Introductory year (60 ECTS credits)
The introductory year is attended during the first two semesters of study and builds the foundation for all the subsequent business administration courses. Please note that all courses of the introductory year are held in German.
Program structure
The introductory year comprises 60 ECTS credits and can be completed in a standard study period of two semesters. The introductory year conveys fundamental knowledge in the following fields: Business and Economics, Social and Political Sciences, Law, Mathematics and Statistics. All the lectures are compulsory and are held in line with a fixed timetable. Since the coordination of the introductory year is cross-departmental, the timetables and further information are available on the website of the faculty in question.
Bern’s distinctive features
The introductory year is conducted jointly with the other departments within the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences. This gives you the opportunity to change your field of study (which may come with requirements) within the faculty (Economics, Sociology, Political Science).
Challenges
All the examinations in the introductory year must be passed within five semesters with the minimum grade of 4. The compensation policies (if the student’s grades are inadequate) as well as further information can be found under the heading Examinations and Accreditations.
Compulsory courses (43.5 ECTS credits)
The compulsory courses convey fundamentals in the central fields of business administration, such as management, human resources and organization, marketing, accounting and controlling, financial management, quantitative methods and business information systems. Some of them are offered in the fall semester while others take place in the spring semester. Please note that all the compulsory courses in Business Administration are held in German.
Fall semester:
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Financial Reporting (IUC - 4.5 ECTS credits)
The lecture deals with corporate accounting in line with the Swiss GAAP FER standard. For this purpose, the framework concept of the standard, the core FER and the specialized standards of the FER are reviewed, discussed and deepened by means of numerous exercises, case studies and practical examples.
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Cost Accounting (IUC - 3.0 ECTS credits)
Students are introduced to the basic concepts of cost accounting and learn to distinguish between them (cost-type accounting, cost center accounting, product cost accounting, process cost calculation and direct cost calculation). They learn to recognize and understand the interrelationships between the sub-areas of traditional cost accounting as well as to analyze, evaluate and apply them with the help of the associated methods and tools. The course ist offered in German in the fall semester.
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Business Process Managements (IWI - 4.5 ECTS credits)
On the one hand, students learn practical skills in modeling, analyzing and designing business processes, with an emphasis on the role of information technology. On the other hand, students also learn to understand cutting-edge developments in research and critique of business process management practices. After attending the course, they should be able to apply business process management practices in line with state-of-the-art research.
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Grundlagen des Markenmanagements (IMU - 4.5 ECTS credits)
The lecture provides a basic overview of the tasks and content of brand management, with a focus on the application of the knowledge that has been learned. It helps students to understand what brands are, what meaning they hold in society and how to protect a trademark under law. In addition, students learn how to apply individual steps of the brand management process to selected brands. They are taught how to differentiate between options for action when designing brand portfolios and how to explain their advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, students learn how to explain approaches to brand positioning on the market as well as among employees, how to describe properties of customer-brand relationships and brand communities, and how to compare different approaches to brand value measurement.
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Human Resources and Organization (IOP - 6.0 ECTS credits)
In the ‘Human Resources and Organization’ lecture, students learn about important current topics concerning organizational theory and HR management. The organization section covers both basic principles (e.g., organizational structures) and applied topics (e.g., the handling of corporate culture and the efficient formation of teams), while the human resources section deals with the theoretical fundamentals and specific topics, such as HR requirements, incentive systems, and HR development.
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Valuation (IFM - 6.0 ECTS credits)
This lecture covers the time value of money, important investment criteria, the determination of relevant cash flows and discount rates of projects, how to deal with estimation errors, special aspects of project valuation in SMEs as well as securities on the financial market and their valuation (bonds, shares, forward contracts, options).
Spring semester:
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Financial Reporting (IUC - 4.5 ECTS credits)
The lecture deals with corporate accounting in line with the Swiss GAAP FER standard. For this purpose, the framework concept of the standard, the core FER and the specialized standards of the FER are reviewed, discussed and deepened by means of numerous exercises, case studies and practical examples.
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Cost Accounting (IUC - 3.0 ECTS credits)
Students are introduced to the basic concepts of cost accounting and learn to distinguish between them (cost-type accounting, cost center accounting, product cost accounting, process cost calculation and direct cost calculation). They learn to recognize and understand the interrelationships between the sub-areas of traditional cost accounting as well as to analyze, evaluate and apply them with the help of the associated methods and tools. The course is offered in English in the spring semester.
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Logistics (IWI - 4.5 ECTS credits)
Logistics deals with the spatial and temporal transformations of goods availability. The logistics function is of fundamental importance in highly efficient value chains with a strong division of labor. This lecture addresses the various aspects of material design and information flows within a company and along the value chain.
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Quantitative Methods in Business Administration I (AP QM - 6.0 ECTS credits)
The aim of this course is to offer an introduction to operations research (linear optimization, mixed-integer optimization) and data analysis (simulation, regression analysis). The methods covered will be illustrated with examples from finance, marketing and management.
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Strategic Management (IMU - 4.5 ECTS credits)
This course discusses basic concepts and methods of strategic management from a process and decision-oriented perspective. The lecture presents challenges for decision-makers at the overall level or at the level of individual business units. The perspective taken is that of top management.
Proseminar (4 ECTS credits)
In the proseminars, students learn how to write an academic paper in small groups of up to 20 participants. Many students write their first academic paper in the proseminar, which is why the seminar not only teaches them about the content and structure of academic papers, but also about literature research, adherence to formatting guidelines, and proper citation. Presentations at the end of the proseminars provide an overview of each topic.
Topic selection
Each institute offers either one or several proseminars. When choosing, do not only consider the topics on offer: also look at the individual requirements of the institutes. In general, you will find further information on the websites in question.
Registration and allocation
Click here to find further information about registering for the proseminars and how places are allocated.
Bachelor’s thesis (10 ECTS credits)
Students complete the Bachelor’s program by writing their Bachelor’s thesis (10 ECTS credits).
The topic selection, requirements, guidelines and procedures are determined by the individual institutes and departments. Please seek information about this on the relevant websites.
Internship (6 ECTS credits)
Insights into practice
During their course of study, students must complete an internship that is related to the field of Business Administration. The internship is credited to the required elective courses at 6 ECTS credits, or, if a student did not choose the minor ‘required elective courses’, is credited to the academic attainments for the major.
The internship must last a minimum of 12 weeks full-time (100%). The minimum degree of employment is 50%, with the duration of the internship being extended accordingly (24 weeks).
Independent organization
Independently organizing an internship also counts towards the required academic attainments of the Bachelor’s program. The department itself cannot arrange internships. By way of support, current internship offers from companies are published on the Department of Business Administration’s job portal.
Procedure
Click here to find further information about registering internships and having them accredited.
Freely selectable elective courses in Business Administration (0-26.5 ECTS credits)
Choose focus areas
In order to reach the 120 or 150 ECTS credits for your major subject, students select elective Business Administration courses (0-26.5 ECTS credits) from the rest of the study program. This enables students to focus on certain Business Administration areas, even during the course of their Bachelor’s program.
You can receive accreditations for any Bachelor’s course in Business Administration that is not part of the introductory year or the compulsory courses. Information about the lecture program is available on KSL or on the relevant websites of the various institutes and departments.
BeNeFri program
BeNeFri is a network made up of the universities of Bern, Neuchâtel and Fribourg. It allows students to attend courses at different universities and have them accredited, thereby expanding the lecture program for Business Administration. Click here to find further information.
