International Management (top athletes)

Study overview

Short form	BIM
Type of study	Part time, distance/presence study
Duration	10 semesters
Award	Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Start of studies	Winter semester
Admission restrictions	References
Lecture location	Ansbach + virtually via web conferences
Language of instruction	German
Course management	Prof. Dr. Bernd Heesen
Student advisory service	Prof. Dr. Bernd Heesen
Study programme assistance	studiengangsassistenz-bim(at)hs-ansbach.de
Student Services	studierendenservice.bim(at)hs-ansbach.de

Course flyer (German)

Letter of reference from an Olympic base (German)

Study and examination regulations

The Ansbach University of Applied Sciences was awarded the title of University of Professional Sports in 2008.

Thank you for your interest in our Bachelor of Arts in International Management for Professional Athletes programme. The programme combines the strengths of distance learning (spatial and temporal flexibility through internet-based lectures and self-study) with those of face-to-face study (personal dialogue with lecturers and fellow students).
Top athletes sometimes decide against taking up a degree course because they fear that the additional workload will jeopardise their sporting career. We have been able to defuse many of these problems with a study concept that is specifically tailored to the needs of top athletes.

Since the start of the top athletes' study programme in 2006, more than 400 top athletes have studied with us, including many Olympic and world champions, and we are proud that studying alongside sport has worked so well for them. There is now even an alumni network of graduates. This makes it possible, among other things, to find attractive internships. In the "Best Practices" course, these alumni repeatedly introduce themselves to the still-athletes and report on their life paths and lessons learned in the transition from top-class sport to an attractive management job. They show that it is possible and how it can be done.
Top athletes often find it difficult to reconcile conventional studies with their training and competition calendars, partly because of inflexible exam dates. We therefore offer our top athletes a choice of four alternative dates for each exam and five locations spread across Germany where they can take their exams. This contributes significantly to making studying with us more compatible with sport for top athletes.

Examination venues for top athletes

For management positions, companies prefer academics with soft skills such as good time management, performance stability under stress, intercultural competence, teamwork and determination. Top athletes already have some of these skills. We build on this and teach competencies in international management, supplemented by content such as sports management, sports marketing and media skills. In this way, we show our students interesting and diverse career prospects.

As a top athlete, you have already distinguished yourself through outstanding achievements. We are convinced that you can and want to continue this in your job. We are happy to support you in laying the foundation for this career after sport and in obtaining the internationally recognised degree "Bachelor of Arts" with us in Ansbach.

Admission requirements

Admission requirements for the course of study are the standard entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulreife) and proof of the practice of top-class sport as the main profession. This proof can be confirmed for current or former national squads of the Olympic professional associations by an Olympic training centre in the form of a reference letter or informally by the board of a Bundesliga club.

The 30 study places per academic year (study starts only in the winter semester) are allocated according to the rules of the admission procedure. Since the study programme was developed for national squad athletes, they are first allocated available study places according to their university admission grade. Subsequently, any remaining available capacities are then allocated to other top athletes in the order of their university admission grade. The application deadline for the start in the winter semester is 15 July of the calendar year in which the study programme is to be started.

We assume that all students have access to a computer (MS Windows 7 or newer) with MS Office 2016 or newer with Internet access for their studies.

Study structure

Study Organisation

The study programme for competitive athletes follows the concept of Ansbach University of Applied Sciences: Shape the future - experience knowledge - experience innovation - use technologies - discover perspectives. You yourself determine your limits - we are happy to support you in learning new things and creating new perspectives for your future in the process.
The study contents correspond to a demanding curriculum for international business administration. In addition to the range of subjects, the international component is also ensured by the fact that some of the courses are taught in English. In the foundation course, language skills are developed and the internationally recognised TOEIC certificate is acquired (TOEIC = Test of English for International Communication). In the main study programme, lectures are then held in English and foreign lecturers are also employed.
In addition to the core content, the top athletes can select elective courses from an extensive range according to their interests. The following core skills are taught to all students:

Basic skills (business administration, accounting, marketing, human resources, logistics)
Hard skills (business mathematics, statistics & IT)
Soft skills (leadership, organisation and communication)
International Management
Practical project and Bachelor thesis (scientific work)

The programme is designed for a standard study period of 10 semesters with about 40-50 attendance days. Some courses are offered completely virtually via Zoom. However, our degree programme is also characterised by seminar-style teaching in presence. It is our experience that the combination of self-study and distance learning with face-to-face study contributes significantly to the success of the study programme. The attendance times can be individually selected from the range of course dates according to the students' time availability Each student, however, divides their studies in a way that is compatible with top-level sport.

The concept

At the age at which their peers begin vocational training or studies, athletes often sacrifice their professional careers in order to devote themselves entirely to sport. Some talented sportspeople who are faced with the choice of sport or professional career also decide against continuing their sports career in order to be able to take up vocational training or studies. Some of these athletes could remain in sport if they could be offered an attractive course of study to accompany their studies.

In collaboration with the Olympic Support Centres, the concept of this course of study was developed in order to provide competitive athletes who represent our nation internationally at competitions and in the media with career prospects even after their sporting career has ended. A business administration course specially geared to the needs of competitive athletes, which enables participants to master the challenges of a state-recognised bachelor's degree and at the same time meet the high demands of competitive sports, did not exist before.

When designing the study programme, it was particularly important to those responsible to ensure the greatest possible flexibility for the students. Professional individual coaching, short-term enrolment in courses, a flexible arrangement for taking exams, a range of face-to-face courses in block form and professional support for distance learning (literature study and supervised self-study) enable athletes to integrate their studies into a full schedule.

Student body
The interests of top athletes are represented by elected student representatives at Ansbach University of Applied Sciences. Details can be found on the website of the Fachschaft (German).

Learning platform

Ansbach University of Applied Sciences has extensive specialist literature for your studies, but also plenty of books on language learning and other important subjects. The range on offer is not limited to traditional books but includes the entire spectrum of multimedia learning. If a book is not in stock, it can also be obtained through an inter-library loan from other libraries. For our competitive athletes, the online library, which has more than 3,000 journals and sources available online 24/7, is also of particular value.

A modern learning platform (e-learning) creates a good infrastructure for distance learning. It enables students to access course information and creates a communication platform between the course participants and the lecturer, independent of geographical and time distance. A special service is also provided by the computer centre of the Ansbach University of Applied Sciences with a computer centre portal and identity management, which gives students "all-over-the-world" free access to software licensed by the university, such as SAP. This makes it possible for competitive athletes to successfully complete their studies, even though they often travel worldwide from one training camp or competition to the next.

This page enables students to access the following learning tools (access only with valid User-ID):

Module plan:

Further Information

The study programme qualifies graduates to take on management jobs in a wide range of subject areas and industries. They possess professional qualifications in economics and international management. The international orientation of the programme is also supported by the fact that some courses are taught in English.

Beyond the classic contents of an international management degree, students are offered courses in sports marketing and event marketing, among others, which prepare them for the corresponding professional field.

Sports:

Life should not only consist of studying. The welcoming campus provides a family atmosphere for just over 3000 students.

In order to offer competitive athletes attractive training opportunities even during their periods of attendance in Ansbach, appropriate arrangements have been made with a local sports club (student fee per semester) and local fitness studios (free fitness training).

Contact information:

Accommodation

A student residence right next to the campus is available for full-time students of Ansbach University. Since the leases in the student residence are drawn up per semester, however, this is not practical accommodation for most top athletes. For short stays in Ansbach and the surrounding area, there are a variety of other accomodation options in holiday flats, guesthouses and hotels in all price categories (external link).

This is how top athletes study at Ansbach University of Applied Sciences

Short introduction to Ansbach University of Applied Sciences and the course.

The course from the point of view of the Olympic Centre

Axel Kuhlen is a career consultant at the Olympic Training Centre in Bavaria. He has been involved in the development of the study program from the very beginning.

The viewpoint of the student representative

Monika Bergmann is the elected representative of the student athletes.

The Student Perspective

Felix Petermann is an active ice hockey player and has been studying International Management for top athletes at Ansbach University since 2006.

Videos created in the television studio of the university

Studio direction: Thomas Brusske-Gabbey; Moderation & editing: Nadja Luthay; Cinematography: Anna Wirz, Stefanie Bauernschmitt; Camera assistant: Nino Bach, Sven Hartmann, Andreas Obermann, Alexander Goryochok; Schedule & mixer: Sven Rühl, sound & editing: Martin Moser; Virtual studio: Jannis Gruhler; Light: Sven Rühl, Martin Moser, calculation & DVD cover: Inna Becker.

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