Entrance Examinations & Preparation Courses

There are admission requirements for all the study programmes. These include good grades in mathematics and English (the equivalent to a 10 point average from two senior-grade school reports or a 9 point average in advanced courses from a school using the German education system). The Business Administration and Business Informatics programmes require an additional grade of 10 or 9 points in the German language.

If you do not fulfil the HSBA admission requirements, this does not mean that studying at HSBA is impossible. In this case you have the opportunity to take part in our entrance examinations. The entrance examinations regularly take place in the subjects Mathematics, German and English. On the following pages you can find further information on the different exams.

With the German entrance examination we examine if the applicant has a good level of spelling proficiency and argumentative skills in German in order to be able to study at HSBA. This entrance examination only needs to be taken if the study courses Business Administration (German version), Business Informatics or Media Management are chosen.

The 90-minute test involves writing a discussion to test linguistic accuracy within the discussion.

Dates & Registration

With the mathematics entrance examination, we examine if the applicant has a good understanding of mathematics in order to study successfully at HSBA. The examination takes 90 minutes and consists of the following topics:

• Mathematical Equation Transformations
• Solving Equations (Linear and Quadratic)
• Solving Linear Systems of Equations (for example Gaussian Algorithm)
• E-function, Logarithm Function, Trigonometric Functions (Basics)
• Differential Calculation, in Particular Curve Discussions
• Integral Calculus, in Particular Basic Area Calculations

HSBA offers applicants the possibility to take part in a mathematics preparation course in order to allow for an intensive preparation for the entrance examination. Please be aware that the course takes place in German.

Dates & Registration

English is essential for many HSBA classes: At the moment, one third of the courses are being taught in English. Furthermore, the dual Bachelor's degree programmes International Management, Logistics Management as well as the Master's degree programme MSc Business Development are completely taught in English. This results from the fact that HSBA focuses on International Business and pursues the aim to qualify its students to become promising international executives.

The examination takes 90 minutes and consists of the following parts:

• Reading Comprehension (written part)
• Writing Comprehension (written part)
• Speaking Comprehension (verbal part)

For the written part, written questions need to be answered, for the verbal part a personal interview takes place.

Dates & Registration

Information for the Accreditation of the HSBA-Test

The HSBA English Test is divided into a written and an oral part. Within the written part, the students’ writing, reading and comprehension skills are tested. The writing part requires the students to prove their knowledge within the fields of vocabulary, grammar, tenses, phrasal verbs, word phrases, false friends, sentence structure and translations. Some questions are multiple choice questions, others are open questions.

The reading and comprehension part is divided into a C1 level text from daily newspapers and magazines, and multiple choice questions.

The oral part of the test analyses the students’ speaking and listening skills. This is done in a 30 minute personal interview. The students listen to a talk and subsequently discuss the topic of the talk with their interview partner who is an English native speaker.

In order to pass the test, the students need to demonstrate advanced reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Thus, we recommend comprehensive preparation and practice. We would advise the following:

Writing Part:

• Practice advanced grammar structures with grammar practice books, i.e. books named below within the list of possible literature
• Visit grammar based internet sites, i.e. One-Stop-English, Macmillan English
• Study difficult vocabulary, i.e. with the help of flash cardsStudy technical and expert terms
• Use up-to-date dictionaries and mark new and unknown words
• Download practice tests, i.e. Telc-English Level C1

Reading and Comprehension Part:
Read English literature, i.e. books, magazines, newspapers and online journals (BBC News, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, etc.), subsequently write a short summary and discuss the text with others

Listening and Comprehension Part:

• Watch challenging TV programs and movies and discuss the contents
• Listen to English radio programs and discuss the contents
• Listen to Internet Podcasts and online newspaper articles and discuss the contents

 Speaking Part:

• Inform yourself about current news, especially within the field of economics
• Practice stating your opinion clearly in regard to current events
• Speak English as much as possible, i.e. find a Tandem partner
• Visit an English language course if possible

We can recommend the following books in preparation for the test. Please note that this is just a small selection to give you a general idea of the literature on the market and that this list is by no means complete.

Recommended Literature:

• Michael Duckworth (Hrsg.): Business Grammar & Practice (upper intermediate to ad-vanced), Oxford University Press.
• John Stevens (Hrsg.): Business Grammar - no problem, Eine Englischgrammatik mit Übungen und Tests, Cornelsen Verlag.
• Raymond Murphy (Hrsg.): English Grammar in Use and Essential Grammar in Use (advanced), Cambridge University Press.
• Astrid Stannat (Hrsg.): English Oberstufe/So bestehe ich das Abitur: Lerntechniken, Arbeitsmittel, Trainingsklausuren, Mentor Verlag München.
• Michael McCarthy/ Felicity O’Dell (Hrsg.): English Vocabulary in Use und Test your English Vocabulary in Use, Cambridge University Press.
• Christine House/ John Stevens: Grammar no problem. Eine Englischgrammatik mit Übungen (Hrsg.), Cornelsen Verlag.
• Peter Lewis-Jones (Hrsg.): In conversation. Konversationskurs Englisch (B1/B2), Klett Verlag.
• Norman Coe (Hrsg.): Oxford Practice Grammar. Nachschlage- und Übungsgramma-tik, Oxford University Press.
• Michael Swan (Hrsg.): Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press.
• Tony Addison/ Chris Perkins (Hrsg.): Practice with prepositions. Practice and Refer-ence for German-speaking Learners of English (post-intermediate and advance), Englang Books.
• Sarah Nowotny (Hrsg.): Top Im Abi English, Schroedel Verlag.

Additionally, we recommend TOEFL Test preparation books, i.e. Barron’s, Cambridge, ETS, Kaplan, Longman and Princeton Review. We advise you to visit the public libraries before deciding on a copy.

The proof of the necessary English knowledge can also be provided with the following alternative certificates

TOEFL internet-based with at least 72 points

More detailed information on this test can be found at: www.toefl.org

• The Amerikazentrum Hamburg e.V. offers various TOEFL preparatory courses. You can find detailed information as well as a recommended reading list for preparation at: www.amerikazentrum.de
• You can borrow materials to prepare for the exam at various libraries in Hamburg
• Registration for the TOEFL exam is at: registration.ets.org/toefl/
• Applicants who already have successfully completed paper-based (550 points) or computer-based (230 points) TOEFL can still submit these, provided they are not older than two years (from the date of the test) on the date of registration

International English Testing Service (IELTS) “academic” with a minimum average of 5.5 points

• More detailed information on the test can be found at: www.britishcouncil.de.

The following Cambridge Certificates are accepted by HSBA:

• Cambridge FCE – First Certificate in English: Grade A
• Cambridge CAE – Certificate in Advanced English: Grade A, B or C
• Cambridge CPE – Certificate of Proficiency English: Grade A, B or C
• More detailed information on the test can be found at: www.cambridgeesol.de
  Further certificates at a qualified B2 level can be assessed individually by HSBA.

Any English certificates submitted cannot be more than two years old (from the date of the test) on the date of registration!

Applicants who spent at least their last school year in Australia, the UK, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and who can produce written proof of a qualification to study at a third-level institution meet the admission requirements for English and do not need any further certificates of English skills.