The degree programme in Business Administration in parallel with an apprenticeship enables you to take on different technical duties and management functions at middle and senior management levels. After successfully completing your degree, you will have a broad base of business expertise as well as the ability to apply this in corporate practice. You will be able to understand and assess cross-functional business processes and to decide on the right way to manage business and trade relations – even in an international context. You will become acquainted with various management concepts and their corresponding tools, and be able to apply and assess them in both an operations and strategic context. Furthermore, you will have acquired communication skills, enabling you to form objectively and well-prepared arguments – in individual discussions as well as within a group.

Our dual study format offers you an excellent basis for starting your career. We know this from experience: for years, companies from local industry have recruited their specialists and executives from this degree programme. As a result, they have been deployed in many different areas. After graduation, you too will be prepared to work, for example, in purchasing, logistics, production, controlling, financial management, accounting, and marketing and sales, or perhaps in human resource management or in administration. Many different sectors will be open to you, from manufacturing companies to service providers, from banks and insurance companies to commerce, from hospitals to consulting firms. In addition, your Bachelor’s degree will enable you to continue with a Master’s programme in the field of economics. This will further enhance your employment prospects, qualifying you to work in academia as well.

The degree programme in Business Administration in parallel with an apprenticeship is divided into two stages:

The first stage lasts three semesters and concludes with a commercial exam at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK). You will prepare for this exam at three different learning locations: you will spend three days a week in your apprenticing company, where you will develop your practical knowledge and skills in business administration. You will learn the theoretical/academic components at the IHK on Fridays and Saturdays. Furthermore, in the first academic year you will spend one day a week at vocational college.

In the second stage, you will continue to do practical work for your company four days a week. Now you will work more and more independently and prepare for future managerial responsibilities in projects and work groups. On Fridays and Saturdays, you will improve your theoretical-scientific knowledge at the IHK in business-related subject areas such as accounting or marketing, as well as in supplementary subjects including statistics, applied business informatics or law. You will learn business English and practise various soft skills, such as making presentations and moderating discussions. Each course is complemented by one week of mandatory attendance per semester and around five exam days. In the sixth semester, you will write your Bachelor thesis. The thesis also serves as the final thesis for your Diplom-Betriebswirt title, which you will have at the end of the semester. In the seventh semester, you will further improve your knowledge of international marketing, and specialise in one of the following three areas: Controlling, Financial Management or Logistics. After concluding your degree programme with a scientific colloquium, you will obtain your Bachelor of Arts degree.

Within three-and-a-half years, you will not only have obtained an internationally recognised university degree, but you will also be able to demonstrate that you have completed vocational training and practical work experience – a clear advantage in the job market.

One thing that sets our degree programme apart is the intense and productive contact with other students and lecturers. Working in small groups helps you to learn effectively and to benefit from continuous exchange between group members. The close links to the world of practice will enable you to easily approach the content in your theoretical courses. You will learn about different divisions of the company and therefore your main areas of interest during your studies, enabling you to raise your profile in a well-focused manner.

Another advantage is that you will continue to have a regular income while studying, meaning that you will have a sound financial basis. In addition, you will have great prospects after graduation to be hired by your apprenticing company or to climb the career ladder within the company.