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controlling

Master's degree in Controlling

Controlling (M.A.)

Profile

The Master's degree program in Controlling (full-time) is aimed at prospective students who wish to qualify for demanding specialist and management tasks in controlling.

In addition to the basics of controlling, the course also teaches distinctive skills in strategic and operational corporate management, the interaction between controlling and financial accounting as well as the necessary IT knowledge in the context of data analytics and SAP.

Controllers take on different roles in their day-to-day work: they are moderators, consultants, coordinators and sometimes also controllers.

In order to do justice to these roles, the degree programs not only train professional and methodological skills, but also promote personal and social skills through seminars and presentations.

Career prospects

Areas of responsibility may include

  • Advising the company management
  • Development and maintenance of internal information management
  • Monitoring and controlling operational processes
  • Development and evaluation of key figures
  • Analyzing and forecasting business trends
  • Target/actual comparisons
  • Budgeting
  • Monitoring the internal planning and reporting system
  • Planning and implementing strategic measures

Depending on your qualifications and preferences, you can also specialize in one area (organizational controlling, purchasing controlling, sales controlling, project controlling, personnel controlling, etc.).

There are good opportunities for promotion up to the head of a controlling department.

5 reasons for the degree programs

Excellent reputation: The Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society enjoys an excellent reputation in the business world. The Master's degree course in Controlling is known for its high quality and practice-oriented training.

Practicaltraining: The degree programs attaches great importance to imparting knowledge that is relevant to practice. You will be taught by experienced lecturers who have extensive experience in the field of controlling. This gives you a realistic insight into the world of work and prepares you well for a future career.

Network: At the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, you will have the opportunity to make valuable contacts. Through events, internships and projects, you will come into contact with companies and experts from the industry. This network can be of great benefit to you later when looking for a job or setting up your own projects.

Interdisciplinary orientation: The Master's degree program in Controlling at the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society offers a wide range of modules that go beyond pure controlling. You will also acquire knowledge in the areas of financial management, corporate management and strategic management. This will provide you with a holistic education that will open up a wide range of career opportunities.

Career opportunities: Graduates of the Master's degree program in Controlling at the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society have excellent career prospects. Controlling is a sought-after specialist area in companies in all sectors. With your degree, you will be able to take on responsible positions in controlling departments or in management consulting.

Why choose Ludwigshafen as a place to study?

The city of Ludwigshafen is located in the middle of the metropolitan area Rhine-Neckar with around 160,000 companies (including 10 of the 100 largest listed companies such as BASF, SAP, Roche, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, HeidelbergCement, KSB or Fuchs Petrolub, many medium-sized companies, hidden champions and innovative start-ups), 800,000 employees and a gross value added of over 62 billion euros. 

There is a large number of research and scientific institutions: 23 universities and colleges and more than 30 renowned research institutes (European Molecular Biology Laboratory, four Max Planck Institutes, German Cancer Research Center, Center for European Economic Research).

In addition to an excellent infrastructure with around 240 long-distance departures daily & good public transport, 8 freeways in the immediate vicinity and only 30 minutes to Frankfurt International Airport, the region also offers a diverse cultural and leisure offering with more than 230 museums, 110 theaters and many concerts and festivals, four UNESCO World Heritage Sites, over 120 castles & palaces and three nature parks.

LUst on foreign countries?

Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences has around 150 partner universities all over the world - in almost all EU countries, but also in the USA, Australia, Taiwan and Korea, for example. Stays abroad in the form of an internship or a semester abroad enable students to acquire a wide range of intercultural skills. The stays abroad can be recognized with credit or on a voluntary basis as an additional semester.

We are of the opinion that a semester abroad is always a plus on your CV and absolutely justifies extending your studies!

Contents & Procedure

Study structure

3-semester on-campus course with six compulsory modules and four compulsory elective modules in two semesters as well as the Master's thesis in the third semester (lecture days Monday - Saturday).

1st semester

In the first semester, students deepen their knowledge of controlling (including IT) and broaden their knowledge of research methodology.

Accounting

Develop a critical understanding of the rules and implications of international accounting and the diversity of concepts, terminology and doctrines in internal accounting.

Controlling

Teaching the basic concepts / methods of strategic and operational controlling

Planning

Case study as a basis for assessing, commenting on and arguing for planning results. Promoting the ability to independently acquire new knowledge and skills.

Business Analytics

IT toolbox for solving operational decision-making problems.

Scientific Methods

Teaching skills in scientific work and research methodology by designing small research projects. Management of employee and communication behavior.

2nd semester

Four of the six compulsory elective modules must be chosen in the 2nd semester:

Controlling Trends

Sustainability in corporate management and sustainability controlling supplement traditional controlling approaches with social and ecological aspects.

Company and risk assessment

Develop a broad and critical understanding of the methods used to assess company values and risk structures in order to ensure the long-term existence of companies.

Performance-oriented corporate management

Knowledge of the value-oriented management of companies is imparted.

Project controlling

Understanding periodization problems in long-term production. Developing activities that support the coordination and result-oriented alignment of innovation processes.

Consolidated financial statements

Consolidated financial statements from practice should be read and understood. They should be scrutinized, broken down and reassembled into information relevant for analysis

Corporate Finance

Get to know and appreciate financial goals and fields of action. Learn business and financial planning methods for start-ups.

3rd semester

The 3rd semester includes the Master's thesis with a duration of 6 months.

Want to know more?

I would like to know which courses are behind the modules (table with additional information on SWS and ECTS).

I would like to know what content is hidden behind the courses (module handbook).

Application & Admission

The "Apply" button will take you to a brief guide on how to register and apply.

If you are not sure which documents you need to upload to the portal, you will find an overview here:

admisson requirements

Completed degree in economics or a comparable subject (business studies component at least 50%) with 210 ECTS and a minimum grade of 2.5. 

If you have not yet completed your studies, you may only have a maximum of 30 ECTS remaining by the application deadline. Further information can be found here.

We offer applicants with a Bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS the opportunity to make up the missing 30 ECTS before registering for the Master's thesis. Further information can be found here.

Application deadlines

From summer semester 2022, there will no longer be a limit on places for the degree programs. This means that all students who meet the admission requirements of the special examination regulations will be admitted.

Application for the winter semester:
1 August of the current year
Application for the summer semester:
1 February of the current year

The team at the Student Service Center (SSC) looks forward to meeting you

The SSC staff responsible for application management advise prospective students on all aspects of the application process. They are the right people to contact for all questions relating to application and admission/access to studies at the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society.

E-mail: ssc-bewerbung@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de

Telephone:  +49 621 5203-0

For subject-related questions, please get in touch with the relevant contact person for your desired degree program.

Opening hours of the SSC

Mon. and Tue.
09:30 - 12:00
Thu
09:30 - 12:00 and 14:00 - 16:30
Wed and Fri
closed

Contact us

Christine Preis

Programm Managerin

Ernst-Boehe-Straße 4
67059 Ludwigshafen

C 1.218+49 621 5203-182+49 621 5203-193

SSC

Studierenden Service Center

Ernst-Boehe-Str. 6
67059 Ludwigshafen

C 1. OG+49 621 5203-0