with the capacity of maintaining relations and cooperating with the international market. 

Leisure & Events Management (regular study programme)

Leisure & Events Management trains you to become a future-oriented leisure manager with a focus on sustainability, well-being, and corporate social responsibility. Through projects, you will develop professional skills and learn to create leisure concepts and form partnerships. The programme includes field trips, guest lectures, a study trip, and collaborations with external clients. These experiences will help you discover which sub-sector or position best aligns with your ambitions and talents.

More information about the general follow-up programme Leisure & Events Management.

Attractions & Theme Parks Management

In this two-year specialisation, you will learn how to make attractions and theme parks stand out in an increasingly competitive sector. You will work together with students from the Tourism Management, Facility Management, and Leisure & Events Management programmes.

More information about Attractions & Theme Parks Management.

Sports & Esports

Sports and esports play a crucial role in our society by promoting social connection, identity and health. Esports is growing rapidly and has a significant economic value, even greater than Netflix and cinemas combined. At BUas, the specialisation focuses on the experience of sports and esports from the perspective of spectators and fans. The programme includes collaboration with clients, use of a gaming facility, and study trips to visit sports and esports organisations.

We have an esports area on our campus called The Hive. Here, you can use the gaming and esports facilities with your fellow students during your studies, but also in your free time. In this video, students tell you more about Breda Guardians, the Breda esports team based at The Hive. Maybe you will become a member of this esports team too?

More information about the specialisation Sports & Esports.

Live Music & Dance Events

Live Music & Dance Events focuses on creating and organising sustainable music and dance events with societal and economic impact. You will be trained as a concept developer, marketer, manager, or production lead for festivals and live music venues. The specialisation responds to trends such as sustainability, big data, and crowd safety. The programme is flexible and emphasises personal development and collaboration within the music industry.

More information about the specialisation Live Music & Dance Events. 

Social Innovation

If you would like to make a meaningful contribution to society, this is an ideal choice. In this three-year specialisation, together with students from the Tourism Management, Facility Management and Leisure & Events Management programmes, you will learn how to contribute to major societal challenges such as social inequality and food security by actually taking action.

More information about Social Innovation.

Events for Business

Events for Business uses events as a strategic tool to achieve business goals, such as branding and team building. Companies like Coca-Cola and Apple organise events to promote their brands or products, often with the help of specialist agencies. This specialisation teaches you about event venues and the corporate event market, preparing you for roles such as project manager or marketer. Creative and empathetic students with a hands-on mentality are a great fit for this specialisation.

More information about the specialisation Events for Business. 

Urban Life & Placemaking

This specialisation focuses on leisure in cities from societal, economic and spatial perspectives. You will work on projects such as transforming industrial sites and organising cultural festivals, and you will receive guidance in identifying your personal interests. In this specialisation, you will work with real clients and have the opportunity to spend five months abroad. Important topics include vision, concept development, place branding, and community development.

Here you can find more about the specialisation Urban Life and Placemaking. 

Throughout your studies, you will visit companies in the Leisure & Events sector. Think of field trips to music venues, amusement parks, museums, sports organisations, or behind-the-scenes tours at events.

Depending on the specialisation you choose in the second year, you will also go on a study trip. Think of cities such as Barcelona, Antwerp, Rome, and Berlin.

Depending on your previous education, you may complete the programme in three years. We also offer a special mhbo track for students with a havo diploma. 

Vwo

How does it work?
If you choose the three-year track, you will start in the second year of the programme and skip the first year. This study track is only accessible if you have a vwo diploma* or similar foreign diploma. This first year is your propaedeutic year, which means it comes with a binding study recommendation of 60 ECTS credits. 

Specialisations or regular programme 
In your first and second year, you can attend the regular Leisure & Events Management programme or choose a specialisation. Here’s a list:

• Regular Leisure & Events Management programme
• Attractions & Theme Parks Management
• Social Innovation
• Live Music & Dance Events
• Urban Life & Placemaking
• Events for Business
• Sports & Esports

For more information on the specialisations, click on ‘Specialisations’ in the menu.

You indicate your preference for either the regular programme or one of the specialisations when you apply for the study programme in Studielink. For applications submitted after 1 May, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to take part in the specialisation of your choice. It is always possible to attend the regular programme.

Placement and exchange
During your studies, you will do a placement for a company in the Netherlands or preferably abroad. You can also go on an exchange for six months at one of our partner universities.

Minor and graduation 
In the final year of your study programme, you choose a minor in which you will study a specific theme, such as esports or crowd safety. Because BUas is affiliated with Kies op Maat, you can choose a minor both within and outside BUas, offering you a wide range of options. In addition to your minor, you will carry out an individual graduation assignment that demonstrates your readiness to become a capable, entry-level leisure manager. 

Interested?
If you are interested in the three-year track, also known as the compact programme, and/or if you have questions about the content or set-up of the programme, please contact us via [email protected]. If you have administrative questions or questions about certain procedures, such as prior education and admission requirements, please contact Student Office at [email protected]

*You have obtained a vwo diploma with the appropriate profile. With the vwo c&m profile, you will not be admissible to a fast track after eliminating the deficiency (at havo level).

Tailor-made track for havo graduates

Are you almost finished with ‘havo’ but in doubt about a direct transfer to ‘hbo’? Then we have a solution for you: an 'mhbo' track. Together with De Rooi Pannen, BUas offers a programme that allows you to obtain an ‘mbo’ diploma (level 4) and an ‘hbo’ diploma in your field of interest in five years!

If you are thinking of further education in tourism, media or the events industry, you may want to consider this option: mhbo Tourism | Leisure | Creative Business

You take this fast-track level 4 programme at De Rooi Pannen in Tilburg or Breda. After two years, you will obtain your ‘mbo’ diploma and have a choice of three ‘hbo’ programmes at BUas. Here you will enter in the second year: 

• hbo (professional) bachelor Creative Business
• hbo (professional) bachelor Leisure & Events Management  
• hbo (professional) bachelor Tourism Management

In other words, you have a little more time to discover your talent: you don’t have to choose your ‘hbo’ programme until after two years. 

Read here how the tailor-made track for havo pupils works (in Dutch).

At BUas, you develop your entrepreneurial skills in all programmes. You can also join BUas Startup Support (BUSS), where you attend networking meetings and receive guidance from a startup coach. 

Would you like to graduate with your own company? You can do that at any academy, although a selection procedure may apply. Whether you are already generating revenue or just have an initial idea, BUas Startup Support will help you. 

Read more about starting your own business.