Bachelor's in Business Administration / International Business (BSc) Pforzheim University

The seven-semester programme offers a degree in business administration with a specialised focus on international business. The study programme has a unique bilingual profile, which offers students a high degree of intercultural competencies as well as a solid foundation in economics. Alongside comprehensive professional training, the programme offers international projects and field trips.

Students are to spend at least one semester in a non-German-speaking country either during their internship semester or through a study semester at one of our more than 100 partner universities. This experience not only furthers their academic journey but also enhances their profile as a specialist or global player in business administration.

Students also have the option to spend one year abroad at a partner university and acquire a double degree, i.e. the Pforzheim Bachelor’s degree in combination with the foreign degree of the respective partner university. The following 11 partner universities are available for the double degree: Excelia Business School, France; IÉSEG School of Management, France; ESSCA School of Management, France; Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia; IQS School of Management, Spain; CUNEF Universidad, Spain; SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland; University of Limerick, Ireland; TEC de Monterrey, Mexico; Universidad ICESI, Colombia; and Universidad ESAN, Peru.

International students who come from abroad to pursue their Bachelor’s degree in International Business at Pforzheim University typically complete all seven semesters in Pforzheim. This experience gives them the advantage to immerse themselves in the German culture and learn the language – they are then perfectly prepared for jobs in Germany upon graduation.

Our graduates have a wide range of promising opportunities and achieve high employability. They typically work as country representative, team members in export and import divisions, administrative staff in international or strategic purchasing, or secure positions in corporate controlling or as junior consultant at business consultants.

Study at the public Business School Pforzheim – Germany’s number one business school among universities of applied science (Eduniversal Ranking) and one of the world’s top five percent of business schools according to the AACSB accreditation.

The full-time programme consists of seven semesters with 210 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits. Courses are held in English and French or Spanish. The semesters are structured the following way (ECTS are in brackets after the course title):

SEMESTER ONE

• Social and Methodical Competencies (2)
• Contract Law (5)
• Business Administration I (6)
• Microeconomics (6)
• Analysis and Linear Algebra (3)
• Financial Mathematics (2)
• Information Systems (5)

SEMESTER TWO

• Corporate Law (6)
• Business Administration II and Corporate Taxation (5)
• Macroeconomics (5)
• Descriptive Statistics (3)
• Mathematical Optimisation (2)
• Business Communication in the International Environment (5)
• Foundation of Cost and Performance Accounting (5)

SEMESTER THREE

• Cross-Cultural Competencies (2)
• Managing Digital Transformation (5)
• International Economics (5)
• Inferential Statistics (3)
• Quantitative Analytics (2)
• Introduction to International Business (6)
• International Political, Economic and Social Environment I (6)
• Scientific Writing, Media Competence and Information Research (1)

SEMESTER FOUR

• Seminar in Economic Policy (4)
• Financial Accounting and Financial Management (7)
• International Business Law (5)
• Digitalisation for International Management (7)
• Business Plan (7)

SEMESTER FIVE (internship)

• Internship (28)
• Management Simulation (2)

SEMESTER SIX (abroad)

• Strategic Management (3)
• Management in Specific Industries – Elective Courses (6)
• Management Seminar (5)
• Ethics and Social Responsibility (5)
• International Specialisations – Elective Courses (12)

SEMESTER SEVEN

• Individual Studies – Elective Courses (5)
• Projects / Case Studies (7)
• Scholarly Colloquium (2)
• Oral Examination (3)
• Thesis (12)

Integrated internship semester to gain practical experience in companies in the fifth semester in Germany or abroad.

Students are encouraged to write their theses in cooperation with a company or a consultancy. Through company contacts, our alumni network, excursion weeks, company projects and lecturers from the industry, students are supported in finding internships.

Admission is based on the selected capabilities taken from the applicant’s university entrance qualification (HZB). The weighted overall university entrance qualification grade is calculated as follows:

• Mathematics grade of the university entrance qualification – 45%
• Existing knowledge of English (at least level B2) – 25%
• Existing knowledge of French or Spanish (at least level B1) – 30%

Applicants holding a non-EU university entrance qualification need to fulfil an additional requirement before applying:

• Recognition of documents: Applicants have two options for submitting their university entrance qualification documents for recognition:
  • Via the university application portal: Submit your documents directly to the International Office of Pforzheim University through the university's application portal.
  • Via Studienkolleg Konstanz: Submit your documents to Studienkolleg Konstanz (Studienkolleg der Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften in Baden-Württemberg). Important: Please note that the recognition process by Studienkolleg Konstanz may take three to four weeks. Once your documents have been recognised, you must upload the recognition results to the Pforzheim University application portal to complete your application.

A minimum B1 level is required in either Spanish or French.

The university semester contribution amounts to approximately 200 EUR and includes access to regional public transportation.

Student life in Pforzheim is more affordable than in most other German university towns. To cover all expected living expenses — including rent, health insurance, and daily necessities — students typically require between 700 and 900 EUR per month. A room in a student residence costs approximately 300 EUR per month, and a meal in the student cafeteria costs about 4 EUR.

Companies in the area offer working student jobs. For individual students, jobs as student assistants are available at the university.

Funding opportunities for certain specific groups (e.g. students from German schools abroad)

A semi-annual career fair and various networking events are held on campus.

The university’s career centre advises International Business students regarding applications and company contacts. Furthermore, the career centre runs its own online platform on which students can find information on internships and job opportunities.

The student union offers accommodation in student dorms around campus (via Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe). Many private rooms are also available in the city of Pforzheim and the surrounding area. The university provides lists of private rooms and apartments via the International Office.

Pforzheim University

Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences is characterised by its broad range of subjects and its interdisciplinary combination of design, engineering, business and law. Three faculties offer a total of 30 Bachelor’s and 20 Master’s programmes. More than 6,200 students – 3,200 of whom study at the Business School – are taught by 182 professors (96 of them in business and law) and 300 lecturers. In addition to the professors’ research activities, research is organised in seven institutes and several competence centres. Three doctoral programmes, run in cooperation with partner universities, provide an opportunity for students to obtain a doctorate.

The Business School

For nearly 60 years, the Business School Pforzheim has stood for a sound university education at the highest academic level. Top rankings and the renowned international AACSB accreditation demonstrate that Pforzheim is one of the leading business schools worldwide. Emerged from the “Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft (FHW)”, the school offers a wide range of courses consisting of 14 Bachelor’s and 12 Master’s degree programmes. These are clearly aligned with specific job profiles and today’s requirements of employers. In addition, students can obtain additional qualifications during their studies which will further enhance their profiles.

The Economic Region

Pforzheim University is located in the south-west of Germany, close to the state capital Stuttgart, in one of Germany's strongest economic regions. Companies such as Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Robert Bosch, SAP, Adolf Würth, Carl Zeiss, Trumpf, Hugo Boss or Alfred Kärcher and many hidden champions are based here. For students, this offers the opportunity to gain practical experience as a working student, to do a voluntary internship during their studies or to write their thesis in cooperation with a company.

The Black Forest

The city of Pforzheim is located between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. As the gateway to the northern Black Forest, the city and region also offer a wide variety of recreational and sports activities. Hikes or mountain bike tours through the Black Forest, river surfing on the Black Forest Wave in the middle of Pforzheim, bouldering or many other sports – a wide range of leisure activities can be added to your studies.

For international students, the four seasons are also a reason to come to Pforzheim. The region offers the most hours of sunshine in Germany, but also snow-covered forests for sledging or cross-country skiing in winter.