The first component comprises the basic study modules. During this first three semesters, students focus on foundation courses, e.g. Business Mathematics, Foundations of Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Personnel Management. Besides English, additional language courses in Spanish or French as well as German for international students prepare students for their international careers. Students receive an application-oriented education which also includes special courses for developing soft skills (Presentation Techniques, Intercultural Communication).

Internship Abroad

An important part of the International Business program is an internship abroad of 20 weeks. It significantly contributes to the student's personal and professional development and enhances his/her employment prospects. The internship is generally scheduled for the fourth semester.

By means of this internship, IB-students have the opportunity to work alongside experienced managers from all over the world and to acquire valuable professional skills. Theoretical knowledge will be applied in day-to-day business situations, in order to allow the student to accumulate a wide range of practical and managerial tools.

Study Semester Abroad

During the fifth semester, each student is expected to study for one semester at one of over 70 partner universities of the Faculty of Business Administration.

The study semester abroad is an exciting opportunity to gain insight into different approaches to management teaching, to experience life in a different society and culture, and to develop one's own language proficiency. It is an integral part of the IB degree program for which our students are carefully prepared during their first years of studies.

More information about the benefits of international experience you can finde here.

During the last two semesters of the program, classes with an international perspective, like International Financial Management or International Pricing Strategies, will be emphasized. The ability to apply theoretical knowledge to real live settings will be acquired through the course Project Work. Students must develop and carry out an independent project which can consist of a business plan, an event or an applied research project.

Besides the mandatory courses students will be able to choose from a variety of electives depending on their future career plans.

IB-students conclude their studies with the Bachelor´s Thesis in their 7th semester. In dealing with a large scale international topic students will be able to work independently on a scientific issue. The Bachelor´s Thesis can be carried out in form of a research project at our university or in cooperation with a company. The duration for writing it is 5 months.

Digital businesses use technology to create new business models and customer experiences to provide a sustainable competitive edge. Essentially, digital business means adopting customer-centric innovation as a key element of a successful business strategy. Digital competence should no longer be the domain of technical experts but instead be part of a manager’s core skillset. The purpose of this specialisation is for students to acquire both the ‘hard’ (technical) and ‘soft’ (communication) digital competences to contribute to digital transformation.

This specialization enables International Business students to build on knowledge gained from the early semesters of the International Business Bachelor program and use this to prepare themselves for a digital business-oriented role in an international organization.

The career focus “Finance” provides a comprehensive overview on main concepts in the field of corporate finance. Topics such as capital budgeting, capital structure decisions, the time value of money and further basic subjects of managerial finance are covered in an application-oriented way. The courses lay the foundations for a career in the corporate finance-, banking-, or insurance industry.

Human Resource Management deals with the different aspects of personnel management, including recruitment, retention management, talent management, and leadership issues. The overall objective is, to develop an understanding of basic issues in human resource management and how to tackle these issues with economic methods.

The career focus International Economics provides a general introduction into the economics of globalization. Issues like what determines international trade patterns or exchange rates are tackled. Furthermore, a strong focus will be put on European economic integration.

Marketing

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
As a specialization Marketing deals with concepts that are needed to satisfy needs of customers on the long term.

On a strategic level this comprises a thorough understanding of customer characteristics, needs (through market research) and customer buying behavior as well as the derivation of sustainable competitive advantage(s) (on the base of the prior information). On an operational level marketing treats with questions on how to create the right product / offering (for the descripted target customer group), how to price this offer adequately, how to place this offering (at locations where the key customer group would buy it) and how to communicate with customers in order to convince them to know, value and buy the product offering.

Operations Management / Logistics

Efficient logistic networks are essential requirements for successful economies. In the course “Distribution and Supply Chain Management” the focus is placed on the logistical processes and structures within these networks, which are necessary for supplying customers.

The reason why distribution logistics is given such a high degree of importance is due, on the one hand, to the high costs involved in distribution logistic tasks. On the other hand distribution logistics is increasingly taking on a more important role in the service policy of many companies.

Students gain a strong knowledge in the tasks, specific features, challenges and success factors of the distribution systems within industry, trade and the services sector. They will also gain the ability to choose, evaluate and use relevant solutions in distribution logistics in a structured manner.

Are you wondering whether our economy can continue to grow in the long term? Climate change, the destruction of species, animal welfare, limited environmental space and finite raw materials influence numerous areas, including economics.

In the Sustainability specialization, you will learn how sustainability can be integrated into the innovation management structures of companies. You will experience sustainable development from different perspectives and understand sustainable innovations in the context of ecological and social issues that arise worldwide. Based on important sustainability approaches (life cycle analysis, circular economy, environmentally friendly design and sustainable product development), you will develop concrete solutions in various case studies. In particular, the career focus highlights the unique framework conditions and characteristics of emerging and developing countries as well as innovation approaches with a special focus on sustainability solutions. In addition, you will learn about the concepts and instruments of sustainable market-based environmental policy and examine the role of companies in this context, the impact of market-based environmental policy on corporate decisions and how ecological goals can be integrated into the market.