M.Sc. Business Administration

Degree awarded	Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Duration and credits	4 semesters; 120 ECTS credits
Starts in	April (summer semester) and October (winter semester)
Languages of instruction	German; includes individual modules taught in English

About the programme

Do you have a first degree in economics, business administration or a related subject and wish to consolidate and expand your knowledge? The research-oriented M.Sc. Business Administration gives you a solid grounding in theory, skills and methods, enabling you to deal independently with a wide range of problems, particularly those related to business administration, using scientific principles. As you progress through the programme, you are given a choice of three specialisations, which you can choose to suit your interests. This degree opens up access to doctoral study.

Features

Students get to choose their own specialisation
Top places in the categories "Teacher Support" and "Transition to Master’s Studies" (CHE rankings)
Many double master's options:
- Corvinus University Budapest (Hungary)
- Université de Lorraine (France)
- New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark (USA)
- Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), Chengdu (China)
- University of Turku (Finland)
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai (India) – joint master's degree

This master's degree opens doors to management positions in domestic and international companies in a wide range of industries, as well as in German and international public-sector institutions. They may work, for example, in companies in the financial and consulting sector, in auditing companies or tax consulting firms. Depending on the chosen study focus, a variety of different job descriptions are possible. This degree also qualifies graduates for doctoral study.

Three specialisations are offered in addition to the core Methods and Principles module groups:

Accounting, Finance, and Taxation (AFT)
The Accounting, Finance and Taxation specialisation comprises the theory and empirical study of finance, the mathematical representation of enterprise resources and the taxation of companies and households.
International Management and Marketing (IMM)
Studying the International Management and Marketing specialisation, you will focus on the theories and empirical study of international, market-oriented organisational management and marketing.
Information Systems (WIIS)
The Information Systems specialisation deals in depth with the business-oriented design and optimisation of intra- and inter-company flows of goods and information on the basis of modern information systems and information technologies.

The respective specialisation modules are split into introductory and advanced courses: the introductory courses take some of the content dealt with in a general fashion in the Bachelor's programme and give it a more detailed treatment, while the advanced courses are concerned with more specific problems and current research in the respective subject areas. Overall, the programme has been designed to maximise flexibility and choice of course modules, in return requiring a high level of adaptability and independent work from students.

Further information on the specialisation modules

Module catalogues

Applicants should have a good first degree with a final grade of, or equivalent to, 2.7 or better (according to the German grading scale) in business administration, economics or a related discipline, obtained after a programme of study with a minimum standard full-time study duration of three years.

A degree is considered related if the minimum business or economics content amounts to 60 ECTS credits, including least 10 ECTS credits in economic/business research methods (e.g. data collection, data processing, mathematics, software development or statistics).

One ECTS credit reflects a workload of 30 hours, including classroom-based learning and self-study.

You will need German language skills at level C1 CEFR or higher to study this degree programme, as that is the main language of instruction for this programme. Therefore, you will have to provide a recognised German language certificate such as DSH-2 or TestDaF 4 in all four categories, unless German was the language of instruction for your secondary school education (e.g. Abitur at a German international school) or prior tertiary education.

The University of Passau has set up a German language teaching unit, German Courses Passau, which offers a selection of preparatory language programmes tailored to the needs of international students. These range from summer courses to a full academic year and cater to learners of all levels.

You should provide one of the following English language certificates (at level B2 CEFR) if English is not your first language or the language of instruction for your first degree or secondary school-leaving qualification: