Nyenrode Business Universiteit is the Netherlands' leading business school and only private university with ivy league status. Founded in 1946, it is located on a large estate in the town of Breukelen, very close to the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht. An impressive castle is located at the north-east corner of the estate. It was founded in 1946 by top excecutives of Dutch multinational companies, such as Akzo, KLM, Philips, Shell and Unilever.

The Nederlands Opleidings Instituut voor het Buitenland (NOIB) was soon named after the thirteenth century Castle of Nyenrode. In 1982 it was recognized as a university by the Dutch government (Universiteit Nyenrode). Nyenrode decided in 1992 to become independent of Dutch government subsidies, due to the fact that subsidised universities in the Netherlands were and are not allowed to have a selection process of students based on talent and ambition.

Today the university consists of two schools; the business school and the NIVRA-Nyenrode School of Accountancy and Controlling.

Nyenrode has a strong international reputation in the field of business and management research and education. It maintains close ties with the national and international business communities, a fact that is reflected by its multinational student body. In addition to its educational programs for managers, business leaders and entrepreneurs, and in addition to its research activities, Nyenrode Business Universiteit also offers a wide range of training programs for managers in the corporate sector.

Nyenrode's main focus is on its MBA and MSc in Management programs. In fact, since 1998 it's offered a Dual Degree program that results both in the accredited MSc qualification, as well as an MBA title. The MBA programs (part time and full time) include a 2 weeks module at the Kellogg School of Business in Chichago. Kellogg's dean Dipak Jain is a visiting professor at Nyenrode, hence the ties between the institutions. Next to the Kellogg link, Nyenrode has close connections with the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, the Vlerick School of Management in Belgium and the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Nyenrode was cofounder of the China Europe International Business School.