Official Study Guide for Germany
Financial services, insurance industry
The degree programmes in this field of study prepare students for management tasks at credit institutions and insurance companies.
Overview of the academic discipline
The degree programme offers an academic education in insurance, banking and finance. Building on a basic education in business administration, in which knowledge of financial mathematics and statistics is also taught, students acquire the specific industry knowledge required for working in the banking and insurance industry.
In the banking and finance sector, a distinction is made between private and corporate customer business. The industry is concerned with ensuring that companies and private individuals remain solvent. Banks also strive to maximise their own profits. Everything revolves around the stock exchange and securities business, commodities trading, lending, loans, investments and more.
The insurance industry, on the other hand, protects private individuals and companies against potential risks. The internationalisation of the market and forms of distribution such as direct insurance play a major role here.
In order to fulfil these tasks, employees must have solid specific qualifications, particularly in the areas of risk management, marketing and sales management, controlling and international financial markets.
Which topics are included in the curriculum?
Building on a basic education in business administration, Bachelor's students acquire specialised and industry-specific knowledge, e.g. legal, mathematical and sector-specific knowledge of the banking and insurance business. Examples of modules include the basics of business administration, basics of financial services, banking and financial management, credit business, sales of financial services products, business law, statistical methods of the insurance industry, insurance business, insurance law, risk and decision theory and business mathematics. In numerous degree programmes, students set specialisations in higher semesters.
What are the requirements?
A good foundation for successful studies in this field is knowledge of the following school subjects: Economics/law, maths, computer science and English
What study programmes are there to choose from?
Bachelor's degree programmes in this field are mainly offered at universities of applied sciences, but also at some universities. The degree programmes are often offered on a dual or part-time basis. Possible degree programme titles are ‘Banking and Insurance’, ‘Banking and Finance’, ‘Financial Services’, ‘Insurance Economics’ or ‘Risk and Insurance’.
What job opportunities are there after graduation?
For graduates, there are various fields of activity in banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, but also in industry and service companies, e.g. in controlling or finance and accounting.