ÎçÒ¹AV

Corporate Management (MBA)

Please note: This degree programme is currently not open for enrolment. Are you interested in an internationally oriented MBA programme? Then we recommend our English-language Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme.

Study Profile

The MBA in Corporate Management is an applied study programme in the field of business. It takes a generalist approach and teaches the fundamentals of business administration. Issues related to developing and implementing corporate strategies are covered. In the second year of study, students have the opportunity to choose a specialisation in digital marketing & e-business, financial markets & risk management or strategic management.

Highlights of the Study Course

  • Best General Management Education for Young Professionals: Focused course contents, best faculty and accredited quality (by the FIBAA) of the study programme and the university

  • Specialisations for high employability: Students on this academically challenging Master’s study programme may specialise in Digital Marketing & E-Business, Financial Markets & Risk Management or Strategic Management.

  • One-week study trip abroad: Silicon Valley, Brussels, London or Hamburg/Berlin

  • Digital Toolbox: The unique Digital Toolbox is a special offering to teach HSBA Master’s students digital tools and strategies. Students from different MSc and MBA degrees will have the opportunity to choose between highly relevant and contemporary digital topics and profiles, and at the same time network with each other outside their own study programmes. 

  • JOB & MASTER Programme: JOB & MASTER is a free-of-charge placement service for applicants who wish to combine a challenging academic education at HSBA and valuable professional experience.

  • Mentoring Programme: The HSBA master’s students have the opportunity to take part in the mentoring programme which experienced executives from  Hamburg offer them.

Facts on the Study Course

Students Approximately 30 per group
Degree Master of Business Administration with the right to proceed to doctoral studies
Credits 90 ECTS
Language English
Course Duration 24 months, start on 1 October
Course Organisation Part-time, contact hours at extended weekends and a small number of full-time weeks
Patronage and Mentoring Versammlung Eines Ehrbaren Kaufmanns zu Hamburg e.V. (VEEK; engl.: The Honourable Society of Hamburg Merchants)
Admission Requirements Good bachelor´s degree plus a minimum of two years of work experience; or an apprenticeship plus a minimum of six years of work experience and an entrance examination; good English language skills
Financing Grants of 25% to 50% of the tuition fee, as well as 100% in individual cases
Study Fees 22.800 Euro (= 950 Euro per month), early-bird discount of 10% if application is received by 31 May
Application Process Written application, telephone interview, admission day. Applications are accepted until the maximum number of students is reached. We recommend to apply early, since grants and JOB&MASTER-places are allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis. Non-EU/EEA students should apply early to allow time for their visa application.
Accreditation FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation); ÎçÒ¹AVs accredited by the science council.

Impressions on the Study Course

Suhana Moehl HSBA

"After graduating as a Nurse and a career switch to Aviation, I always knew that I am missing the main part of business studies. HSBA's MBA programme has been extremely beneficial for me as it covers the full scope of business management and allows a great switch to business from any industry. The main highlights of the programme were the interesting modules and challenging discussions with my professors and multinational classmates. These have massively contributed to my learning curves, widened my horizon of perspectives and enhanced my career ladder opportunities."

Suhana Moehl
MBA Corporate Management (Class of 2020)
Mrithyunjaya Balasundaram HSBA

"Having worked as a Mechanical Engineer and a Project Manager for the healthcare industry in Zambia after my Bachelors, I realised that my true potential to successfully lead, administer and direct a company was underutilized. An MBA in Corporate Management at HSBA has certainly helped me build on these vital management capabilities to successfully lead a company. Not to forget, the diverse group of highly experienced professors and peers from the industry I got to learn from, who helped me imrpove myself both academically and professionally."

Mrithyunjaya Balasundaram
MBA Corporate Management (Class of 2019)
Cengiz Düman

"After studying industrial engineering and some years of practical experience, I longed for complementary contents that would better equip and prepare me for leadership responsibilities. I was also looking forward to new, inspiring subjects and people from diverse cultural backgrounds and disciplines.
The MBA has proven to be just an enrichment in terms of content and methodology, in particular through constructive and immediate feedback from experienced lecturers and discussions with study mates. The extra-occupational studies have challenged me extremely but promoted my personal development and focus at the same time."

Cengiz Düman
MBA Corporate Management (Class of 2020)
HSBA Master Corporate Management Michael Höbig

"The MBA in Corporate Management involves teaching extensive system know-how and uses case studies with industry representatives to develop management skills for a successful career."

Prof. Dr. Michael Höbig
Head of the Study Course MBA Corporate Management
HSBA Master Corporate Management Katrin Schramm

"With its compact classroom phases, the MBA Corporate Management is also suitable for non-local students, whether from Germany or Europe. Especially the specialisations are also of interest to graduates of business and economic studies."

Katrin Schramm
Programme Manager MBA Corporate Management

Study Structure

To successfully complete the programme and be awarded the MBA degree, 90 ECTS must be collected. The credits are spread over nine core modules, two electives, the specialisation and the thesis.

The study programme takes a generalist approach and covers a broad range of business administration theory as well as relevant economic topics. It gives students the opportunity to specialise in an area that is focused on specific content or a particular industry. The degree concludes with a four-month thesis, the topic of which can relate to any area of the course. The overlapping topics Complexity of Decision-Making, Participant‘s Personal Development and Line of Business constitute guidelines for the module contents which clarify the course objective.

Students have the opportunity to specialise in Digital Marketing & E-Business, Financial Markets & Risk Management or Strategic Management. This means that up to one-third of the study programme can be structured as a specialisation, providing excellent specialist knowledge to the student.

Study Plan

  • Marketing & Sales

    Students are taught the fundamentals of marketing management and how to apply these to situations in business life. From market analysis to social media, the module provides a comprehensive insight into modern marketing methods.

  • Operations Management

    The module teaches the fundamentals of operations in production, service, supply chain and logistics.

  • Economics

    This module deals with the fundamentals and methodologies in the field of microeconomics and macroeconomics.

  • HR & Organisation

    Students learn the basics of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management. This course presents behavioral concepts that influence individual, group, and organisational effectiveness. Particular emphasis is given to motivation, culture, globalisation, leadership, group dynamics, communication, organisational structure and change.

  • Accounting & Controlling

    The focus of the lecture is primarily on methods of a practice-oriented modern financial statement analysis. Decision-makers, managers and professionals in business are confronted daily with accounting terms and concepts. To assess the impact of managerial accounting issues and to take management decisions, a solid understanding of financial and accounting-correlations is essential.

  • Leadership

    Students should be able to recognise and evaluate structures and situations of leadership and human resource management in an international context. This shall be based on leadership theories and practical approaches as well as a strong fundament in ethics and current practices in international human resource management. This also includes knowledge of the most important motivation theories and know-how to appraise and manage performance.

  • Corporate Finance

    This module teaches the basic ideas of Corporate Finance and budgeting by focussing on cash flows and costs of capital. Students should get an understanding about the basics of budgeting and how to apply methods for decision making.

  • Sustainability

    This module centres on the relevance of ethical decisions in a business context. Awareness for ethical dilemma situations as well as ethical leadership skills are fundamental requirements of any successful management approach. Ethical reasoning and decision making require advanced personal skills which will be trained in class discussions as well as in real business projects. Students analyse complex ethical questions and come up with fitting solutions.

  • Master's Elective/Digital Toolbox

    Students of all Master’s study programmes can choose one profile from the following six profiles:

    • Digital Strategy
    • Intrapreneur
    • Communication
    • Programming
    • Data Business
    • Business Process Transformation
Cross-Module Topics: Line of Business | Decision-Making | Personal Skills
  • Systems Thinking & System Dynamics

    Students learn the fundamentals of system theory and get an understanding about the nature and behaviour of systems.

  • Strategy
  • Study Trip

    Students can choose between four study trips (subject to change) and are themselves in charge of the planning, organisation and implementation of their excursion.

    • Silicon Valley (USA)
    • Copenhagen (Denmark)
    • Brussels (Belgium)
    • Hamburg/Berlin (Germany)
  • Specialisations

    Students have the opportunity to choose from one of the following three specialisations:

    • Digital Marketing & E-Business
    • Financial Markets & Risk Management
    • Entrepreneurship & International Management
  • Master Thesis

    The Thesis concludes the postgraduate programmes at HSBA. Its results will be presented in the final Colloquium.

Cross-Module Topics: Line of Business | Decision-Making | Personal Skills
  • Digital Marketing & E-Business

    The Digital Marketing & E-Business specialisation comprises case studies on selected topics that are supplemented and covered in more depth through external lectures. Students should understand how modern information and communication technologies support entrepreneurial processes and how traditional business processes are substituted by digital processes.

    • E-Business: Developing an e-strategy and possible business models in e-business, internetbased customer management (E-CRM), and special aspects of using internet technologies in supply chain management.
    • Digital Marketing & E-Consumer Behaviour: Social media marketing, mobile marketing, search engine advertising and optimisation, affiliate and word-of-mouth marketing, web monitoring for the assessment of online marketing success, purchasing behaviour processes in online trading, and legal framework conditions.
  • Financial Markets & Risk Management

    The Financial Markets & Banking specialisation gives a more in-depth insight into the modern finance and insurance sector.

    • Data Analysis and Statistics: Probability distributions and measures of risk, collective risk sharing works, and statistical methods of evaluating and analysing data.
    • Strategic Risk Management: Understanding and assessing risks and the economic aspects of insurance demand, risk transfer tools in practice, and the reinsurance market and alternative risk transfer products.
    • Asset Management: Financial instruments for bank trades or risk control, and analysis of shares, bonds, funds, derivatives and certificates.
  • Entrepreneurship & International Management

    This pathway gives an in-depth insight into the long-term development of companies and helps to understand the complex relationship between different market developments, growth opportunities and strategies. The module comprises innovation management, management of growth and international business.

    • Entrepreneurship
    • Management of Growth
    • International Business
Cross-Module Topics: Line of Business | Decision-Making | Personal Skills