micro-credential
Business Administration – Basics
Do you want to understand how the economy really works? This micro-credential gives you the business fundamentals you need: from accounting and cost accounting to management accounting and finance. It’s for anyone who wants to continue their education—despite work, family, and everyday life—and expand their business expertise in a flexible and practical way.
Find continuing education
From MBAs and courses to certifications.
Want to know how to run a successful business? Do you need the tools and resources for your long-term business planning? The basics of business administration will give you everything you need.
This micro-credential in the field of “Business Administration and Economics” can be earned as part of an existing FERNFH degree program or as a standalone short program designed exclusively to lead to this qualification.
This micro-credential is offered as part of theBusiness Administration & Business Psychology | Bachelor's degree program.
Courses
- Introduction to Market-Oriented Business Administration (3 ECTS, Winter Semester)
- Accounting (3 ECTS, Winter Semester)
- Cost Accounting (3 ECTS, Winter Semester)
- Finance & Investment (6 ECTS, Summer Semester)
Skill development
Upon successful completion, students will be able to …
- To explain the criteria for successful business management and apply tools for long-term corporate planning; to develop a corporate vision; to derive specific strategic and operational goals; and to develop a market-oriented business concept using marketing tools.
- to understand the principles of double-entry bookkeeping, to explain the basics of the legal framework governing accounting and financial reporting, to prepare simple balance sheets and income statements, and to be able to analyze annual financial statements in practice.
- To explain the fundamentals of cost center, cost element, and cost object accounting; to apply simple cost and performance accounting tools; and to calculate contribution margins and break-even points.
- Apply financial mathematics methods, plan investments while taking complex factors (e.g., uncertainty, taxes) into account, evaluate different forms of financing, and use key financial ratios to analyze financial issues.
Duration of the program: 2semesters
Scope: 15 ECTS credits
Level: 6 – Undergraduate
Cost: €599 plus ÖH membership fee
Application deadline: July 31, 2026
Start: September 11, 2026, or later
Application deadlines
01. Jan. 1970
If the MC is earned as part of a degree program, the relevant admission requirements apply. MCs offered as standalone short programs are considered “attendance in individual courses”; no formal admission requirements (e.g., completion of a qualification at a specific ISCED level) need to be met for these.
Subject-specific prerequisites (“relevant qualifications or knowledge”) may be required, and proof of fulfillment may be necessary. You can always find the prerequisites listed directly on the respective MC’s website.
If you’re earning your micro-credential as part of your current FERNFH degree program:
If you’d like to apply for a micro-credential from your own degree program, you can contact your program directly. For micro-credentials outside your degree program, please apply via the micro-credentials online application page:
By the way: If it’s been a while since you graduated, we’ll count ECTS credits earned up to 5 years ago.
If you are completing your micro-credential as a standalone short program.
To get started with a micro-credential, apply for your specific MC on the Micro-Credentials online application page.
“Recognition of prior learning” toward a micro-credential is only possible for courses that have been successfully completed within the last five years. Examination results from earlier than that cannot be recognized toward a micro-credential. In addition, recognized ECTS credits may not exceed one-third of the total credit hours of a micro-credential.
Conversely, courses from an MC program may also be credited toward a university of applied sciences degree if they were completed within five years prior to the start of the degree program (and if the MC courses are also part of the core, elective, or individualized curriculum of the relevant degree program).
Important:Please note that the exact options and scope of credit transfer may vary depending on the specific degree program. We therefore recommend that you contact the relevant program staff directly for specific details.
In all courses that make up the MC, the course instructor must conduct a formal assessment of whether the learning outcomes have been achieved. This assessment is graded using the “school grading system,” similar to the courses in the degree programs. Simply acknowledging attendance in a course is not sufficient to earn an MC.
Exams can be administered as “open book” or “closed book,” as well as “online” or “on-site.”
During the winter semester, the various application deadlines run from August through October and vary depending on the micro-credential. You can find the latest deadline for applying to your micro-credential on the page for that specific micro-credential.
Micro-credentials are typically worth 5–15 ECTS credits, which generally corresponds to two to five courses. Once you have successfully completed all the courses that make up the learning path, you will receive your micro-credential—in the form of a printed certificate and a digital badge.
Individual courses must have been completed within a 5-year period in order to count toward a micro-credential.