Curriculum for the Bachelor's Programme in Economics and Business Administration, 2017

1: Preface

In pursuance of Act No. 261 of 18 March 2015 on universities (the University Act), the following curriculum and regulations are stipulated for the BSc in Economics and Business Administration.

2: Basis in ministerial orders

The Bachelor’s programme is organised in accordance with the Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s Order no. 1328 of November 15, 2016 on Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes at Universities (the Ministerial Order of the Study Programmes) and Ministerial Order no. 1062 of June 30, 2016 on University Examinations (the Examination Order). Further reference is made to Ministerial Order no. 110 of January 30, 2017 (the Admission Order) and Ministerial Order no. 114 of February 3, 2015 (the Grading Scale Order) with subsequent changes.

3: Campus

The programme is offered in Aalborg.

4: Faculty affiliation

The Bachelor’s programme falls under Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Aalborg University.

5: Study board affiliation

The Bachelor’s programme falls under Study Board of Economics and Business Administration.

6: Affiliation to corps of external examiners

The Bachelor’s programme is associated with the external examiners corps on External Examiners Corps on Business Administration.

7: Admission requirements

Admission to the BSc in Economics and Business Administration, EBA, requires that applicants have completed higher secondary education.

Specific admission requirements apply to the study programmes of the Faculty of Social Sciences and to the individual programmes. These admission requirements are described in appendix 1 of the Admission Order https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=186471 (in Danish) or at http://www.optagelse.dk (the admissions portal of the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science).

8: The programme title in Danish and English

The Bachelor’s programme entitles the graduate to the Danish designation Bachelor (BSc) i erhvervsøkonomi, HA. The English designation is: Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics and Business Administration.

9: Programme specifications in ECTS credits

The Bachelor’s programme is a 3-year, research-based, full-time study programme. The programme is set to 180 ECTS credits.

10: Rules concerning credit transfer (merit), including the possibility for choice of modules that are part of another programme at a university in Denmark or abroad

The Study Board can approve that passed programme elements from other educational programmes at the same level replaces programme elements within this programme (credit transfer).

Furthermore, the Study Board can, upon application, approve that parts of this programme is completed at another university or a further education institution in Denmark or abroad (pre-approval of credit transfer).

The Study Board’s decisions regarding credit transfer are based on an academic assessment.

11: Exemptions

The Study Board’s possibilities to grant exemption, including exemption to further examination attempts and special examination conditions, are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published at this website: https://www.studieservice.aau.dk/regler-vejledninger

12: Rules for examinations

The rules for examinations are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published at this website: https://www.studieservice.aau.dk/regler-vejledninger

13: Rules concerning written work, including the Bachelor’s project

In the assessment of all written work, regardless of the language it is written in, weight is also given to the student's formulation and spelling ability, in addition to the academic content. Orthographic and grammatical correctness as well as stylistic proficiency are taken as a basis for the evaluation of language performance. Language performance must always be included as an independent dimension of the total evaluation. However, no examination can be assessed as ‘Pass’ on the basis of good language performance alone; similarly, an examination normally cannot be assessed as ‘Fail’ on the basis of poor language performance alone.

The Study Board can grant exemption from this in special cases (e.g., dyslexia or a native language other than Danish).

The Bachelor’s project must include an English summary. If the project is written in English, the summary can be in Danish. The summary is included in the evaluation of the project as a whole.

14: Requirements regarding the reading of texts in a foreign language

Students must be able to read texts within the academic field of the course in modern Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English and use reference sources etc. in other European languages.

15: Competence profile on the diploma

The following competence profile will appear on the diploma:

A graduate of the Bachelor's programme has competencies acquired through an educational programme that has taken place in a research environment.

A graduate of the Bachelor's programme has fundamental knowledge of and insight into his/her subject's methods and scientific foundation. These properties qualify the graduate of the Bachelor’s programme for further education in a relevant Master’s programme as well as for employment on the basis of the educational programme

16: Competence profile of the programme

Knowledge of
The students are expected to have obtained theoretical and practical understanding of organisations, external environments and management – including theoretical knowledge and understanding of how theories can be translated into practice through analysis and reflection. The students must have gained an insight into:

• Markets – how markets for resources, goods and services function and are developed.

• Customers – customer expectations, demand patterns and client servicing.

• Economics — sources of financing, use and management of financial resources; the use of accounting and other management information systems.

• People – the management and development of people within organisations, management theories and practices and the development of inter-/multi-cultural understanding, and understanding of diversity in general.

• Operations – managing resources and operations.

• Information systems – development, management and the use of information systems and their influence on and interaction with the organisation.

• Understanding of communication and information processing, including the understanding and use of relevant and up-to-date communication and information technologies for business and management purposes.

• Business policy and strategies – the development of appropriate policies and strategies in an ever- changing world in order to live up to internal and external interests within, for instance, sustainability, internationalisation and globalisation, ethics and corporate social responsibility, responsible management, business innovation, creativity, business development, knowledge management and risk management.

Skills in
Students are expected to have obtained the following skills:

• Problem-based project work.

• Demonstrating the ability to use knowledge for the production of new knowledge, which must be

  accomplished through the programme’s emphasis on analysis, critical reflection, collaboration and the students’ responsibility for their own learning.

• The use of the methods and tools of the social sciences.

• Assessment of theoretical and practical issues within the business economics discipline as well as the

  selection of relevant solution models and explanations of this selection.

• The ability to communicate business economics issues and solutions to peers, non-specialists, business partners and users.

• Competent oral and written communication, using relevant media, including preparation and presentation of reports etc.

• Qualitative analyses and interpretations.

• Numeracy, mathematical and quantitative skills, including data analysis, data interpretation and processing. The use of business economics models.

• Statistical data analysis in combination with business economics skills for decision-making support in an organisation.

• Competent use of information and communication technologies for business purposes.

• Project management.

• Interpersonal skills in the form of active listening, negotiation, motivation, coordination and presentation.

Competences

Students are expected to have obtained the following competences:

• The handling of complex and development-oriented situations in a study or work context

• Taking part in academic and interdisciplinary collaboration, demonstrating an independent and professional approach

• Possessing cognitive abilities for critical thinking, analysis and synthesis. This includes the ability to identify assumptions, evaluate statements on the basis of scientific evidence, detect false logic or reasoning, identify implicit values, define concepts and draw general conclusions in an appropriate manner.

• Effective problem-solving and decision-making abilities based on the use of appropriate qualitative and quantitative skills, including identifying, formulating and solving problems within the field. The ability to create, evaluate and assess a number of options, and the ability to apply ideas and knowledge in situations of uncertainty or limited information.

• Effective self-management as regards time, planning and behaviour, motivation, personal initiative and enterprise.

• Displaying constructive participation in a group context, including the display of leadership, team building and collaboration skills and the exercise of influence.

17: Structure and Contents of the programme

The BSc in Economics and Business Administration includes six obligatory projects, nine obligatory courses, two elective courses (electives) corresponding to 10 ECTS and one bachelor thesis. The ECTS and scheduling of individual courses in the study programme appear from the table in section 7.

The BSc in Economics and Business Administration includes the following scientific centres of gravity in individual semesters:

1st semester: Basic functions and processes in companies and organisations – including the teaching of PBL, scientific method, business economics, innovation, microeconomics, managerial economics and business project.
2nd semester: Social development - external environments of companies and organisations seen in business economics and international contexts.

3rd semester: Internal processes in companies and organisations – including management accounting and organisation.
4th semester: The operations of companies and organisations in external environments – including marketing and strategy.

5th semester: The company and the organisation seen as a whole – including project collaboration with companies.
6th semester: Business economics specialisation – including philosophy of science, methodology, analysis and preparation of a bachelor thesis.

It is an important premise that group formation is an element in all semesters, ensuring that, regardless of module size, the students will work in a project group throughout the module period.

All semesters are concluded by project work. 16 modules constitute the six semesters of the programme.

The BSc in Economics and Business Administration includes six obligatory projects, nine obligatory courses, two elective courses (electives) corresponding to 10 ECTS and one bachelor thesis. The ECTS and scheduling of individual courses in the study programme appear from the table in section 7.

The BSc in Economics and Business Administration includes the following scientific centres of gravity in individual semesters:

1st semester: Basic functions and processes in companies and organisations – including the teaching of PBL, scientific method, business economics, innovation, microeconomics, managerial economics and business project.
2nd semester: Social development - external environments of companies and organisations seen in business economics and international contexts.

3rd semester: Internal processes in companies and organisations – including management accounting and organisation.
4th semester: The operations of companies and organisations in external environments – including marketing and strategy.

5th semester: The company and the organisation seen as a whole – including project collaboration with companies.
6th semester: Business economics specialisation – including philosophy of science, methodology, analysis and preparation of a bachelor thesis.

It is an important premise that group formation is an element in all semesters, ensuring that, regardless of module size, the students will work in a project group throughout the module period.

All semesters are concluded by project work. 16 modules constitute the six semesters of the programme.

1st semester

2nd semester

3rd semester

4th semester

5th semester

6th semester

18: Overview of the programme

19: Additional information

The Study Board will publish more detailed information about the programme, including the examinations, on its website http://www.en.aau.dk/education/bachelor

20: Commencement and transitional rules

This curriculum and these regulations have been approved by the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and will become effective on 1 September 2017. Students who wish to complete their studies according to the 2013 curriculum and regulations must complete their studies no later than at the summer examinations in 2021; after this time period no examinations will be offered according to the previous Curriculum and Regulations.

21: Amendments to the curriculum and regulations

The Vice-dean has on October 28, 2020, approved that the elective "Entrepreneurship and Innovation" is no longer offered as of September 2020.