Erasmus University The roots of RSM stretch back to the founding of Erasmus University as the Dutch School of Higher Commercial Education in 1913. Originally a business-oriented institution, the Dutch School of Higher Commercial Education was a private initiative established with the support of the Rotterdam business community. In 1966 Erasmus University (then the Netherlands Institute for Economic Science), commissioned an investigation into the feasibility of founding a Graduate School of Management dedicated to the subject of business administration. The result, inaugurated in 1969, was the ‘Interfaculteit Bedrijfskunde/Graduate School of Management’, a joint initiative of the schools of economics, law and social sciences of Erasmus University, and the schools of civil, mechanical and maritime engineering and general sciences at the
Delft University of Technology.
Graduate School of Management Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University first opened its doors in 1970 in the suburb of
Kralingen, Rotterdam. The first 30 students began classes in the two-year ‘post-kandidaats’ programme (equivalent to a master's). The school became the first in the Netherlands to offer the degree “Doctorandus in de Bedrijfskunde” post-kandidaats, for students with a university qualification in a non-business discipline. This started out as an institute for postgraduate management education, and later became Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). The founders of RSM each donated two million guilders and included: •
Royal Dutch Shell •
Algemene Kunstzijde Unie • Koninklijke Zout/Ketjen (
Akzo Nobel) • Amsterdam-Rotterdam Bank • Algemene Bank Nederland (
ABN AMRO) •
Unilever •
Philips Gloeilampen fabriek •
Koninklijke Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken (
Tata Steel Europe)
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University In 1985 Rotterdam School of Management launched its International Full-time MBA programme, initially offered in both Dutch and English. In 1986 the ‘post-kandidaats’ IMSEC exchange programme was absorbed into the MBA, and a new IMScEC ‘doctorandus’ programme was launched. In 2003 RSM joined four schools located in three continents to create the "Global Executive OneMBA". In 2004 Rotterdam School of Management merged with Erasmus University's Faculty of Business Administration and the Erasmus Research Institute of Management to become Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM). In 2006 the MSc General Management programme was established, a new master's degree for non-business graduates, now called the MScBA Master in Management. In 2011 the school appointed Professor Steef van de Velde as dean, who was re-appointed for a second term in 2015. In 2015 RSM opened an office in Chengdu, China. The RSM China office offers services to prospective students, partners, and alumni as well as maintains relationships with research universities and business schools. In 2019 the school appointed Professor Ansgar Richter as dean. As of 2022, Professor Werner Brouwer has been serving as interim dean. A new dean is expected to be appointed in Fall 2024. ==Academics==