Management & Sustainable Accounting and Finance

Students on this programme learn both key subject-specific and methodological skills and the necessary soft skills for a demanding career in management in commercial, production or strategic consultancy and auditing companies. You will learn how accounting and finance can help to solve current social and environmental problems, with a focus on the latest climate protection challenges facing business (topics include CO₂ tax and emissions trading).

The Management & Sustainable Accounting and Finance Masters programme is research-focused and you will be involved in the latest innovative projects run by the chairs at the Institute of Management, Accounting and Finance (IMAF) . The course is an excellent basis for a doctorate if you are seeking a career in research or academia.

The Faculty of Management and Technology has a clear commitment to the concept of responsible management education and to training socially and environmentally aware managers for the future.

You can choose from a range of electives alongside the core modules to tailor the course to your personal interests – and develop the profile you want.

In the first semester, you learn qualitative research methods (for example interview technique) and be given an introduction to (non-)financial company reporting, corporate finance and sustainable management accounting. 

In the second semester, you explore quantitative research methods (for example archive studies) and complete a module on sustainable corporate governance & auditing and a module on business valuation. An elective allows you either to take a more in-depth look at your subject in practice or to attend classes from another Masters (for example Entrepreneurship).

In the third semester, you apply the specialist and methodological skills you have learned to conduct a research project. Working in a small group, you will produce a quantitative empirical seminar paper on an innovative research topic, for example determinants or the impact of climate reporting.

In addition to compulsory modules in sustainability and behavior-oriented corporate finance, you can either strengthen your accounting and finance expertise or work on aspects from other Leuphana masters programmes in two elective modules.

Here you can find further information on the course content of the Masters programme Management & Sustainable Accounting and Finance.

All students in the Masters programme Management complete the Management Studies as an interdisciplinary study element. In a total of three modules, students deepen their specialist skills in the area of management knowledge, entrepreneurial thinking and action and apply these skills in the current context of constantly changing structures: in the first semester, "Organization, Strategy & Innovation" is illustrated using case studies; in the second semester, the area of tension of "Digitalization" is dealt with from various disciplinary perspectives; and in the third semester, the focus is on "Entrepreneurship", where students develop concrete business ideas for companies and practice partners, for example.

The cross-Masters Complementary Studies also impart broad academic and scientifically reflective foundations in three modules. Due to the special orientation of these courses, students get to know ways of thinking and working methods across disciplinary boundaries and can thus develop different ways of solving problems in science and practice.

Students spend the final semester working on their empirical Masters dissertation. Throughout the semester, the Masters Forum helps you develop your research question and methodology and is an opportunity to engage in in-depth discussions with fellow students and supervisors.

The General Assessment Regulations and the Subject-Specific Schedules can be found here.

The Subject-Specific Schedule shows the subject-specific curriculum. The modules to be taken and their content, the types of courses, the type and number of examinations are formulated in detail and in a legally binding manner.

Students of this Masters programme can apply for an exclusive scholarship at the Deloitte Foundation. As one of the few universities in Northern Germany, Leuphana is a member of the network. You can find more information about the scholarship and the application on the pages of the Deloitte Foundation (which are currently only available in German language).

The three best Masters dissertations in the fields of Accounting, Audit & Corporate Governance are also awarded annually together with the auditing firm Möhrle, Happ, Luther. You can find more information on this flyer from Möhrle, Happ, Luther.

If you are interested in studying abroad or in a double degree, Leuphana offers students of this Masters programme various options. Since there have been repeated queries: the integrated study abroad is an offer and optional - you can of course also study your Masters degree completely at Leuphana.

Leuphana University of Lüneburg and the University of Glasgow offer management degree programmes together. Thus, students of the Masters programmes "Management & Data Science", "Management & Entrepreneurship" and "Management & Sustainable Accounting and Finance" will have the opportunity to obtain degrees from both universities. Further information can be found on the page "Integrated study abroad at the University of Glasgow". Here you can learn more about the partnership between the two universities.

You can also organise a semester abroad through the Erasmus + programme or as a free mover. We recommend the third semester for your semester abroad. You can find more information on our partner universities on the International Office pages.

Graduates with a specialisation in sustainable accounting & finance are currently in high demand in many areas of industry – as numerous recent studies have found. The programme prepares you for analytical, conceptual, advisory and strategic management roles in businesses' management and financial accounting departments, and at strategic consultancy, auditing and tax advisory companies.

Our research focus on entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Management and Technology ensures you also develop the necessary skills for venturing into self-employment and launching your own start-up with an innovative business idea.

The Masters not only opens up careers in business with training in the field and in methodology, but is also lays the foundations for a subsequent doctorate. The decision to start a doctorate can be taken at various different points in your academic career:

• During your Masters: the Doctoral Track allows you to apply for an integrated Masters and doctoral programme as early as the first semester and attend doctoral seminars instead of the Complementary Studies modules.
• After your Masters: with a full-time doctorate at Leuphana that follows on from your Masters.
• While working: with a professional doctorate – you continue your consultancy or auditing work and carry out your research during leave granted by your employer.

The Masters prepares you excellently for later research work: seminar papers and dissertations are written in standard international journal style and outstanding work can be edited for later joint publication in a leading journal.

You can find all information about the admission requirements, the application and the selection procedure on our "Apply" page.

Please note in particular: When applying for the study programme Management & Sustainable Accounting and Finance, you can achieve additional points in the selection procedure through an above-average result in one oft the admission tests (TM-BASE or GMAT) and thus improve your chances of a study place in Lüneburg. Submitting an admission test as part of your application to Leuphana university is voluntary and not compulsory. Further information on this can also be found on the "Apply" page.

Degree awarded: Mas­ter of Sci­ence (M.Sc.)
Application deadline: 1 June
Type of programme: prerequisites demanded
Study places: 30
Start date: Oc­to­ber 1
Extent: 120 ECTS
Duration: 4 se­mes­ters
Language: Eng­lish
Semester contribution: ca. 320 EUR