Overview
This English-taught programme prepares experienced professionals and emerging leaders to design and steer organisational change so companies remain innovative and competitive. It examines how current megatrends — especially digitalisation, climate change and shifting societal values — are reshaping business environments, and trains you to translate those forces into future strategies and scenarios. You will build methodological, personal and social competencies needed to manage complex transformation processes and to position organisations for sustainable growth.
The course takes an interdisciplinary, practice-oriented approach: faculty from six different THWS departments together with external experts teach the modules, and learning moves from theory to applied practice across the semesters. In the first semester you explore why transforming processes, structures, value propositions and business models is difficult under volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions. The second semester focuses on leadership and management methods that you can try out in university project work, and the third semester is devoted to real-world transformation projects carried out with organisations outside the university.
Key facts & application notes
The three-semester MBA combines conceptual study with progressive practical application:
Learning outcomes include the ability to design future business strategies and scenarios, lead and manage complex transformation initiatives, apply interdisciplinary methods to organisational challenges, and communicate effectively in intercultural settings. The programme also includes intercultural training, integrated German language courses, and issues a diploma supplement.
To apply you must hold a completed undergraduate degree that corresponds to either 180 or 210 ECTS credits. ECTS refers to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System; if your bachelor's was earned outside Europe, the credential will be reviewed for equivalence.
In addition, applicants need at least one year of qualified professional work experience obtained after the date the first degree was awarded. This refers to post-graduation employment or comparable professional roles and must be verifiable.
Be prepared to document both your academic qualification and your employment history (for example, degree certificate/transcript and employment references or contracts). If your credits or work record differ from the formats above, your application will be assessed individually.
Admission requirements (summary)
Winter Semester (International)
The application period for international MBA programmes beginning in the summer semester runs from 15 October to 15 December every year.
Summer Semester (International)
15 December 2026
Graduates are prepared for leadership and management roles focused on organisational transformation, innovation and change management. The programme’s mix of methodological, personal and social competencies enables alumni to design and implement transformation strategies in corporations, consultancies, public institutions and NGOs.
Typical roles include transformation manager, change manager, strategy or innovation lead, and management consultant. The applied project work and industry partnerships also position graduates well for roles that require cross-functional coordination, stakeholder management and the ability to drive sustainable business models in international contexts.
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