Business Informatics

The Master in Business Informatics offers a university degree at the intersection between computer science and business administration. Students gain basic knowledge of business information; they can combine this knowledge with the opportunity to specialise in a sub-area of business informatics by choosing a "Specialisation Track". Courses in key qualifications and a team project provide transferable skills outside the student's individual discipline. This allows students to shape a clear profile for their aspired career.

Educational organisation

Students can freely choose their courses. Normally, they attend courses in the fundamental area in the first semesters and specialise in the third semester.

In the course section "Fundamentals", the core competencies required of business information scientists are developed further, building on the knowledge gained during Bachelor's studies. Each student selects courses from the range on offer, amounting to 36 - 42 ECTS points in total. In the fields of business informatics and computer science, students can choose courses that total 12 - 24 ECTS points each. On top of this, students can take courses worth 0 - 18 ECTS points from the field of business administration.

The "Specialisation Track" enables students to specialise in a sub-area of business informatics in the Master in Business Informatics. In each track, courses which fit the track thematically are grouped together. Students can choose courses totalling 36 - 42 ECTS. Five courses (30 ECTS) have to be in one track; one course (6 ECTS) has to be a seminar. The students themselves decide how they wish to combine their courses - in line with their professional goals and personal interests.

The team project (12 ECTS), which is an integral part of the programme spanning an entire year, can be chosen at the beginning of the first or the second semester. It equips students not only with specialist competences but also with social skills in the area of project management and team work.

During their last semester, students work on their Master's thesis (30 ECTS), a six-month, written academic assignment with an accompanying colloquium.

Study abroad unit(s)

A semester abroad is not compulsory, but students can apply for a semester abroad at one of the partner universities of the University of Mannheim. Usually, students choose the third semester as a semester abroad.

Internships

No internships are required

Forms of assessment

Various forms of assessment are used in the degree programme. Apart from written examinations, oral examinations, presentations, assignments, or workshops are often used by the lecturers.

Course objectives

This degree programme provides students with a solid foundation in business informatics and advanced knowledge in a wide range of topics in computer science and business studies.

During their studies:

• all students develop a deep understanding of the relevant concepts, methods, and problem-solving strategies used in different application domains;
• technology-oriented students learn the concepts, algorithms, and strategies used to solve concrete, practical, application-oriented problems in business informatics; and
• business-oriented students develop a deep understanding of how to deploy, develop, and manage information systems.

As part of this education, students become familiar with a wide range of models, modelling languages, methods, and tools. Regardless of their specialisation, students also learn how to collect, structure, manipulate, prepare, communicate, and use data, information, and knowledge to define and control processes in companies and industrial scenarios.

After completing their studies, students have the ability to:

• apply a wide range of abstraction and analysis techniques;
• understand, interpret, describe, and present relevant scientific publications,
• exploit the latest scientific results;
• independently tackle problems in business informatics and describe their results in structured, written form; and
• continue their studies at PhD level, if their results are of sufficient quality.

After completing their studies, students have the competences needed to:

• apply their knowledge and capabilities to solve specific problems in a team context;
• use their interdisciplinary education to mediate between technical and non-technical individuals; and
• evaluate the latest changes in programming languages, systems, business models and process models and, wherever possible, exploit them to develop better solutions for business informatics problems.

Language requirements

Proof of good English skills. This is fulfilled if the student has completed a first degree in English.
If this is not the case, students must present one of the following test results as proof of language proficiency:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language - Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) with a score of at least 79 points. A TOEFL Computer-Based Test (CBT) with a score of at least 213 points or TOEFL Paper-Based Test (PBT) with a score of at least 550 points are also accepted.
• Cambridge ESOL Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) to at least Level C
• Cambridge ESOL Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) to at least Level C
• International English Language Testing System - Academic Test (IELTS) to at least Band 6.0
• General Management Admission Test (GMAT) with a score of at least 500 points
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE), general test with at least 60% in verbal reasoning and at least 80% in quantitative reasoning
• English Language Certificate of the University of Mannheim Service and Marketing GmbH with at least Level B2 in Listening Comprehension, Written Language, Spoken Language, and Reading Comprehension

The test result must be no older than five years.

Academic requirements

A correctly completed application for a university place within the application deadlines.

Proof that an earlier admission to the same course of study or to another business/economics or computer science degree with largely the same content has not expired because an exam was failed conclusively or because the applicant no longer has an entitlement to be examined. A declaration to this effect must be enclosed with the application and, where appropriate, must be presented again at matriculation.

A completed Bachelor's degree in business informatics OR a recognised equivalent degree in a business/economics or computer science subject at a university in Germany or abroad or at a state-certified university of cooperative education. An equivalent degree must include 30 ECTS in informatics, 30 ECTS in business sciences or business informatics and 18 ECTS in mathematics or statistics. The degree must amount to at least 180 ECTS or a standard course duration of at least six semesters or three years.

Proof of good English skills

Enrolment fees

135.65 EUR per semester

Costs of living

Approx. 600-700 EUR per month to cover personal expenses

Job opportunities

Students can work as student assistants at one of the chairs at the school or the university. In addition, they have the possibility to do an internship or take a job as a working student at one of the large number of companies in the Rhine-Neckar region.

Funding opportunities within the university

The university has various scholarship programmes for excellent students. The most important internal scholarships are the Deutschland-Stipendium of the University of Mannheim and the Mannheim-Stipendium. Students who obtain a Deutschland-Stipendium are supported with 300 EUR per month. Financial support with the Mannheim-Stipendium amounts to 150 EUR.
http://www.uni-mannheim.de/ionas/n/uni/akademisches_auslandsamt/english/international_degree_seeking_students/finance_your_education/scholarships_and_financial_support/index.html

Arrival support

The International Office provides support with all formalities (registration, etc.). The Business Informatics programme manager provides detailed information about the study programme and helps with the first steps at the beginning of the first semester.

Services and support for international students

To ensure an easier start, the four-week International Summer or Winter Academy for German Language and Culture at the University of Mannheim provides international and exchange students with or without previous knowledge of German with the opportunity to learn the language prior to the start of the semester. Cultural programmes including concerts, excursions, and sports accompany the language classes.

The International Office offers special courses for international students throughout the semester, e.g., language and cultural courses. Some of the latter are also taught in English.

A buddy programme is organised by the student organisation VISUM and pairs a German student with an international student, who registers for the service via the online application form. The German buddy will help foreign students to adjust to German life, the university, and everything around it. He or she can answer questions, help with problems, may offer a pick-up service from the train station or the airport, or accompany the exchange student to various special VISUM buddy events throughout the semester - a lot of fun will be included!

Accommodation

The International Office provides dorm rooms for international students and offers support in finding private rooms.
Student halls of residence are the ideal place to get to know not only German students but also fellow students from all over the world!
Depending on the hall, you will live with two to fifteen fellow students in a shared apartment. Everyone has his or her own room, but the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet are communal. There are single rooms and cheaper double rooms with two beds in one room. The communal areas (kitchen, bathroom, and toilet) are cleaned regularly by the Studentenwerk Mannheim (SWM, Mannheim's student union).
Additionally, the International Office offers a very limited number of one-bedroom apartments with a small in-room kitchen and bathroom. The kitchens are fully equipped with cooking facilities and a refrigerator.

All rooms have a bed (as well as bed linen, blanket, and pillow), a cupboard, a desk, a swivel chair, a bookcase, a rolling cabinet, a towel rail, a wash basin, a wall mirror, a TV connection, a telephone connection, and an internet connection. In a double room there are two beds, two chairs, two desks, two swivel chairs, two cupboards, two bookcases, two rolling cabinets, two visitors' chairs and two internet connections.