What does the day-to-day work of business economists look like?

Business economists FH can work in all areas of business and in companies in all sectors. They are trained to work in management with tasks in the field of business administration. As an assistant to the management or in a staff position, they analyze the course of business, evaluate data and statistics and calculate key figures. As head of operational accounting, they are responsible, for example, for the annual financial statements, balance sheet and income statement, prepare cost and performance calculations and calculate the profitability of products and services. A management function in the IT or HR area involves personnel management tasks, personnel selection and responsibility for the company's IT strategy.

As a contact person for business partners and external bodies, they represent the company, lead negotiations and prepare strategic decisions. Within the company or the Group, they are the contact person for managers and advise them on business management issues.

The specific job profiles for business economists are varied and very diverse.

Target group and skills: Who is the Bachelor of Business Administration program at a university of applied sciences suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The Bachelor of Business Administration program is suitable for the following groups of people:

• Commercial professionals with a vocational baccalaureate who wish to prepare for a management position
• People who aspire to a position as a specialist in the field of business administration

Prospective Business Economists FH should have the following personal qualities and skills:

• Business management thinking
• Communication skills
• Analytical thinking
• Decisiveness

Requirements for admission to the Bachelor of Business Administration program at a university of applied sciences:

As a rule, the following admission requirements* are demanded for a degree course in Business Administration:

• Federal certificate of proficiency (EFZ) and vocational baccalaureate in business and services.

Or

• Other vocational baccalaureate, gymnasiale Matura, Fachmatura and relevant one-year internship/work experience in the commercial sector

Or

• Graduates of a higher technical college (HF) in the same or a related subject area

Note:Some universities of applied sciences offer preliminary courses (e.g. mathematics, English, accounting)

In general, universities of applied sciences offer direct, i.e. examination-free admission, as well as a so-called admission procedure (e.g. entrance examination, admission "sur dossier", i.e. examination of personal documents). In addition: Depending on previous education and experience, it is sometimes possible to have credits recognized. The decision on this lies with the universities of applied sciences.

*Good to know: The respective universities of applied sciences decide independently on the admission procedure for Bachelor of Business Administration courses. They can largely design their courses themselves. Institutional accreditation in accordance with the Higher Education Funding and Coordination Act (HFKG) (Chapter 5.) of the federal government is a prerequisite for the designation right "university of applied sciences" or "university" and "university of teacher education", the granting of federal contributions and program accreditation.

Subject matter and content of the course

The respective university of applied sciences is basically free to design the Bachelor of Business Administration program. It is therefore quite possible that the subject matter may differ slightly from university of applied sciences to university of applied sciences. The thematic focus of the course content may also vary slightly.

As a rule, the following contents are covered in a Business Administration degree course:

• Business Administration (BWL)
• Economics (VWL)
• Management
• Management and organization
• Law
• Business informatics
• Marketing and communication
• Information management
• Mathematics and statistics

After the assessment phase in the first year of study, students then have the opportunity to choose a specialization in the main course.

Here is a selection (note: the specializations are also determined by the respective university of applied sciences, so there may be differences):

• Accounting & Controlling
• Banking & Finance
• General Management
• Human Resource Management
• Marketing & Communications
• Taxation
• Tourism
• Etc.

Costs and financing of further training

The costs vary depending on the provider, training location and training model and also depend on the sponsorship of the university of applied sciences (public, semi-private, private). In general, the following costs can be expected for the 6-8 semester Bachelor of Business Administration course:

• Course feesFees: between CHF 700 and CHF 1000 per semester (public school) for residents of Switzerland. Students from abroad must expect higher course fees.
• Application/registration feebetween CHF 200.- and CHF 300.-
• Examination fees (per semester)are normally included in the course fees
• Additional costsSome providers charge extra costs for teaching materials, training documents, copies/printouts, student ID/campus card, etc. Please contact the university of your choice directly to find out what extra costs you can expect.

Duration of study, training model, number of teaching hours, teaching format and learning effort

• Duration of studies and training model:The Bachelor of Business Administration degree program has a modular structure and lasts 6 semesters in the full-time model or at least 8 semesters in the part-time model (in addition, a professional activity of at least 50% is usually required; 60% to max. 80% is recommended).
• Number of lessons:Academic achievements are recorded in ECTS points (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System Points), a type of tool for the standardized study structure of Bachelor's and Master's degree courses at universities. As a rule, 180 ECTS points are required for a Bachelor's degree, which corresponds to 4,500-5,400 hours of work. (One ECTS point corresponds to a student workload of 25 to 30 working hours). This includes all study units such as lectures, tutorials, exercises, coursework, semester examinations, etc.
• Teaching format:In addition to traditional classroom teaching, many universities of applied sciences now also offer online courses and forms of learning.
• Learning effort:You should allow sufficient time to prepare for and follow up on the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style, learning speed and chosen training model.

Degree, diploma and title

During the Bachelor of Business Administration program, the respective modules are completed with a performance assessment. These can be semester or module examinations, project or seminar work, papers, presentations, discussions and case studies.

The final qualification procedure of a Business Administration degree program consists of a Bachelor's thesis. This is an independent written work, which is written by the students individually and usually in the last two semesters of study. The thesis deals with a topic from the subject area and should demonstrate that the students are able to work on a task in a scientifically well-founded manner and independently within a given period of time and in compliance with the formal requirements. As a rule, the Bachelor's thesis is defended in a presentation.

Here too, the respective university of applied sciences determines the details.

Diploma and title

Students who have earned at least 180 ECTS credits and have passed the Bachelor's thesis and presentation in Bachelor of Business Administration are awarded a Bachelor's degree from a federally accredited university of applied sciences and are entitled to use the title "Bachelor of Science [FH] in Business Administration" or "Bachelor of Science [FH] in Business Administration".