Why study International Marketing (MIMA) with us?

The MIMA programme at Nuremberg Tech teaches you the foundations of international marketing in theory and practice. What makes the MIMA programme so special are the new concepts and methods, as well as many practical projects. The programme will also enhance your leadership and creative teamwork skills.

 

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Degree
Master of Arts
Program duration
3 Semester
Admission restrictions
restriction-specific
Candidates are selected based on their academic profile, achievements and suitability
Language of instruction
English
Special features

MIMA – international through and through!

English as the language of instruction
All lectures and course materials are available in English,
meaning that you can complete the entire MIMA programme without attending a German lecture.
However, we strongly recommend that international students take advantage of the opportunity to improve their German language skills.

Multinational study environment
An international study atmosphere is created by students from all over the world.

Semester abroad at a partner university
The programme emphasizes its international orientation by encouraging students with little international experience to spend a semester abroad at one of Nuremberg Tech’s partner universities around the globe. For students with no prior international experience, the semester abroad is mandatory.

 

Besides its strong international focus, MIMA stands for sound practical orientation and applied research. Faculty members actively pursue research in their own fields and also act as consultants to industry.

Interesting numbers and statistics

Small group sizes make it possible to have close personal contact between lecturers and students, enabling individual learning needs to be better met.

Admission semester
Winter semester or Summer semester
Application period
For the winter semester: 02.05.2024 to 15.06.2024
For the summer semester: 01.01.1970 to 15.01.2024
Faculty
Business administration
Accreditation

The Master in International Marketing encompasses a wide range of subjects which provide students with a comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of international marketing. They include key theories and concepts as well as the ability to apply a significant range of professional skills, practices and techniques in marketing, sales and planning departments of multinational companies, international corporations or other global institutions.

The style of lecture tends to be participative, and classes frequently incorporate case analysis and discussions. There will also be group work sessions and opportunities for supervised project work, field investigations and visits, as well as individual research.

The master program is a full-time, 3 semesters program consisting of two semesters of teaching and one semester for writing the thesis.
42 ECTS in compulsory modules
24 ECTS in electives
24 ECTS for master's thesis

If you are interested in the course contents you can download a general module handbook.

Modules

International Marketing Research

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to distinguish between management decision and market research problems; they will be able to phrase suitable and feasible research hypothesis, the know different sampling methods and their limitations, the understand different research methods and designs and apply some, e.g. questionnaire design and their close link to analytical possibilities; they are aware of the interdependence between models and methods (e.g. quantitative and qualitative research and analysis methods).
Students are trained to draft one research plan, including a possible timeline from management decision problems and derived research problems to analysis and presentation of findings.

Module Content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Definition of marketing research, the marketing research process and developments within the marketing research industry (outsourcing and specialization)
  • Definition of the research problem and determination of research objectives
  • Different research designs
  • Secondary versus primary data
  • Observations, focus groups, in-depth interviews and other qualitative methods
  • Data collection methods
  • Questionnaire design
  • Determining and selecting a sample
  • Field work, non-responses, screening
  • Basics on analysis models

Cross-Cultural Marketing

Learning Outcomes

Students know about the difference between „cultural“ and „national“ aspects.
Students know Hofstedes and Malinowskis approach to cultures. Students know about cultural drivers of buying processes, buying decisions and consumer preferences.
Students know how to research and evaluate different key buying decision drivers for a specific cultural setting, they are able to adapt the marketing-strategy and marketing-mix to a specific situation – or they know what steps would be needed to be able to do so.

Module Content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Hofstede’s concept of culture
  • Malinowski’s, Hall’s and Schein’s concepts of culture
  • Buying processes and consumer preferences, cross-cultural consumer behaviour
  • Learning concepts across cultures
  • Local consumers and globalization of consumption and offers
  • Intercultural marketing communication

 

Business to Business Marketing – Theory

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to develop a marketing plan for B2B marketing and sales projects. They understand the different  steps involved, the iterative process behind it (learging loops with in the marketing planning process) and know about the need of information processing and marketing controlling. By studying various models and processes of B2B marketing planning, students are able to understand, structure and write a B2B marketing plan based on which they are able to evaluate a proposed marketing project systematically and thus improve the quality of marketing decision making. Students are trained to write one full marketing plan on a B2B marketing project. They are able to answer questions on this matter comprehensively.

Module Content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Organizational / B2B procurement and marketing decision making (processes)
  • Marketing research and information management in international B2B environments
  • Buying Center and Team Selling Approaches
  • Innovation and product development in B2B settings, especially “outsourcing” and “cooperation” and “co-opetition” strategies
  • B2B marketing plan

Business to Business Applied Research Project - Theory

Learning Outcomes

Students will apply the B2B concepts discussed in the development of a marketing plan: they know how to write a full presentation of a marketing plan including B2B marketing strategies and actions, P+L, and controlling.
They understand the different steps involved, the iterative process behind it (learging loops with in the marketing planning process) and know about the need of information processing and marketing controlling. They are able to apply this knowledge for their own project (theory – praxis transfer know-how). By  applying various models and processes of B2B marketing planning, students are able to understand, structure and write a B2B marketing plan based on which they are able to evaluate a proposed marketing project systematically and thus improve the quality of marketing decision making. Students are trained to write one full marketing plan on a B2B marketing project. They are able to answer questions on this matter comprehensively.

Module Content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Purpose of a (international) B2B marketing plan Marketing, different addressees
  • Structure of a marketing plan
  • Focus and balancing the key content and key messages of a marketing plan
  • Buying Center and Team Selling approaches and their effects on marketing actions and P+L and controlling
  • B2B marketing plan executive summary

 

Applied quantitative methods & SPSS

Learning Outcomes

During the course, students will learn how to apply statistic software programs to answer the objectives of research. The course focuses on the understanding in each analyzing procedure by using statistic formula, statistic software program, and on interpreting results from estimated value and hypothesis tests. This course covers fundamental statistics, estimation and hypothesis testing by employing Crosstabs, Anovas, correlation analysis and regression.

Module Content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Research process and SPSS basics
  • Frequency distribution and dispersion
  • Sampling and exploring assumptions
  • Analyzing categorical data
  • Analyzing variances
  • Correlation and regression
  • Multidimensional analysis

Applied Business Development Project

Learning Outcomes

By applying various models and processes of innovation management, students are able to understand, structure and run through a new product-/ market development process (nationally and internationally), evaluate new business venture systematically and improve the quality of milestone decisions within innovation processes.
Students are trained to evaluate and present cases on new business opportunities in oral and in written form. They are able to answer questions on this matter comprehensively.

Module Content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Definition of any given new business venture case and its related project(s) – especially internationally
  • Selection and adaptation of appropriate models, tools, methods or schemes to structure and analyse a given business (i.e. product or market) development task
  • Collection of information by suitable means of market research, including specifics for international markets
  • Evaluation and compiling of findings
  • Deduction or creation of solutions on how to approach the business development task
  • Systematic evaluation of proposed solutions
  • Presenting, defending and reporting of solutions / approaches selected

Product and Market Development - Theory

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to distinguish between well- und ill- structured problems and their altered need of information processing. By studying various models and processes of innovation management, students are able to understand, structure and run through a new product-/ market development process, evaluate new business venture systematically and improve the quality of milestone decisions within innovation processes.
Students are trained to evaluate cases on new business opportunities. They are able to answer questions on this matter comprehensively.

Module Content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Definition of product & market development, diversification, innovation and ill-structured problems
  • Critical success factors in new product / market development processes
  • Structure of innovation processes, such as e.g. the ‘Stage- Gate-Model from Cooper et al.
  • Organizational needs on how to overcome ill-structured (business) problems
  • Techniques on how to create and evaluate new ideas and concepts

Business Ethics

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to recognize and (re-)evaluate the ethical dimensions of business decisions in our competitive global business world. By applying various ethical theories and processes of decision making, students are able to understand, structure and to evaluate the complexity of typical ethical dilemmas in business decisions of our global and multicultural business world. Students are trained to present and evaluate complex topics and sophisticated theories in oral presentation and in written form. They are able to answer questions on this matter comprehensively and can explain relevant interrelationships.

Module Content

The course covers the following topics:

  • Definition of “good” as a basis concept of all moral discussions (as discussed by Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Descartes, Moore)

Ethics in Business:

  • Globalization and the role of Business Ethics
  • Corporate social responsibility, Corporate Accountability and Corporate Citizenship
  • Ethical theories: Teleological, Deontological, Meta, Descriptive, Normative and other ethical theories; alternative perspectives and pragmatic use of ethical theory
  • Ethical decision making – example model
  • Ethical Model of discursive and communicative ethics
  • Managing Business ethics – codes of ethics, social accounting, organizing for ethics, codes of conduct
  • Managing stakeholder relations
  • Corruption and bribery

Master’s Thesis

Learning Outcomes

Students show their ability to make use of their understanding which they acquired in their studies and practical project work by structuring, discussing, developing and scientifically researching a topic: this they show by writing the master thesis.

Module Content

Students deliver a paper that is on master level and of adequate content, structure and language.
The paper is driven by the individual topic.

  • Strategic Market Management
  • Applied User Experience Research
  • International Communiations
  • Sponsorship-Linked Marketing
  • Consumer Psychology & Pricing

    Fields of work, Job profiles

    Our graduates receive job offers for attractive positions with companies, like Coca Cola, Unilever, Adidas, IBM, and Daimler.

    Academic options after you've earned your master’s degree

    This master program opens the way to PhD and doctoral studies.

    Information on admission

    As demand for the MIMA program exceeds supply, applicants first have to pass through a rather competitive admission process which selects candidates based on their academic profile, achievements and suitability. 

    With respect to their academic qualification for the program, students have to meet the following requirements:

    1) Academic requirements

    ▪   A first Diploma/Bachelor degree from a full business program with a focus on marketing and an average of at least 1.5 or better (according to the German grading system). Find here a list of selected countries and its conversion of grades to the German system!

    ▪   If your grades are between 1.6 and 2.5 in the German grading system, you have to participate and pass the General Management Admission Test (GMAT score 550), GRE or you may be invited to pass our own Master Admission Test depending on the status of your other admission requirements and the decision of the admission committee.

    ▪   Participation in our in-house Master Admission Test is only possible for those applicants who are residing in Germany and got specifically invited to join the test. This test will take place on January 20th, 2020. 

    The test takes 90 minutes (90 achievable points). It includes short answer questions, multiple choice questions (one correct answer out of five) and short essay. All questions are based on the following book and concentrate on the listed chapters/pages:

    Kotler/Armstrong (2016): Principles of Marketing, 16th edition

    1 – Creating Customer Value and Engagement – page 29-56

    2 – Company and Market Strategy – page 62-85

    3 - Analysing the marketing environment – page 92-120

    4 - Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights – page 128-157

    5 - Consumer Markets and buying behaviour – page 164-189

    8 - Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value – page 254-285

    10 - Price: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value – page 322-341

    12 - Marketing Channels: Delivering Customer Value – page 374-402

    15 - Advertising and Public Relations – page 472-494

    2) Language requirements

    ▪   Proficiency in English: Each student is required (no matter what educational background, unless you are native speaker i.e. U.S. American, Australian or British) to submit a test result of their English proficiency by obtaining a language certificate mentioned below:
                ▪   TOEFL (paper-based test): score 580
                ▪   TOEFL (computer test): score 237
                ▪   TOEFL (internet-based test): score 92
                ▪   TOEIC (Our in-house TOEIC test (Link) takes place in February, June, September and December of each year):
                     score 765
                ▪   IELTS 7.0
                ▪   Cambridge CAE Grade C
                ▪   GMAT score 550 or better

    ▪   Basic knowledge of German, equivalent to the level A1 of the Goethe-Institute (at least 120 hours of lessons attended).

    3) Other requirements

    ▪   An internship/practical experience of at least 20 weeks should either have been part of the Bachelor's studies or obtained prior to applying for the Master in International Marketing program.

    ▪   Applicants who have no prior international exposure will have the opportunity to spend their third study term (for the Master's thesis) abroad. 

    Documents to submit:

     

    • a curriculum vitae in English (tabular form, please do not use handwriting)
    • copy of your Bachelor's degree in business (focus: marketing) AND copy of the transcript of records showing the overall grade and the total amount of ECTS or years of study (at least 180 ECTS/3 years of study)
    • If certificate and transcript are not in German or English, you have to upload a certified translation and certified copies of the original documents.
    • All applicants, who wish to apply for a degree program at a German university with a Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian school or university degree. This applies to both bachelor's and master's degree programs, as well as to preparatory programs like the Studienkolleg.
    • copies of internships, job experiences
    • copies of academic training outside of Germany (if available)
    • if required a document or transcript stating your GMAT/GRE score
    • test result of one of the English lanaguage tests mentioned above
    • for non-native speakers certification of their knowledge of German  (successfully completed
    • A1 level of the Goethe Institute; at least 120 hours of lessons attended)
    • Two personal references providing information on your academic qualifications and personal abilities (e.g. job references, recommendation letters) (optional)
    • Motivation letter

    Student Counseling Portal

    Would you prefer to get information and advice anonymously, online and independently of office hours?

    Student Counseling Service

    You’d like personal counseling and support in orientation and choosing a degree programme? Then you can get in touch with our Student Counseling Service.
    Student Counseling Service

    Faculty advisor

    Would you like more detailed information about the content of individual subjects within the International Marketing master’s degree programme? Then the Faculty Advisor is your next port of call.