We live in a time of change: Markets, products, organisations and business models are subject to constant change. How can we keep people and their needs in focus?

The Master's degree in Business Psychology at the HFT Stuttgart prepares you to actively participate in this change and to look for solutions that make this change positive for employees, customers and society. Practical events, active experimentation and freedom for your own ideas form the basis of our course of study. Come to us to actively shape change!

0711-8926 2374 or +49 711 8926 2987
Application deadline

15 June (15 May applicants from non-EU & EU countries)



Study time

4 Semester

Study title

Master of Science (M.Sc.)

Admission requirements

The following requirements must be met for a successful application to the Master's programme in Business Psychology:

  • The study program is offered in German therefore the ability to study in German.
  • First professionally qualifying university degree (Bachelor, Diploma or equivalent) in the fields of business psychology, economics or psychology following a full-time study programme lasting at least three years (180 credit points according to ECTS) with an examination result of at least 2.5.
  • The Bachelor's programme must include courses in the field of business administration and/or psychology of at least 100 credit points. These are to be proven in the overview of modules for the Master's admission and submitted with the application. The Bachelor's program must include courses in the field of business and/or psychology of at least 100 credit points. Evidence of these must be provided in the performance overview modules for master's admission and submitted with the application. Proof of this is not required for degrees from universities in accordance with Annex 2 of the Admission Statutes.
  • Letter of motivation with a description of the study-relevant competences and experience acquired so far, personal ideas and expectations of the studies and the desired profession (max. 2 DIN A4 pages).
  • English language skills, at least at level B2 (European Reference Framework). This level is acquired with the university entrance qualification if an explicit reference is made on the certificate or the language has been studied as a 1st, 2nd or 3rd foreign language at least up to grade 1 (2nd semester). Proof of a separate language test is then not required. In all other cases we require a separate language certificate. Here, level B2 must be explicitly mentioned.

In the case of foreign applicants with foreign certificates, the following additional requirements must also be met/certificates must be available:

  • Ability to study in a foreign language (German).
  • Certificate of the Studienkolleg Konstanz on the recognition of the acquired educational certificates from the country of origin.

Further information on the admission requirements can be found in the Admission and Selection Regulations.

Please note: If you have not submitted your application in full, you can still submit the missing documents - with details of the applicant number and the programme - to the programme secretariat until the application deadline. After this date, no further documents will be considered. Missing documents will not be requested subsequently.

Selection procedure

The allocation of study places is carried out according to the Hochschulvergabeverordnung (HVVO). In addition, our course of study has an internal university selection procedure.

Further information on the selection procedure can be found in the admission and selection statutes.

Study places and numberus clausus (NC)

Our Master's degree program in Business Psychology is enjoying very high demand. In order to ensure personal and individual support, the number of first-year students is limited to 24 per semester.

In the following figure you can see the Numerus Clausus from the past years. The basis for this is the final grade of the Bachelor's certificate. It should be noted that these are approximate values, as the NC is only given after the end of the award procedure and is subject to annual fluctuations.

Start of studiesNummerus Clausus (NC)number of study places
Winter semester 2023/20241,6724
Winter semester 2022/20231,6524
Winter semester 2021/20221,724
Winter semester 2020/20211,724
Winter semester 2019/20201,724
Winter semester 2018/20191,724
Winter semester 2017/20181,824

Content

What does the Master's programme in Business Psychology offer?

The Master's programme in Business Psychology qualifies students to examine economically relevant issues in which the human factor is of central importance from both an economic and a psychological perspective. In this way, (new) approaches to solving problems that arise as a result of complex organisations and markets are found.

In order to optimally prepare students for a subsequent career, a strong practical orientation and a high degree of application orientation are central aspects of the entire Master's programme.

In addition, students should acquire the competence to independently work on complex business psychological issues and to develop new approaches to solutions with the help of scientific methods.

Requirements profile for prospective students

Our course of study is a participatory course of study. We are looking for students who enjoy trying out contents and methods. Our students should enjoy developing new concepts and ideas, experimenting with them and wanting to help shape innovations in business and society in a team. We see our students as future change agents and would like to support them on this path.

[Image: HFT Stuttgart]
Prof. Dr. Patrick Müller,
Dean of Studies Master Business Psychology

Course of studies

Establishment phase

In the first part of the Master's degree in Business Psychology, our students expand their knowledge and acquire further application-oriented methods for working on business psychology issues. The subject-specific knowledge transfer is complemented by the teaching of methodological skills.

The following courses are attended by students in the first two semesters:

  • Basics of business psychology
  • Corporate Finance & Governance
  • Decision making, Behavioral Finance and Risk Management
  • Strategy, organization and innovation
  • Marketing and Consumer Psychology I and II
  • Psychological aspects of organizational behavior I and II
  • Methods I and II
Semester
1-2

Transferphase I

In the second stage of study, studies are strongly project-oriented and individually tailored to the students' fields of interest.

Students have the opportunity to put the knowledge they have gained so far into practice in a company at home or abroad or to work with the professors on exciting research projects in an application context.

Alternatively, there is the possibility to complete this semester as a semester abroad.

Individual combinations of the individual options are also possible.

  • Application and research-oriented practical study project (PSP)
  • Research project in business psychology
  • Stay abroad
Semester
3

Transferphase II

The writing of the master thesis takes up the entire 4th semester. The topics are individually tailored to the research and application interests of the students by the supervising professors together with the students and are usually carried out in cooperation with a company.

  • Master Thesis
Semester
4

Profil

Building your own profile

After our students have laid the foundation for their academic education during their Bachelor's degree, we offer them the opportunity to further develop their profile with our application-oriented Master's degree program in order to position themselves attractively on the job market.

The main focus is on "Psychological aspects of organizational behavior" and "Marketing and consumer psychology". These are complemented by applied research methods.

Methodological training with survey methods (e.g. surveys, interviews) and data analysis (e.g. with statistics programs such as R and SPSS) is offered at a very high level and trains our students to become experts in these subject areas. In this way, previous graduates have been able to lay an important foundation for a scientific as well as practical career.

Deepening the profile

In addition to teaching the general study contents, we place great importance in our Master's programme on enabling our students to build and sharpen their individual and innovative profile. Therefore we offer them the opportunity to design their studies as flexible as possible. In doing so, we encourage them to think outside the box and encourage a high degree of independence.

In addition to the classic study contents, you can therefore attend courses that deal with current topics such as Big Data or business ethics. A further example of this is the literature course we offer, in which you are taught content that we believe is essential for competent consideration of current issues.

The third semester also offers the opportunity to gain experience in practice, abroad or in research.

Profile depth through interdisciplinary competences

In close cooperation with the didactics centre of the HFT Stuttgart, we offer students a wide range of courses in addition to the compulsory courses of the curriculum, which can be attended voluntarily as part of their studies. This gives students the opportunity to strengthen their interdisciplinary competences and thus sharpen their own profile.

You can attend various certified additional qualifications free of charge as part of the Integral Studies programme. These include, for example, further key qualifications, events on the topics of sustainability and ethics, as well as a wide range of language courses.

You can find further information on the courses offered by the Didactics Centre here.

 

Our laboratories

In the Business Psychology Lab, students have the unique opportunity to borrow various research tools and use them for their own research projects during their studies. In this way, you can try out the various methods in practice and learn how to use the tools.

Julia S., Student Master Business Psychology

You can find more information about the Business Psychology Lab here:

The Innovation Acceptance Lab deals with the human perspective of innovation: how users want to and can interact with the technology of our future. With this approach, new technologies and innovations of all kinds are analyzed, from new transportation solutions, such as air taxis, to new applications of artificial intelligence, such as digital assistants. Students can become active in research here themselves and support our research team, for example, within the framework of projects, as a student assistant or as part of a research practice.

[Image: HFT Stuttgart]
Prof. Dr. Patrick Planning ,
Co-Founder Innovation Acceptance Lab

You can find more information about the Innovation Acceptance Lab here:

Practice

Practical training

As a university for applied sciences, we train our students for practical applications. Practical professional experience is therefore integrated into the curriculum in various ways. During their studies, our students come into contact with companies and company representatives at various points, can apply their specialist knowledge in the company and build up a network for their future profession.

Creating added value through networking

Our course of studies sees itself as a network partner for representatives of business and science in the Stuttgart region and offers a platform for regular exchange with each other with the Day of Business Psychology. Here, too, our students are involved and have the opportunity to network with companies.

38 %

of our teachers in the Master's program are lecturers from the field.

78 %

of the final theses are written in cooperation with a practice partner.

Integration of practice in the course of study

Guest lectures

practice-based training

Guest speakers are regularly invited to give exciting lectures on their experiences from corporate practice and current challenges.

Examples of guest lectures:

  • Your own boss in start-up?! Ways of starting up a business
  • Kill the Company - When students question a business model that has been damn successful for years
  • Agile as a manager - In a (fr-)agile working model in the midst of classic corporate structures

 

PSP

Practical study project

The practical study project integrated into the Master's programme can be used by students to do a six-month company internship. It gives the students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have gained during their studies in business practice and to establish contacts with potential employers.

Variety of the PSP

  • From Stuttgart to Munich to the world!
  • From Robert Bosch GmbH to the BMW Group to Spiegel Institut Holding!
  • From project management to consumer research and strategy consulting!

With us everything is included!

Master Thesis

Theory meets practice

The majority of our students write their Master's thesis in cooperation with a company and investigate issues relevant to the company.

Exemplary topics

  • Startup meets group: Measures to support the cultural integration of xxx GmbH and parts of xxx AG into a joint company
  • Creation and validation of a personal development program for Scrum Masters in an agile work environment
  • Evaluating the User Experience with the SoFi software by thinkstep - an interactive tool to help organizations reach their sustainability goals

TdWP

Day of Business Psychology

Every 1.5 years the HFT holds the Day of Business Psychology. On this day, numerous representatives from business and science meet to exchange views on topics of business psychology and current relevance. In addition to inspiring specialist lectures, interactive formats offer space for linking research and practice.

Our guiding themes so far

  • Business Transformation - Science meets Practice (2020)
  • # digitalhuman - potentials, risks and visions (2018)
  • Challenges of digitisation for the world of work and markets (2017)

International

Even though we hear it with mixed feelings when students describe their semester abroad as "the best time of their studies", we can understand what they mean.

With the number of students going abroad, we are one of the proud leaders in the university. Whether it is a short stay, an internship abroad, a semester abroad or even a double degree - our students are enthusiastic about stays abroad of all kinds.

They all come back enriched linguistically, culturally and personally, acquire a "global mindset", a good feeling for intercultural differences and, in the process, increase their chances of finding attractive positions on the international job market.

Routes abroad

In general, there are different ways for our students to go abroad:

  • Short stay: These four-week language and cultural stays are usually designed as an "entry offer" to study abroad and take place during the semester break. During these summer or winter schools, students have the opportunity to get to know the language and culture of a country. Russia and China in particular have proved to be popular destinations for short stays for our students in the past. The International Office organizes these offers throughout the university.
  • Internship abroad: Those who would rather gain practical, job-related experience abroad can complete an internship abroad. In addition to the International Office, the Internship Office can also help you find a suitable internship. The advantage of an internship abroad is that you can experience the actual working life abroad, but the disadvantage is sometimes that the workforces of companies usually have a heterogeneous age structure, which can make social integration (compared to a semester abroad) somewhat more difficult.
  • Semester abroad: Of course we also offer the possibility of a semester abroad. This can be flexibly integrated into the course of study at any time, but the 3rd semester has proved to be particularly successful. We cooperate with various partner universities worldwide so that, as a rule, no tuition fees need to be paid at the university abroad (exceptions are the private partner universities).
  • Double Degree: If a semester abroad is not enough for you, you can also opt for a double degree. Currently we offer the possibility of a double degree together with Napier University (Edinburgh). This involves spending the 3rd and 4th semester abroad. The Master's thesis is primarily supervised by the university abroad, while the HFT provides secondary supervision. The Master's thesis written abroad is recognised at the HFT. The Napier University awards the Master degree "International Business Management". As Napier University is a private university, tuition fees are payable.

The International Office is available to answer general questions about studying abroad and questions about financing.

Our partner universities

Impressions of our students from their stay abroad

Eine Frau schaut auf einen Fluss

 

 

"Helsinki was love at first sight and a perfect semester abroad with exciting courses.

Immersing yourself in new cultures, perfecting your English and learning Finnish, eating cinnamon buns and experiencing the reindeer/hiking in nature - Finland has everything you need to develop and feel good as a student".

Lena Lein Students Master Business Psychology

 

"I am super happy with the experiences I have had and the new friends I have made. I would not give this experience back at any price in the world.

For me in Korea, I created memories that I can look back on all my life and that give me joy. I can only recommend everyone to have the experience of a semester abroad.

I would especially recommend Korea if there is interest in the country, otherwise it can quickly become a personal challenge.

Karen Unverfahren Students Master Business Psychology

"I look back with great gratitude on the last five months I have been able to spend in Mérida. In addition to the great insights into the Mexican lecture business, I was able to make an incredible number of new international friendships that will leave a lasting impression on me.

I am very happy to have completed another semester abroad and to have visited so many beautiful places.

I can definitely recommend this experience to others.

Patrick Nuss Student Master Business Psychology

Career

You've graduated. And now?

The Master's degree program in Business Psychology offers a wide range of career opportunities and prepares our students ideally for a career start in various fields and industries. Through the combination of economic and psychological skills, the Master's programme fills a gap in demand that can hardly be covered by any other programme to date.

All doors are open to graduates - regardless of whether they decide to pursue a career in business or science.

For example, our students choose the following fields of activity:

In addition, there is the possibility of founding a company after graduation. In addition, the Master of Science entitles you to do a doctorate, should you decide on a scientific career.

 

FAQ

As a rule, the application portals are activated about 6 weeks before the application deadline (about the beginning of May).

Application deadlines for the winter semester:

  • 15 June (applicants from EU countries & applicants from non-EU countries

 

No. All applications received in full by the application deadline will be considered equally. It makes no difference whether the application was received on the first or last day of the application period.

  • First professionally qualifying university degree (bachelor, diploma or equivalent) in the fields of business psychology, economics or psychology after a full-time study programme of at least three years (180 credit points according to ECTS) with an examination result of at least 2.5.
  • The bachelor's programme must include courses in the field of business and/or psychological teaching of at least 100 credit points. These must be proven in the overview of modules for the Master's admission and submitted with the application.
  • English language skills at least at level B2 (European Reference Framework). This level is acquired with the university entrance qualification if an explicit reference is made on the certificate or the language has been studied as a 1st, 2nd or 3rd foreign language at least up to grade 1 (2nd semester). Proof of a separate language test is then not required. In all other cases we require a separate language certificate. Here, level B2 must be explicitly mentioned.
  • Ability to study in a foreign language (German)

It should be noted that the following grades are indicative, as the NC is only established after the end of the award procedure and is subject to annual fluctuations.

Start of studies Nummerus Clausus (NC)
Winter semester 2021/2022 1,7
Winter semester 2020/2021 1,7
Winter semester 2019/2020 1,7
Winter semester 2018/2019 1,7
Winter semester 2017/2018 1,8

An examination of the individual modules by the programme will only be carried out after receipt of the application form. Unfortunately, no information can be given in advance as to whether your modules meet the requirements. However, you will find a list of the modules that we credit below. This list is exemplary, i.e. modules with other names can also be recognised if their content corresponds to the modules listed below.

Business management modules:

  • Consulting
  • Controlling
  • Fundamentals of business administration
  • Fundamentals of economics
  • Basics of law
  • Investment and financing
  • cost and performance accounting
  • Marketing, market research and sales
  • Organization
  • Personnel Management
  • Production and Logistics
  • Accounting and financial management
  • Taxation
  • Corporate Management
  • Business Information Systems
  • Auditing
  • Scientific competencies/ research methods (experimental/empirical research project)

 

Psychological Modules

  • General Psychology
  • Industrial and organisational psychology
  • biological psychology
  • differential psychology
  • Diagnostics
  • Introduction Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Statistics
  • Test theory/test and questionnaire construction
  • Scientific competencies/ research methods (experimental/empirical research project)

Please send your application documents to the student secretariat of the university.

Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences Student secretariat Angelika Jachmann Schellingstr. 24 70174 Stuttgart

If you wish to submit additional documents, please send them to the Student Secretariat, quoting the applicant number.

Unfortunately, we cannot make a general statement here, as this depends on whether you receive the notification of admission according to the normal procedure or whether you will be given a study place as a successor.

Notifications of admission in the normal procedure are sent out around mid-July.

 

 

If you wish to accept your promised place of study, you must complete the online enrollment by the date stated in the notification of admission. You then send the documents requested in the notification of admission to the following address:

Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences Student Secretariat Schellingstr. 24 70174 Stuttgart

You are welcome to register personally from 09:00-12:00 hrs Mo.-Fr. in room 1/124. If you miss the appointment, your admission will expire.

Applicants who have not acquired their academic qualifications at a German-speaking institution will be required to take German language tests to prove their ability to study at German universities, i.e. the "Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang (DSH)", the test "Deutsch als Fremdsprache (TestDaF)" or the "Prüfungsteil Deutsch" of the assessment test at preparatory colleges (Feststellungsprüfung an Studienkollegs) or further evidence recognised according to the framework regulations on German language tests at German universities (RO-DT); respective minimum level according to RODT.

 

Contact person

Sophie Marie Gebert
Sophie Marie Gebert sophie-marie.gebert@hft-stuttgart.de +49 711 8926 2374
Klara Ehrmann
Klara Ehrmann klara.ehrmann@hft-stuttgart.de +49 711 8926 2910
instagram Logo
Follow us on Instagram