Full-time MBA: program timeline & courses

The aim of this module is to equip everyone with the same essential tools required to work through the rest of the MBA program and build a successful career afterwards. It introduces a holistic overview of all the key areas of business knowledge and provides a solid foundation for aspiring general managers.

The courses in this module establish the core competencies for managing organizations, assessing economic impact, and making decisions. This is also where you identify your personal leadership style and continue to develop it throughout the program.

In the latter half of this module, students at German language level A1 or A2 have the option of joining a 10-week program of twice weekly German evening classes.

• Intro to general management  
• Presentation skills  
• Structure thinking  
• Inclusive leadership  
• Building high-performance teams 
• German evening class (optional)

• Competitive strategy
• From analytics to AI
• Evidence-based management
• Financial accounting
• Finance
• Intro to economic thinking
• Management accounting
• Managerial analysis and decision making
• Marketing management
• Organizational behavior
• Operations and supply chain

Put the skills you’ve learned into practice and/or try a new industry with a summer internship (6–12 weeks).

If you have always wondered what it would be like to work in a particular industry or job role, you can find out in a summer internship.  This could be the springboard to change your career or just gain valuable experience, all while presenting an excellent opportunity to start applying the lessons you've learned so far.

Students at A2 or B1 German language level are eligible for the intensive summer language program (6 weeks).

If you are committed to a career in Germany, developing your German language skills will be very useful. The six-week summer language school is a great opportunity to build upon the German you already have and take it to the next level.

Team up to solve a corporate or social challenge (6–8 weeks).

Budding intra- and entre-preneurs can team up to take on a social impact project. It offers participants an opportunity to act as an economic or management consultant for an organization with specific social impact objectives.

Full-time MBAs also have the option to join participants from the Part-time MBA and Global Online MBA for ESMT's Berlin Experience Week, a five-day, on-campus elective that can help you expand your knowledge and network. 

Develop specialized skills by choosing a broad portfolio of electives, allowing you to focus on the subjects and capabilities you want to explore in greater depth and tailor your MBA to your career goals.

You can choose from electives shared with other ESMT MBA programs that expand you knowledge and network. Or, you can choose to focus deeply on a defined specialization area. If you complete at least three courses within one of these areas, you will also be eligible to receive an additional specialization certificate.

Regardless of your specialization, the courses in this module all focus on the areas where future leaders must excel, and where they must have specific awareness.

This module is supplemented with various leadership seminars such as:

• Mastering Negotiation Fundamentals
• Responsible and Ethical Leadership
• Leading Through Networks

The curriculum and course availability are subject to change at any time.

Choose at least three of the following electives to earn the AI & Analytics Specialization Certificate.

• Machine Learning​

• From Analytics to AI​

• Advanced Decision Modelling​

• AI in Practice, From Strategy to Execution

Choose at least three of the following electives to earn the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Specialization Certificate.

• Human Factor of Innovation​

• Zero Resource Innovation Under Constraint​

• Entrepreneurial Finance and Valuation​

• Digital Marketing​

• System Thinking​

• How to Think Like a VC

Choose at least three of the following electives to earn the Strategy to Action Specialization Certificate.

• Digital Marketing​

• AI in Practice, From Strategy to Execution​

• System Thinking​

• Managing Conflicts, Disagreements, and Differences

You may also choose from a broad range of electives focused on topics that include digital transformation, sustainability, entrepreneurship, leadership, personal mastery, and more.

Some of these electives will be held jointly with participants from the Part-time MBA and Global Online MBA programs, allowing you to expand you MBA network beyond your cohort.

Choose from a portfolio of electives focused on various themes such as*:

• Economics of Sustainability​

• Global Strategies of Industrial Champions​

• Structure and Status

• Platform Economics and Strategies​

• Mastering Negotiations​

• Entrepreneurship (New Business Creation)​

• Embracing Technological Change 

• Leading and Aligning Others​​

*More options are available.

You will also have the opportunity to join a one-week exchange at one of many fellow Global Network for Advanced Management members. Partner schools include Yale (USA), HEC Paris (France), HKUST Business School (China), and many more.

If you would like a longer international study experience, complete a full-term exchange at one of our partner schools.

The capstone project for your MBA will apply what you have learned to a real-world consulting project. Budding entrepreneurs can use this time to work on their enterprises.

This consulting project is where you get to see how far you have come by applying the new skills and insights you have learned to a real-life business situation.

Working in teams, the project offers a practical learning experience that can be used to diversify your skills portfolio should you choose to work in a different industry or function, or build upon your previous experience with a new strategic challenge.

Capstone projects are secured by our career services through our corporate partners and contacts. Entrepreneurship Club members can choose to work on innovation projects from local startups. You will use your team’s experience to write a final analytical paper.

• Develop a business plan for a social entrepreneurial venture in the solar power industry in rural India.
• Design a development plan, strategic and operational, to internationalize a successful Berlin real estate startup within the next three years.
• Create a market overview and strategic recommendations for launching a new technological innovation onto the global market for a design and manufacturing firm based in New Zealand.
• Write a market entry strategy for a European-based renewable energy smart grid system moving into the US market.
• Study a recent merger between a German company and a Chinese company, and outline the strengths and weaknesses involved in the process, developing realistic organizational solutions to problems faced.

Graduates of ESMT Berlin automatically qualify for an 18-month work visa in Germany for which no employer support is needed.

Graduate from the program and jump straight into your career. With over 80% of graduates staying in Germany, the ESMT Berlin MBA is a great way to bring your international talents to Germany.

Graduating from the program with an MBA is just the first step in a new phase of your career. Will you continue to live and work in Germany, as over 80% of ESMT Berlin graduates do? Find out more about the career outcomes of ESMT Berlin MBA graduates.