The specialisation in Destination, Mobility and Transport combines two key areas of tourism: the management of complex destinations and the design of sustainable mobility and transport systems.

Destinations are complex, public and multifunctional spaces in which tourism offerings, political frameworks and a diverse range of stakeholders interact. The specialisation provides in-depth knowledge of the planning, management and strategic development of destinations. Students analyse the economic, environmental and social dimensions of tourism development, develop positioning strategies and learn how to manage cooperation and conflicts between stakeholders. Topics such as visitor management, digitalisation and governance structures form central components.

Mobility is a fundamental prerequisite for any journey. The specialisation therefore places particular emphasis on transport processes, transport infrastructure and accessibility as key factors for the competitiveness and sustainability of destinations. Students engage with the planning and optimisation of tourism mobility concepts, the role of various modes of transport, sustainable mobility solutions, and the impact of national and regional policy frameworks. The analysis of international transport markets and innovative mobility services also plays an important role.

Through the interplay of these two sub-areas, students learn to develop integrated strategies that meet the requirements of visitors as well as the needs of locals and local stakeholders in terms of destination management, and mobility and transport planning and management. The interdisciplinary and practice-oriented approach specifically prepares students for specialist and leadership roles in international tourism.

Typical tasks and areas of application

• Strategic destination development and management
• Marketing and positioning of travel destinations
• Planning and optimisation of tourism mobility concepts
• Visitor management and visitor guidance
• Stakeholder management between tourism, transport operators and the public sector
• Sustainability management and the development of environmentally friendly transport solutions
• Data analysis, digitalisation and mobility innovations

Potential fields of work include destination management organisations, transport and infrastructure companies, consultancy firms, public administrations, international organisations, and providers of tourism mobility and transport services.

The combined specialisation in Hospitality and Tour Operator Management brings together two key areas of the tourism industry. In both the tour operator sector and the hotel and catering sector, increasing transparency regarding prices and offers, as well as rising guest expectations, are leading to far-reaching changes in corporate structures and business models.
This specialisation provides a comprehensive understanding of the economic fundamentals of these two complementary branches of tourism. It focuses equally on the design and organisation of travel packages and the management of hotel and catering businesses. It also analyses the needs and behaviours of different target groups in order to successfully develop and implement customer-oriented products and services. Finally, the programme addresses the profound impact of digitalisation and, not least, artificial intelligence, and their immense influence on both digital marketing and digitally enhanced travel experiences on the ground.
A distinctive feature of this field is its highly international nature: career opportunities after graduation often span different countries and continents. At the same time, the programme is aimed at students who enjoy direct contact with guests and are confident in a dynamic and demanding work environment.
The courses provide targeted preparation for specialist and management positions in both the outbound and inbound sectors, as well as in hotel and catering management across the entire tourism value chain.
Typical tasks and areas of work include, amongst others:

• Product development and service design
• Procurement (e.g. hotels, airlines, suppliers)
• Marketing, sales and pricing management
• Controlling and quality management
• Logistics and procurement
• Guest relations and service management
• Human resources management

Potential areas of employment include tour operators, wellness and health hotels, resorts, city hotels, restaurant chains, as well as hotel associations or international tourism companies.

The Production and Logistics Management programme is aimed at prospective students who are enthusiastic about the interdisciplinary and application-oriented science of logistics – the management of goods, information and financial flows – and who see career prospects in this field. Logistics underscores the interdisciplinary approach of the West Coast University of Applied Sciences 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. In this booming interface industry, the demand for logistics graduates is growing steadily. 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.

Students are prepared to apply comprehensive design knowledge to the development of innovative business models and the design of complex processes and systems in logistics companies as well as 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 areas of application in the logistics industry. By combining economic, legal, IT and engineering issues, the specialisation in Production and Logistics Management offers 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 hugely important in management practice. As a navigator, the controller supports the company management in successfully running the business. The core function of controlling is to support planning and management 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 evaluation of investment projects, the economic control of operational processes, cost-accounting-based budgeting and the analysis of the company's strategic situation. Controlling graduates are in high demand (and also available). The specialisation in Controlling prepares students for a career in controlling, but is also suitable as a supplementary subject for numerous other fields of work. Optional modules in the Controlling specialisation

• 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 and imparts expertise in the organisation of leisure and cultural events. The aim is to train students to act as an interface between the creative and marketing industries and experts from fields such as sport, culture or natural sciences, combining the elements of controlling and human resources management for such projects in one person.

The Event Management specialisation offers excellent prospects for a career in a wide range of leisure and event activities at 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 taught in an interdisciplinary manner. The programme includes modules from the fields of business administration, law and business psychology. In this way, we provide you with the necessary tools to master complex tasks in practice. In addition, we would like to offer you the opportunity to participate in research in the field of human resource management at West Coast University as part of your semester projects or final theses. Further information on the institute's research areas can be found on the website of the West Coast Institute for Human Resource Management.

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 goal is to ensure the highest possible level of practical relevance. For this reason, a significant portion of the course content is taught through project work, which is integrated into the lessons.

The main areas of teaching and research 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 managing 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 about the goal-oriented planning, design, control, development and marketing of services. In addition, measures to ensure service-oriented behaviour are explained and discussed. Various service providers serve as the subject of investigation.

Students gain comprehensive insights into the fundamentals of service management, the management and organisation of service companies, customer loyalty management and other topics. The specialisation also imparts fundamental expertise in the areas of change management processes, human resource management and marketing in service companies. In human resource management, there is a particular focus 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 by 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.
• Strategic and Operational Marketing, 5th semester.
• Retail Management, 6th semester.

Graduates of this specialisation can pursue careers in the following areas, 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 in a management consultancy

Unlike the other specialisations, the International Business specialisation does not consist of elective modules at FHW, but is acquired through a semester abroad at a foreign university. Students who began their studies in the winter semester of 2017/18 or later can have their business administration and foreign examination achievements credited to the International Business specialisation at FHW on a flat-rate basis. 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 earned. This simplified recognition is intended to enable students to complete a semester abroad without suffering any disadvantages in the further course of their studies.

Important decision-making processes at company level are determined by tax law. In this context, it is often not only national regulations that are relevant, but also provisions that apply 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 on the basis of case studies. The additional focus on international accounting reflects the growing importance of this area of law. Students acquire interdisciplinary skills in the field 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 Tax Law / External Accounting:

• Group accounting, 3rd and 5th semesters.
• Tax procedural law, 5th semester.
• International 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 particularly 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. In addition, employment in a software company is also conceivable, as graduates with their business management expertise represent a very good interface to customers.  

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 and Sales

Successful marketing and sales depend largely on how well you know your markets and target groups. Psychological knowledge about customers and consumers, their attitudes, desires and behaviour is therefore a central focus of this course. Scientific explanations of purchasing and consumer behaviour are used to derive practical recommendations for action that can be profitably applied in later professional life.

Key topics

• Online marketing
• Advertising psychology
• Search engine marketing
• Consumer research
• Brand management
• Work and organisational psychology

Human Resources and Organisation

"Focusing on people" is not only a popular topic in economic policy declarations of intent, but also a central goal of modern human resources work. From an economic psychology perspective, the aim is to promote people's productive potential while at the same time meeting their individual demands for humane working conditions. This specialisation teaches modern management and development approaches based on behavioural science that are suitable for addressing structural, social and demographic change in the economy. Key topics

• Personnel development
• Change management
• Personnel marketing
• Diversity management
• Health management
• Labour law
• Psychology of leadership
• Human resource management

Digital interaction design and data science

The new skills taught focus in particular on predicting and explaining human user behaviour based on psychological models and big data. By combining psychology and data science methodology, graduates of this specialisation are not only able to recognise correlations and patterns in data sets, but also to explain them on the basis of psychological theories and models. Another core skill is the user-oriented design of human-machine interactions. The focus here is particularly on ergonomic interface design (displays, websites, cockpit design) and interaction in social media.

Key topics

• Data science
• Human-computer interaction
• Digital transformation
• Software engineering
• Web applications
• Databases
• Programming
• Computer science
• Diversity management