Business Taxation (B.Sc.)

Ready to kick-start your career while you study?
With our Business Taxation program, you combine academic learning with hands-on experience at a tax consultancy from day one.

Why Business Taxation?

You want to study at a university and put the theory you have learnt directly into business practice during your studies? Do you want to be employed in a company from the very first semester and earn a regular income? Are you interested in numbers and laws? Do you want to understand how companies work? Can you imagine immersing yourself in one of the most complex areas of law, namely tax law, and using this expertise to advise companies?

Then the dual Bachelor's degree programme in Business Taxation at Viadrina is just right for you! You will be ideally positioned for a career in tax consultancy. The new degree programme will start in the winter semester 2025/26, subject to the approval of the University´s Foundation Board.

As a tax consultant, you support companies and private individuals in tax and financial matters. You help to prepare tax returns correctly, document income and expenditure clearly and comply with legal regulations. You also offer strategic advice on how to optimise the tax situation within the scope of the law, for example through good financial and investment planning.

In short: tax advice helps to organise taxes transparently and with foresight so that financial decisions can be made on a sound basis.

How to become a tax consultant

To become a tax advisor, you take the tax advisor exam after completing a degree in economics or law and a period of practical training following your bachelor's degree. In our Business Taxation degree programme, you will be familiarised with the essential tools of tax consultancy in a targeted manner and at the same time have feedback from your employer on what you have learned in professional practice.

Work and study - double the benefits!

During your studies, you will gain insights into a wide range of topics. In addition to the basic business and economics subjects, statistics and mathematics, you will specialise in Taxation, Accounting and Law.

In our degree programme you have university courses on a maximum of three days a week and work in your tax consultancy firm the rest of the week. Or you can study in a block model and work full-time in your tax consultancy firm during the semester break. After the first 7 weeks of your studies, you can already benefit from the theoretical knowledge you have learnt in your company.

During your studies, you will improve your business English in language courses and English-language business administration courses. Optionally, and if it is compatible with your work in tax consulting, you can complete a stay abroad at one of our numerous partner universities in the 5th or 6th semester.

 

Career prospects

A career in tax consultancy is worthwhile; specialists with this expertise are in high demand. To become a tax advisor and be able to advise independently on tax matters, you must pass the tax advisor exam.

After successfully completing the dual study programme with us, you can join your company full-time and complete the exam after a minimum of three years of professional experience or switch to other interesting areas such as consulting, audit or financial services.

You can also stay with your company part-time and complete a Master's degree with us, specialising in Finance, Accounting and Taxation. With a focused specialisation in our tax courses combined with external exam courses, you will be optimally prepared for the tax consultant exam after just two years.

 

Course of study

The content of the seven-semester Bachelor's degree programme is divided into basic training and specialisation. It also includes a language module, practical modules and, of course, the dissertation.

The basic training is the foundation of the business administration degree programme and is completed after the first four semesters. The specialisation begins in the second semester and includes the areas of tax law, accounting and the basics of civil, commercial and company law, which are particularly important in tax consultancy firms. English B2 level is usually achieved by the 5th semester at the latest.

The practical modules are an important part of a dual study programme. This is where the concrete interlinking with practice takes place; the application of the theoretical knowledge learnt is reflected upon and at the same time the specialist research and expert writing that is important in practice and science is practised.

A semester abroad can be integrated in consultation with the employer in the 5th or 6th semester; a stay abroad via the practice company, for example as part of an internship module, is also a useful addition.

  • Externes Rechnungswesen
  • Internes Rechnungswesen
  • Finanzierung & Investition
  • Unternehmensbesteuerung
  • Produktion & Logistik
  • Marketing (english)
  • Internationales Management
  • Wirtschaftsinformatik
  • Mikroökonomie
  • Makroökonomie
  • Mathematik
  • Statistik

Mandatory modules:

  • Besteuerung der Gesellschaften und Konzerne
  • Internationale Unternehmensbesteuerung
  • Fallstudienseminar Steuerberatung

 

Elective modules (maximum 2 elective modules):

  • Umsatzsteuer im Binnenmarkt
  • Internationales Steuerrecht mit dem Schwerpunkt Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen und Europäisches Steuerrecht
  • Seminar in Unternehmensbesteuerung
  • Taxation in Europe (seminar)
  • Elective module: Ausgewählte Themen in Taxation

Mandatory module:

  • Handels- und Steuerbilanzen

 

Elective modules (maximum 2 elective modules):

  • International Accounting
  • Latente Steuern im Konzernabschluss nach HGB und IFRS
  • Controlling
  • Prüfungslehre
  • Business Ethics
  • Seminar in Accounting
  • Unternehmensbewertung
  • Ausgewählte Themen in Accounting

  • Grundlagen des Zivilrechts
  • Handels- und Gesellschaftsrech

  • English (12 ECTS; without grading)

  • Practical module Ia: Communication with clients and financial administration (3 ECTS, without grading)

  • Practical module Ib: Familiarisation with the professional field of tax consultancy (3 ECTS, without grading)

  • Practical module II: Familiarisation with the operational processes in tax consultancy (6 ECTS, without grading)

  • Practical module III: "Tax Technology" e.g. Datev driving licence (6 ECTS, without grading)

  • Practical module IV: Application of the theoretical knowledge acquired to a real case from consulting practice (e.g. tax balance sheet) (6 ECTS, without grading)

  • Practical Module V: Application of the theoretical knowledge acquired to a real case from consulting practice (e.g. international case) (6 ECTS, without grading)

  • Practical module VI: Independent solution of a current internal challenge in a tax consultancy (12 ECTS)

  • Practical module VII: Independent solution of a practical problem using the theoretical knowledge acquired (18 ECTS)

  • Bachelor thesis (12 ECTS)

Apply & enroll

Further education admissions certificate (A-levels or equivalent)

You need a general or subject-restricted higher education entrance qualification, entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences or equivalent from a German school or a foreign school-leaving qualification recognised as equivalent. If you did not obtain your qualification in Germany, you can check on the online portal anabin whether it can be recognised as equivalent to the German A-levels.

Language skills

In addition to German, English is the language of instruction and examination in the degree programme. German language skills are therefore required. As proof of English language proficiency is a compulsory part of the degree programme, applicants should already have knowledge of English at the beginning of the degree programme. No proof of English is required.

Foreign students who have not obtained their further education admissions certificate in Germany must provide proof of German language proficiency by successfully passing the German Language Test for Admission to Higher Education for Foreign Applicants (DSH) or an equivalent test as an admission requirement.

You should therefore acquire a good knowledge of German in your home country and, if possible, take the TestDaF.

Applicants are exempt from the DSH if they

  • are holders of a German-language A-levels,
  • have successfully graduated from a German-speaking university,
  • have the German Language Diploma of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs Level II (DSD II) with level C1 in all four partial examinations,
  • hold the Goethe-Zertifikat C2 from the Goethe-Institut,
  • have obtained the TestDaF certificate and have reached at least level TDN 4 in all four sections,
  • have passed the language test "telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule",
  • have already taken the DSH.

The European University Viadrina offers a preparatory German language course.

Please note:

Proof of your current knowledge of German must be submitted with your application documents to the Viadrina so that it can be determined
whether this knowledge is already sufficient for the degree programme or
whether you must take the DSH or an equivalent examination before starting your studies or
whether enrolment will not be possible due to insufficient language skills.
The original proof of the required language skills must be submitted at the latest upon enrolment.
Please arrange for the language certificate to be sent directly from the testing institute to the admission's office. Copies - certified or not - will not be accepted.
The language certificate must not be older than three years.
In order to meet the deadlines, we strongly recommend that you endeavour to obtain the corresponding language certificate as early as possible.

Note on the maths requirements

You don't have to be a maths ace to study economics. However, mathematical models are used in many areas such as market research, business decision theory and economic theory. Prospective students should therefore have an interest in and a certain basic understanding of mathematical problems and preferably be able to work

to work independently, i.e. to structure given complex tasks in such a way that a solution approach and a mathematical model can be found,
to solve equations with variables in any form,
to derive functions and
to solve elementary optimisation tasks.
While some universities offer special pre-courses in mathematics before the start of the course, in which the basics of school mathematics are refreshed, we at the Viadrina repeat this content as part of the corresponding mathematics module. The responsible lecturers will provide you with the mathematical knowledge required for your studies within one semester.</p

The first step is to apply to a tax consultancy firm. You can apply to our cooperating partner companies or enquire with other tax consultancies about the possibility of a dual study programme. We will support you in your search for a suitable company. It is also possible to apply to several companies. If you are accepted, you will conclude a study contract with the partner company.

In a second step, register online at the European University Viadrina by 15 September with the required documents at viaCampus.

Contacts and Links

Prof. Dr. Christina Elschner / Prof. Dr. Drahomir Klimsa