Founded in 1897, the ESC Montpellier is one of the oldest Écoles Supérieures de Commerce in France and one of the oldest management schools in Europe. It has been accredited by three bodies – the AACSB, AMBA and EFMD-EPAS – and hosts an average of 150 international students from 37 different countries. It also offers access to a highly exclusive alumni network in France. The school is regularly listed at top positions in national and international rankings.

  • 46th Master in Management in the world, Financial Times ranking (September 2016)
  • 14th in the SIGEM rankings of the “Concours Master,” Grande École Master Programme, (+ 5 places between 2011 and 2016).
  • 12th Management School in France; Master Programme in the national ranking established by Le Point, Le Parisien

Degree programme

The degree programme comprises 4 semesters. Students spend the first two semesters (Master 1, Bac +4, respectively) at their home institution and the last two semesters (Master 2, Bac +5, respectively) at the host institution.

During their stay at the host institution, students remain enrolled at their home institution. Both institutions recognize the course credit earned according to the double degree programme mutually and equivalently. At the University of Bamberg, course credit and credit recognition are governed by the examination regulations for the master’s degree programme in business administration and management. Course credit and credit recognition at the ESC Montpellier are regulated by the ESC’s examination regulations. To a large extent, students can define the course of study themselves by their choice of certain areas of focus. Students initially admitted in Bamberg may choose from all areas of focus that are part of the master’s degree programme in business administration and management.

Application and Language Proficiency

During the application for winter term the double degree application is included in the regular application process for the Master in Business Administration. The application for the double degree requires the following additional documents / proofs:

  • Statement of motivation in English or German
  • French at the B2 level of the Common European Framework of References for Languages
  • English by means of the TOEFL test with a minimum score of 80 points or the IELTS test with at least 6 points

Additionally, a TOEIC score of 790 is required to validate a Master degree at Montpellier Business School. Information regarding the necessary documents and deadlines can be found here:

>>>Further Information about the dual degree application and deadlines

Obtaining the academic degrees

On completion of the double degree programme, the ESC Montpellier awards the academic degree

  • Diplôme d’École Supérieure de Commerce de Montpellier/Master in Management

and the University of Bamberg awards the academic degree

  • Master of Science in business administration and management

The programme details mainly depend on whether the student starts the programme in Bamberg or in Montpellier. The following overview is designed for planning and orientation, while the individual programme details result from the individual recognition agreement students reach with the programme coordinators at both universities based on the current versions of the studying and examination rules for the underlying degree programmes. The courses currently offered in Bamberg are defined by the current version of theModule Handbook(in German only).

In Bamberg, students can choose the Master in Business Administration. In Montpellier, they can choose between the following Majors:

  • Global Finance
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Luxury
  • Digital Marketing
  • International Business
  • Digital Transformation
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Big Data
  • Supply Chain Management

In Bamberg, the modules are allocated to the module groups as follows:

 Starting in Bamberg
Module group1st year in Bamberg2nd year in Montpellier
Specialisation Business Administration 118 
Specialisation Business Administration 218 
General Management 36
Research18 
Business Language6 
Master Thesis 24
Total ECTS120

In detail, the course credits for students matriculated in the Master in Business Administration in Bamberg are allocated as follows:

 1. year in Bamberg2. year in Montpellier
Module group General Management
Core Courses in the Discipline 12
Specialization Courses 24
 36
Module group Specialisation I and II
Two specialisation modules following the current offer in Bamberg36 
 36
Module group Business Languages 
One Business Language module from the current offer following the MHB in Bamberg.6 
 6
Module group Research
Free choice of modules offered in the module groupe Research following the current version of the MHB in Bamberg.18 
 18
Master Thesis
Special Topics 16
Other Skills 8
 24

The current verion of the Module Handbook (MHB) of the M. Sc. in Business Administration can be found here (German only).


Studierende haben in Bamberg die regulären Wahlmöglichkeiten des Studiengangs Betriebswirtschaftslehre. In Montpellier stehen derzeit die folgenden Schwerpunkte (Concentration) zur Auswahl:

  • Global Finance
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Luxury
  • Digital Marketing
  • International Business
  • Digital Transformation
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Big Data
  • Supply Chain Management

Aus Bamberger Sicht teilen sich die Leistungen wie folgt auf die jeweiligen Modulgruppen auf: