EBS University of Business and Law


EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht, more commonly referred to as EBS Universität or simply EBS, is a private, state-approved research university for business and law located in Wiesbaden and Oestrich-Winkel, founded in 1971. The university's activities focus on three core areas: undergraduate degree programs, postgraduate degree programs and executive education. The EBS Universität has the right to award doctorates and habilitations and is the oldest private university in Germany.
With the foundation of its law faculty in 2010, the former European Business School was awarded university status in 2011, forming the EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht. Notable alumni are, e.g., former CEO of Puma, founder of Vapiano, or former CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG. Among the university's corporate partners, one can find McKinsey, Bertelsmann, Clifford Chance, Daimler AG, or UBS. Academic partnerships include UC Berkeley, Bocconi University, CEIBS, Sciences Po, National University of Singapore, and McGill University.

History

EBS was founded in Offenbach am Main as a University of Applied Sciences by Klaus Evard in 1971. The young institution was named the European Business School. The original concept provided for a European-style leadership training program with three locations in France, England and Germany. To this day, the EBS study programme is characterised by several practical periods of study abroad, integrated semesters abroad and a school-based structure. In 1980 the School moved to Schloss Reichartshausen in Oestrich-Winkel in the Rheingau. In 1985 a second university building was added in Oestrich-Winkel.
In 1989 it was awarded higher education status, 1992 it was finally recognised as a scientific university by the Hessian Minister of Science. This step was followed by the separation of EBS Schloss Reichartshausen from the international network of European Business Schools, which had developed into a network in the 1980s. Since then, EBS has been cooperating with independent universities worldwide. In 1993 it was awarded the right to confer doctoral degrees and in 1998 the right to confer post-doctoral qualifications. On 16 June 2010, the EBS Law School was founded as a second faculty alongside the EBS Business School and "Universität in Gründung" status was gained. The EBS Law School is located in Wiesbaden and is the official seat of EBS the Universität. Since September 2011 the EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht has the official status of a university.
In December 2018 the third EBS Executive School faculty was founded.

Campus

The EBS maintains a total of three locations for teaching, research, and administrative purposes. The two largest campuses are located in Wiesbaden and Oestrich-Winkel. The newer Wiesbaden campus houses the EBS Law School, while Reichartshausen castle at the larger and older Oestrich-Winkel campus houses the EBS Business School.

Organization and administration

Shareholders of the EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht gGmbH are SRH Higher Education GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the non-profit foundation SRH, and the alumni association EBS Alumni e.V..
President 2016-2020: :de:Markus_Ogorek|Markus Ogorek

Academic profile

The EBS Universität offers degree programmes at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The EBS Business School offers traditional German business and economics education as well as specialized MSc programmes in Management, Finance, and other areas. The EBS Law School offers degree courses leading to the German State Examination in jurisprudence. Both faculties also offer doctoral programmes and award habilitations.
A personal coach is available to all students and doctoral candidates to support them throughout their studies. The University also offers a range of executive education programmes for specialists and managers. EBS is a member of the academic section of the UN Global Compact, a global initiative to promote corporate citizenship.
In addition to business-related research, EBS has a chair of Philosophy of Science and an Institute for Business Ethics.
Advanced training
Since December 2018, the EBS Executive School has been offering part-time continuing education programs and certificate programs.

Student life

Students work together in numerous student initiatives to address social issues, organize events and congresses, or consult small and mid-sized businesses. One notable event is the annual EBS Symposium, which brings together renowned personalities of business and politics with students and journalists to discuss current business issues.

Accreditations

According to the Financial Times, EBS was ranked sixth overall in Germany in 2016, after Mannheim, ESMT Berlin, WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management and Handelshochschule Leipzig. Since 2017, it did not make any of the FT rankings.
Financial Times-Ranking
CHE-Hochschulranking
Eduniversal Ranking

Presidents

The alumni association

Founded in 1971, the EBS's Alumni Association is one of the oldest and largest networks of alumni in Germany, with over 3,400 members. In 2008 the EBS Alumni Association initiated the Alumni Alliance, a strategic cooperation between the Harvard Clubs of Germany, Stanford Alumni Rhein-Main Frankfurt, HSG Alumni St. Gallen Frankfurt, and ETH Alumni Zürich and Frankfurt.

List of notable alumni

The EBS maintains a global network of 270 partner universities.

Controversies

New EBS students caught attention in September 2010 as they over-consumed alcohol in September 2010 in very close proximity to the university as part of a freshman ritual. The foundation of the EBS Law School should initially be funded by the state Hesse and the city Wiesbaden with 25 million euro. This was especially criticized because the budgets of public universities were cut at the same time. In April 2011 it became known, that the public support was double than initially planned, now accounting for 50 million euro. At the end of April the Hessian Ministry for Science announced to examine the reports on expenditure of funds and to freeze all aid money. As a result of the examinations the university had to repay 950,000 Euro, which were during the presidency of Christopher Jahn used for other causes than for the startup of the law school. In the parliamentary commission of inquiry of the State of Hesse as to the potential abuse by EBS of subsidies granted for the setting up of the new law faculty former EBS head of financial affairs Klaus-Peter Niesik in 2013 admitted that EBS had manipulated and brightened data in order to get State subsidies leading to the abuse of tax money. Inquiries by state prosecutors because of a potential fraud at the expense of the State of Hesse led to another state prosecutor raid at the premises of leading EBS management staff on April 9, 2014. A total of four offices and the flats of three indicted actual and former EBS management staff members were searched. The two related preliminary proceedings against the accused persons and against EBS University for an administrative offence pursuant to Section 170 of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been discontinued. This means that the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt has not established sufficient suspicion.

Filmography & books