Logistics/Business Studies

Many of our graduates find roles in businesses in the field of logistics services, taking on specialist or management positions directly after graduating and advancing to senior positions in logistics within a few years. The broad-based technical and business competencies our students acquire mean they are also excellently suited to roles in other areas of business, across sectors.

Along with delivering first-class training in all things logistical, the course provides a grounding in general business studies, economics (encompassing an environmental emphasis), business IT, law, quantitative methods, social sciences, management and accounting. Classes in technological aspects of the subject explore the impact of technical issues on decision-making in logistics.

In your fifth semester, you’ll do an internship in Germany or abroad, and you conclude your course with your Bachelor thesis in semester 7.

You’ll need an interest in how business interacts with technology and society. Sound fundamental maths skills, good general knowledge, joined-up thinking and strong interpersonal competencies are required, along with written and spoken articulacy, a high performance mindset and an ability to work well in small groups.

Interested – but not quite sure yet whether this is the right course for you? Our self-assessment test can help you make up your mind. Take it here: HAW Navigator.

Higher education entrance qualification 

You can apply directly for this course if you hold one of the following qualifications:

• Fachhochschulreife
• Allgemeine Hochschulreife  
• Fachgebundene Hochschulreife (subject-specific HE entrance qualification)
• Meister*in (vocational qualification – master tradesperson)
• Fachwirt*in (certified specialist)

Applicants who do not hold a higher education entrance qualification but have completed vocational training (Berufsausbildung) and at least three years of subsequent work experience can apply under Section 38 of the Hamburg Higher Education Act, which sets out special provisions for these applicants (Besonderer Hochschulzugang für Berufstätige).

Find out more at Admission requirements for a Bachelor's degree.

You will additionally need to demonstrate proficiency in the English language in order to be accepted on the course. You can do this in one of the following ways:

1. If you have a German Fachhochschulreife, you need to have the final English grade ‘sehr gut’ (min. 14 points) to demonstrate proficiency; if you have an allgemeine Hochschulreife (Abitur), your final English grade needs to be at least ‘gut’ (min. 11 points). If your certificate of qualification (Zeugnis) does not contain a final grade for English, the same minimum grades apply to the grade average of the partial English grades listed in your Zeugnis. If you took an examination in English, this will count for 50% of this grade average.
2. Alternatively, you can present proof of having passed one of the following recognised language tests at level B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:
   • A valid TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language - Internet-based test), minimum score: 83
   • IELTS (International English Language Testing System – Academic Training), minimum score: 6
   • University of Cambridge ESOL Examination (General English):
   • FCE (First Certificate in English): grade A-C
   • CAE (Certificate in Advanced English): grade A-C, minimum score: 45
   • CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English): grade A-C minimum score: 45
3. A third alternative is presenting proof of achievements gained abroad which show the required proficiency level. This must be either:
   • a higher education entrance qualification attained at a school in an English-speaking country; or
   • proof of having spent at least two years studying successfully at a higher education institution in an English-speaking country

If you fail to present proof of proficiency in English by the end of your first semester on the course, you will be deregistered, which means you will not be able to continue your studies.

Pre-course experience

We do not require you to have completed pre-course experience for this course.

International applicants

If you completed your schooling outside Germany and want to study here for a Bachelor’s degree, you need to hold an academic school-leaving qualification which entitles you to admission to higher education; that is, it needs to be comparable to a German Abitur or Fachhochschulreife. The organisation uni assist will check your certificates from school and any degree-level studies to establish comparability.
You can find details of HAW Hamburg’s application criteria at International applicants.