Master of Science in Business Education

Why study Business Education at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz?

• Apart from comprehensive contents in the fields of Business Administration, Economics and Methods the faculty of Business Education in Mainz offers 13 majors:Business Informatics, Mathematics, Statistics, German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Sociology, Political Science, Protestant and Catholic Theology, PE, Controlling (and presumably Law at a later point in time).
• Two Chairs of Business Education make for a wide-range of teaching (every semester) and intensive support in small groups.
  
• A well-established co-operation with experts from vocational schools and training providing businesses enables systematic, specific support and gearing of the industrial and school placements with the theoretical training at university.
• Diversified and fast university studies through very short ways to other faculties since the Johannes Gutenberg-University is a campus university.The Master of Science in Business Education will be launched at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz in the winter semester 2011/2012.

Quality Features

• Comprehensive number of available courses in Management and Economics, Economics Education and one out of the thirteen electable general core subjects
• National curriculum
• Polyvalent on job market – preparation for positions in school and business
• "Studying with short ways " on campus
• In the heart of the Rhine-Main-region, one of the most important economic regions in Germany

Qualification Goals

As a consecutive degree course, the Master course in Business Education builds on the Bachelor course in Business Education. The Master course mediates expertise in initiating, (further) developing and regulating (business related) vocational training in different institutions (i.e. school or business). Furthermore, interdisciplinary competencies and research competencies in the field of (empirical) vocational training research are being conveyed. This qualifies graduates to assume responsible specific and control tasks in institutions that offer school or industrial vocational training and further training as well as in research institutions.

Apart from the basic, subject-specific university training, the Business Education course is specifically defined by a systematic mediation of analytical and methodical competencies that enable the graduate to assume challenging executive functions and specific tasks of vocational training and HR development. The strong inclusion of method and research competencies in the Master course awards the graduates with an outstanding nationally and internationally competitive qualification and quality profile.

Possible jobs for graduates of the Master course in Business Education are school and industrial vocational preparation, training, further training and HR development. The following are possible areas of expertise:

• Career orientation and counseling
• In-plant and interplant vocational preparation and training
• Advanced and further training
• Employment /assessment
• Recruitment consulting
• Human resources management
• Education management
• Quality management/quality and efficiency intensification of vocational education
• Educational counseling
• Development aid
• Education administration / education policy (boards, organizations, ministries)

Apart from the above mentioned areas of expertise, the Master course in Business Education can also lead to functions in academic teaching or in job- or business education as well as subject-specific research. The Master course gives access to provisional teacher training and thus to vocational education at school. Please refer to the requirements and conditions of the individual federal states.

Curriculum and Contents

The Master of Science in Business Education is a modular course that lasts 4 semesters (regular duration) and comprises 120 credits divided among the following five areas:

1. The core subject Management and Economics as well as its subject didactics (38 credits)
2. The chosen specialization and its subject didactics (42 credits)
3. Business Education (vocational sciences) (16credits)
4. Internships (8 credits)
5. Master thesis (16credits)

Contents of the Core Subject Management and Economics

The core subject Management and Economics offers an overview of the current research and teaching program of the chairs of Business Administration in its compulsory module “core theories and methods”. It aims to broaden basic content-related and methodical competencies. The obligatory elective subject offers the opportunity to choose another Business Administration module according to interest or to a later career path. In order to gain an Economics or international overview, a third obligatory elective from the field “Internationality and Economics focus” has to be chosen.

Module core theories and methods (general core subject) (compulsory) lecture series module I: HR Planning and Management (elective) module II: Decision Theory (elective) module III: Leadership Skills (elective) Tutoring (elective) Statistics II (compulsory)

Module core theories and methods (core subject Controlling) (compulsory) lecture series module I: HR Planning and Management (elective) module II: Decision Theory (elective) module III: Leadership Skills (elective) Tutoring (elective)

An obligatoryelective module from the field of Business Administration Accounting and Taxation Finance Information and Logistics International Management and Marketing

An obligatoryelective module from the field of Internationality and Economics Microeconomics II Macroeconomics IIBusiness English

Contents General Core Subject

The core subject of the Master in Business Education at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz can be chosen from a selection of 13 subjects. These are:

• Management Accounting/Controlling
• Mathematics/Statistics
• Business Informatics
• Sociology/Political Science
• English
• German
• Italian
• Spanish
• French
• PE
• Protestant Religious Education
• Catholic Religious Education
• Law (expected at a later point)

The chosen core subject of the Master course builds upon the chosen core subject of the Bachelor course and allows the students to broaden their knowledge and expertise according to their planned career and interest. The core subject chosen during the Bachelor course is continued in the Master course. Compulsory and obligatory elective modules have to be chosen from the (cf. above) thirteen core subjects.

More information on the core subjects (course registrations, content) is provided by the different advisory officers. As the individual faculties are responsible for the core subjects and their different regulations, no detailed information can be given at this point.

This also applies to the entry requirements of the faculties, i.e. qualification tests. Please ask for more information at the respective faculties.

In addition, subject didactics of the core subject forms part of the general core subject (module 2.05 career related subject didactics). * Courses on general subject didactics are offered by the chair of Business Education. Specialized subject didactics are offered by the respective faculties.

*) except for PE and Catholic Religious Education

Contents of Vocational Science

In three compulsory modules of Business Education (vocational science) students gain further and detailed knowledge of Business Education approaches, theories and job fields in vocational training research. It is based upon the DGfE basic curriculum “Vocational and Business Education”. Business Education metho
dical and problem-solving competence will be developed further.

The course is defined by a continuously research-based application-orientation. In Business Education classes, students deal with content questions, subjects and problems of the research projects conducted by the chairs of Business Education (i.e. case studies). It thus contributes to a closer connection between research and study contents.

The Business Education modules (especially module 2.01 and 2.04) combine innovative, project-oriented courses with the chairs’ research activities. This includes e-learning as well as case studies and practical adaptation of core research problems with the help of current empirical research projects of the chairs of Business Education (amongst others data evaluation of real project data from projects like the innovative teach-study network of academic training (ILLEV), school evaluation (EQul) etc.) This promotes a specific further development of Business Education method and problem-solving competencies as well as problem-oriented thinking and subject knowledge among students. In order to achieve a systematic development of competencies, competence-based exam (forms) are being developed and implemented in the course of the training (e-exams).

The systematic inclusion of students in research projects of the chairs of Business Education is implemented on the one hand via the processing of specific questions, problems, topics with relation to courses (module 2.01 and 2.04) and on the other hand through obligatory proband hours as precondition to the conclusive master thesis. The latter aims to get students to participate in experiments and surveys as subjects and to grow familiar with the procedure and organization of research projects.

Internships

The Master course includes a compulsory school or industrial internship of seven weeks that can also be splitted up.

Building upon the orientation internships during the Bachelor course and the first experiences in giving lessons, the didactical and educational implementation within a school form or business should be broadened. Students intently deal with planning, presenting and teaching classes in Management and Economics. The chairs of Business Education accompany the internships (cf. module 2.02) in order to support an exchange between theory and practice.

Master Thesis

The Master thesis and the associated module conclude the degree course. The thesis should be completed within four months. The comprehensive seminar in module 2.04 aims to systematically connect the Business Education contents learned during the Master course and helps to prepare, supervise and write the Master thesis.

Ideal Course of Study

Major Management Accounting/ Controlling

General core subject

Curricula

The contents of the courses can be found in the curricula. They include module descriptions of all modules that have to be completed during the degree course. The curriculum for the Master course in Business Education will be published here in the next weeks.

Application