You will start out by learning the inner workings of companies in the first-semester module, Fundamentals of Business Administration, before then branching out and expanding your growing expertise in areas such as:
- Marketing
- Strategic and Corporate Management
- Accounting
- Human Resource Management
- Innovation Management
- Corporate Finance and Investment
You will also explore the decision-making processes of both manufacturers and consumers from an economic perspective and learn, among other things, how central bank interest rate changes can affect the commercial lending market. You will learn about and practice using the fundamental instruments of business mathematics and statistics so that you can comfortably apply them to real-world examples.
Not only that, but you will also learn key methods from the field of business economics in the module Research Methods in Management. This will put you in a position, for example, to conduct a meaningful analysis of market research results and thus gauge if and how changes in consumer prices are affecting unemployment levels. Beyond that, you will also learn about the various legal forms available for companies and how companies are affected by EU law.
International Business Administration BA combines independent data collection methods (empirical knowledge) with the study of theory-based models and methods in order to define and answer economic questions as sharply and cleanly as possible. We incorporate numerous forms of modern teaching like flipped classrooms and research-based learning, creating ample opportunity to apply your knowledge and also hone your problem-solving skills. We also place great importance on expanding your set of universal professional skills in modules such as Project Management and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Have you toyed with the idea of founding your own start-up after graduation? Then modules like
- Innovation Management
- Entrepreneurship and Business Planning
- Design Thinking
will equip you with essential tools and know-how for success.
In your fifth semester, you will collaborate with students from other degree programmes on a large interdisciplinary project. Your team will investigate and develop potential solutions for challenges affecting real companies and organisations at the local or national level.
Your fourth and fifth semesters are also when you can choose the emphasis areas of your degree depending on your personal interests and career aspirations. For example, you can specialise in:
- Trend Research
- Business Ethics
- Digital Technology and Data Analytics
- Consumer Psychology
- Finance and Accounting
- Political Economy
Your sixth semester is dedicated to applying what you have learned. You can choose to embark either on an internship semester in a company or other organisation, or put your intercultural skills to the test in an exchange semester at a partner university abroad. The seventh and final semester is dedicated to your thesis and colloquium (viva voce/oral defence).
An eight-week internship has to be completed before the start of the fourth semester. You can also do this internship in your home country before applying to Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.
In the sixth semester, students have the chance to either study abroad or do a 20-week internship (in Germany or abroad). We provide support in selecting partner universities and institutions as well as in raising funds.