Taking an MBA in: Germany
| Author | Ralf Buerkle |
| Function | Director of Communications & Market Intelligence |
| Organistation | Mannheim Business School |
International accreditation as an orientation guide
The number of German MBA providers that meet international requirements may be small, but they are high performing. Since most of the German full-time MBA programmes are not established long enough to be listed in the important rankings, international accreditations are the best indicator for the quality of a German Business School. The Mannheim Business School, for example, is the only institution within the German-speaking world that has been awarded the so called Triple Crown, i.e. accreditations by AACSB International, EQUIS and AMBA. This school is the umbrella organization for management education of the University of Mannheim and at the same time the first choice for Business Administration studies in Germany, according to the major national rankings (Wirtschaftswoche, Focus, Die Zeit). The sought-after triple accreditation has also been awarded to the originally French ESCP-EAP, which has a campus in Berlin. The Goethe Business School, a part of the University of Frankfurt, the HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management and the programmes of the GISMA Business School in Hanover have also been accredited by AACSB. The WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar has been awarded the EQUIS accreditation. Networks are often the key to success A central factor of success of German MBA providers is their network of partner institutions. This becomes especially evident in case of German part-time Executive MBA programmes. The Goethe Business School and the WHU partner with renowned American schools, such as Fuqua School of Business of the Duke University (Goethe Business School) and the Kellogg School of Management (WHU). The GIMSA is working together with a network consisting of the Krannert School of Management of Purdue University, the Dutch TiasNimbas and the CEU in Budapest in this area. The European partner of the Mannheim Business School for the Executive MBA is the French Grande Ecole ESSEC. The University of Hohenheim (Stuttgart) is planning to launch an Executive MBA programme with the French HEC. Careful with so-called "Mickey-Mouse MBAs"! One should be careful with the large number of other German MBA providers: Since German state education institutions have only been allowed to grant MBAs since 1998, new MBA courses are sprouting daily. An estimate suggests that there are over 250 MBA programmes in Germany currently, but the differences with regard to quality between the individual programmes are enormous. It is therefore not easy for students who intend to apply for an MBA programme in Germany to figure out the most suitable. As a matter of fact, many of the programmes that are offered in Germany under the label "MBA" do not even meet the minimum requirements. For example, many of them do not require any job experience after the first degree, they are not diverse with regard to academic degrees, professional background and nationalities or the courses are entirely taught in German. To sum it up, some German MBAs are often nothing else than MSc programmes, in many cases specializing on certain topics. Although these programmes and courses do not necessarily have a low academic quality, they are not MBA programmes. There is a large number of experts in Germany who consider such programmes "Mickey Mouse MBAs". "Made in Germany" – a hallmark of quality The German providers of quality MBAs score with factors that are among the most important decision criteria for European MBA prospects, according to a survey of the UK based education provider QS published in 2007: academic quality and successful career services. For example, the German Universities have a strength of research that has not been taken into account appropriately for a long time due to missing international presence. But this has fundamentally changed with the increasing number of articles of German researchers in the most important scientific journals worldwide. Another competitive advantage of German MBA providers that cannot be easily copied is closely linked to the second criterion (successful career services) of the QS survey: Germany offers a potential and life quality that has been underestimated so far. "Made in Germany" is still a globally recognized hallmark of quality. That is why highly-qualified foreign students strive for studying and working in the third-largest national economy worldwide. Especially, after the German Government recently decided to facilitate the access to the German job market for highly-qualified professionals. The MBA degree has also become very popular with German companies: According to a survey of the Federal Association of German Management Consultants (BDU), the small and medium sized companies in particular prefer junior managers with an MBA to those with a doctorate. Somewhat surprising since the doctorate had been considered as the king’s road to the top managerial level in Germany for many years. That is all the more interesting since the small and medium sized businesses are considered to be the backbone of the German economy with a large number of career options. The major German companies are becoming more and more interested as well: For example, the software giant SAP is sending its high potentials to the ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA. And 25 large German companies founded the European School of Business (esmt) in the year 2002 in Berlin. The MBA in Germany – an interesting alternative Conclusion: Germany will not become an MBA nation as important as the US or UK in the near future, but the stage is set for a small number of German Business Schools to establish themselves at international top level in the next few years due to their individual and distinctive profiles. It is the excellent quality of research and education and the attractiveness of the German job market that make MBA studies in Germany an interesting alternative for high potentials from all over the world.
