International Business Administration (B.Sc.)

What can you expect from studying the Accounting module group?

Accounting is the language of business. In the Accounting module group you will learn the language of business and companies. However, there are also several languages in Accounting. In Germany, the principles of proper accounting under commercial law (GoB) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are primarily relevant in the context of external accounting. While in the basic modules "External Accounting" (GoB) as well as "Financial Accounting" (IFRS) they have learned how a certain business transaction or a concrete event is to be recorded in the form of a booking record, the in-depth modules "HGB Accounting" and "International Accounting" deal with the concrete application of the relevant accounting rules as well as questions of interpretation. Building on the module "Internal Accounting" and "Management Accounting", the module "Controlling" deals with the tools of controlling. The module offering is supplemented by the two seminars in the area of sustainability reporting, "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting" and "Business Ethics and Sustainability Management".

What could your future path look like after studying the Accounting module group?

Students of the Accounting module group qualify for numerous opportunities for further education and career entry. The classic path into practice after a bachelor's degree with a major in Accounting is to join an auditing firm, where the knowledge gained in the course of study can be directly applied either in auditing corporate financial statements for appropriate application of accounting rules or in consulting in connection with accounting topics, and where there is a wide range of opportunities for further training. Students of the Accounting module group are also prepared for further academic or part-time master studies.

How can you structure your studies in the Accounting module group?

Students of the Accounting module group must take at least 3 modules (18 ECTS credits) and can take a maximum of 6 modules (36 ECTS credits). It is advisable to take at least one seminar if you plan to write your Bachelor thesis in the field of Accounting. Furthermore, it is recommended to study supplementary modules from other related disciplines only within the Accounting module group if the core offering is already fully exhausted or if individual courses are not offered or cannot be taken, e.g. due to stays abroad or vacation semesters.

Core modules:

• HGB-Bilanzierung
• International Accounting
• Conrtrolling

Seminars:

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Seminar
• Business Ethics and Sustainability Management

Complementary modules from other (related) disciplines:

• Unternehmensbewertung
• Tax Accounting
• Fallstudienseminar "Finance, Accounting, Controlling & Taxation"
• Fallstudienseminar "Fußball, Bilanzen und Steuern"
• Betriebswirtschaftliche Steuerlehre
• Angewandte Statistik

How can you combine the module group Accounting with other module groups?

The module groups Taxation and Banking & Finance are obvious combination possibilities with the module group Accounting.

What can you expect from the study of the module group "Banking & Finance"?

The modules of the module group "Banking & Finance" build on the basic education in the first study section of the bachelor program. The contents of the modules Finance and Investments and Macroeconomics are deepened and continued. In the compulsory modules Capital Market Theory and International Finance and Trade of the module group "Banking & Finance", knowledge and skills are imparted which form the basis of the profile Banking and Finance. The elective modules, in turn, draw on the content of these compulsory modules, develop further concepts or complement them.

What could your future path look like after studying the "Banking & Finance" module group?

Students of the "Banking & Finance" module group acquire scientific skills. Thus, they meet academic and professional requirements, but especially academic requirements in a professional environment (practical transfer of scientific knowledge). They are prepared for professional activities with a financial requirement profile.

In addition to an academic focus, students in the "Banking & Finance" module group develop extracurricular skills that are relevant for entry into professional practice. These include communication skills and working in groups as well as the ability to analyze and solve problems. The course is taught almost exclusively in English and qualifies students for professional activities in an international context.

Students in the "Banking & Finance" module group have access to a wide range of career opportunities. This extends across the sectors of industry and services. Target employers include capital market-oriented industrial companies with their own finance departments, in which investment and financing decisions are prepared, or companies in the banking or insurance industry as well as consulting firms with a financial field of activity. In detail, these are, for example, commercial banks, investment banks and asset management companies as well as management consultancies and companies with a financial advisory business field (e.g. auditing companies).

Students in the "Banking & Finance" module group are also prepared for further academic master studies through the in-depth modules. This is achieved by imparting methodological knowledge, among other things, through the elective modules in applied statistics and econometrics, which ideally combine theory (models) and empiricism (data).

How can you structure the study of the module group "Banking & Finance"?

Students of the module group "Banking & Finance" must take at least three modules (18 ECTS credits) and can take a maximum of six modules (36 ECTS credits). Possible combinations are as follows:

two compulsory modules (à 6 ECTS credits):

• Capital Market Theory
• International Finance and Trade

one-four elective modules (à 6 ECTS credits)

• Banking, Risk Management, and Regulation
• Corporate Finance
• Seminar in Finance
• Unternehmensbewertung
• Seminar Finanzwirtschaft
• Angewandte Statistik
• Econometrics
• Advanced Topics in Banking and Finance
• Selected Topics in Banking and Finance

How can you combine the "Banking & Finance" module group with other module groups?

The module groups "Quantitative Methods", "Economics", "Taxation" and "Accounting" are obvious combination possibilities with the module group "Banking & Finance". In this way you will achieve a professional specialization (career in line function). Combination with the other module groups in the module group catalog results in a professional generalization (career in cross-sectional function).

The "Economics" specialization primarily teaches analytical and methodological skills for understanding economic and economic policy developments in Germany, Europe and the world.

The specialization is the ideal complement to more specific offerings in the core subjects of business administration. The focus here is on a theory- and data-based understanding of basic incentives, constraints on action, and mechanisms of economic activity by firms, individuals, and governments in global contexts.

How are inflation, Donald Trump, and China's rise as an economic power related? Why do married people earn more than unmarried people? Who does tuition benefit or harm? Do doctors discriminate against people with public health insurance? "Economics" teaches the skills to answer such questions.

The "Economics" major thus prepares students for managerial and advisory positions in companies, associations, international organizations, and public administrations that require a broader international, analytical, and economic policy horizon.

The course content of the "Information & Operations Management" module group prepares students to take on specialist or management tasks in central areas of a company such as purchasing, production, distribution and information processing, or to work in consulting. The targeted use of information and communication technology is seen as a success factor in this context. The educational goal of the module group "Information & Operations Management" is to enable students to master the diverse management problems involved in creating value in a wide variety of industries in the industrial and service sectors.

The core of the module group is the teaching of methods for the planning, design, management and control of material and information flows along the value chain as well as the conception and management of the information systems required for this. In this context, concepts of strategic planning of value-added processes as well as the operational execution of production and logistics processes are discussed.

In the modules of this module group, the most common problems of planning in the various areas of production and logistics and associated approaches to solving them are dealt with, and methods for solving the problems are applied using practical exercises and case studies. In parallel, typical business processes in production and logistics and the core information systems of a company, especially for enterprise resource planning (ERP systems) and data analysis (business intelligence, business analytics) are addressed. Furthermore, project work, presentations and business games are used in order to provide students with the necessary social skills (such as the ability to work in a team, leadership skills and a confident presentation style) that a job in management requires.

In addition to companies in the manufacturing and service sectors, management consultancies and software houses are the future employers. Graduates with an IOM focus are also employed at the interface between the specialist department and the IT department, e.g. in the design and optimization of business processes. Typical job descriptions include supply chain managers, information managers (up to and including CIO), systems analysts, project managers, and business consultants, as well as subject matter experts or consultants in key areas such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), production and logistics management, supply chain management (SCM), and customer relationship management (CRM).

Students in the module group must take at least 3 modules (18 ECTS credits) and can contribute a maximum of 6 modules (36 ECTS credits). Modules can be freely combined from the following catalog:

• Ausgewählte Themen in Information & Operations Management
• Business Intelligence & Data Management
• Introduction to Optimization Systems
• Konzepte des Supply Chain Management
• Operations und Supply Chain Management
• Seminar aus IOM
• Seminar aus Suplly Chain Management
• Enterprise Resource Planning with SAP (external)

The "Marketing" specialization prepares students to work in the field of marketing in businesses and organizations. Students become qualified for a variety of consumer and business-to-business marketing positions in a wide range of industries, with opportunities for specialization in areas such as advertising, sales, distribution, or research and development. Students acquire skills to analyze and understand markets, create and successfully implement marketing plans. The theoretical and methodological training also enables students to analyze, structure and successfully handle previously unknown problems in these areas; it facilitates students' familiarization with a specific work environment.

The specialization "Management" prepares students for a management position in companies and organizations, or to initially assist and advise such a position. At the core of the specialization is the teaching of the central skills required for the successful management of companies and organizations. The main focus is on the management functions of strategy or strategic planning, organization and leadership. Students learn, among other things, how strategies are systematically developed, where the limits of planning lie and what alternative control options exist; what formal design options exist for organized division of labor and what significance and function the informal structure (corporate culture) has for system success; how groups function and how they can be controlled; what it means to lead and what it means to be led; what motivates people and what demotivates them and how this can be influenced.

The "Entrepreneurship" specialization aims to provide students with an understanding of frameworks, concepts and models relevant to the entrepreneurial process and its critical reflection. In doing so, the concentration helps students grasp the complexity of entrepreneurship and develop a multi-layered body of knowledge themselves in response. Among other things, students learn about seven entrepreneurial knowledge fields (entrepreneurial individual, team, leadership, organization, strategy, ecosystems, and society) and work within these fields on different knowledge elements of entrepreneurship (e.g., entrepreneurial autonomy, opportunity, passion, failure, feedback, capabilities, motivation, value propositions, complementarities, etc.). The focus on entrepreneurship enables students to deal intensively with entrepreneurship and its social significance and to understand and practice entrepreneurship as a "way of thinking and acting" that is also highly relevant in many other areas of social life beyond the founding of a company.

The university's orientation towards an international environment is also reflected in the education in the module group, where students are also prepared for activities in an international environment.

The study of the module group "Quantitative Methods" prepares students for a career at businesses and organizations that mostly concerns statistical aspects of business administration and economics. The importance of quantitative methods in business administration and economics has, over the last few years, continually increased. Statistical methods are applied, for example, in order to describe and predict financial market developments, individual consumer behavior, demographic development and environmental risks. Due to a rapid increase of information, quantitative methods have taken on special importance to collect and evaluate data. Beyond that, the demand for well-educated graduates is constantly increasing.

In this module group, additional statistical methods are conveyed that are necessary for the analysis of data sets. To that effect, students should become qualified in order to be able to independently work on empirical problems. In that regard, our courses, lectures and seminars, that primarily take place in a small-group environment, help students to understand mathematical and statistical models, and to apply them to economic issues. To this end, students must know under which conditions a method may be applied, and they must learn to examine to what extent these conditions are met. Through the analysis of case studies, students should become qualified to come up with relevant hypotheses and, with the help of statistical methods, either to confirm or refute them. Furthermore, students are given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with up-to-date statistic software and, accordingly, to interpret results of a computer-aided data analysis. Group work reinforces social and group skills and prepares students for their future careers in fields such as, for example, risk management or statistical data analysis.

The module group "Taxation" provides students with the relevant skills for working in tax consulting or auditing as well as in accounting or tax departments in companies. Students are prepared to independently determine the tax burden of national and cross-border business transactions, to depict it in the tax balance sheet and to assess the effect of taxes on business decision-making processes.

The core elements of the module group are income taxation in Germany with a focus on companies (business taxation), knowledge of how to depict business transactions in the tax balance sheet (tax accounting) and the teaching of knowledge of international corporate taxation. In seminars, for example, practical case studies, methods for quantifying tax effects and tax burden structures in a national and international context, and current tax policy reform projects are analyzed and discussed from a scientific perspective. Extensions in the direction of European law, foreign tax law or turnover taxation provide the opportunity for further individual specialization.

During the first three semesters of the program, English is the predominant instruction and examination language. Language knowledge in English will be expected.
No knowledge of German is required at the beginning of the course. Foreign students who have not proved their ability to study in German Language are required to take German as a foreign language.

If you wish to apply for a higher semester, you must have the following knowledge of German:

• for the 2nd semester = CEFR level A1,
• for the 3rd semester = CEFR level A2,
• for the 4th semester = CEFR level B1,
• from the 5th semester = CEFR level B2.

 

English languages skills

• Before beginning their studies, applicants must have sufficient knowledge of English at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

• Proof of sufficient knowledge of the English language at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference is documented, for example, by means of one of the following successfully passed equivalent tests:
  • Cambridge English Advanced: level B2,
  • IELTS (academic): 6.5 points at minimum,
  • TOEFL: (iBT, nicht MyBestTM Score): 80 points at minimum (TOEFL ID Code: 4782),
  • Certificate UNIcert II.

You do not have to be a math ace in order to study economics. Mathematical models, however, are applied in many fields, for example, market research, economic decision theory or economic theory. Prospective students should, therefore, have interest and a certain basic understanding of mathematical problems and should preferably be able to,

• work independently, that is, that given complex problems should be structured in such a way that a problem-solving approach and a mathematical model would be found,
• to solve equations with variables in any form,
• to derive functions and
• to solve basic optimization problems.

While some universities offer special pre-courses for mathematics before the start of studies, in which the basics of school mathematics are refreshed, at the Viadrina we repeat this content within the framework of the corresponding mathematics module. The responsible lecturers will teach you the mathematical knowledge required for the studies within one semester.

The program is open admission.

Enrollment for the 1st semester is only possible for the winter semester.

German students and students with German citizenship should enroll online at viaCampus between June 1 and September 15.

Then send the following documents to the European University Viadrina by September 20:

• the fully completed and signed application for enrollment (available on viaCampus after completing your online enrollment),
• an officially certified copy of your university entrance qualification,
• a proof of health insurance*,
• a self-addressed and stamped envelope, size DIN A4, for sending the student ID (chip card) and your submitted documents,
• if applicable, certificates of study from German universities showing the semesters of study and higher education you have completed to date,
• if applicable, a certificate of exmatriculation from your last German university,
• a proof of payment of the semester contribution (e.g. printout of the online transaction),
• a copy of an identification document showing your full last name, first name, date of birth, address and validity date. You have the option to black out all other information. This copy of the ID is used exclusively for identification purposes and protects against identity theft.

If you are a professionally qualified person without a high school diploma, please submit the following documents as your university entrance qualification:

• an officially certified copy of the secondary school leaving certificate,
• an officially certified copy of the certificate of the completed vocational training suitable for the intended studies and
• work certificates proving the required work experience (at least two years).
  
  

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* Notes on student health insurance

Proof of insurance status - either legally insured or exempt from compulsory insurance - is required for enrollment. To do this, contact a statutory health insurance company and have them either insure you (e.g. student) or exempt you so that your insurance status can be reported electronically to the European University. The chip card or a paper certificate will not suffice.

To report your insurance status, health insurance companies may require the Europa University Viadrina sender number: H0001747.

Students,

• 30 years and older,
• in continuing education programs,
• who are enrolling for a doctoral degree,
• are enrolled in college

do not receive a student rate. They may voluntarily purchase insurance at the regular rate. The electronic health insurance certificate is not required for these students.

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All documents to be submitted that are not issued in German or English must also be submitted as a sworn translation in German or English.

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Instructions for foreigners with a foreign school leaving certificate

Please apply from June 1 to July 15 at uni-assist e.V. Berlin. For more information, please visit:
https://www.europa-uni.de/de/internationales/Students/Incomings/Applying/Bachelor/index.html

 

German and foreign students can register for all higher semesters online at viaCampus ein from June 1 to September 15 (for the winter semester) and from December 1 to March 15 (for the summer semester).

Then send the following documents to the European University Viadrina by September 20 (for the winter semester) or March 20 (for the summer semester):

• the fully completed and signed application for enrollment (available on viaCampus after completing your online enrollment),
• an officially certified copy of your university entrance qualification,
• a notification from the responsible examination board about the recognition of study and examination achievements and classification in a higher semester,
• a proof of health insurance*,
• certificates of enrolment from German universities showing the semesters of study you have completed so far,
• a certificate of exmatriculation from your last German university (not required if you have previously studied in Berlin or Brandenburg or if you have not previously studied in the area covered by the German Basic Law),
• a self-addressed and sufficiently stamped return envelope, size DIN A4, for sending the student ID (chip card) and your submitted documents,
• a proof of payment of the semester fee (e.g. printout of the online transaction),
• a copy of an identification document showing your full surname, first name, date of birth, address and validity date. You have the option to black out all other information. This copy of the identity document is used exclusively for identification purposes and protects against identity theft.
  
  

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* Notes on student health insurance

Proof of insurance status - either legally insured or exempt from compulsory insurance - is required for enrollment. To do this, contact a statutory health insurance company and have them either insure you (e.g. student) or exempt you so that your insurance status can be reported electronically to the European University. The chip card or a paper certificate will not suffice.

To report your insurance status, health insurance companies may require the Europa University Viadrina sender number: H0001747.

Students,

• 30 years and older,
• in continuing education programs,
• who are enrolling for a doctoral degree,
• are enrolled in college

do not receive a student rate. They may voluntarily purchase insurance at the regular rate. The electronic health insurance certificate is not required for these students.

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All documents to be submitted that are not issued in German or English must also be submitted as a sworn translation in German or English.