Bachelor of Science Management at Universität Witten/Herdecke

Three good reasons — and not a single reason against: Future Skills for the AI era, CHE top group in all 14 categories plus Studycheck 4.5/5 with 99% recommendation, strong practical relevance with Google, McKinsey, BASF, KPMG and the WIFU congress. Personal selection process with one-on-one interview; studies payable on a deferred basis via the UGV.

The three reasons in detail:

Three good reasons — and not a single reason against:

1. Acquire Future Skills (according to the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025) — analytical thinking, critical questioning, flexibility and agility, teamwork and empathy, creativity & curiosity, learning how to use AI, awareness of megatrends.
2. Very high teaching quality and student satisfaction — confirmed by the CHE ranking and Studycheck.
3. Study with strong practical relevance — practice-oriented content, involvement of practitioners, project seminars.

How do we make this happen? Excellent supervision in small groups, interdisciplinary teaching, freedom of course selection and personal responsibility, studying on equal terms with lecturers, practice lectures and project seminars and alumni network, STUFU „Studium fundamentale".

There is not a single reason against Witten: state-of-the-art knowledge taught, studying is not a question of money (Umgekehrter Generationenvertrag), modern infrastructure.

In the AI era, expertise becomes more important than ever. Current research (Otis, UC Berkeley 2025; Kim, University of Chicago) shows: those who use AI without expertise achieve worse results than without AI. Expertise decides whether AI suggestions are useful or not.

On the contrary: in the AI era, expertise becomes more important than ever. Current research shows a clear pattern: those who use AI in complex management tasks achieve significantly better results than without AI only if they bring the necessary expertise to distinguish useful AI suggestions from unusable ones, to question them critically and adapt them appropriately.

Two controlled studies with direct management relevance (summarised in The Economist, "How AI will divide the best from the rest", 13 February 2025) — both compare groups with AI use against a control group without AI:

• Entrepreneurship and strategy: Nicholas Otis (UC Berkeley) provided entrepreneurs with an AI consulting tool for business decisions and compared them with a control group without AI. Result: entrepreneurs with solid experience increased their profit through AI use by over 15 percent compared to the control group without AI. Those with little prior knowledge, on the other hand, achieved worse results with AI than the control group without AI — they followed generic AI recommendations, while the experienced ones used the AI to develop situation-specific solutions.
• Financial analysis and investment decisions: Alex Kim (University of Chicago) had investors analyse earnings calls and annual reports and allocate portfolios, once with and once without AI support. Experienced investors achieved almost 10 percent higher returns with AI than without AI; those with less investment experience achieved only 2 percent higher returns with AI than without AI. The AI benefit is therefore strongly expertise-dependent.

Two structural pieces of evidence from current reports:

• The Wharton–Accenture Skills Index 2026 (WAsX) empirically documents: AI lowers demand for routine, structured thinking work and at the same time increases demand for judgement, coordination, compliance and domain expertise. Generalist profiles are oversupplied, professional depth is undersupplied — and correspondingly better paid.
• The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025 lists analytical thinking, critical questioning, creativity and AI competence as the most important Future Skills. These abilities need content to operate on: those who do not understand a subject can neither think analytically about it nor critically question an AI answer.

AI hallucinations and the Dunning-Kruger risk: generative AI regularly produces linguistically convincing but substantively false answers. A peer-reviewed Stanford study (Magesh et al., 2024) proves: even AI tools specifically developed for experts hallucinate for a significant proportion of answers — and these errors are only recognisable at all through one's own subject expertise. The Dunning-Kruger effect aggravates the problem: those who know little overestimate their own competence particularly strongly — and do not notice when an AI answer is wrong. derStandard also summarises: "Factual knowledge is more important than ever in the AI era"; and WirtschaftsWoche asks in its university series "If AI knows everything: what is still worth learning?" and reaches the same conclusion: subject-matter expertise, soft skills and judgement are the answer.

Yes, this risk is real (Cognitive Offloading, Risko & Gilbert 2016). The BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University structurally counteracts this: small groups with typically ≤ 25 participants, time for joint questioning, project seminars with practice partners, deliberately AI-free courses, and the interdisciplinary Studium fundamentale.

Yes, this risk is real — and precisely for this reason teaching formats should be adapted. The phenomenon is documented in cognitive science as Cognitive Offloading (Risko & Gilbert, 2016, Trends in Cognitive Sciences): those who permanently outsource cognitive tasks to external aids reduce their willingness and ability to solve these tasks themselves — the well-known "use it or lose it" effect. A large-scale economic study from Denmark (Humlum & Vestergaard, 2025, BFI Working Paper, 25,000 employees in 11 professions) also shows: the actual productivity gains from ChatGPT, at an average of only 2.8 percent time savings, are surprisingly modest — the real value lies in supporting human decisions, not replacing them.

What the BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University concretely does about this:

• Small groups instead of mass lectures: typically no more than 25 participants per course means we can take time to jointly question content instead of just consuming it. Intensive collaboration is more important in the AI era than ever.
• Project seminars with practice partners: students apply what they have learned directly to real business problems and discuss their solutions with practitioners. Such reflection and reasoning cannot be delegated.
• Use AI in a targeted way — and deliberately do without it: we use AI in teaching where it makes sense (e.g. to individualise learning paths). At the same time, there are deliberately courses without AI in which students train their own reflection and judgement — without digital crutches.
• Studium fundamentale (Stufu) as a reflection space: Thursday is Stufu day. In around 100 interdisciplinary seminars, students from all faculties come together to look beyond their own field — from philosophy and ethics through sustainability to art, music and theatre. Here, critical thinking, self-reflection and perspective change are trained: abilities that AI cannot replace but can threaten.

With this combination of small-group discussion, practical application, deliberately AI-free practice spaces and interdisciplinary Stufu, studying becomes a place where students learn to think independently — not a place where they copy ChatGPT answers.

Deeper learning only emerges through real interaction and joint reflection — a central thesis of university lecturers like Prof. Joachim Henkel (TU Munich). Online consumption and AI answers do not replace this. The BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University builds on this: small groups with typically ≤ 25 participants, teaching on equal terms with lecturers, joint questioning, deliberately AI-free courses and the interdisciplinary Studium fundamentale.

The question "why presence at all?" is currently discussed intensively in university discourse. Prof. Joachim Henkel (Chair of Technology and Innovation Management at TUM) argues in a widely noted LinkedIn post for compulsory attendance: empty lecture halls are not an efficiency gain but a learning deficit. Deeper understanding and transfer into one's own argumentation only arise through real discussion — not through passive online consumption or by copying AI answers.

This finding fits research on Cognitive Offloading (Risko & Gilbert, 2016, Trends in Cognitive Sciences): those who permanently outsource tasks to external aids — be it an AI or a recorded lecture — lose the ability to solve these tasks themselves. See also the FAQ "Does AI use lead to loss of one's own abilities?".

How the BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University structurally answers this:

• Typically no more than 25 participants per course. At this size, presence is not passive sitting — it becomes active participation, discussion and joint knowledge construction. In the CHE university ranking 2026, this is rewarded with 4.8 / 5 for support with questions (national average 4.1).
• Teaching on equal terms with professors. Direct exchange instead of mass lecture — the study culture actively supports this.
• Time for joint questioning. Content is not only consumed but examined in the group and translated into one's own words.
• Deliberately AI-free courses. We use AI in teaching in a targeted way — and deliberately create spaces without AI in which students train their own reflection.
• Studium fundamentale (Stufu). On Thursdays, students from all faculties meet in interdisciplinary seminars — critical thinking, self-reflection, perspective change are practised here in real groups.

In short: online and AI are powerful tools — but the actual deeper learning emerges in encounter, reflection and joint questioning. This is exactly what Witten/Herdecke University is built for.

AI competence has become an entry requirement, no longer an add-on. DER SPIEGEL reports: "Companies bet on AI competencies in the crisis"; the WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 lists AI competence as one of the most important Future Skills. In the BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University, AI is therefore integrated into the curriculum in a targeted way — combined with critical reflection and Future Skills focus.

AI competence is no longer optional today, but mandatory for career entry. DER SPIEGEL documents that companies are specifically looking for career entrants who can productively use AI tools — and that the expectation goes far beyond simple ChatGPT use: required are the assessment of AI output, responsible use, recognising hallucinations and integration into substantive decisions.

The WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 lists AI competence alongside analytical thinking, critical questioning and creativity as the central Future Skills of the coming years. These abilities cannot be replaced by AI — and they are the prerequisite for using AI sensibly.

How the BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University prepares for this:

• AI integrated into the curriculum in a targeted way — for example in the elective module "Generative Artificial Intelligence in Practice" as well as in the targeted use of AI in many courses (e.g. to individualise learning paths).
• Critical reflection as mandatory component — mandatory module "Philosophical Ethics: Values, Norms, Practice", elective modules like "Management & Society" and the Studium fundamentale.
• Deliberately AI-free courses, in which students learn to argue substantively and make decisions even without AI.
• Practice partners from the AI environment (Google, Meta) bring real questions from AI working life.
• Future Skills throughout — analytical thinking (Statistics, Data Science I + II), critical questioning (small groups, Stufu), creativity (project seminars).

In short: AI competence in the BSc Management is not an add-on but systematically anchored — and combined with the expertise that makes AI output assessable in the first place (see "Do I still need management expertise?").

AI is changing the employment landscape radically (SPIEGEL "Winners and Losers of the AI Revolution"); entire sector clusters are under pressure (heise: Bank of America "AI Risk Basket"). Broad management competence is the best insurance: deployable across sectors — those who commit early to one threatened sector take more risk.

The question "in which sector am I still safe?" is being asked by many career entrants today. An analysis by Bank of America (cited on heise online) has defined an "AI Risk Basket": certain sectors — from classical IT services to areas of the publishing and advertising business — are considered particularly at risk. DER SPIEGEL describes this shift as "Winners and Losers of the AI Revolution".

Those who commit today in a professional training to a single sector take a considerable risk: if the sector migrates through AI into a different constellation, the profile is hard to transfer.

Why a broadly positioned management programme is strategic here: business and management profiles are deployable across sectors — Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Organisation, Controlling, Commercial Law and economic methods work in almost every sector.

How the BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University concretely answers this:

• Broad curriculum across all business administration core disciplines — Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Organisation, Commercial Law, Economics, Methods. They are not tied to any sector.
• Two specialisation tracks — Unternehmertum and Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften — both cross-sectoral.
• Free elective area for individual focus: Marketing, Finance, Controlling, Strategy, Data Science (see FAQ "Which specialisation tracks?").
• Practice partners from diverse sectors — Tech (Meta, Google), strategy consulting (McKinsey), auditing (KPMG), chemistry/industry (BASF), consumer goods (Dr. Oetker, Krombacher), Mittelstand, family businesses, industry — already during studies you get to know real questions from several sectors.
• Future Skills instead of narrow sector focus — analytical thinking, critical questioning, AI competence, creativity are valuable across sectors.
• Family Business and Mittelstand as a robust career path — the Witten/Herdecke University focus on family businesses (WIFU congress, four mandatory and elective modules) opens a market that offers stability precisely in disruptive phases.

In short: the most valuable sector insurance is a profile that works in several sectors — and that is exactly what the BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University offers.

€37,872 in total for six semesters. Via the Umgekehrter Generationenvertrag (UGV) payable on a deferred and income-based basis after graduation — see the following FAQ on the UGV.

The UGV is the solidarity-based financing model of Universität Witten/Herdecke: instead of tuition fees, students pay study contributions — optionally immediately, deferred (income-based) or in a 50/50 mix. This way anyone can study with us — regardless of financial background. Administered since 1995 by the student StudierendenGesellschaft. More info: uni-wh.de/studium/finanzierung/ugv.

The Umgekehrter Generationenvertrag (UGV) is the social study financing model of Universität Witten/Herdecke. Instead of classical tuition fees, you pay study contributions — and you can choose yourself whether you pay these during your studies, after entering the workforce, or proportionally.

Why "reverse"? The contributions of former students enable the studies of today's generation. With your later contributions, in turn, you enable the studies of the following generation. A solidarity principle between cohorts — hence "reverse" generational contract.

Three payment options to choose from:

• Income-based deferred payment. During your studies you pay nothing. Only after entering the workforce do you pay study contributions depending on your income — over 10 contribution years, monthly. Lower limit: those who earn little pay little or nothing. Upper limit: a contractually fixed maximum caps the repayment at the top.
• Fixed-sum immediate payment. Monthly payments during your studies. After the end of the standard study duration, all contributions are settled.
• Half deferred and half immediate payment ("50/50"). Combination of 50% income-based deferred payment and 50% immediate payment.

A switch between the variants is possible during studies in many constellations.

Why the UGV expresses our stance: Universität Witten/Herdecke understands its responsibility for students and alumni long-term — beyond the end of studies. The UGV is the expression of this self-understanding: we select students by potential and motivation (not by wallet) and invest in their long-term success. The UGV makes it possible that everyone, regardless of financial background, has the chance for a study place at Witten/Herdecke University — and that we can simultaneously offer the advantages of private studies (small groups, personal selection process, Studium fundamentale, dense practice network).

Student self-administration: the UGV has been administered since 1995 by the StudierendenGesellschaft of Witten/Herdecke University, founded by students. Students therefore administer their own study contributions — a uniquely participatory model in Germany.

Consultation and contract details: uni-wh.de/studium/finanzierung/umgekehrter-generationenvertrag-ugv.

Six semesters / three years / 180 ECTS credits full-time.

Selection in a personal one-on-one interview on the selection day. The final school grade counts, but is not alone decisive — motivation, teamwork and cognitive abilities are weighted at least as much because these make a stronger difference in studies and career entry.

Witten/Herdecke University selects in a personal selection process with one-on-one interviews on the selection day. The final school grade is one of several pieces of information we consider. At least equally important to us are motivation, teamwork and cognitive abilities, because these make a stronger difference in studies and career entry than the school grade alone.

At many German universities, Business Administration or Management is now offered without a numerus clausus or with very low hurdles — we are not concerned with making the hurdle particularly low, but with applicants suitable for studies at Witten/Herdecke University coming to us. That is why we invest time in the personal interview — around 50 percent of the selection day serves so that you too can get to know us and check whether Witten/Herdecke University suits you. Details on the procedure can be found in the selection-day FAQ.

Mutual getting-to-know — around 50% of the time serves so that you get to know us (professors, students, campus). We check motivation, teamwork and cognitive abilities in interviews and small team tasks. No formal tests. Teamwork is more important to us than elbow tactics.

The selection day is a mutual getting-to-know. Around 50 percent of the time serves so that we get to know you better — the other roughly 50 percent so that you get to know us better. You have the opportunity to talk with professors, meet current students and explore the campus. At the end, both sides should know whether Witten/Herdecke University and you suit each other.

On our side, we check three things: motivation, teamwork and cognitive abilities. There are no formal tests; the entire event is designed as conversation and joint work.

1. Motivation. We want to understand what really drives you. Concrete preparation: is there a current topic in the management area that interests you? Before the interview, research some additional information about it — we will then talk about it together. Do you already have plans for the time after studies? If so, tell us about them. If not, that is equally fine: studies should open new perspectives and show possibilities.
2. Teamwork. On the selection day, you also handle small team tasks. You cannot prepare for these in content — and that is on purpose. It is much more important to us to see that in exchange with other applicants you are a team player: that you listen, take up and develop others' ideas, and reach an agreement together. Teamwork is more important to us than elbow tactics.
3. Cognitive abilities. There are no formal tests on the selection day. We simply care that in conversations you can argue consistently and logically — that you present your thoughts comprehensibly, respond to follow-up questions, and develop your position further if needed.

What we do not expect: memorised expertise, perfect self-marketing, or elbow mentality. What we like to see: honest curiosity, willingness to question things, and the ability to think further together with others.

Grades remain relevant — but they are no longer everything-decisive. Personality, engagement, network and practical relevance gain weight. Current discussion (WirtschaftsWoche "Have certificates become obsolete?"; Don Philabaum "The Ivory Tower is crumbling") shows: personnel managers today look at a broader suitability picture than the grade average alone.

Classical certificates and grade averages are still an important signal — they show learning ability, discipline and substantive level. What has changed, however: grades are no longer the all-decisive selection criterion as before. Personnel managers today additionally examine competence profiles, practical experience, personality and concrete engagement. WirtschaftsWoche summarises this development under "Have certificates become obsolete?".

In international university discourse, Don Philabaum argues in "The Ivory Tower is crumbling — Why Career Placement is the Only Safety Net Left for Colleges" in a similar direction: the university that actually brings its graduates into the profession — through practice network, career placement and alumni contacts — gains in relevance.

What this means for the BSc Management at Witten/Herdecke University:

• Personal selection process with one-on-one interview. We consider grades but additionally weight motivation, teamwork and cognitive abilities just as strongly. See selection-day FAQ.
• Over 9,500 Witten/Herdecke University alumni worldwide with active, mutual help — substantively, in career entry, with foundings.
• Dense practice partner network in three structured formats (Heiratsmarkt for ~40 years, practice partners Google/Meta/McKinsey/KPMG/BASF, WIFU congress) plus personal contacts of every professor (McKinsey, Meta, Vodafone, 1&1, Rolls Royce and many more).
• 100% employment of Witten/Herdecke University graduates within 12 months, 70% within 3 months (ISTAT 2025) — the measurable result.

What counts beyond grades — and is actively promoted at Witten/Herdecke University: engagement alongside studies. Students who take responsibility early acquire competencies that carry them through their entire working life — from self-organisation through team leadership to conflict resolution. There are several paths for this at Witten/Herdecke University:

• Student initiatives — from consulting and social projects through cultural and sports groups to founding initiatives.
• Working-student activities in companies from our network — practice insight and first substantive responsibility already during studies.
• Own foundings — many Witten/Herdecke University students start a company already during their studies; the Witten/Herdecke University founding ecosystem supports this.
• Engagement in the university's student self-administration — from participation in committees to the StudierendenGesellschaft that administers the UGV.

In short: grades remain relevant — but in modern career entry, the overall picture of substantive performance, personality, engagement and network counts. Witten/Herdecke University is structurally set up to see this whole picture in applicants — and to give students the chances to grow with it during their studies.

Three reasons for Witten (Future Skills, CHE top group, practical relevance) — and not a single reason against (anyone can study with us, because studies are not a question of money; modern infrastructure). Plus two structural features that no other German business administration bachelor offers in this form: personal selection process with one-on-one interview (motivation, teamwork, cognitive abilities count to us at least as much as the school grade) and the Umgekehrter Generationenvertrag (UGV).

At the core there are three reasons for Witten — and not a single reason against:

1. Acquire Future Skills (according to the WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025): analytical thinking, critical questioning, flexibility and agility, teamwork and empathy, creativity & curiosity, dealing with AI, awareness of megatrends — exactly the competencies that count in the AI era and cannot be replaced by AI.
2. Very high teaching quality and student satisfaction: CHE top group in all 14 evaluation categories (2026 and 2023), Studycheck 4.5/5 with 99% recommendation, StudyCheck Award 2026 Rank 1 in NRW.
3. Study with strong practical relevance: practice-oriented content, involvement of practitioners, project seminars with consulting mandates — practice partners include Google, McKinsey & Company, STIHL, Krombacher, Vodafone.

How we do this: small groups with typically ≤ 25 participants, interdisciplinary teaching, freedom of choice and personal responsibility, studying on equal terms with lecturers, practice lectures, project seminars and alumni network, plus the mandatory Studium fundamentale with around 100 interdisciplinary seminars.

There is not a single reason against Witten: state-of-the-art knowledge taught, studying is not a question of money (Umgekehrter Generationenvertrag with deferred, income-based payment), modern infrastructure.

Added to this are two structural features that no other German business administration bachelor offers in this form: the personal selection process with one-on-one interview (motivation, teamwork and cognitive abilities count to us at least as much as the school grade) and the UGV.

Three paths at a high level: (1) direct career entry — 100% of Witten/Herdecke University graduates in employment within 12 months (ISTAT 2025), (2) Master at top universities such as LSE, Columbia, HSG St. Gallen, Copenhagen Business School, Stockholm School of Economics or Nova SBE Lisbon, (3) doctorate and academic career.

After the BSc Management at Universität Witten/Herdecke, three clear paths are open to you — all at a high level. Details can be found in the three following FAQs: practice integration and career entry, Master at top universities, and doctorate and academic career.

Own practical experience from the start: students found, work as working students or take on consulting mandates in project seminars. Three structured formats (Heiratsmarkt for ~40 years, practice partners Google/Meta/McKinsey/KPMG/BASF, WIFU congress) plus personal networks of the professors. Result: 100% employment within 12 months (ISTAT 2025).

Many of our students gain intensive practical experience already during their studies — they found their own companies, work as working students in companies from our network or take on consulting mandates in project seminars. This is enabled by an exceptionally dense network of company contacts in three structured formats:

• "Heiratsmarkt". The legendary Witten/Herdecke University recruiting classic has been held for around 40 years twice yearly. Companies pitch directly to students. Active on site in recent years were among others Dr. Oetker, Bertelsmann, Klett Gruppe (consumer goods & media), Vaillant, Westfalen AG, ELA Container (industry & technology), and Wessling (laboratory and consulting services).
• Practice partners Wirtschaft & Gesellschaft. Regular practice lectures, case studies and seminar projects with Tech & Digital (Meta, Google — e.g. on digital trends, Virtual Reality, Digital Marketing), strategy consulting (McKinsey & Company — practice lectures), auditing (KPMG — Finance & Audit workshops), chemistry & industry (BASF — guest lectures on strategic management), plus STIHL, Krombacher, Vodafone and many more.
• Kongress für Familienunternehmen. Held annually by the Wittener Institut für Familienunternehmen (WIFU) based at Witten/Herdecke University, largest congress of its kind in Europe. Owners and top managers of major German family businesses — hidden champions and traditional brands from the environment of Miele, Vorwerk, Haniel — design workshops and panel discussions.

Personal network through professors: every professor uses his or her own network to support students in building their own career contacts. These include McKinsey, Meta, Vodafone, 1&1, Rolls Royce.

Career entry figures: 100% of Witten/Herdecke University graduates are employed within 12 months, 70% already within 3 months (ISTAT survey 2025).

Typical career fields: strategy consulting (McKinsey & Company, BCG, Roland Berger, Bain), inhouse consulting and strategy departments of large industrial companies, family businesses and Mittelstand in leadership and junior leadership positions, start-up founding, marketing and product management, non-profit organisations and foundations.

Witten/Herdecke University alumni are regularly accepted into internationally highly selective Master programmes: LSE London, Columbia University New York, HSG St. Gallen, Copenhagen Business School, Stockholm School of Economics, Nova SBE Lisbon. Plus in-house Master programmes of Witten/Herdecke University (M.Sc. Management, M.A. General Management, MBA).

Many of our graduates do their Master at top addresses worldwide — this shows how well the BSc Management prepares for demanding, internationally highly selective Master programmes. Current examples from the Witten/Herdecke University newsroom:

• Marlon Warrach at the London School of Economics (LSE), UK
• Ben Zulechner at Columbia University, New York, USA
• Victor at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Switzerland — Finance
• Moritz Krauss at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark — finance
• Witten/Herdecke University alumna at the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden
• Niklas Kaminski at Nova SBE Lisbon, Portugal — Finance

Added to this are the in-house Master programmes at Witten/Herdecke University: Management (M.Sc.) with focus on Strategy & Organization, General Management (M.A.) as well as the part-time Witten MBA Leadership & Management.

Yes. Witten/Herdecke University graduates are also very successful in science — for example Nicole Steller, who went from Witten/Herdecke University into international research in Madrid. Small groups, direct contact with professors and methodological depth lay the basis for demanding doctoral programmes.

Our graduates are also very successful in science. An example: Nicole Steller has found her way from Witten/Herdecke University into international research in Madrid. The close supervision in small groups, direct contact with research-strong professors, and methodological depth in the curriculum lay the basis for demanding doctoral programmes — at Witten/Herdecke University itself and at renowned research institutions worldwide.

Over 9,500 Witten/Herdecke University alumni worldwide in business, politics, health, education and society. Special feature: Witten/Herdecke University alumni actively help each other — the connections among them are unusually close. Structures: digital platform almanach, annual alumni meeting, LinkedIn group "Witten/Herdecke University Generationen Netzwerk", Universitätsverein Witten/Herdecke e. V. More info: uni-wh.de/campus/alumni-netzwerk.

Universität Witten/Herdecke has an extensive and particularly active alumni network. Over 9,500 Witten/Herdecke University alumni today work worldwide in business, politics, health, education and society — from strategy consulting and industry through family businesses and Mittelstand to foundations, politics and start-ups.

What makes our alumni network special: Witten/Herdecke University alumni help each other — substantively, in career entry, in foundings and in career decisions. The connections among them are unusually close because the shared study culture (small learning groups, personal selection process, Studium fundamentale) creates strong identification with Witten/Herdecke University and with each other. This principle is the Wittener variant of a "closed-loop" network: active students get mentoring and career contacts early, alumni pass on experience and open doors.

Structures that carry the network:

• almanach — the digital platform of Witten/Herdecke University on which alumni find former fellow students, join Communities of Interest, participate in discussions and stay informed about events.
• Annual alumni meeting in Witten (traditionally on a Saturday in spring) — organised by the Alumni Management of Witten/Herdecke University and the Universitätsverein.
• LinkedIn group "Witten/Herdecke University Generationen Netzwerk" — exchange between former and current students with concrete questions, mentoring dialogues and mutual support.
• Communities of Interest — substantive and thematic groups in which alumni jointly develop projects and exchange ideas.
• Universitätsverein Witten/Herdecke e. V. — the supporting association of the alumni community, which supports meetings, funding projects and the alumni programme.

More info on the official page: uni-wh.de/campus/alumni-netzwerk.

Two explicitly designated specialisation tracks (Unternehmertum and Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften) plus free elective area for individual focus in Marketing, Finance, Controlling, Strategy and Organisation/Leadership. Over 50 elective and mandatory modules in the module handbook.

You can sharpen your profile in the BSc Management in two ways:

1. Two explicitly designated specialisation tracks
   • Unternehmertum — founding, innovation, long-term company success, Strategic Marketing, Company Law, family businesses.
   • Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften — Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability Accounting, Social Entrepreneurship, social innovation and Business Design.
2. Free elective area for individual focus in the classical business administration disciplines. Through the regularly offered elective modules, you can specialise in a targeted way in Marketing (e.g. Marketing Management, Strategic Marketing, Value-Based Marketing, Market Research, Project/Research Seminar Marketing), Finance (e.g. Corporate Finance, Financial Management, Global Governance of Finance, Monetary Economics), Controlling and Accounting (e.g. External/Internal Accounting, Sustainability Accounting), Strategy (e.g. Strategy, Strategy in Action: A Business Simulation, Corporate Entrepreneurship) as well as Organisation and Leadership (e.g. Organizational Culture & Leadership, Strategic Human Resources Management).

Added to this are Advanced Methods / Additional competencies such as Data Science I + II, Empirical Economics or Agile Project and Product Management, plus internationally oriented modules like Cross-Cultural Management and International Relations. The full elective offering per semester can be found in UWE Campus Online.

Top group in the CHE university ranking 2026 and 2023 in all 14 evaluation categories. Studycheck: 4.5/5 with 99% recommendation (category VERY GOOD). StudyCheck Award 2026: Rank 1 in NRW, Rank 3 Germany. Plus 100% employment of graduates within 12 months (ISTAT 2025).

The BSc Management at Universität Witten/Herdecke belongs to the top group of German business and economics — confirmed by the two most important independent university comparisons in Germany.

CHE university ranking (DIE ZEIT / HeyStudium) — top group in all 14 evaluation categories

In the current 2026/2027 ranking — and already in 2023/2024 — the Bachelor programmes Management (B.Sc.) and PPÖ (B.A.) of Witten/Herdecke University are in the top group in all 14 evaluation categories. Concrete values vs. national average:

• General study situation: 4.6 / 5 (national average 4.1)
• Support from teaching staff: 4.6 / 5 (national average 4.1)
• Support with questions / problems: 4.8 / 5 (national average 4.1)
• Variety of exam formats: 4.8 / 5 (national average 3.4)
• Initiatives promoting career entry: 4.8 / 5
• Quality of practice-related courses: 4.7 / 5

Studycheck — category "VERY GOOD" with 99% recommendation

On Germany's largest university rating portal, the BSc Management achieves 4.5 out of 5 stars with a recommendation rate of 99% over 76 evaluated reviews from three years (as of May 2026). Detail values: course content 4.7 · lecturers 4.6 · courses 4.5 · facilities 4.5 · organisation 4.4.

StudyCheck Award — consistently in the top 3 of Germany for years

In the category "universities under 5,000 students", Witten/Herdecke University reached Rank 3 in Germany and Rank 1 in NRW in 2026, Top 3 in 2025, Rank 2 in 2024, Rank 1 in 2023.

Plus solid career figures: 100% of graduates are employed within 12 months (70% within 3 months, ISTAT 2025) — one of the highest documented employment rates in the German business administration / management bachelor segment.

The programme coordinators are Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hendrik Wilhelm (Professur für Strategische Organisation) and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Steiner (Chair Holder, Lehrstuhl für Marketing) at the Fakultät für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, Department für Management und Unternehmertum.

German and English. For applicants without German-language higher education entrance qualification, a German C1 language certificate is required.

Yes — explicitly encouraged, without extending the standard study duration. Around 54% of Witten/Herdecke University students complete or plan a semester abroad. Worldwide partner-university network; advice from the International Office of Witten/Herdecke University.

Yes — and a semester abroad is explicitly encouraged. It can be integrated into the fifth or sixth semester without extending the standard study duration. About 54% of Witten/Herdecke University students complete a semester abroad or plan it firmly.

The advantages of studying abroad are manifold:

• Getting to know new cultures and actually living in another country instead of just being on holiday.
• Deepening language skills — especially English at academic and professionally usable level, often also a second foreign language.
• Building an international network — with fellow students and lecturers who will later have careers around the globe.
• Personality development — independence, dealing with uncertainty, cultural adaptability. Exactly the soft skills that are later expected in international management.
• Career bonus — international experience is regarded by consulting firms, corporations and internationally active Mittelstand companies as a clear differentiation feature.
• Springboard for a subsequent Master abroad — many of our graduates go for their Master to renowned universities such as LSE, Columbia, HSG St. Gallen, Copenhagen Business School, Stockholm School of Economics or Nova SBE Lisbon.

We have a worldwide network of partner universities. Advice, programme overview and application support are provided by the International Office of Universität Witten/Herdecke.