International Business Administration

The first year of the International Business Administration (IBA) program lays the foundation for students' academic and professional growth. Building on their prior education, students will have the opportunity to explore the field through a broad range of introductory modules, focusing on their intended major.

With 45 credit points (CP) to choose from across a variety of study programs, IBA students are required to take 30 CP from the CHOICE area, which includes the following discipline-specific modules:

• CHOICE Module: Introduction to International Business (7.5 CP)
• CHOICE Module: Introduction to Finance and Accounting (7.5 CP)
• CHOICE Module: Microeconomics (7.5 CP)
• CHOICE Module: Macroeconomics (7.5 CP)

Moreover, students who have completed the necessary modules in their first year of study have the option to switch to another major at the start of their second year.

The integration of business administration and economics provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between individual firm activities and the economic environment. 

The second year of study focuses on building discipline-specific knowledge through in-depth CORE modules. These modules offer 45 CP and aim to deepen students' critical understanding of the latest theories, principles, and best practices in their major.

IBA students are required to take 30 CP from the following CORE modules:

• CORE Module: Applied Project Management (7.5 CP)
• CORE Module: International Strategic Management (7.5 CP)
• CORE Module: Digital Transformation and Information Economy (7.5 CP)
• CORE Module: Entrepreneurship and Innovation (7.5 CP)
• CORE Module: Marketing (7.5 CP)
• CORE Module: Organization and Human Resource Management (7.5 CP)

In addition, students have the opportunity to select 15 CP from a range of CORE modules based on their interests or to pursue a minor in another field of study.

The third year of the IBA program focuses on preparing students for their post-graduation careers. To gain practical experience and explore their interests, students are required to complete a summer internship. 

This year also provides opportunities for students to broaden their global perspectives through study abroad programs in the fifth semester. Finally, in the sixth semester, students deepen their research skills by completing an extensive Bachelor's thesis project.

In their third year, IBA students take 15 CP of specialized modules to solidify their knowledge in their chosen area of interest, such as the following Specialization Modules:

• Specialization: Lean Management (5 CP)
• Specialization: Managerial Accounting (5 CP)
• Specialization: Contemporary Topics in Marketing (5 CP)
• Specialization: Advanced Econometrics (5 CP)
• Specialization: Managing Public and Nonprofit Organizations (5 CP)
• Specialization: Information Economics (5 CP)

At Constructor University, students are provided with a unique opportunity to boost their employability through a mandatory two-month internship worth 15 credits. This opportunity usually takes place during the summer between the second and third year of study, providing students with the chance to gain practical experience in a professional setting. Through this internship, students can apply the knowledge and understanding they have gained from their major to real-world contexts, evaluate the significance of their major in the employment sector and society, reflect on their personal role in employment and society, and make informed career decisions. For students interested in starting their own company, an alternative to the full-time internship is offered in the form of a start-up option, which allows them to focus on developing their business plan.

The CONSTRUCTOR Track is another important feature of Constructor University’s educational model. The Constructor Track runs orthogonal to the disciplinary CHOICE, CORE, and CAREER modules across all study years and is an integral part of all undergraduate study programs. It provides an intellectual tool kit for lifelong learning and encourages the use of diverse methodologies to approach cross-disciplinary problems. The CONSTRUCTOR track contains Methods, New Skills and German Language and Humanities modules.

Methods
Methods and skills such as mathematics, statistics, programming, data handling, presentation skills, academic writing, and scientific and experimental skills are offered to all students as part of the Methods area in their curriculum. The modules that are specifically assigned to each study programs equip students with transferable academic skills. They convey and practice specific methods that are indispensable for each students’ chosen study program. Students are required to take 20 CP in the Methods area. The size of all Methods modules is 5 CP.

To pursue IBA as a major, the following Methods modules (15 CP) need to be taken as mandatory modules:

• Methods Module: Applied Calculus (m, 5 CP)
• Methods Module: Applied Statistics with SPSS (me, 5 CP) or Methods Module: Applied Statistics with R (me, 5 CP)
• Methods Module: Qualitative Research Methods (m, 5 CP)

Furthermore, IBA students must choose either

• Methods Module: Econometrics (me, 5 CP) or
• Methods Module: Data Collection and Empirical Research Methodologies (me, 5 CP)

New Skills Modules
This part of the curriculum constitutes an intellectual and conceptual tool kit that cultivates the capacity for a particular set of intellectual dispositions including curiosity, imagination, critical thought, and transferability. It nurtures a range of individual and societal capacities, such as self-reflection, argumentation and communication. Finally, it introduces students to the normative aspects of inquiry and research, including the norms governing sourcing, sharing, withholding materials and research results as well as others governing the responsibilities of expertise as well as the professional point of view. Students in this study program are required to take the following modules in their second and third year:

• New Skills Module: Logic (m, 2.5 CP)
• New Skills Module: Causation and Correlation (m, 2.5 CP)
• New Skills Module: Argumentation, Data Visualization and Communication (m, 5 CP)

Furthermore, they must choose either

• New Skills Module: Linear Model/Matrices (me, 5 CP) or
• New Skills Module: Complex Problem Solving (me, 5 CP)

as well one of the following modules:

• New Skills Module: Agency, Leadership and Accountability (me, 5 CP) or
• New Skills Module: Community Impact Project (me, 5 CP).

German Language and Humanities Modules
German language abilities foster students’ intercultural awareness and enhance their employability in their host country. They are also beneficial for securing mandatory internships (between the 2nd and 3rd year) in German companies and academic institutions. Constructor University supports its students in acquiring basic as well as advanced German skills in the first year of the Constructor Track. Non-native speakers of German are encouraged to take 2 German modules (2.5 CP each), but are not obliged to do so. Native speakers and other students not taking advantage of this offering take alternative modules in Humanities in each of the first two semesters.

The curriculum of the study program is outlined in the schematic study plan:

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