Hello,

I am currently thinking about getting a MBA in Munich, in an English-speaking business school. I live in North Dakota but want to get my MBA in Europe for some travel experience.

There is a school called New European College that might be interesting, but I don’t seem to find enough information about it. Has anyone heard of it or know if it has good professors and programs?

Their website states that they have a partnership with Bad Honnef University, which is apparently a pretty good school, but I can’t seem to find the same information on the Bad Honnef Uniwebsite

I just cannot imagine how this could be the best choice for you. Why do you specifically want an MBA in Munich?

Actually I have never heard of this school, being a German business school student.
NEC itself is has no accreditation, their (state-recognized) degrees are technically speaking awarded (or claimed to be awarded) by IUBH (International University Bad Honnef), meaning that NEC has no state accreditation. IUBH has a focus on aviation and hospitality mgmt. IUBH is legally not a German "Universitaet", but a "Fachhochschule". (Do the research if you do not know the difference).
The impressum states that the legal form of NEC is a GmbH. To be a non-profit organization this would need to be a gGmbH. Therfore I would assume that this is a for-profit company.
Furthermore, isn't it strange that a business school in Germany offers no information in German?

For me, that is a high number of warning signs.

Unlike the USA, where most of the top universities are private, almost all of Germany's top universities are state-funded. But in neither the USA nor Germany is it normal for private universities to be for-profit. NEC's faculty doesn't look terrible and, while NEC doesn't have state recognition, the fact that it awards IUBH degrees means that it will meet minimum standards. And I imagine that the fees at NEC will give students a nicer, more office-like, study setting with (I guess) table football and better coffee than a state university. Generally, I think many employers will think that students at private universities have wealthy parents but poor grades, and that international students there will aim to return home.

NEC has a challenging market in Bavaria. Employers will prefer TUM and LMU, which are among the world's leading universities, and are two of the six top German universities for business at the undergraduate level (http://www.wiwo.de/erfolg/campus-mba/hochschulranking-die-top-ten-der-deutschen-universitaeten/12071228.html). Munich Business School, which is much less well known, leads the city's market for private English-speaking business education very well. Munich also has one of the ten best Fachhochschulen (http://www.wiwo.de/erfolg/campus-mba/uni-ranking-2015-das-sind-deutschlands-beste-fachhochschulen/12067292.html?p=10&a=false&slp=false#image) which also has an extensive range of courses in English.

Elsewhere in Bavaria there are also some great English-language business masters degrees in excellent state universities. The MIBS at the prestigious Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg is the most obvious (http://www.wiso.uni-erlangen.de/masterstudiengaenge/international_business/), followed by the Technische Hochschule Nürnberg (https://www.th-nuernberg.de/institutionen/fakultaeten/betriebswirtschaft/studienangebot/international-business-study-programs/page.html) which also has a good offer. I know less about the Hochschule Aschaffenburg and Hochschule Augsburg but they also have interesting degrees in English. These represent a huge saving on NEC or MBS that, unless your specific goal was marriage to the child of someone wealthy, would allow you to buy your own table football set, coffee machine and be able to afford top-flight German language lessons as well as more international travel. Nürnberg is a beautiful city and, in addition to the national museum, has a lovely and well connected airport with inexpensive flights to 16 European countries, and Turkey.

PS Another option is the the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg (https://www.oth-regensburg.de/en/international/incoming-students/courses-in-english.html) Like the FM in Munich, it would give the option to amass a large number of credits for courses taught in the English language, which you could then transfer to somewhere like TESU or Charter Oak to get a regionally-accredited US masters degree.

[Edited by Duncan on Feb 23, 2016]

Hello everyone,

Thank you very much for your answers!

@Duncan - I am looking to study in Munich because it clearly seems like a hub for multinational companies and I am therefore hoping to get better results in finding an interesting job after my studies. However, I could make up my mind and go for some other cities if something really interesting comes up!

@eduaudax - thank you for the many information. I checked out the differences between "Universitaet"and "Fachhochschule" and it is now very clear. (http://www.topuniversities.com/blog/higher-education-germany-hochschulen-vs-universities). Now that you pointed the fact that this "German" school doesn't offer any german information and is a for profit organisation, I am not so convinced anymore.

Regarding the accreditation, is it a big problem if the "state-recognized" degree is awarded by some other school? In the meantime, how is the quality of teaching in universities? I am afraid I might need small classes for better learning.

Sorry about all these questions but I am trying to make the best choice and it really isn't easy.

Best,
Ryan

Germany is well connected and, in particular, businesses in Munich often hire from schools in Baden-Wuerttemberg (south Germans think they share the best educational systems). I think it's fair to say that difference will be in the style of teaching rather than the quality. The state universities I have mentioned are successful. The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks Erlangen, for example, on the same level as Brandeis University and Dartmouth College. But the style of teaching is very different in mainland Europe's state universities from the USA, with less classroom participation, more lecture time, and more self-directed study.

If you need small classes, then you have to get into either private universities or into English-language programmes that are small in state universities. However Furtwangen, for example, has a small MBA yet it's still very lecture based (see the videos of lectures on youtube). For a more participatory, US-style MBA you'll need to look elsewhere. I suggest either private business schools (like Munich Business School, which is increasingly accepted in the city, EBS, HHL and WHU) or at state universities with well-resourced English-language MBA degrees, like Reutlingen, Pforzheim and Esslingen (which are all in Wuerttemberg, a couple of hours away). A little bit closer than there is the MCI in Innsbruck, which impresses me.

PS The HSG in St Gallen is a serious option too: it is very well respected in Germany.

PPS It's also worth remember that some schools have AACSB accreditation, which makes their degrees more portable internationally.

[Edited by Duncan on Feb 26, 2016]

Hello again Duncan,

Thank you very much for the explanations once again. I have been reading all of your recommandations carefully.

Already heard about Munich Business School before (which could potentially be a good option). After having a better look at the website, I see they have a state accreditation but I don't seem to find any information on whether they have any of the 3 accreditations stated as triple accreditation (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS)? As anyone ever been there and willing to give me a better insight?

Regards,
Ryan

No, I think they are not really aiming at the global markets for students. They compete more with EBS. If you wanted an internationally-transferrable qualification then I would suggest you limit yourself to the internationall accredited schools.

Fair enough!
What kind of Munich based internationally accredited schools should I be looking for then?

There are none. That's why I am suggesting schools in other locations.

Again, thank you very much for your advices.

Now I understand why you were suggesting some other cities!
I must admit Munich was my first choice by far and the cities you told me about aren't really attracting to me... (Nürnberg, Innsbruck) I would potentially make up my mind if I was showed the way for some schools in Berlin, Hamburg, etc.

May be you have something to propose that would be likely to suit my needs?!
Cheers,

Job hunting is much harder in Berlin but ESCP and ESMT are great. WHU is in Dusseldorf. Nürnburg is actually a great city. The Frankfurt school is good for finance.

Briefly heard about ESMT before but never really took the time to give it a proper look.
This could completely be a good option indeed. And contrary to New European College, they seem to have many accreditations including AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS, FIBAA as well as a German state accreditation.
As anyone been there and willng to give me an insight on the conditions to be met when applying? Is it hard to get in? GMAT?
Thanks,

Great school: check out their BusinessWeek profile. If you don't have three year's work experience, their new Masters in Management could be perfect. They have the most awesome location, in the former senate building.

ESMT's MBA program is rather competitive, certainly more competitive than that European College program you were looking at. I think the average GMAT tends to be 650+ and the average work experience tends to be in the six to seven year range.

Just had a look at ESMT's business week profile and I must admit it is really impressive. I already have 4 years work experience and I am working on my GMAT but an average 645 seems quite demanding. I might be able to make it but need to work harder!

I am definitely motivated in applying for that school but $49'000 is quite expensive and even though I might have a good job when graduating, I am afraid I don't have enough money to make it. Therefore, I have two questions: 1) Is it possible to apply for a scholarship? 2) Do you have less expensive but similar master programs in mind?

Again, thank you very much indeed.

Yes, there are many scholarship options, and there are loans available (especially WHU's brain trust option but even as ESMT https://prodigyfinance.com/esmt/loan). The DAAD is pretty generous with scholarships. A private school will give you the small classes and better resources you mentioned. The other schools I mentioned on February 23rd and 26th will all be cheaper.

Hello Duncan,

Thank you for your quick answer, just had a look at the prodigyfinance.com website and it actually is a really good news. However, I am struggling to understand what the interest rate and APR stand for! (Sorry for bothering you again and again...) I am not 100% sure I got right. Can you please help me out on that point please?

Best,

Google is your friend