Management & Sustainable Accounting and Finance

• Degree awarded: Mas­ter of Sci­ence (M.Sc.)
• Application deadline: EU degrees: 1 June / Non-EU degrees: 1 May
• Highlights: Integration of environmental and social sustain­ability issues in accounting and finance, interdisciplinary and trans­disciplinary management approach, synergies between sustain­ability reporting, sustainable finance, corporate governance and business valuation, key subject-specific and methodological skills and soft skills for a demanding career in management in commercial, production or strategic consultancy and auditing companies or staff positions in firms, focus on recent sustain­ability  challenges for business and society (e.g. sustain­ability targets in line with the EU Green Deal as bio­diversity or climate protection), AACSB accreditation
• Is aimed at: Graduates of business administration or economics
• Type of programme: prerequisites demanded
• Study places: 40
• Start date: Oc­to­ber 1
• Extent: 120 ECTS
• Duration: 4 se­mes­ters
• Language: Eng­lish
• Semester contribution: ca. 390 EUR

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 Master's 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 Leuphana School 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. The faculty is also AACSB accredited and regularly achieves good positions in national and international rankings.

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 will carry out a large empirical research project on sustainable corporate finance and reporting, consistently applying your specialist and methodological skills: In a small group, you will work together to produce an empirical-quantitative project paper on a relevant research topic, for example the influence of gender diversity at top management level on the quality 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 Master's programmes in two elective modules.

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

All students in the Master's 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 Master's thesis. Throughout the semester, the Master's 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 following link provides access to documents which set out the general conditions for examinations, an overview of the curriculum, as well as detailed and legally binding regulations.

General Assessment Regulations and the Subject-Specific Schedules

• Press release: Prof. Dr. Velte honored as best business researcher in the German-speaking world
• Dossier: Prof. Patrick Velte on the importance of Sustainable Finance and Reporting

Students of this Master's 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 Master's theses in the fields of Accounting, Audit & Corporate Governance are also awarded annually together with the auditing firm Deloitte. You can find more information on this flyer from Deloitte.

If you are interested in studying abroad or in a double degree, Leuphana offers students of this Master's 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 Master's degree completely at Leuphana.

Leuphana University of Lüneburg and the University of Glasgow offer management degree programmes together. Thus, students of the Master's 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 Center 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 it also especially 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 Master's 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 theses are written in standard international journal style and outstanding work can be edited for later joint publication in a leading journal.

As a student in our programme, you have the opportunity to start your doctorate early via the Doctoral Track.

Thus, you to become part of the scientific community of our doctoral research groups at an early stage, giving you the unique opportunity to combine your Master's and doctoral studies and, with your doctorate in sight, to obtain your Master's degree en-route.

You can find all information about the admission and requirements, the application and the selection procedure on our "Admission and Requirements" 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. Further information on this can be found on the "Selection Procedure" page.

The study programme matches your interests? Then you will find further information for prospective international students on residence and social matters, such as visa, residence permit, health insurance or finding accommodation, on the following pages.

Please note that the information for incoming exchange students and international degree-seeking students differs slightly.

Information for incoming exchange students

Information for international degree-seeking students