What you can expect in the Sustainability & Change degree program

Sustainability & Change deals with business and economic issues in combination with economic, social, and ecological perspectives on the sustainable management of companies and organizations. Business administration focuses on business-related content and deals with the organization, steering, and management of companies. In contrast, economics looks at the macroeconomic context and deals with the development of wages, prices, production, and trade.

In addition to the basics of business administration and economics, you will acquire specialist knowledge on the topics of sustainability, transformation, and innovation. You deal with the following questions, among others: How can the economy and society be made sustainable? How can innovations be initiated and the necessary change processes implemented?

Since economic and business decisions are always based on data or numbers, mathematics and statistics also play an important role in this degree program.

• In comparison: All degree programs offered by the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences

From semester 1 - semester 3, you will gain in-depth insights into the topics of Sustainability & Change and also learn about and understand the fundamentals of business administration and economics. Since you are studying at a university and we do not only train people to reproduce information but also to think about it and shape new concepts, we focus on methodological basics in the first semesters. The methodological basics include, for example, statistics and mathematics. You'll learn to evaluate and interpret data.

From the 4th semester onwards, you can choose from 7 specialization area modules related to sustainable management according to your interests. This way you create an individual profile for yourself.

At the end of your studies, you will write your Bachelor's thesis and can further customize your studies and sharpen your personal profile by integrating an internship or by taking additional elective modules. The internship will be credited to your studies and can be completed in Germany or abroad. You can choose from a wide and varied range of elective modules depending on your interests or what profession you’d like to pursue.

You want to know more?

Detailed information about the course and structure of the degree program can be downloaded here:

Curriculum (PDF, 1,6 MB)

• Module descriptions
• Study Compass: Info about organizing your studies

Are you wondering whether the Sustainability & Change degree program is right for you? To apply, you must first meet formal criteria:

(I) University entrance qualification
(II) Study orientation test

In addition, the degree program should fit your interests and personality. The best way to check whether this is the case is to look at the information above. For a better understanding of the degree program, our graphic shows you which school subjects are in this program. Have the study contents aroused your interest?

Here is another brief overview of the most important interests and skills you should bring with you:

• Interest in issues of economic, social, and ecological development of companies and society.
• Good mathematical skills: You will need these, for example, for the mandatory modules in statistics. Don't worry, if your math skills are not the best, we offer numerous support options (e.g. math pre-course). We do our best to make sure you don’t fail out of the program just because of the statistics courses!
• Good English skills: You should be able to read and understand the reading materials, which are often in English. 
• Independence: At the University you are your own boss and no one checks if you have registered for all exams. From now on it's up to you!
• Self-discipline: Did you understand the material in the last lecture? At the University, no one makes sure you’ve understood everything. This is a great freedom and at the same time you should know that you are responsible for motivating yourself from now on. Little tip: Find friendly fellow students and motivate each other!

You can study business administration and economics at almost any university and thus embark on a promising career in management. So why shouldn't you take the classic route and instead opt for Sustainability & Change in Hohenheim?

• The program specializes you in sustainable management and therefore reflects your values and interests more than a traditional business degree. At the same time, however, you are broadly positioned thanks to the fundamentals included in the program and can also work in classic business areas.

• With a focus on sustainable management, you are ideally positioned for the future. Sustainability is more than ever in the focus of us consumers, and your expertise after graduation will set you apart from traditional economists.

• We are experts in the field of sustainable management. Our university-wide focus is the bioeconomy, which looks at the economics of the future: toward biobased products and more sustainable production methods.

• The combination of these concepts in a single degree program is unique in Germany.

• You can organize your studies individually and flexibly. You can choose 40% of the study content according to your interests and future plans. You can follow through with your studies and even integrate an internship and stay abroad. Or you may take some time off in between to gain more practical experience or to travel.

• We maintain close contacts with companies and organizations, and our location in the Stuttgart economic region offers many opportunities to gain practical experience.