Tourism mainly takes place in public, multi-purpose spaces and offers local services from many different providers who have to work both cooperatively and competitively with each other. In addition, public or government influences in the form of regional development policy, promotion of certain tourist structures, etc. have a significant impact on the tourist development of a destination.

The Destination Management programme therefore focuses primarily on the fundamentals of destination management and development in the context of the conflicting interests of locals, visitors and various private and public stakeholders, and prepares students for work in relevant regional, national and international organisations.

The areas of application for a destination manager include:

• Associations and tourism organisations
• Incoming agencies
• Management consultancies
• Marketing organisations
• and many more.

Hospitality Management

The Hospitality Management programme covers the entire field of hotel and restaurant management, one of the most important areas of tourism services. Hospitality Management is characterised by a particularly high degree of internationality, with employment on different continents and in different companies being the rule rather than the exception. Furthermore, this major is particularly suitable as career preparation for students who enjoy direct communication with customers and are not afraid of occasionally stressful working conditions.

Possible areas of employment include:

• Wellness and health hotels
• Hotel associations or federations
• Chain restaurants
• Resorts, city hotels
• Examples of areas of work within a hotel/hotel chain: marketing, controlling, hotel purchasing, logistics, procurement.
• and much more.

Tour Operator Management

In the tour operator market segment, growing transparency of offerings and increasing travel experience among customers are leading to significant changes in company and offering structures, opening up many new areas of activity. The Tour Operator Management specialisation therefore deals with the organisational, legal and economic fundamentals of travel organisation as well as the needs and behaviour patterns of different target groups.

In the Tour Operator Management specialisation, the courses focus on preparing students for management positions in the tour operator sector, both in the outbound and inbound areas, i.e. in the organisation of group tours from the tour operator's location and in the support of travellers visiting the tour operator's country.

Possible areas of responsibility at a tour operator:

• Product development
• Catalogue production
• Purchasing (hotels, airlines, etc.)
• Marketing
• Controlling
• and much more

Transport & Mobility

In the Transport & Mobility specialisation, you will examine the close relationship between tourism, the transport industry and mobility, as well as the various aspects of mobility and modes of transport, since changing location and thus mobility during and at your holiday destination is an essential aspect of travelling.

The Production and Logistics Management programme is aimed at prospective students who are fascinated by the interdisciplinary and application-oriented scientific discipline of logistics – the management of goods, information and financial flows – and who see career prospects in this field. Logistics emphasises the interdisciplinary approach practised at FH Westküste and utilises its practical orientation with an expanded focus on Germany as a logistics location.

Career prospects

Logistics is the largest economic sector in Germany after the automotive industry and trade. The demand for logistics graduates is growing steadily in this booming interface industry. According to a study by the German Logistics Association (BVL) from spring 2017, the demand for academics in the logistics industry will continue to rise in the future against the backdrop of increasing complexity of tasks and the challenges of digital transformation.

Course content

Students are trained to apply comprehensive design knowledge to the development of innovative business models and the design of complex processes and systems in logistics companies and logistics, production and procurement departments in all sectors of the economy. The compulsory module ‘Fundamentals of Logistics’ forms the basis of the programme. Here, all areas of logistics are examined, taking into account current trends such as digital transformation. Further modules focusing on supply chain, transport, production and inventory management deal with the fundamentals and special features of individual fields of application in the logistics industry. By combining economic, legal, IT and engineering issues, the Production and Logistics Management specialisation provides a particularly interdisciplinary education. This interdisciplinary competence of graduates is becoming increasingly important in practice.

Elective modules in the Production and Logistics Management specialisation:

• Fundamentals of Logistics, 3rd semester.
• Supply Chain Management, 5th semester.
• Selected Problems in Logistics, 5th semester.
• Production and Inventory Management, 6th semester.

Controlling has become extremely important in management practice. Acting as a navigator, the controller supports the company management in managing the business for success. The core function of controlling is to support planning and control by providing targeted information based on meaningful accounting, thereby ensuring rational decisions are made. This results in a broad range of tasks for the controller, including, for example, the assessment of investment projects, the economic control of operational processes, cost accounting-based budgeting and the analysis of the company's strategic situation.

There is high demand for (but also supply of) controlling graduates. The controlling specialisation prepares students for a career in controlling, but is also a suitable supplementary subject for numerous other fields of work.

Elective modules in the controlling specialisation

• Introduction to Controlling (including Excel applications), 3rd semester
• Controlling with SAP, 3rd or 5th semester
• Strategic Controlling, 5th semester
• Operational Controlling (including TOPSIM General Management business simulation), 6th semester

The event management specialisation builds on traditional business management knowledge to provide specialist knowledge in the organisation of leisure and cultural events. The aim is to train students to act as intermediaries between the creative and marketing sectors and experts in fields such as sport, culture or natural sciences, combining the elements of controlling and personnel management for such projects in a single person.

The Event Management specialisation offers excellent prospects for a career in a wide range of leisure and event-related activities at both national and international level.

Elective modules in the Event Management specialisation:

• Fundamentals of Event Management, 3rd semester
• Fairtrade Events, 5th semester
• Event Marketing, 6th semester
• Sustainable Event Management, 6th semester

Human resource management is an interdisciplinary field of work and research. That is why the Human Resource Management programme at West Coast University is also taught in an interdisciplinary manner. The programme includes modules from business administration, law and business psychology. In this way, we provide you with the tools you need to tackle complex tasks in practice. In addition, we would like to offer you the opportunity to participate in human resource management research at West Coast University as part of your term papers or final theses. Please visit the West Coast Institute for Human Resource Management website to find out more about the institute's research areas.

Elective modules in the Human Resource Management specialisation:

• Human Resource Management, 3rd semester
• Fundamentals and Labour Law, 5th semester
• New Work, 6th semester
• International Human Resource Management, 6th semester

The marketing specialisation takes a behavioural science approach.
The programme focuses on consumer behaviour and market psychology, with brand management, marketing instruments – especially communication policy – and empirical consumer research also playing an important role.
Our aim is to ensure the greatest possible practical relevance; therefore, a significant portion of the course content is taught through project work that is integrated into the teaching.

Teaching and research focus areas include consumer research, brand management, city and regional marketing, and customer relationship management (CRM).

Elective modules in the Marketing specialisation:

• Insights Driven Marketing / Marketing Research, 3rd semester.
• Brand Management I – Understanding and guiding brands as identity-oriented social design systems, 3rd semester.
• Brand Management II – Analysing and implementing brands as individual organisational principles, 5th semester.
• Fundamentals of Online Marketing, 6th semester.

The Service Management specialisation provides fundamental knowledge on the goal-oriented planning, design, control, development and marketing of services. In addition, measures for ensuring service-oriented behaviour are explained and discussed. Various service providers serve as objects of study.

Students gain comprehensive insights into the fundamentals of service management, the management and organisation of service companies, and customer loyalty management, among other topics. The specialisation also provides fundamental expertise in the areas of change management processes, human resource management and marketing in service companies. In human resource management, particular emphasis is placed on recruitment, assessment, development and retention. In marketing, the focus is primarily on the strategic marketing orientation of companies.

The explanations in the lectures are reinforced with practical and current case studies, ensuring a constant link to real-world practice. In addition, social skills such as holistic thinking,
teamwork and communication skills are taught.

Elective modules in the service management specialisation:

• Fundamentals of service management, 3rd semester.
• Human resource management, 3rd semester.
• Strategic and operational marketing, 5th semester.
• Retail Management, 6th semester

Graduates of this specialisation can pursue careers in the following fields, for example:

• Deputy manager of a retail branch
• Human resources officer
• Assistant to the head of human resources
• Assistant to the management of an airline
• Junior product manager
• Assistant to the management of a food company
• Junior consultant at a management consultancy

Unlike the other specialisations, the International Business specialisation does not consist of elective modules at FHW, but is obtained by completing a semester at a university abroad. Students who began their studies in the 2017/18 winter semester or later can have their business administration and foreign examination credits credited to FHW as a flat rate for the International Business specialisation. The prerequisite for this is a learning agreement drawn up in advance with the degree programme. In addition, at least 15 ECTS credits must have been obtained. This simplified recognition is intended to enable students to complete a semester abroad without incurring any disadvantages in the further course of their studies.

Key decision-making processes at the corporate level are determined by tax law. In this context, it is often not only national regulations that are relevant, but also provisions applicable to cross-border issues.

This specialisation covers the areas of tax law that are most relevant to business practice, taking into account any legislative reform efforts and current case law, using case studies. The additional focus on international accounting reflects the growing importance of this area of law. Students acquire interdisciplinary skills in the area of ‘law and taxation’, which are particularly in demand on the corporate and consulting side (especially tax consulting and auditing firms).

Elective modules in the specialisation Taxation / External Accounting:

• Group Accounting, 3rd and 5th semesters.
• Corporate Tax Law, 3rd semester.
• Taxation of Partnerships, 3rd semester.
• Tax Procedural Law, 5th semester.
• nternational Accounting according to IFRS – in comparison to the German Commercial Code (HGB), 6th semester.

Business informatics represents the interface between computer science and business administration. In addition to classic software development, i.e. the planning and programming of application software, the focus is specifically on the design and implementation of database applications as a large group of business management problems. Furthermore, the analysis and processing of data (business intelligence) is of central importance. These core areas are complemented by the creation of web-based applications.

The most important area of application for graduates is in operational departments where data is collected, analysed and processed using proprietary applications. This can be in controlling, marketing or a central staff department. Furthermore, employment in a software company is also conceivable, as graduates with their business management know-how represent a very good interface to the customer.  

Elective modules in the Business Informatics specialisation:

• Programming in the context of standard business software, 3rd semester.
• Databases, 5th semester.
• Software engineering, 5th semester.
• Selected topics in computer science, 6th semester.

Marketing und Vertrieb

Gelungenes Marketing und erfolgreicher Vertrieb hängen zu wesentlichen Teilen davon ab, wie gut man seine Märkte und Zielgruppen kennt. Das psychologische Wissen über Kunden und Konsumenten, über ihre Einstellungen, Wünsche und Verhaltensweisen ist daher zentraler Gegenstand dieses Studienschwerpunkts. Aus wissenschaftlichen Erklärungen des Kauf- und Konsumverhaltens werden praktische Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet, die sich im späteren beruflichen Alltag gewinnbringend einsetzen lassen.  

Schwerpunktinhalte

• Onlinemarketing
• Werbepsychologie
• Suchmaschinen-Marketing
• Konsumentenforschung
• Markenführung
• Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie

Personal und Organisation

„Der Mensch im Mittelpunkt“ ist nicht nur ein beliebtes Thema wirtschaftspolitischer Absichtserklärungen, sondern zugleich ein zentrales Ziel moderner Personalarbeit. Aus wirtschaftspsychologischer Sicht geht es darum den Menschen in seiner Produktivkraft zu fördern und gleichzeitig seinen individuellen Ansprüchen an ein humanes Arbeiten gerecht zu werden. Der Studienschwerpunkt vermittelt hierzu moderne Führungs- und Entwicklungsansätze auf verhaltenswissenschaftlicher Basis, die geeignet sind dem strukturellen, sozialen und demographischen Wandel in der Wirtschaft Rechnung zu tragen.

Schwerpunktinhalte

• Personalentwicklung
• Change Management
• Personalmarketing
• Diversity Management
• Gesundheitsmanagement
• Arbeitsrecht
• Psychologie der Führung
• Human Ressource Management

Digitales Interaktionsdesign und Data Science

Die vermittelten neuen Kompetenzen liegen insbesondere in der Vorhersage und Erklärung menschlichen Nutzer*innenverhaltens auf Basis psychologischer Modelle und Big Data. Durch die Verbindung von Psychologie und Data-Science-Methodik sind die Absolvent*innen des Schwerpunkts nicht nur in der Lage, Zusammenhänge und Muster in Datensätzen zu erkennen, sondern auch, diese auf Basis von psychologischen Theorien und Modellen zu erklären. Eine weitere Kernkompetenz liegt in der nutzer*innenorientierten Gestaltung von Mensch-Maschine-Interaktionen. Hier steht insbesondere die ergonomische Schnittstellengestaltung (Displays, Websites, Cockpit-Design) sowie die Interaktion in Sozialen Medien im Fokus.

Schwerpunktinhalte

• Data Science
• Human Computer Interaction
• Digitale Transformation
• Software-Engineering
• Webanwendungen
• Datenbanken
• Programmierung
• Informatik
• Diversity Management