FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions

Transcription

1 Master of Arts International Business Administration FAQ Last update Frequently Asked Questions Questions regarding the course of studies Does the master s programme also begin in the summer semester? No. The M. A. International Business Administration (MiBA) commences once a year only, at the start of the winter semester. Questions regarding the application process What is STiNE? STiNE is the student information network that provides valuable support to students from their initial application to completion of studies (and even beyond that as alumni). To apply to a programme at the University of Hamburg you must use the online application form on STiNE (at hamburg.de). How do I apply via STiNE? Once you have set up an applicant s account in STiNE you may log in repeatedly during the application period to complete the application form. You must submit the completed form both as an electronic copy via STiNE and as a paper copy by post. Please send the print out of the STiNE application form along with the required documentation to the Office of Studies (Studienbüro) at the Department of Socioeconomics, M.A. International Business Administration. STiNE is not working. Who can I contact for assistance? If you experience technical difficulties using the STiNE portal please immediately contact: [email protected]. I don t understand a particular question in STiNE. Who can I contact for assistance? If you do not understand a particular question on the online application form please contact: May I submit a paper application only without going through STiNE? No. Will I receive a letter acknowledging receipt of my application? After completing your online STiNE-application form you will receive automatically electronic acknowledgement. This is only an acknowledgement of receipt of the application form! The university does not send out acknowledgements of receipt of the documentation submitted by post. We ask that you refrain from contacting the university to inquire about your application. If you wish to receive acknowledgement of receipt you should send your application by registered post. Does the closing date for applications refer to the date the documents are received or to the date they are posted? The date the documents are received applies. Universtity of Hamburg School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences Department of Socioeconomics M. A. International Business Administration - Von-Melle-Park Hamburg Tel: [email protected] - Seite 1 von 6

2 Is it relevant to apply at the beginning of the application period? No. It has no effect if you apply on the first or the last day of the application period. The first screening of application documents will be held after the application deadline. If an application is rejected will the application documents be returned to the applicant? No, please note that you must submit simple copies of the required documents (exception: the letter of recommendation from university lecturer must be submitted in the original). Questions regarding admission requirements Primary degree I completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in the Netherlands. Is this equivalent to a B.A. or B.Sc.? Regarding the recognition of foreign third level degrees please check at to find out the equivalency or recognition status of your degree within the German educational system. Anabin is an acronym for Anerkennung und Bewertung ausländischer Bildungsnachweise (Recognition and Evaluation of Foreign Educational Qualifications). This database contains detailed documentation on the educational systems of numerous foreign states, the academic degrees awarded there, and the value accorded to those degrees by the Central Office for Foreign Education Systems (Zentralstelle fur ausländisches Bildungswesen ZAB) of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Lander in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK). I studied at a vocational / administrative / commercial academy. May I apply to this master s programme? Your academy must be equivalent to a state recognised third level institution (you must provide proof of this), and your course of studies must be worth at least 180 ECTS credits. To check which international universities are recognized see: (German database) and naric.net (European database). My primary degree certificate will not be available in time for the application deadline. What can I submit in its place? Please submit the following documents: 1. An up-to-date transcript of records of all examinations taken, including your average grade to date. 2. Statement of confirmation by the examinations board or examinations office of your university that all requirements apart from examinations have been met, and that the examinations will take place by the end of the summer semester (30.9). Business administration qualification Can I make up for a lack of business administration knowledge by taking a course of preparatory studies at the University of Hamburg? No, unfortunately this is not possible. You may, however, take the requisite courses at any state recognised university, summer school or distance learning institution worldwide, and submit the corresponding qualification to us. The same deadlines apply as for late submission of primary degree qualifications. In what form must I submit the business administration qualifications? The business administration qualifications must be submitted along with details of ECTS value and the transcript of grades. Please mark on your transcripts the relevant subjects you ve completed in the areas of Accounting, Finance, Marketing/Management and Corporate Planning (or Corporate Organization or Corporate Organisation or Human Resources Management or Controlling). Additionally, the applicant must submit descriptions of those courses that are relevant for an evaluation of the business administration qualifications especially when the course names do not correspond to the ones listed above. Seite 2 von 6

3 I will complete (parts of) my business administration qualifications after the application deadline, but before the start of the master s programme (e.g., in my final semester of studies, etc.). What documentation should I submit by the application deadline? Please write and submit an explanatory note detailing which courses/modules are outstanding, at which institution they will be completed, and by what dates. Can I check in advance if the courses I have taken meet the business administration requirement? If you wish to have your application checked to ensure it meets our academic requirements before the closing date for applications, please send us your academic certificate or a transcript of grades (list of all courses taken, when you took them and how many hours each course entailed) to [email protected]. If your academic institution uses the ECTS credit system it will suffice if the transcript shows the ECTS value of the courses you have completed. Please make explicitly clear even if this information is contained in the transcript which credits/courses/modules you wish to submit as proof of the required qualifications (course xy for proof of a). Please include the official course description (photocopied or printed from the Internet), particularly if the relevant content of the course is not obviously apparent based on the title of the course or module. These documents will not be returned to you and are not regarded as application documents. They will be destroyed following evaluation. Language skills in German (BAs only) and English (BAs and BIs) I took the not on our list' language test. Is it recognised? We can only accept the language certificates and other qualifications that are listed on our website. Will you accept other proof of excellent language ability in English or German? No. We will only recognise those qualifications listed under Admission Requirements. I sat and passed the TOEFL test 26 months ago. Is this still valid for my application? If the TOEFL certificate is more than 24 months old this will result in a slight negative evaluation within your overall appraisal. However, we will accept it nonetheless. I failed (shortly before the application deadline) to achieve the requisite score in the TOEFL test or TestDAF. May I repeat the test and submit the new test result at a later date? Yes, but this will result in a slight negative evaluation within the overall appraisal. Include proof that you have registered to take the test with your application and submit the satisfactory result as soon as you receive it. My period of study abroad in England (for BAs and BIs) or in Germany (BAs only) were worth 30 ECTS credits. Is this sufficient as evidence of my English or German language ability? No. An applicant would require at least 60 ECTS credits in their field of study gained through English at a third-level institution in an English-speaking country (or alternatively, 60 ECTS credits in their field of study gained through German at a third-level institution in an German-speaking country) in order to be exempted from submitting a language certificate. My period of study abroad in Holland at an English-speaking university (for BIs und BAs), or in France at a German-speaking university, was worth more than 60 ECTS credits. Is this sufficient as evidence of my English or German language skills? No. An applicant requires at least 60 ECTS credits gained as part of an English-speaking course of study at a third-level institution in an English-speaking country (or alternatively, 60 ECTS credits gained as part of a German-speaking course of study at a third-level institution in an German-speaking country) in order to be exempted from submitting a language certificate. Seite 3 von 6

4 I am a BA and completed my Abitur at a German school in Egypt. Do I need to submit a language certificate for German? No, proof of successful completion of the German Abitur examination, even in a non-german-speaking country represents sufficient proof of language ability. I will not be able to submit the required proof of language ability in time for the application deadline. What can I submit in its place? Please submit a document confirming that you have registered to take one of the language tests approved by us. Additionally, you should submit all other certificates and other documents that attest to your level of ability in the language. In case of conditional acceptance you need to submit the missing language certificates till 31 July of the application year. Letter of motivation What should the letter of motivation contain? The letter of motivation should answer the following questions: why have I selected this course of study?; why should I be selected for this programme? The letter of motivation should be no longer than one page. It may be written in German or in English. Letter of recommendation of a university lecturer What should the letter of recommendation of a university lecturer contain? The letter should ideally answer the following questions: - How long have you known the applicant? - How did you first get to know the applicant? Which of your lectures or seminars did the applicant attend? - What is your opinion of the applicant s academic and personal strengths? - Please provide details of the applicant s academic interests. - What activities did the applicant participate in outside of his/her studies? - What future career path does the applicant aspire to follow? Can my employer also write the letter of recommendation? No, the letter of recommendation must be written by a university lecturer. Does the letter of recommendation have to come from a professor in my major subject, or can it come from a lecturer in one of my minor subjects? The letter of recommendation may be written by a lecturer of your choice from your programme of studies. It has been a long time since I attended university and I have difficulty obtaining a letter of recommendation from a university lecturer. What will happen if I do not submit a letter of recommendation? Failure to submit a letter of recommendation is not grounds for exclusion. It represents 5% of the overall evaluation of the application. How important is this academic opinion for my application? It represents 5% of the overall evaluation and has a value of 10 points. What language must the letter of recommendation be written in? The letter of recommendation may be written either in German or in English. Does the letter of recommendation have to be submitted in a sealed envelope? No. Seite 4 von 6

5 Should the letter of recommendation be submitted together with the other application documents or should it be sent directly by the university lecturer. It should be submitted together with the application documents. Do we also accept letters that were faxed or scanned and ed? Yes. Explanation of the grade system I am unable to provide an ECTS transcript. What do I need to include in the explanatory note about the grading system? Applicants that are unable to submit an ECTS transcript must explain the credit point system that applies in their home university. This should include official confirmation from your university and an attempt to translate the credits gained under your university s system into the ECTS system. By comparison: one ECTS point corresponds to 30 hours of work for a student. The ECTS considers a student s workload in terms of the time required to complete all planned study activities, including attendance at lectures and seminars (contact hours), independent study, project work, exam preparation, etc. Do I need to include official documents from my university? No. Extracts or copies taken from the Internet or other sources are acceptable. Selection criteria If I submit proof of language ability later than the application deadline will this negatively affect my application? Yes, this will depreciate the application. However, it does not constitute an exclusion criterion, provided that the applicant has submitted proof of registration for a language test. If the applicant does not provide any information/documentation regarding his/her language abilities this may lead to the application being rejected. If I submit documents later than the application deadline will this have a negative impact on the overall evaluation? Where certain documents are missing from the application or are not submitted in the correct form, this will have a negative impact on the overall evaluation. Exception: late submission of exam results from the primary degree programme, including the final degree certificate. Documents that must be submitted immediately following admission: Please have in mind to get the notarized copies of your documents by the time you get the results of the selection procedure (mid May). In case you receive notice of admission to the programme you must submit the notarized copies together with the matriculation form within 7 days. (1) primary degree certificate, or, if you do not have it yet, your transcript of records; (2) certificates of language proficiency; (3) proof of qualification in Business Administration; (4) university entrance qualification. If you are abroad, please submit your matriculation form and the above mentioned documents by mail (within 7 days!) and afterwards please submit immediately all the documents requested by post. If you are a student with German education background (BildungsInländer), please attach as well a proof of your stay Seite 5 von 6

6 abroad to prove to the Student Center (ZfS) that you were in fact not in Germany at the time you received the notice of admission. If you have not yet received your degree certificate please make a note of this on the matriculation form, stating when you expect to receive it. Submit the certificate as soon as you receive it. For further questions please use the contact form at Matriculation form I am a BA. At present I am still living outside of Europe. How can I provide the certification of health insurance as required in the matriculation form. Please contact the Student Centre (Zentrum für Studierende) for an answer to this question. What does HZB stand for? HZB stands for Hochschulzugangsberechtigung, or higher education entrance qualification. This refers to your Abitur or equivalent school-leaving certificate. This is the accepted requirement in Germany for admission to a course of study at university level. Questions regarding the preparatory german intensive course Am I obliged to take part in the preparatory German intensive course (DIK)? Yes. All students with a non-german educational background are required to take part in the course and to pass the final examination. If I (a BA) have submitted a TestDAF certificate with the highest possible grade on time, am I still required to attend the preparatory German intensive course (DIK)? Yes. Submission of a German language certificate does not exempt a student from participating in the DIK. All BAs who have been admitted to the programme are required to take part in this course and to sit the final examination. This is a mandatory part of the admissions process. For additional advice on this issue, and to discuss possible exemption from this requirement in exceptional cases where an applicant shows a very high level of language proficiency, please contact the Head of Languages at the Department of Socioeconomics, Ms. O Mahony ([email protected]). Can I be exempted from the DIK? The Head of Languages may in exceptional cases decide to exempt a student from taking the DIK, Ms. O Mahony ([email protected]) How much does the DIK cost? The DIK costs approx Euro. We are working to raise additional funding so as to reduce the costs for you. Seite 6 von 6