The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of double degrees on the students’ performance. Existing studies mainly focus on the role of a double degree to develop relationships between different universities. However, few research has been done to investigate how the implementation of double degrees (also named joint or dual degrees) within the same university affects both the students in these degrees and those enrolled in a single degree. Specific attention will be given to the business management-related double degree programs.

According to the existing literature, double degree programs at the bachelor’s and master’s level have analyzed their role as enablers for institutional relationships. This means that double degrees have been created as an initiative of collaboration between universities in the same country but mainly as a cross-country action. Different disciplines, including engineering and medical degrees are the most analyzed, although some degrees in social sciences, such as communication, law and languages have also been studied.

The methodology is qualitative with two main stages. First, the search for academic studies related to the objective in academic databases. Three databases have been used, i.e., Web of Science, Scopus and ProQuest. The keywords searched in the abstract have been "joint degree*" OR "dual degree*" OR "double degree*” OR “concurrent degree*” OR “simultaneous degree*” AND “higher education” AND university AND business AND management, searched in journal articles and proceedings, in English and Spanish. In Web of Science, 49 papers have been obtained, 28 in Scopus and 213 in ProQuest. After eliminating duplicates and reading the titles and abstracts, 21 papers were maintained in Web of Science, 16 in Scopus and 23 in ProQuest. Thus, a total of 60 papers will be used in the review. In the second stage, to be done, a content analysis of the studies obtained will be done in order to identify the main impacts of double degrees on students’ performance. A proposal for a questionnaire to further develop qualitative research based on interviews with students enrolled in double degrees programs will also be presented.

The preliminary results show the different aspects related to double degree selection (motivations), but also which type of learning methodologies are used in these programs. Although the studies show that the students in these degrees are more motivated and satisfied with their decision, studying for a dual degree has its drawbacks. For example, there is confusion about the training, in the sense that they do not know which is their identity, as well as issues with scheduling, workload, and integration with single degree students, etc. However, the general result seems to highlight that students in double degree programs have more job opportunities compared to those with a single degree, show a better performance and/or improve their future applications. Overall, double degree programs seem to have a positive impact on students’ competitiveness in the labour market.

The expected contribution of this study is based on the focus on the double degrees designed and implemented within the same university, scarcely analyzed in the literature, and specifically, the double degrees related to business management studies.

Keywords: Double degree, university, business, management, students’ performance, higher education.