Education for Business and Economics

In the field of educational science, you will deal with teaching and learning from the perspective of educational psychology. You will learn what is special about teaching business and economic topics from a didactic point of view, how to design in-company further training or school lessons on business and economics and how to research these processes.

On the other hand, the business and economics part provides you with in-depth knowledge of business administration and economics. This is about controlling, marketing, purchasing, and sales within companies and about macroeconomic contexts beyond companies. The course also covers relevant content from information systems and law.

You deal with the following questions, among others:

• What methods are there for a fair assessment of students?

• How can lecturers convey complex content in an interesting and motivating way?

• What background does a teacher need to create good lessons?

• What is learning and how do people learn?

• How can scientific findings on teaching and learning be implemented in schools and companies?

• What makes a good lesson? How do I plan my lessons?

As Education for Business and Economics is an interdisciplinary field, the degree program is at the interface of other subject areas. Mathematics and statistics in particular are an important part of the course. Both economic and business management decisions and research methods in education for business and economics are based on data and figures. That’s why you learn how to handle this data correctly during your studies.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Education for Business and Economics, you will be able to analyze business education issues and develop suitable didactic solutions. For example, as a business and economics teacher, you will develop teaching and learning formats, either in a company setting or for schools. Perhaps you will also be involved in implementing and evaluating such formats.

Equipped with this knowledge, you will sharpen your professional profile from the 4th semester by choosing one of the following two elective areas.

In the elective area of Business Administration and Economics, you will deepen your knowledge of business and economics you gained during the foundation modules. 

Here you have the choice between two specializations: 

• Accounting
• Human Resource Management

In the elective area for general education, you have the opportunity to deepen your knowledge from school and pursue your interests beyond business administration and economics. Some specializations are offered in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart and the University of Tübingen. You can find detailed information in the curriculum. 

You can choose from the following specializations:

• History and Political Science
• Catholic Theology
• Protestant Theology
• German
• English
• Sports
• Mathematics
• Information Systems

It is important to note that you must take the same specialization in your Master’s degree in order to be able to teach the respective subject at vocational schools later on. It does not matter whether the specialization is in business administration and economics or general education.

Two internships are also scheduled during the advanced phase of the program. Regardless of which profile you choose, you will complete both a school-based and a company-based internship.

Between the 5th and 6th semesters, you will complete a 2-week school internship at a commercial vocational school. The goal of the internship is to apply the professional and didactic skills that you have acquired in the basic phase of your studies. During this internship, you will observe experienced teachers and also conduct your first, self-planned lessons. Seminars are held in the 5th and 6th semesters to prepare for and follow up on the internship.

In addition, you are to complete a minimum of 5 weeks of practical training in a company. The aim is to learn about business activities in practice and to give you a better idea as to what interesting jobs there might be for you in the business world. You are flexible in the implementation of the company internship. You can integrate it individually into your study plan. The only important thing is that you complete it before you start your Bachelor’s thesis.

At the end of your studies you will write a Bachelor’s thesis, for which you will receive 12 credits. With the Bachelor’s thesis you show that you can apply the business education, economic, and methodological skills from your studies to a concrete scientific problem.

In addition, the degree program should fit your interests and personality. The best way to check whether this is the case is to look at the information above. For a better understanding of the degree program, our graphic shows you which school subjects are in this program. Have the study contents aroused your interest?

Here is another brief overview of the most important interests and skills you should bring with you:

• You should be interested in business and economic topics and psychological phenomena.
• You should also be open-minded towards scientific theories and their application in school and company practice.
• It is very important that you enjoy working with learners.
• You need to be willing to take responsibility for education.
• A healthy dose of creativity is important for designing teaching-learning processes.
• You will also need English language skills.
• Good mathematical skills: You can also acquire these skills during your studies with the help of various support services (e.g. math pre-course). After all, you shouldn’t fail your studies just because of math!
• We expect initiative and the ability to organize yourself.

Always in balance: Theory and practice

Knowledge isn’t everything! You must also be able to apply what you have learned in practice. Although the focus of a university program is on imparting theoretical knowledge and the latest research results, we do not neglect practical relevance.

Gaining practical experience

Internships give you an insight into everyday working life in schools and companies and help you get your bearings. Internships are also important door openers for the first job after graduation and speed up the application process. In the Education for Business and Economics degree program, you will gain experience in two places: in a company environment with a 5-week work placement and in a school environment during a 2-week practical school training period. This will give you valuable insights into both career options.

Acquiring new skills

Soft skills are essential for your future appointment, especially if you work with people on a daily basis. You can strengthen and expand these personal, social, and methodological skills as part of our further training program. For example, we offer you courses on the following topics: Learning and working techniques, language skills, project management, communication and presentation techniques, IT and media skills as well as personal development. This way you can improve these skills during your studies in an easy and cost-effective way.

• F.I.T. further education program

Learning from practice

Learning from practitioners helps you understand how to apply your technical and methodological knowledge. That’s why we work with assistant lecturers and guest speakers from the business world who provide you with first-hand practical knowledge. At the same time, you can make contacts for future internships.

Learning languages, understanding cultures

Explore the world and study abroad for a semester. This experience is not only guaranteed to be unique, but you will also broaden your horizons while learning more about yourself and the world. A semester abroad offers a good opportunity to consolidate language skills and intercultural competences. These are particularly welcome skills for international companies. We have over 80 partner universities in Europe and all over the world.

• Stays abroad

Gaining experience with start-ups

In the "Innovation Greenhouse" everything revolves around sustainable business start-ups: From idea development and evaluation to start-up and subsequent growth of the company, here you will have the opportunity to either work on an exciting start-up, or receive support for your own ideas or start-up company.

• Innovation Greenhouse

Researching during your studies

Research projects are a wonderful opportunity to apply learned methods and skills in practice, to test your own ideas, and to find solutions to problems. In the project "Humboldt reloaded," you can work in a team on the stages of a real research project, from preparing a summary of the current state of research and selecting methods for your own research to analyzing and presenting data.

More on student research with Humboldt reloaded