Requirements and application

Students of business chemistry receive both a chemical and an economic education, in parallel from the beginning of their studies. On the chemistry side, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry are taught as core subjects, while on the economics side, students gain knowledge in business administration and economics. The programme teaches all relevant contents of both subjects and subsidiary subjects and guarantees a practice-oriented and interdisciplinary education through lectures, exercises, seminars and laboratory practicals.
 
Business chemists possess the unique talent of being able to analyse complex issues. Through the combination of the two disciplines, students acquire, in addition to key qualifications, competences in transfer thinking, coordination and the ability to think outside the box of their own subject area. Studying business chemistry means combining and integrating the chemical and business mindset in one person.

The special feature of the Düsseldorf study model is that chemistry and business studies are studied in an integrated way from the beginning of the programme.

For students who are very interested in both subjects, this opens up the opportunity to get to know chemistry and business studies in lectures, courses, exercises, seminars and in the laboratory from the very first semester. In addition to a basic understanding of both subjects, students develop interface competencies and so-called "soft skills".

If students decide to continue with only one of the two subjects, a change of programme to chemistry is usually possible without problems in the first semesters. A change to business aministration is not possible due to the admission restriction.

After successful completion of the B.Sc. business chemistry, students can apply for one of the following Master's programmes, among others:

• M.Sc. business chemistry
• M.Sc. chemistry
• M.Sc. business administration (requires the additional attendance of the module BS02: Statistical Methods II)

Students of business chemistry should...

• have a great interest in scientific contexts,
• enjoy dealing with complex issues in the natural sciences and economics,
• enjoy laboratory work,
• have an interest in business processes,
• enjoy scientific work,
• think critically and enjoy discussions,
• be prepared to learn and apply a lot of course content in a short time.

In principle, it is helpful, especially in the first semesters, to have previous knowledge from school or training as a chemical-technical assistant, chemical laboratory assistant or similar. However, this is not a basic requirement for the degree programme.
All courses are designed to provide students without prior knowledge with the basics and necessary knowledge from the ground up. The study programme is designed in such a way that the courses in the first and second semester level out different previous school knowledge.
Thus, chemistry beginners are not at a disadvantage and are very welcome.

Deciding on a suitable field of study is not easy. You are welcome to use the advisory services of the Student Service Centre to find a suitable subject.

You can find information about the advisory service and other helpful tips here. Further general FAQs for prospective students at HHU can be found here.

HHU uses the Dialogue-Oriented Service Procedure (DoSV) for the application for the B.Sc. in business chemistry. The application process takes place in two steps: In the first step, prospective students must first register on the hochschulstart.de portal. There you will receive your BID (Applicant Identification Number) and your BAN (Applicant Authentication Number). In the second step, you apply on the HHU portal, stating your BID and BAN. You can find more information about the application on the HHU homepage and on the checklist.

Application for the winter semester is possible until 15 July of the same year.

Admission requirement for the bachelor's degree programme is the Abitur/general higher education entrance qualification. The business chemistry programme is subject to the local NC procedure.

Selection procedure: In the local NC procedure at HHU, places are allocated as follows:

• 20% by grade
• 20% according to waiting time
• 60% according to university quota

You can find an overview of the selection limits of the past years here.

In principle, it is possible to have study and examination achievements obtained elsewhere recognised. In the case of previous chemical training, equivalent experimental achievements can also be recognised.
The equivalence must be checked individually on the basis of documents (e.g. performance overview, module handbook, internship reports). Please contact  with this request and coordinate the necessary procedural steps with him.

For a good start to your studies, we strongly recommend taking part in the introductory events (ESAG) of the business chemistry department. You can find details here. 

During the ESAG, you not only have the opportunity to get to know your future fellow students, but you will also receive helpful tips on studying from students of higher semesters (e.g. activation of the HHU ID, registration for events and exams, use of the HHU-Card).

Dare to approach other students, especially in the first few days. Especially at the start of the semester, everyone is new, which makes it easier to make contact. This way, you can already get to know interesting people during the ESAG, with whom you will spend a lot of time together during the lectures or while studying.

In addition, HHU offers refresher courses before you start your studies. Participation is voluntary. Experience has shown that the refresher courses in physics and mathematics are particularly helpful. 

The online bridge course in mathematics, which can be taken at any time, is also helpful for refreshing your knowledge of mathematics.

We also offer so-called orientation tutorials during the first semester. Here, experienced students (O-tutors) pass on their knowledge parallel to the lectures so that the first semester already runs optimally. The dates of the orientation tutorials are announced after the start of the lecture period.  

Furthermore, the checkliste for the start of  studies and the HHU-Ersti-Guide-App can make the start into your studies easier.

Further information on starting your studies can be found on the HHU homepage.