Dual Study Programmes

The Cooperative University (“Duale Hochschule”) offers a wide range of bachelor’s degree programmes in the fields of Business Administration, Engineering, Informatics and Social Pedagogy at its Eisenach and Gera campuses.

All degrees are designed as “practice-integrated dual programmes”, consisting of six semesters (full-time). Each semester is divided into a theoretical portion, held at the university, and a practical portion based on the theory learned, held on-site at the location of a co-educational industry practice partner (“Praxispartner”). During the final practical phase, students are required to write a bachelor’s thesis, in which they demonstrate their proficiency in solving a complex practical problem, utilising the theoretical and practical knowledge and methods they have acquired.

Application and Admission

For admission of applicants with foreign educational qualifications, the Cooperative University must first verify that these are recognised as a German higher education entrance qualification. Applicants who are uncertain as to whether their qualification meets this standard are advised to clarify this with the university prior to application. Please contact the Student Advisory Office at: studienberatung-gera@dhge.de.

Before submitting application documents to the Cooperative University, applicants must first secure a practice partner, i.e. a co-educational partner company or other institution with whom the university cooperates (this may also be a new partner company). Learn how to find a practice partner here.

A training contract for the chosen degree programme must be signed by both the applicant and the practice partner and sent to the Cooperative University as part of the required application documents. The training contract form for the Cooperative University can be found here.

Please note that lectures and seminars (including exams) are conducted in German. The Cooperative University therefore requires applicants to have a sufficient command of the German language. We strongly recommend a level of C1 or higher, which should be documented by the appropriate certificate.

If you have further questions, please contact the Student Advisory Office at: studienberatung-gera@dhge.de (Gera campus) or studienberatung-eisenach@dhge.de (Eisenach campus).

Further Information

Applicants must possess a general university entrance certificate (allgemeine Hochschulreife), a subject-specific university entrance certificate (fachgebundene Hochschulreife) or an entrance certificate for a university of applied science (Fachhochschulreife).

In addition, applicants are required to have a training contract with a certified practice partner for the chosen degree programme (see above for further information). The contract must stipulate not only the training and degree requirements but also the training allowance and amount of vacation leave. Admission to the programme will be granted by the Cooperative University. A copy of the completed training contract must therefore be submitted to the university by either the partner company or the applicant. Applicants will then be asked to provide all other application documents.

Students who enrol in one of our dual study programmes have two partners who collaborate in providing them with valuable qualifications: The university will provide the theoretical portion, and the practice partner will enrich that learning by offering practical experience. Students alternate between these portions every three months, so that they are simultaneously studying at the university and working for the practice partner.

Each of the six semesters is divided into a theoretical portion (12 weeks of lectures) at the university and a practical portion (an average of 14 weeks, including vacation) at the practice partner.
The regular exchange of learning environments allows students to apply, deepen and expand their knowledge, refine their practical understanding of academic and scientific concepts and develop their social skills.

Knowledge and Skills

The Cooperative University provides students with a wide variety of skills and knowledge to prepare them for their professional careers:

  • Specialist skills (expertise)
  • Methodological skills (identifying and bridging gaps in knowledge, solving problems and applying knowledge to new problems)
  • Social skills (communication, leadership, cooperation, negotiation and responsibility)
  • Organisational skills (time management and adaptability)
  • Presentation skills (oral and written communication)


BUSINESS STUDIES

BETRIEBSWIRTSCHAFT / BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (Bachelor of Arts)    
Gera and Eisenach Campuses

Specialisations: 

Gera Campus:  
- Handel / Trade   
- Industrie / Industry
- Logistik / Logistics
- Management im Gesundheitswesen / Health Care Management
- Öffentliches Management / Public Management
- Öffentliches Management - Digitales Verwaltungsmanagement /
   Public Management - Digital Administrative Management
- Immobilienwirtschaft / Real Estate Business Administration

Eisenach Campus:
- Dienstleistungsmanagement / Services Management
- Digitalisierungsmanagement / Digitalisation Management
- International Business Administration
- Handelsmanagement / Trade Management
- Handelsmanagement - E-Commerce / Trade Management - E-Commerce
- Industriemanagemet / Industrial Management
- Tourismusmanagement / Tourism Management

    
TECHNICAL STUDIES


ENGINEERING (Bachelor of Engineering) 
Eisenach Campus

Specialisations:

- Konstruktion / Construction 
- Kunststofftechnik / Plastics Technology
- Mechatronik und Automation / Mechatronics and Automation
- Produktionstechnik / Production Technology
- Produktionstechnik - Instandhaltung / Production Technology - Maintenance
- Technisches Management / Technical Management
- Prüftechnik und Qualitätsmanagement /
  Measuring Technology and Quality Management

WIRTSCHAFTSINGENIEURWESEN / INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING (Bachelor of Science)
Eisenach Campus

Specialisations:

- Technischer Vertrieb / Technical Sales  
- Digitale Industrie / Industrial Digitalisation

ELEKTROTECHNIK/AUTOMATISIERUNGSTECHNIK / ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING/AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY (Bachelor of Engineering)    
Gera Campus

Specialisations:

- Prozessautomation / Process Automation
- Industrielle Elektronik / Industrial Electronics

INFORMATICS
Gera Campus:

PRAKTISCHE INFORMATIK / PRACTICAL INFORMATICS (Bachelor of Engineering)
TECHNISCHE INFORMATIK / TECHNICAL INFORMATICS (Bachelor of Engineering)
WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK / BUSINESS INFORMATICS (Bachelor of Science)   
WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK - Verwaltungsinformatik / BUSINESS INFORMATICS - Administrative Informatics


SOCIAL STUDIES    
    
SOZIALE ARBEIT / SOCIAL WORK (Bachelor of Arts)    
Gera Campus

Specialisations:

- Kinder- und Jugendhilfe / Child and Youth Care
- Soziale Dienste / Social Services
- Rehabilitation