Program Structure for the Business Administration dual B.Sc. degree program

Business administration graduates are expected to have sound knowledge of business administration. We teach students the essential skills they need in business administration, particularly in the first four semesters of the Business Administration dual degree program:

In the first semester, the Introduction to Business Administration module gives students their first insight into thetopics of business administration and they are able to apply their knowledge in an integrated business simulation.

Accounting and finance have been identified as one of the factors that contribute to the success of a company. In the first semester, students acquire knowledge of external accounting in the Principles of Accounting module, while the second semester’s Management Accounting module provides them with the knowledge they need to calculate costs and prices and make decisions in the area of internal accounting..

In the third semester, you will obtain a systematic and application-oriented overview of the most important methods and instruments of corporate finance in Investment & Finance.

Topics such as recruitment, human resource management, and employee development are playing an increasingly important role within companies in light of the shortage of skilled workers. In the second semester, students acquire knowledge in this area in the module Human Resource Management & Organization.

Supply bottlenecks, such as those experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, have highlighted the need for well-functioning supply chain management. Students acquire basic skills in supply chain management in the Materials Management, Logistics & Production module in the third semester.

Effective marketing contributes to the success of a company. In the Marketing module in the fourth semester, students will acquire basic knowledge and insights into trends in this area.

Companies and private individuals pay taxes (sometimes without even realizing it). In the fourth semester, the Taxes module gives students an understanding of the financial and fiscal policy debate and how tax law is applied.

In the fifth to seventh semesters, we teach management skills and students have the opportunity to specialize.

In the fifth semester, the Financial Accounting module expands students’ knowledge of the fundamentals of accounting and teaches them how to prepare and analyze annual financial statements.

In the sixth semester, students learn how companies are managed in the Corporate Management module. They acquire knowledge about corporate strategies and the influence of digitalization on competition, strategy, and strategic processes.

Students can choose a particular focus from a wide range of options in the fifth semester (Option I) and in the sixth semester (Option II and Option III), depending on their personal preferences.

In the Business Administration Workshop in the sixth semester, students apply the knowledge they have already acquired. Depending on the particular workshop, this may involve a business simulation, for example, where students take on responsibility for a company as part of a management team and have to hold their own in competition with other companies. Alternatively, students can deepen their leadership skills or explore the topics of top performance and corporate development.

Internationalization is playing an increasingly important role for medium-sized and large companies. In the seventh semester, students acquire basic knowledge of internationalization along with knowledge of strategic management in an international environment, international organizational structures, and the influence of different cultures in the corporate environment in the International Management module.

Finally, students can apply the knowledge they have gained during their degree program in the Business Planning module in the seventh semester. They take on the role of company founders and go through the process of setting up a company from the initial idea to the creation of a business plan and its presentation to a panel of judges.

As a university of applied sciences, it is important for us that our students are able to apply the knowledge they have gained in the Business Administration dual degree program in practice.

In the Business Simulation module in the fifth semester, you apply the knowledge you have already acquired in a business simulation. You will a company together as a group and have to make numerous business decisions in doing so.

In the Practical Module, you will structure a problem specific to your chosen field of study. You will apply the experience and knowledge you have gained so far to develop an objective for a business problem, identify basic sources on the topic, and explain how the objective can be achieved.

In the fifth semester module Working Scientifically for Bachelor’s Theses, basic techniques of working scientifically are refreshed and deepened. This serves directly to prepare you for your bachelor’s thesis. In the seventh semester, for your Bachelor’s Thesis you will work on a problem specific to your studies in business and economics. You will apply the experience and knowledge you have gained so far to independently complete a larger thesis or conduct and document a project. You will analyze, compare, categorize, and assess the respective facts so as to be able to answer the central question of the respective problem. You will present your results in a bachelor’s thesis Colloquium.

In addition to business expertise, there are other skills that you should acquire as business graduates.

In the Methodology, Systematics & Presentation module in the first semester, you will learn the basics of writing synopses and professional articles, as well as presentations. You will apply the knowledge you acquire in this module in various modules throughout the rest of your studies.

As a graduate in business administration, you need to be able to perform calculations. In the first semester, you will be introduced to the basic techniques and methods of linear algebra and analysis in the Mathematics module. You will be able to explain and apply these. You will be able to explain and apply basic formulas of financial mathematics. In the Statistics module in the second semester, you will learn the basic concepts of statistics. You will also learn how to perform bivariate analyses and acquire knowledge of probability and sampling theory. In the fourth semester, you will apply the knowledge you have acquired in the Statistical Research Project module.

You will learn the basics of contract law in the first semester in the module Law I. You will expand on the knowledge acquired in this module in the second semester in the Law II module, which focuses on contracts and company law.

You will work on projects in various areas of companies. In the Project Management module in the second semester, you will learn how to plan a project in a team, how to deal with typical challenges in projects and project management, and how to use common software tools for project planning.

Digitalization at companies experienced a major boost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Business & IT module in the third semester, you will learn about the goals and subject matter of Information Systems and be able to assess the potential uses of IT in companies. In the Digital Economy module in the sixth semester, you will learn about the basic concepts of business models and the areas of application of (digital) business models. You will be able to evaluate the benefits of electronic business relationships for companies and competently assess corresponding operational problems.

You will acquire knowledge in economics disciplines in Microeconomics in the fourth semester and in Macroeconomics in the fifth semester. In microeconomics, you will familiarize yourself with microeconomic theory and understand how it overlaps with business administration. In macroeconomics, you will gain knowledge of economic interrelationships and develop an understanding of the interdependence of macroeconomic markets.

English is the number one business language worldwide. You will expand your English skills in the Business English module in the third semester. In this module, you will continuously improve both your communicative and written skills in English.

During the Studium Integrale I in the third semester and the Studium Integrale II in the fourth semester, you will be given the opportunity to expand your horizons. For example, you can learn a new language or acquire basic knowledge in applied psychology. In addition to specialized expertise, employees’ soft skills are becoming increasingly important for companies and the Studium Integrale is an opportunity for you to develop your soft skills.