Program Overview

Master of Science in Business and Technology

The Master of Science in Business and Technology is a program designed for individuals who envision a career in management focused on people-oriented problems and wish to sharpen their job market profile to be prepared for the information age. This program combines business with technological progress, enabling students to understand and communicate with technology experts and potentially lead a team of engineers and business people.

Program Description

The Master in Business and Technology primarily prepares students to solve people-oriented problems in areas like marketing, human resources, strategy and organization, or management accounting and control in times of technological progress and digital transformation. The curriculum is unique in training students to collaborate effectively with information technology experts beyond their particular management discipline. Students will learn fundamentals of information technology relevant to management, acquiring more conceptual technological knowledge compared to universities of applied sciences. This empowers them to keep up with the rapid change of technology.

Competences and Skills

The program develops various competences and skills through its modules:

• Fundamentals in Business and Technology: Creates the prerequisites to succeed in the courses of the specialization modules.
• Human Resources: Deals with central questions in human resource management, focusing on the strategic part of HRM and its influence by technological innovations.
• Marketing: Develops competence to achieve competitive advantage by designing customer value, including strategic models for marketing decision-making and digital marketing.
• Strategy & Organization: Teaches the effects of technological progress on corporate and competitive strategies and how these strategies influence organizational structures and processes.
• Management Accounting: Educates students on how to use information to support management decision-making and motivate managers to take decisions in the best interest of the company owners.
• Technology: Familiarizes students with technology concepts relevant to various application areas of information technology and business analytics, including programming, computer science, data analytics, and machine learning.

Career Opportunities

The Master of Business and Technology prepares students for management positions in areas like human resources, marketing, accounting and control, consulting, and entrepreneurship. Graduates can work in profit and non-profit organizations, with career paths including:

• Human resources: Modern HR departments, compensation consultancies, or employers' and employees' associations.
• Marketing: Marketing manager, marketing consultant, or entrepreneur in fields like brand management, digital branding, and marketing research.
• Strategy & Organization: Strategic management in organizations or management consultancies.
• Management Accounting: Internal or external auditor, or management consultant.
• Technology: Management position at the interface with technical departments in companies with central digitalization roles.

Alumni Careers

Graduates of the program have gone on to successful careers, including:

• Tax and Legal Consultant at an international consulting firm
• Founder and CEO of a trust and asset management agency
• Finance and HR Analyst at a wide-known sharing-platform
• Associate in Digital Assurance & Trust at a consulting firm
• Business Analyst at an established selling-platform or an open-access publisher
• Research and Teaching Assistant at a renowned university

Focal Area of Teaching and Research

The program offers five areas of specialization: Human Resources, Marketing, Strategy & Organization, Management Accounting, and Technology. Students can combine one or two business modules with the technology module.

Program Structure

The Master in Business and Technology consists of 90 ECTS credits, designed as a three-semester program starting in fall. The structure includes:

• Fundamentals in Business and Technology: 15 ECTS
• Business Fields & Technology Field: 45 ECTS (if master's thesis comprises 18 ECTS) or 39 ECTS (if master's thesis comprises 30 ECTS)
• General Electives: 6 ECTS (if master's thesis comprises 18 ECTS) or 0 ECTS (if master's thesis comprises 30 ECTS)
• Preparation of Master's Thesis: 6 ECTS
• Master's Thesis: 18 ECTS or 30 ECTS

Core Faculty

The program is led by:

• Prof. Dr. Michael Beckmann: Program Director, Professor of Human Resources and Organization
• Other core faculty members include professors specializing in Controlling, Marketing, Distributed Ledger Technology/Fintech, and Financial Accounting.

Admission

Admission requirements include:

• Holders of a bachelor's degree from a Swiss university-level higher education institution are admitted without additional requirements if they have at least 75 CP of undergraduate knowledge in business and economics, 12 CP in mathematics, and 12 CP in statistics/econometrics.
• For other bachelor's degrees, the examination committee evaluates the equivalence of the required undergraduate knowledge.
• The bachelor's degree must have an average grade of at least 5 (Swiss grading system 1 to 6).
• Alternatively, holders of a bachelor's degree from a recognized university-level higher education institution may present a current Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) with results in the top 30% in "Quantitative Reasoning" and "Analytical Writing".

Start and Duration

The program starts in fall and is designed as a three-semester program (90 CP). Registration is also possible in the spring semester but may result in an extension to the regular period of study. Part-time study is possible, with a recommended minimum of 15 CP per semester.

Application, Fees & Scholarships

• Application: Deadline for fall semester is April 30, and for spring semester is November 30.
• Fees: Application fee is CHF 100, and tuition fees per semester are CHF 850.
• Scholarships: Parents and/or the cantonal scholarship office in the parents' canton of residence are responsible for funding studies. International students should explore scholarships available in their home country.