International Industrial Management (FT)

To graduate from the degree programme in International Industrial Management, you must:

• successfully complete all the classes
• produce a Master’s thesis which must receive a pass mark
• pass the Master’s examination

Your title on graduation will be “DiplomingenieurIn (DI)”.

The Master’s thesis is, of course, also a prerequisite for successfully completing the programme. It gives students the opportunity to delve more deeply into a topic of particular interest. Similar to the approach taken in the Bachelor’s thesis, our students learn more about using scientific and systematic methodology to answer questions relating to applied research.
In principle, the fourth semester is scheduled for the Master’s thesis, although our students can certainly begin work on it earlier. The thesis is supervised by lecturers on the programme together with external experts. Students keep their supervisors informed of the progress of their work and discuss any questions which arise. The topics are also presented and discussed in a seminar in front of the other students.

Several students may take a shared topic for the subject of their Master’s thesis, although it must be possible to evaluate the work of each student individually. Students may collaborate with companies, and many students use this opportunity to establish links with industry.

Two dates are scheduled for the Master’s examination in the final year. The examination consists of the following:

• Presentation and defence of the Master’s thesis in English using a scientific poster
• Examination on a group of specialist subjects chosen by the candidate
• Examination on professionally-relevant subjects drawn from the programme as a whole

The public examination is conducted by an examination board composed of the following:

• Head of degree programme or a faculty member
• Supervisor for the Master’s thesis
• Examiner for the complementary subject

The Master’s examination lasts a total of 60 minutes.

As the Master’s programme in International Industrial Management began only in 2011, to date only three year-groups have completed the programme and started their professional careers. However, it is already clear that our graduates are highly sought after by employers – the majority of graduates have already received firm offers of employment prior to taking their final examinations.

We also know that our “old” graduates (from the 8-semester DI (FH) programme launched in 1995 prior to the Bologna reforms) are very successful, as demonstrated by their many and varied careers. Like the programme itself, the jobs and careers as well as the industries in which our graduates work are diverse. They include procurement, pre-production, production, marketing and sales, after sales, logistics and supply chain management, controlling, human resources, information management/ERP (e.g. SAP), and service engineering, and right through to consulting. And not only in Austria – many graduates enjoy international careers.