Full-time Bachelor's, Master's & MBA degrees in Germany

Full-time studies at CBS in Germany: 

Full-time studies are the classic study model and are normally highly recommended. Full-time courses are based on the assumption that you are fully committed to your studies and can attend lectures, seminars, and events at any time. Whether Bachelor's, Master’s, or MBA, we have the right degree programme for you in our comprehensive full-time programme.

What does a full-time study mean?

A full-time study programme is comparable to a full-time job; the time required is measured in terms of semester hours per week, which you attend in the form of lectures or seminars. In addition, there is the daily preparation and follow-up of the study content. The structure is also similar to the working world when it comes to attendance studies: Lectures are usually held on weekdays, i.e., from Monday to Friday. In exceptional cases, there may be block courses at weekends. In the case of full-time studies, therefore, the studies take up most of the day. The full-time degree programmes offered at the CBS are all attendance study programmes. This means that you attend lectures, seminars, and courses on campus during the semester. In addition to the time spent on campus, you have to plan extra time for studying at home, from lecture revision to writing papers and homework to preparing for exams. A full-time course, therefore, requires a certain amount of self-organisation - even more than a full-time job with regular working hours and a fixed finishing time. In return, you have the opportunity to create some free time for yourself: An early start to the weekend on Friday? Do university sports in the mornings during the week? These great freedoms are simply part of student life, and they build character because you have to handle this flexibility responsibly.

Are you ready for the next step? We have put together an overview of our full-time degree programmes for you here. You can also find an overview of the CBS campuses where you can start your full-time studies here.

What is the workload of a full-time degree?

In Germany, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (Kultusministerkonferenz) has determined that a full-time course of study requires a total of about 32 to 39 hours per week over 46 weeks per year. A full-time Bachelor`s degree at the CBS is designed to encompass 180 ECTS points, distributed over six semesters. In the first four semesters, that is 30 ECTS points per semester. An eight-week compulsory internship in which10 ECTS points are earned, is required once. The fifth and sixth semesters, in which you complete the semester abroad, for example, and of course finally write the Bachelor's thesis, each bring 25 ECTS points.

The full-time Master`s degree comprises 120 ECTS credits and runs over four semesters. In the first two semesters you collect 30 ECTS points each. The internship and the third semester comprise a total of 36 ECTS points. In the fourth semester, which you can optionally spend abroad, you acquire the last 24 ECTS points through the Master's thesis.

How SWC, ECTS, and workloads relate to each other?

Using the first semester of the Bachelor's degree in International Business as an example, we explain how 30 ECTS points can be distributed, namely among eleven subjects: six typical basic business subjects with three ECTS each, two specialist subjects with three ECTS each and three soft skills subjects with little preparation and follow-up work that bring you 2 ECTS point each. As a rule, subjects with three ECTS have two semester hours per week (SWS), which corresponds to one double hour of 90 minutes. In the first semester, you will have about eleven double hours on your timetable, which means a net attendance of 16.5 hours in lecture halls and seminar rooms. Each hour on campus requires about two hours of additional self-study. The amount of work can vary individually depending on the student.

Is a full-time course suitable for me?

Studying full-time is the classic option. If you don't want to do an apprenticeship alongside your studies or don't want to work full-time, a full-time study programme is right for you. A full-time Bachelor's degree lasts three years, a full-time Master's degree two years. During this time, you invest in your education and your future career, which may well last 40 years or more. Most full-time students study directly after leaving school, after a gap year or after vocational training. About half of the students move to another city for this purpose, thus ushering in a completely new phase of life.

What are the requirements for a full-time degree?

The general higher education entrance qualification (Allgemeine Hochschulreife or Fachhoschulreife) is required for full-time Bachelor`s studies at the CBS, i.e., Abitur or Fachabitur. If you have not acquired your school-leaving qualification in Germany, we will check whether this qualification is recognised as a higher education entrance qualification. In most cases, this is a mere formality. At the CBS we have a limited number of study places so it is clear that we cannot accept an unlimited number of students. To accepted at the CBS, it is not the numerus clausus that decides. Instead, with us, you go through an application procedure. Of course, a solid knowledge of English is required for admission to the English-language study programmes.

If you are interested in a Master's degree, you should be able to prove that you have a basic knowledge of economics from your Bachelor's degree. For career changers from the humanities or natural sciences, we offer a preparatory study programme so that you can close gaps in your business knowledge and enter the Master's degree of your choice after one or two semesters. Alternatively, you can also complete an MBA with us!

Should I study full-time or part-time? What is the difference?

With full-time studies, you can expect 40 hours of work per week - mainly from Monday to Friday. With part-time studies, the lectures are divided differently, and a lot takes place at the weekend. At the CBS, we have part-time study programmes that will work perfectly alongside your vocational training or career. Lectures, for example, take place biweekly on Friday evenings and on Saturdays. In return, the semesters are longer, and the lecture-free period is shorter. A part-time Bachelor's degree is spread over eight semesters instead of six.

Check out our part-time degree programmes

What are the advantages of studying full-time?

Full-time study is and remains the fastest way to graduate, as you can concentrate completely on your studies. Studying is fundamentally different from school, vocational training, or working. In particular, the distribution of the workload is not the same every week. So, you'll be working independently, and that clashes with parallel commitments like working in a salaried job. Not to be underestimated is life on campus: the exchange with your fellow students helps you to better understand learning content and to compare your learning progress. And you will also make friendships that will last a lifetime.

Is it possible to work and study full-time?

Working while studying full-time? Many students use this opportunity to gain work experience and earn their own money. When choosing a job, make sure that time flexibility is possible - especially during exam periods. In addition, the times of your lectures change every semester. A full-time job and full-time studies are not compatible. Your top priority should be your studies. Therefore, hourly part-time jobs or home office jobs with flexible deadlines are advisable. Or you can use the lecture-free period for classic holiday jobs. Student jobs in particular give you the opportunity to combine theory and practice. Working students usually work 10-15 hours a week during the lecture period, and an increase is possible during the lecture-free period.