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BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

About the programme 
Language: English  (See language requirements)  | Place of study: Aarhus  |  Commencement: August / September and January / February (only applicants with a legal right of admission can apply)

Introduction

The Master’s degree in Business Administration will provide you with a theoretical understanding of business studies relevant to the fiscal and organiational management of companies. You will work with economic theory and formal modelling as you learn how best to manage and optimise business operations. The degree gives you great freedom to design your own academic profile within, for example, international marketing, management accounting, innovation management and human resource management.

The degree in Business Administration gives you the possibility to combine business administration with another Master’s supplementary subject or you may choose the Business Psychology or Business Innovation specialisation.

Career options

With a degree in Business Administration, you can find employment within the marketing or human resources departments of international companies, within the public sector or with the recruitment departments of consultancy firms. Your career options will be directly influenced by your choice of Master’s supplementary subject. If you for instance choose a language as a supplementary subject, you would increase your chances of working within marketing, while combining business administration with psychology would give you opportunities within HR and recruitment.

Admission requirements

In this section you can learn more about the admission requirements relevant to the master's degree programme in Business Administration. Depending on your educational background and your qualifications, there are different ways to meet the admission requirements: 

1. International and other qualifications


This section is relevant for you, if you have: 

  • a Bachelor's degree or equivalent from an institution outside of Denmark or
  • a Bachelor's degree or equivalent from a Danish institution, which does not ensure you a 'Legal right of admission´ or 'Direct admission'.

The two sections listed below are relevant only for students with a bachelor's degree from a Danish institution: 

2. Legal right of admission
3. Direct admission


Below you will also be able to learn more about language requirements and find out whether or not this master's degree programme has a limited intake. 


1. International and other qualifications

If you have an international educational background, you must meet both the general admission requirement and the specific admission requirements: 

General admission requirement

You must have a bachelor's degree or equivalent that is comparable to a Danish bachelor's degree in both level and duration (180 ECTS). 

For more information about how your bachelor's degree is assessed, please see the national database

Specific admission requirements

If you meet the general admission requirement, the university will continue on to assess whether or not you meet the specific admission requirements. 

You can be admitted to the master's programme if the university assesses that your education has a level, scope, and content that corresponds to the academic requirements specified below. 

Subject area Number of ECTS
Methods (IT and statistics must be covered) 15
Marketing  7,5
Finance  7,5
Accounting  7,5
Organisation- and Leadership Theory  7,5
Microeconomics og Macroeconomics (both subjects must be included)  10
Additional ECTS points within the abovementioned areas  25
Bachelor’s project  10
Total  90
If you apply for the two-track specialisation on the Business Administration programme, you must also have passed the following:  Number of ECTS
A Bachelor’s supplementary subject within one of the subjects taught at upper-secondary school level. 45

We cannot assess in advance whether your specific degree will meet the above requirements. Therefore, we recommend that you apply for the programme if you believe that you meet the academic requirements. In this regard, it is a good idea to compare your degree with the programmes that provide direct admission. 

2. Legal right of admission

The following Bachelor's degree programme(s) from Aarhus University entitles you to an offer of admission to the Master's degree programme in Business Administration: 

  •  Bachelor's degree programme in Business Administration from Aarhus University    

Please note that you must apply for admission to the Master's degree programme within three years of completing your Bachelor's degree programme. 

Learn more about Legal right of admission.

3. Direct admission

Certain Bachelor's degree programmes from Aarhus University and various other Danish Universities have been determined to meet the admission requirements to this Master's degree programme in Business Administration: 

  • Bachelor's degree programme in Business Administration with supplementary subject from Aarhus University 
  • Bachelor's degree programme in Economics and Business Administration, (HA – generel Erhvervsøkonomi) from the curriculum 2017 onwards, from Aarhus University*  
  • Bachelor's degree programme in Economics and Business Administration, (HA – generel Erhvervsøkonomi from either Copenhagen Business School, University of Southern Denmark, Aalborg University or Roskilde University*


*Please note that if your BSc in Economics and Business Administration from Aarhus University or another Danish educational institution was completed before the year 2010, it will be assessed in connection with the processing of your application whether you meet the admission requirements described in the section "Admission with other education". 

Download appendix for your application

You must fill in this appendix and upload it to the application portal. The appendix helps the Admission Board to assess your application.
Download appendix


Limited intake and selection criteria

This master's degree programme has a limited intake. 

Because of the limited intake all qualified applicants will be prioritised according to a set of selection critieria (see below). 

Meeting the admission requirements does not automatically ensure your offer of admission. Only if you have a specific bachelor's degree from Aarhus University with a so-called 'legal right of admission' will you be guarenteed an offer of admission to this master's degree programme.

Selection criteria

If there are more qualified applicants than available student places, the selection will be based on the following criteria (each criterion counts for 1/3): 

  1. Grades from the qualifying degree 

  2. Grades achieved in relevant subject fields: 

    • Management and organisational theory

    • Methods 

Please note that grades achieved after the application deadline are not included in the grade point average (GPA). 

  1. Relevant subject fields (measured in ECTS). In this assessment, ECTS credits that are a part of the admission requirements described under ‘Other qualifying degrees’ are not included.  

    • ​​​​​​​Management and organisational theory

    • Methods

* The relevant subject fields are evaluated based on the following point system: 1 point per additional ECTS within the relevant field. You can earn a maximum of 15 points in this criterion. Example: If you have 10 ECTS in a relevant field where the requirement is 7.5 ECTS, you will receive 2.5 points. 

English language requirements

In order to be admitted to this programme you must meet the university's english language requirements

Students with bachelor's degree from Aarhus University with a so-called 'Legal right of admission' are exempt from the English language requirement. 

Assesment of qualifications

Unfortunately, Aarhus University is not able to assess your qualifications beforehand. In order for your qualifications to be assessed you must apply for admission. To learn more, please go to Assessment of your qualifications


Programme structure

You can choose between two specialisations:

  • You can choose to combine business administration with a Master’s supplementary subject. Here you will initially continue with the supplementary subject you have previously studied for your Bachelor’s degree, before continuing with business administration courses until you complete the degree with your Master’s thesis.
  • You can choose a more focused specialisation combining business administration with psychology or Innovation. Read more about the Business Psychology and Business Innovation specialisation.

Academic regulations


Student life

Learning in an International Context

At Aarhus BSS, we conduct research at the highest academic level.

All researchers employed are engaged in research projects covering a wide range of different sub-jects and focusing on knowledge and skills considered essential for professional business activities in the global marketplace. All faculty have both research and teaching responsibilities, which means that our teaching is continually based on the latest research results.

Aarhus BSS is very internationally oriented. The broad scope of our research activities and edu-cational programmes enable us to attract researchers, teachers, and students from all over the world, and this creates an international environment for research and learning in which academic views are ex-changed, experiences are gathered and friendships are formed.

Aarhus University is a leading university in Denmark in building student exchange opportuni-ties. The university encourages all students to spend time studying abroad. Every year, more than 700 students from Aarhus BSS go abroad to participate in exchange programmes around the world at our more than 300 partner universities. About the same number of students from all over the world come to participate in the exchange programme in Aarhus, and this contributes to a truly interna-tional learning atmosphere.

Follow the student life at Aarhus University

-experienced, photographed and filmed by the students themselves.

With thousands of pictures #AUInternational, #AarhusUni gives insight into the everyday life as a student at AU; the parties, procrastination, exams and all the other ways you’ll spend your time at university.

The photos belong to the users, shared with #AUInternational and #AarhusUni.

Career

Job functions for grads

The chart shows the five most common types of work for graduates 1-2 years after finishing their degree. The data is derived from a survey made by Epinion for the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and Aarhus University in 2020.

With a degree in Business Administration, you can find employment within the marketing or human resources departments of international companies, within the public sector or with the recruitment departments of consultancy firms. Your career options will be directly influenced by your choice of Master’s supplementary subject. If you for instance choose a language as a supplementary subject, you would increase your chances of working within marketing, while combining business administration with psychology would give you opportunities within HR and recruitment.