Master’s degree in Management Science

• Completed qualification: Master of Science
• Accreditation: accredited within the framework of the System accreditation accreditation of Leipzig University
• Standard period of study: 4 semesters
• Scope: 120 credit points
• Start: Winter semester

The Master's degree programme in Management Science is modularised and follows a clear structure. Depending on the area of specialisation, different compulsory modules with a total of 40 credit points and compulsory elective modules with a total of 30 credit points must be completed. In each specialisation variant, there is also a 30 credit point free elective area in which any Master's modules from Leipzig University can be studied or which can be used for a semester abroad. The recommended study schedule including a module overview structured according to focal points can be downloaded here.

Application requirements

• Bachelor's degree predominantly containing business and economic content
• Language skills: English B2, German C1
• Selection Procedure

Deadlines
Please refer to the Application section for the relevant application deadlines.

Core contents of the specialisation

The focus "Marketing and Services" includes modules on product management, consumer behaviour, price management as well as service management. These modules are supplemented by empirical seminars in which the theoretically acquired knowledge is applied to practical issues.

Typical questions of the study focus

• How can product innovations be successfully managed, especially in the age of digital transformation?
• Why do consumers often behave irrationally and how can this be investigated empirically (for example with experiments)?
• How do I set optimal prices for my products and services?
• How do I manage service quality, customer satisfaction and customer experience?
• How do I manage service processes?

rofessorships involved:

• Chair of Management/Marketing,
• Chair of Management/Services.

Students acquire the following professional competences and skills, among others:

• Marketing,

• Consumer behaviour,

• Replications of scientific studies,

• Services marketing,

• Strategy,

• International Management.

Students should have this basic knowledge from their Bachelor's degree:

The courses in the Master's programme require basic knowledge in the fields of marketing, corporate management, services, strategy, organisation as well as statistics, as taught for example in the Bachelor's Major in Management; in addition, a very good knowledge of English is advantageous.

Students qualify for the following occupational fields, for example:

• Leading positions in departments such as corporate development, organisation, services, marketing, product development, sales, communication and market research

• Leading positions in management consultancies, public institutions (for example in the field of business start-ups and economic policy)

You can find the study plan with an overview of all modules offered in the specialisation Marketing and Services of the Master's degree programme in Management here.

Core contents of the specialisation

This focus combines two essential areas of business administration - service management and human resources management: Services shape economic activity in this knowledge society. Human resources are the most important factor in the production of services and approximately three quarters of all employees in Germany work in the service sector.

Students learn to relate the challenges from demographic change, digitalisation and globalisation to strategic and operational dimensions of service management as well as innovation management and to master them. How to attract, develop and retain the right human resources in a labour market characterised by scarcity with the help of personnel management instruments is taught both theoretically and practically.

Typical questions of the study focus

• What distinguishes the line creation process of services compared to products?
• How does the pricing of services work?
• What response options does human resource management offer in companies in view of the central challenges of demographic change, digitalisation and globalisation of economic activity?
• How can a consistent service orientation be implemented in organisations?
• What role does data play in the core components of business models?
• How can data-based value creation be expanded in companies?

Professorships involved:

• Chair of Management/Services,
• Chair of Management/Human Resources Management,
• Chair of Management/Innovation Management and Innovation Economics.

Students acquire the following professional competences and skills, among others:

• present, explain, compare and critically classify basic terms, theories and instruments in the field of customer satisfaction, service quality, service processes and customer orientation

• apply and implement approaches to introduce and strengthen service orientation in organisations in a practical way

• compare, interpret and evaluate selected business and human resource management strategies and instruments on the basis of scientific findings

• develop strategies for current challenges in the context of human resource management individually and in teams and derive scientifically based solutions

• independently deal with topics and methods of current innovation research and develop the contents of current innovation contributions

• evaluate and classify the subsystems to be addressed in the innovation process (e.g. organisations, individuals, technology)

Students should have this basic knowledge from their Bachelor's degree:

• Basic knowledge of business administration,
• Desirable: basic knowledge in the fields of business management, service management, human resources management and microeconomics.grundlegende

Students qualify for the following occupational fields, for example:

• Executive positions in the areas of human resource management, purchasing, sales and company management in medium-sized and large companies, especially in the service sector
• Self-employment, for example in start-up companies

You can find the study plan with an overview of all modules offered in the specialisation Services and Human Resources Management of the Master's degree programme in Management Science here.

Core contents of the specialisation

The specialisation deals with the financial management of companies as well as with financial communication about essential consequences of entrepreneurial action. The scaling of the information of this action is the essence of corporate accounting and a core of the specialisation. It determines investment and financing decisions as well as the control of operative and strategic management decisions by controlling. It determines the value of companies and the consequences of management decisions. The taxation of companies as well as capital allocation decisions are based on certain forms of scaling, which is rule-based but nevertheless controllable for management. In this respect, the focus is also on ensuring the credibility of financial communication.

Typical topics of the study specialisation

• Regulation, design and auditing of financial communication
• Concept and theory of international financial communication
• Integration of taxes into the business decision-making process
• Operational and strategic controlling
• Value-oriented corporate management
• Corporate valuation

Professorships involved:

• Chair of Management/External Corporate Accounting and Auditing
• Chair of Management/Controlling and Internal Accounting
• Chair of Management/Business taxation
• Chair of Management/Finance and investment

Students acquire the following professional competences and skills, among others:

• Interpretation and application of the instruments of external and internal corporate accounting

• Decision-, behaviour- and value-oriented controlling of companies

• Identification of scientific questions and development of solutions

Students should have this basic knowledge from their Bachelor's degree:

• Accounting technology
• Cost and performance accounting
• Investment accounting
• Basics of Taxation
• Financial mathematics and basics of statistics and econometrics

Students qualify for the following occupational fields, for example:

• Financial accounting, controlling, tax departments and financial treasury of international corporations
• Large auditing and tax consulting firms

You can find the study plan with an overview of all modules offered in the specialisation Corporate Accounting, Financing and Taxation of the Master's degree programme in Management Science here.

Core contents of the specialisation

In times of increasing interconnectedness of the financial markets, companies are increasingly looking for qualified employees whose knowledge and skills span various financial topics. The specialisation "Banking, Insurance and Investment Management" combines the three main disciplines of finance under one roof. In addition to deepening existing basic knowledge in the individual disciplines, the focus is on expanding interdisciplinary skills. To this end, students first learn the basics of portfolio management and the management of insurance companies. In parallel, they gain an insight into the current regulatory framework on the financial market. Subsequently, there is the possibility to expand one's own skills in the respective subject areas within the framework of individual focal points, with a particular focus on the topicality as well as the practical relevance of financial topics.

In order to do justice to the internationality of the future field of work, selected modules and associated examinations must be completed in English.

Typical questions of the study focus

• What national and international requirements must insurance companies observe in their risk management?
• How do investors succeed in achieving the optimal individual risk-return ratio for their investment?
• How are theoretical capital market models processed in practice?
• What challenges and opportunities does demographic change pose for the private insurance industry?
• Which national and supranational institutions play an important role in the regulation and supervision of banks, insurance companies and capital market participants?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of regulating the financial markets?

Professorships involved:

• Chair of Sustainable Banking and Finance,
• Chair of Finance and Investment,
• Chair of Insurance Sciences.

Studierende erwerben u.a. folgende fachliche Kompetenzen und Fähigkeiten:

• Portfolio and securities management; derivatives and risk management

• Risk management of insurance companies and banks

• Value-oriented management in insurance companies

• Accounting for insurance companies according to national and international standards

• International financial market regulation

• Empirical financial market research

Students should have this basic knowledge from their Bachelor's degree:

• Basic knowledge of business administration, especially in the areas of banking and insurance business administration
• Basic knowledge of risk management, econometrics and financial mathematics as well as asset management
• Knowledge of the English language at level B2

Students qualify for the following occupational fields, for example:

• Senior positions in credit institutions, in particular in the departments of risk management, asset management and asset management as well as business valuations for lending purposes
• Senior positions in insurance companies in the areas of underwriting, investment management, compliance, risk management and accounting
• Leading positions in management consultancies and auditing firms

You can find the study plan with an overview of all modules offered in the specialisation Banking, Insurance and Investment Management of the Master's degree programme in Management Science here.

Core contents of the specialisation

The specialisation "Sustainability Management" comprises interdisciplinary modules such as "Sustainable Energy Economics", "Water Resources Management" and "Big Data and Smart Cities", in which the interaction of the central pillars of sustainability (economy, ecology and social issues) is addressed. For this purpose, the basic knowledge is initially acquired in compulsory modules. Parallel to this, courses can be taken from a comprehensive range of elective or compulsory elective modules. The study of management science with a focus on sustainability management thus sets individual focal points.

Typical questions of the study focus

• What possibilities exist to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the energy supply sector, what do cost-effective climate protection strategies look like and what policy instruments enable their implementation in practice?
• What adaptation strategies exist in the field of water supply and sanitation in the context of global climate change and demographic challenges?
• How can urban data be analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods to gain insights?
• How can urban spaces, urban development and planning processes be made more sustainable?

Institutes involved:

• Institute for Infrastructure and Resource Management
• Institute of Urban Development and Construction Management

Students acquire the following professional competences and skills, among others:

• To scientifically prepare future-oriented topics and concepts of sustainability in interdisciplinary team and individual work

• Be familiar with the functioning of liberalised energy markets and be able to comparatively evaluate measures to increase the environmental compatibility of energy supply systems

• Be able to develop and apply approaches to the sustainable management of resources such as energy, water, land and biodiversity

• Be able to independently apply modern qualitative and quantitative methods of urban research

• Be able to carry out in-depth scientific work or work in their own research projects

Students should have this basic knowledge from their Bachelor's degree:

• Basic knowledge of business administration or knowledge that can be assigned to the subject area of "sustainability"
• Basic knowledge of environmental economics
• Basic knowledge of statistics as a prerequisite for statistical data work
• Knowledge of the English language at level B2
• Desirable: basic understanding of environmental, urban or spatial issues

Students qualify for the following occupational fields, for example:

• Managerial activities in medium-sized companies or large companies active in the field of sustainability

• Working in companies in the energy, water and environmental service sectors

• Self-employment, e.g. in start-ups with a sustainability focus

• Work in the public sector or in public administration with reference to urban planning and urban economics

• Work at universities or research institutions in business administration, environmental or space-related departments

You can find the study plan with an overview of all modules offered in the specialisation Sustainibility Management of the Master's degree programme in Management Science here.