Global Economics and Management

At the beginning of the 21st century the world is facing complex economic challenges. These challenges include global financial and economic crises, environmental devastation and catastrophes, poverty and inequality. Successful management of these challenges will have to come from many different institutions, especially from innovative national and multinational firms, from governments and from international organizations. Economic decisions made in these institutions are closely related to societies’ preferences, to the functioning of political systems and to efficient communication and cooperation. Successfully confronting economic challenges requires not only knowledge from the two academic disciplines of management and economics, but an interdisciplinary education that incorporates contributions from many other disciplines. The curriculum of the Global Economics and Management program responds to these demands by combining modules in economics and management with courses in history, political science, sociology and communication science as well as as courses in engineering and the natural sciences. Elective courses can be used for self-defined areas of specialization such as International Political History, Energy and Environmental Policy, Quantitative Methods, International Logistics, Intercultural Behavior and Social Entrepreneurship.

The GEM curriculum not only prepares students intellectually for the challenges of cooperation across disciplinary borders, but also socially and culturally for the challenges of working in cross-cultural and international environments. Currently, students from about 100 countries are enrolled at Jacobs University. They represent a wide range of experiences and concerns from different regions, cultures and traditions. Students live and work together on an English-speaking campus. In their daily lives, in extra-curricular activities as well as in their studies, they define and re-define ideas and concepts for responsible leadership and sustainable development in the 21st century.

Besides a transdisciplinary curriculum and a cross-cultural learning experience, the third dimension of the BA in Global Economics and Management is an orientation towards practical applicability of knowledge. Most courses are taught in a problem-oriented style. Specific GEM seminars feature guest lectures from academics and practitioners. Students are encouraged to do two internships. Since experience shows that quite a few international students from Jacobs University become interested in their host country Germany and, in a later phase of their studies, in European and especially German labor markets, students are expected to acquire basic German language skills in their first two years of study. For German students four courses in a foreign language are mandatory.

The curricula of Jacobs University's undergraduate programs have developed since the start of teaching in fall 2001. As a result the precise program of study for students matriculating in different years can differ. For this reason all students should refer to the table of required courses for the year in which they first matriculated at Jacobs University.

The tables show the precise program of study for each student in a specific major. Students can refer to this information for an overarching timetable of study over the six semesters of bachelor study. Naturally home school electives and transdisciplinary courses are not listed.

Course Requirements for Students matriculated in the year: 2011 | 2010

Organisation of the Coursework:

The sequence of the courses leads students from more general to more specific subjects. Each course lasts one semester (14 weeks). Students usually meet twice a week for sessions of 75 minutes. The course content is largely pre-defined by the curriculum. Introductory courses are generally offered as lectures and more advanced courses as seminars. Participation in a course requires electronic registration. Courses can be dropped or added during the first three weeks of a semester. After that deadline, participation is mandatory. Each course has its own website in campus.net with important information such as a short summary of the course content and formal course requirements.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Bausch
Adjunct Professor of Strategic Management and Controlling

Prof. Dr. Gert Brunekreeft
Professor of Energy Economics

Prof. Dr. Matthijs Bogaards
Professor of Political Science

Prof. Dr. Werner Bergholz
Professor of Electrical Engineering

Prof. Dr. Adele Diederich
Professor of Psychology

Prof. Dr. Dennis A.V. Dittrich
Professor of Behavioral Economics

Prof. Dr. Philipp Genschel
Professor of Political Science

Prof. Dr. Michael Graff
Professor of Development Economics

Prof. Dr. Michael Hülsmann
Professor of Systems Management

Prof. Dr. Herbert Jäger
Professor of Computational Sciences

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Kühnen
Professor of Psychology

Prof. Dr. Christoph Lattemann
Professor of Business Administration and Information Management

Prof. Dr. Peter Ludes
Professor of Mass Communication

Prof. Dr. Guido Möllering
Professor of Organization and Management

Prof. Dr. Marion G. Müller
Professor of Mass Communication

Prof. Dr. Steven Ney
Professor of Policy Sciences

Dr. Marcel Oliver, PhD
Professor of Mathematics

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Pfaffenberger
Adjunct Professor of Economics

Prof. Dr. Georg Ress
Professor of International Law

Prof. Dr. Christian Stamov Rossnagel
Professor of Organizational Behavior

Prof. Dr. Klaus Schoemann
Professor of Sociology

Prof. Dr. Rainer Tetzlaff
Professor of African and Development Studies

Prof. Dr. Colin Vance
Adjunct Professsor in Quantitative Methods

Prof. Dr. Sven Voelpel
Professor of Business Administration

Prof. Dr. Welf Werner
Professor of International Economics

Prof. Dr. Katja Windt
Professor of Global Production Logistics

Faculty members who teach methods courses are:

Prof. Dr. Klaus Boehnke
Professor of Social Science Methodology

Dr. Karina De Santis
University Lecturer in Statistics and Methods

Dr. Özen Odag
University Lecturer in Methods

Prof. Dr. Margrit Schreier
Professor of Empirical Methods

Prof. Dr. Adalbert FX Wilhelm
Professor of Statistics

Students with a BA in Global Economics and Management will find a wide range of attractive career options in private business, governmental institutions, international organizations, business associations, the media and non-profit organizations. Due to their experience working and living with students from 100 countries on Jacobs University’s international campus, graduates will be well-prepared to take on responsibility in multi-cultural work environments. They will have a specific advantage competing for jobs that require not only basic skills and qualifications in the two academic fields of business administration and economics but also inter-cultural skills, a solid knowledge of socio-economic framework conditions in a globalized world as well as practical problem-solving skills and methods. Such jobs are increasingly offered in all institutions mentioned above, but specifically in international organizations, multinational corporations and governmental institutions. If students decide to use their elective courses to specialize they will find specific opportunities in areas such as market research and human resources as well as in the logistics, energy, utility and environmental industries. Students are moreover qualified to work in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), many of which have a strong global orientation in Germany and in other European countries.