Why study International Business Management at Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS)?

• International Business Management is highly practice-oriented. Challenge-based learning, real-life case studies, online simulations, consulting projects for international companies, team challenges and excursions provide opportunities to learn about international management in an engaging and interactive way.
• International Business Management is an internationally recognized high quality two-year master’s program which is taught entirely in English.
• The brand-new curriculum (starting in 2021) offers an even stronger focus on developing personal skills (e.g. coaching skills, negotiation skills, communication skills and problem-solving skills), competencies related to the intelligent use of digital technologies in an international management context, and managing for sustainability.

• With its flexible specialization structure, International Business Management allows students to gain both, a well-grounded general business education in an international context, and the opportunity to immerse themselves in two out of four fields of specialization – International Human Resource Management or International Supply Chain Management, and International Marketing and Sales Management or International Finance and Accounting.
• The masterʼs program also provides an opportunity to learn a new foreign language. As part of the curriculum, students can choose from German, Italian, Russian and Slovene language courses. Together with a curriculum that is taught entirely in English and the location in a German-speaking country, studying at CUAS is a great opportunity to upgrade your language skills.
• International Business Management is taught in a truly international environment. Students from all over the world meet with students from Austria and the South East and Central European region, thus opening opportunities for forming strong international networks and getting to know firms in the region.
• Boutique-size classes, a modern infrastructure, lots of opportunities for teamwork, low drop-out rates, personal service of our administration and intensive interactions with our faculty – that’s what you can expect in an environment that is characterized by a passion for teaching and learning, high quality orientation, and a personal touch.
• The practical business knowledge, internationality, solution-oriented approach, intercultural competence and multi-lingual communication abilities of our students are highly valued by employers both in Austria as well as around the world, as the impressive careers of our alumni in many different sectors (including, for example, consulting, industry, retail, media, services, public administration and research) prove

For our International Business Management master’s students, we currently offer two double degree programs. In the Carinthia-Cologne double degree program with the International Business master’s program at TH Köln / Cologne University of Applied Sciences (Germany), selected International Business Management students can spend their second semester in Cologne and then receive both an Austrian master’s degree from CUAS and a German master’s degree from TH Köln. In the Carinthia-Udine double degree program with the International Marketing, Management and Organization program at the University of Udine (Italy), selected International Business Management students can spend their third semester in Udine and then receive both an Austrian master’s degree from CUAS and an Italian Laurea Magistrale degree from the University of Udine.

In addition to the double degree program, CUAS has a wide network of international university partners. The fourth semester of the International Business Management master’s program can also be taken abroad.

Get more information about our international partners here.

Alumni of the International Business Management master’s program have the right to be admitted to doctoral studies in social and economic sciences according to the Act of the Austrian Federal Minister for Science and Research (BGBl. II Nr. 253/2008).

Curricular Focus

The aim of the curriculum of the International Business Management master’s degree is to prepare students for an expert or managerial role in an internationally active company and equip them with the necessary skills to contribute to the creation of sustainable international businesses.
There are five types of modules in the curriculum (in addition to the master thesis and master exam):

• Core curriculum: covers the knowledge and skills that all students are expected to learn in order to prepare themselves for an expert or managerial role in an internationally active company.
• Practical business laboratories: allow students to take part in real-life business projects in which student teams will be coached by lecturers with relevant managerial experience. Working in teams, students identify and test business ideas and create a business plan for an international new venture (in the International Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab in semester 1), develop a digital marketing strategy and campaign for international markets (in the International Digital Marketing Lab in semester 2) and gain consulting expertise in helping companies to expand their business abroad (in the International Consulting Lab in semester 3).
• Electives: provide students with the possibility to get more in-depth knowledge in selected functional areas of international management – in semester 2, students can choose between International Human Resource Management and International Supply Chain Management, in semester 3  between International Marketing and Sales Management and International Finance and Accounting.
• Personal development program: this module in semester 1 is designed to support students in developing key competencies for succeeding in a managerial role in an international business context (including, for example, intercultural cooperation skills, coaching skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills).
• Language immersion courses: Students can choose one foreign language in which they upgrade their language skills in three intensive language courses during semesters 1-3 (3 out of the following 4 languages are offered depending on the number of students who enroll for the language courses: German as a foreign language, Russian, Italian, Slovene).

Download an overview of the curriculum and courses here.

Download more detailed course descriptions here.

CURRICULUM

Each of the first three semesters consists of five 6 ECTS modules. Semester 4 is dedicated to the master thesis (23 ECTS) and master exam (3 ECTS) as well as the 4 ECTS module Sustainable Global Management Practices. There are five types of modules in the curriculum (in addition to the master thesis and master exam):

• Core curriculum
  • Effective Management and Leadership of Global Teams
  • Integrated Financial Management & Controlling
  • Managing the Internationalization Process
  • International Strategic Management
  • CEE/SEE and Global Business Environment
  • Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Research Methods
  • Sustainable Global Management Practices
• Practical business laboratories
  • International Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab
  • International Digital Marketing Lab
  • International Consulting Lab
• Electives/specialization modules (2 out of 4)
  • International Human Resource Management
  • International Supply Chain Management
  • International Marketing and Sales Management
  • International Finance and Accounting
• Language immersion courses (either German, Italian, Russian or Slovene)
• Personal skills development program
  • Global Case Challenge
  • Coaching skills
  • Elective skills seminars

Curriculum International Business Management, Master

PROFILE OF THE STUDY PROGRAM

Internationally active companies and organizations are very demanding when they recruit new employees. They usually look for people who are multilingual, solution-oriented, possess a high degree of cultural awareness, and are both generalists and specialists at the same time. International Business Management offers both, a well-grounded general business education in an international context, and the opportunity to immerse oneself in two of the four fields of specialization (Human Resource Management or International Supply Chain Management, and International Marketing and Sales Management or International Finance and Accounting).
In the individual modules, students acquire functional skills for doing business in an international context, but will also master challenges of increasing complexity (e.g. case studies, simulations, research projects, or real-life consulting projects for companies), which allows them to acquire the problem-solving and interpersonal skills required in today’s globalized business environment.

Download the International Business Management program brochure here.

Qualification requirements

In addition to the formal requirements for admission, applicants to the Master’s program in International Business Management should:

• hold a business-related degree of higher education (minimum 3-year Bachelor’s program); applicants with non-business degrees in a related field (e.g. industrial engineering, economic geography, business law) need at least 15 ECTS in subjects related to business administration, 5 ECTS in economics and 10 ECTS in accounting and finance-related subjects.
• provide recent results of an English language proficiency test (TOEFL, IELTS) – minimum requirement 6.5 or equivalent (English level C1)
• demonstrate strengths in the following areas:
  • basic knowledge about the functional areas of business administration and management;
  • applying inter-disciplinary knowledge to analyze and solve complex problems;
  • a team-oriented mindset;
  • linguistic and communication skills (orally and on written form);
  • socially responsible behavior;
  • enjoyment of international and intercultural challenges.

Key learning outcomes

Graduates of the master’s degree program in International Business Management at Carinthia University of Applied Sciences are able to:

• effectively collaborate with others to responsibly manage complex business challenges in an expert or managerial role in an internationally active company
• create and implement international business development strategies, business models, business plans and marketing strategies
• take an active and leading role in achieving joint goals in a team together with other people from a variety of different cultural backgrounds
• effectively communicate with others about international business-related issues
• apply extended foreign language skills (in at least one foreign language besides English)
• understand the specifics of doing business in the Central Eastern and South Eastern European region
• recognize the opportunities and limitations that digital technologies offer as a support tool for managers in internationally active companies
• consider ethical issues as well as potential societal and environmental impacts when making business decisions
• analyze financial and non-financial data as well as institutional, legal and economic framework conditions as a basis for making and implementing international management-related decisions
• use methods and tools for effective problem-solving in selected functional specialization areas in the management of internationally active companies (Human Resource Management or International Supply Chain Management, and International Marketing and Sales Management or International Finance and Accounting)

JOB & CAREER

Due to the holistic and comprehensive nature of the International Business Management program, it opens a range of different career opportunities. In addition to having a profound international business education, our alumni combine intercultural and communication skills, strategic and analytic thinking capabilities, an entrepreneurial approach and the ability to effectively solve complex business problems in collaboration with others – competences that are widely sought by employers in different professional fields, in multinational companies, SMEs and entrepreneurial start-ups as well as in international institutions.

Typical job profiles and responsibilities of International Business Management graduates include, for example:

• Planning and implementing international projects
• International marketing and brand management
• Export management
• Consulting and business development
• International supply chain management & strategic procurement
• Human resource management in an international context
• Financial management & international controlling
• Management trainee & top management assistance
• Key account management in an international environment
• Product management
• Entrepreneur in an international new venture