International School of Management (ISM)
For over two decades, the International School of Management (ISM) in Dortmund, Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg – a private, state-recognized University of Applied Sciences – has offered high-quality, practical and career-focused management education programs with a strong international orientation.
Founded in 1990 in Dortmund, the ISM is home to round about 1400 students who pursue Business degrees in a personal atmosphere, closely guided by faculty and staff members.
BACHELOR’S PROGRAM
Bachelor students must combine their business studies with English and either French or Spanish, and complete one or two semesters of study abroad in a European or overseas country. Depending on their specialization, they choose an institution from the ISM’s over 130 partner universities. Moreover, required internships of 24 weeks, twelve of which abroad, as well as consultancy projects are integrated in the different Bachelor study programs. Due to the compact structure of all study programs, full-time students graduate in six or seven semesters with a Bachelor’s degree.
As all programs are mainly taught in German, full-time students have to prove their German language skills with their application. For those who like to spend one or two exchange semesters at the ISM and who do not feel comfortable following lessons taught in German, the ISM offers special courses in the Business Certificate program held in English.
MASTER’S PROGRAM
Students who wish to continue their studies with a Master’s Program can choose between five ISM Programs: M.A. International Management, M.A. Strategic Marketing Management, M.Sc. Finance, M.Sc. International Transport & Logistics or M.A. Strategic Tourism Management.
All programs include 12 weeks internships. Students spend the third semester at one of the ISM’s international partner universities. After returning to Germany there is one last project which they have to finish for their Master’s degree: the Master Thesis which takes 12 to 16 weeks. For international students who do not speak German but English, the ISM offers the M.A. International Management. All classes are taught in English. Large parts of the other Master’s programs – up to 70% of the courses – are held in English. However, German language skills are necessary to complete these programs.
MBA PROGRAM
Since 2004, the ISM has offered an MBA program geared towards graduates of all academic disciplines. Students of this part-time MBA program in General Management graduate within 24 months and spend four modules at partner universities in USA, Brussels, India and Hong Kong. A second program, the MBA Energy Management, started at the ISM in 2009. It is organized in cooperation with the energy companies E.ON AG and RWE AG and is therefore tailored to the particular needs of managers in the field of energy.
SPECIAL OFFERS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
The ISM has numerous international partners within the Erasmus-framework as well as individual cooperations with universities worldwide and welcomes an increasing number of incoming students each semester. Special programs for exchange students in English and in German are offered at the campuses in Dortmund, Frankfurt and Munich.
Full-time master candidates can pursue the International Management Master in English. The program is offered in Dortmund and Frankfurt.
