University of Münster - School of Business & Economics (SBE)
The University of Münster was founded in 1780 and today about 43,000 students study at our university. Around 5,600 of those students belong to our School of Business and Economics which was founded in 1902.
The School offers a broad range of subjects, including degree courses in the disciplines of Business Administration, Economics, Information Systems and Interdisciplinary Economic. Depending on the subject-specific focus, each department is structured further into centres. The professorships of these stand for cutting-edge research in their respective specialisation. Click on the section SBE for a detailed overview of the subjects and chairs.
Our school ranks interdisciplinarity and subject-specific exchange highly. There are numerous examples for the close collaboration of our faculty across the disciplines. This contributes significantly to our students acquiring a general economic perspective during their course of studies.
Our curriculum, in terms of a practical oriented education, includes the imparting of key skills relevant to economics. In addition, we rely on continuous networking with decision makers in the economy on the levels of both teaching and research. The section "Practice" gives you an impression of the multitude of activities.
Thanks to interdisciplinarity, internationalisation and subject-specific excellence, our faculty is in a superb position for the future. It is one of the explicit aims of our faculty to pass this expertise on to students both from Germany and abroad.
Since April 2011, the School of Business and Economics has been accredited as one of only thirteen German business schools by the Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). In 2021, SBE was succesfully re-accredited. AACSB is one of the world's most important accreditations for business schools, which has been awarded to only about 5% of all business schools worldwide. This award shows that our School is dedicated to quality-oriented and international standards. Accreditation is also a voluntary commitment to quality and continuous improvement as well as to a strict and comprehensive review process. For our students, the accreditation means that they can rely on an excellent quality of the study offer, a wide range of cooperation with practice partners and close relationships with renowned foreign universities.
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Campus
The facilities of the University of Münster are spread all over the city. The main buildings of the School of Business and Economics are located right in the center of the city, whereas the department of Information Systems is housed at the ultra-modern Leonardo campus. Campus tour from the air can be found here. -
Course Offerings
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German University System
High degrees of Freedom & Self-Responsibility: Non-mandatory Attendance & One Final Examination
With certain exceptions, but in most cases, attendance for students is non-mandatory and the overall passing is based on one single final examination at the end of the course. Thus, students are able to allocate their leisure and studying time at their own disposal which leaves much space for freedom and autonomy. On the other hand, no credit points are granted for mere personal attendance or oral participation, so the risk of failing may not be evenly distributed throughout the semester but is rather dependent on the final performance in the final examination at the end of the semester. Similarly, in seminar courses, students need to hand in a self-written seminar paper on an academic topic within a pre-set deadline, which, in the same way, gives students the freedom to follow their own time schedule (until the deadline).
Likewise, all students, and especially exchange students, will have a high degree of freedom regarding individual options within the degree programs.
How to take this to your advantage:Students will experience having much time at their own disposal during the semester. With this high degree of freedom and autonomy comes a high level of necessary self-responsibility:- This competence of self-responsibility is considered a universal asset, one that has ultimately proved to be a highly appreciated skill for future employers!
- Therefore, successful performance can send a strong signal to future employers when it comes to acquiring competences/ skills related to independence and personal responsibility.
General Grading & Assessment Criteria
In Germany, we use the ECTS system for European-wide similar credit point allocations. Grades at the University of Münster range from 1,0 (best grade) to 4,0 (worst grade).
5,0 indicates"failed". "Good" grades (1,7 - 2,3), and especially "very good" grades (1,0 - 1,3) are considered rare-
One set of rules applies to all students: This means that there are no individual agreements between students and professors with regard to evaluation methods (written test, oral exam, seminar paper), the grading itself, or re-sit options.
- The majority of courses end with a final examination. In this exam, lecturers want students to prove their competence in knowledge application, and show specific accumulated knowledge, all under time pressure.
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Advice:
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- Exam preparation should not begin only two weeks prior to the exam. Pay special attention to the Tutorials as those are specifically aimed at the preparation for the final exam.
- Students are advised to:
- study steadily throughout the semester,
- attend courses regularly,
- prepare classes beforehand, and take some time to follow up afterward.
Examinations: time pressure & precise answering
In examinations, it is usually expected from students to give answers quickly under time pressure, show accumulated knowledge from the course, and be competent in analyzing assignments.
Students are advised to rehearse these situations beforehand: participate regularly in all tutorials, try to prepare those beforehand, and try setting time limits. You can also contact the faculty's student body ("Fachschaft") to ask for examinations from the previous semesters and organize your own mock exams.
- Examinations can be mastered successfully by following these steps:
- Make sure to read all assignments carefully.
- Be precise in your answering.
- Leave out knowledge that is unnecessary to answer the assignment, so do not get enticed to "show off" everything you have learned (surely, that's a challenge).
- If you struggle with an assignment, move on to the next, and possibly deal with the former one later.
- Try to answer all assignments.
If students follow these steps, all examinations can be mastered successfully.