Master's Program in Economic and Business Education

In the master's program in Economic and Business Education, students develop the skills acquired during the bachelor’s program.

A clear emphasis is placed on instructional (teaching-related) concepts, which are intended to equip students with subject-specific knowledge of the field. The goal is for master’s students to understand the relationship between empirical instructional research, instructional theories, and the tasks that come with teaching in a practical setting. At the same time, they enhance their skills in analyzing and designing business-educational learning environments.

The program not only includes modules in Economic and Business Education, but also in Business Administration and Economics and in Business Informatics. An additional elective course enables you to acquire advanced knowledge of another subject (e.g., German Studies, Biology, Political Science, Sports; some of these courses are offered in collaboration with Heidelberg University). The broad range of courses offered in the Mannheim Master in Management program is also open to you.

As a student of this master’s program, you have ample opportunity to tailor the curriculum to your personal interests by taking optional courses or choosing to focus on a certain area. You can, for example, specialize in human resources, management, marketing, controlling, taxation, (international) finance, business informatics (digitalization), or logistics.

Apart from attending university courses, students will also regularly intern at schools to gain practical experience.

With a master’s degree in Economic and Business Education, graduates are qualified to teach at vocational schools (after completing preparatory service, i.e. their Referendariat) or to work in other settings not related to school education. The program is research-oriented, as well.

Studying Economic and Business Education means having a variety of options: You will acquire sound basic knowledge of different areas related to business administration and economics, business informatics, and business and economic law. By completing several internships at a company or a school, which are an integral part of your studies, you can put everything you learn on the program into practice. You can also choose from an extensive range of elective courses in subjects such as English Studies or Political Science. In addition, two possible career paths lie ahead of you: you can either work as a teacher at a vocational school or go into the private sector.

As one of the largest locations for Economic and Business Education in Germany, our professors make important contributions to research and thereby help to keep it always up-to-date. They share their findings with you in classes and individual coaching sessions. The Department of Economic and Business Education at the University of Mannheim is one of the largest departments in this field in Germany. This means that you can benefit from a broad range of research activities and state-of-the-art results, which are also reflected in our teaching.

With a master’s degree in Economic and Business Education, graduates can work at a school. This is, however, not the only option open to them.

Upon subsequent completion of their Referendariat, graduates can move into the school sector and teach at any type of vocational school with a commercial focus in Germany (including Berufsschule, Berufsfachschule, Berufliches Gymnasium).

If they opt for a career outside the school sector, they can, for example, teach at a company or work in education management. They can also go in educational counseling, human resources management or development, and business development.

Students of Economic and Business Education later have excellent career prospects regardless of the path they decide to take: At vocational schools, teachers are always highly sought-after. Outside the school sector, their broad array of skills acquired during the program qualifies them for many different positions. 

As the master's program is research-oriented, they can even opt for a career in academia and pursue a doctorate in fields such as Economic and Business Education, Business Administration, Educational Psychology/Psychology of Education, or in a field related to their elective course.

Students of Economic and Business Education should

• be interested in working on questions related to economics and teaching,
• be capable of critical thinking and working,
• be interested in teaching and learning formats at companies and schools,
• enjoy working with academic literature,
• have good knowledge of math and English.

Module catalog
The module catalog (see sub-item “Program structure / content”), which is only available in German, gives you an overview of the courses and their content.

Graduates who intend to continue with their Referendariat after completing the program are required to have gained at least 52 weeks of practical experience in different settings. One way of proving this is by completing a number of internships. Please go to the online platform for teachers in Baden-Württemberg, LOBW, for more information. Both mandatory internships completed during the bachelor’s program in Economic and Business Education and relevant voluntary internships are recognized. If you want to do any additional internships, you can do so during the semester break or take an academic leave of absence for a semester. For questions relating to planning an internship, please contact the academic advising team.