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WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management

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WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
MottoExcellence in management education
TypePrivate research university Business school
Established1984
AffiliationsAACSB, EQUIS, FIBAA
RectorProfessor Christian Andres
Faculty44 full professors, 15 assistant professors, 3 adjunct professors, 251 professional staff members (Sept. 2024)
Students2,007 (September 2024)
Location
Vallendar
,
Rhineland-Palatinate
,
Germany
Campus
Colors   Blue and white
Websitewww.whu.edu
Map

The WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is a private German business school with campuses in Vallendar and Düsseldorf, Germany. As of September 2024, there are 2,007 students (including doctoral students) at WHU, about 251 employees and 59 professors (including assistant professors).[1]

The Marienburg in Vallendar is the main building of WHU.

Academics

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Rankings

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WHU is regularly placed in the top positions in German university rankings.[2]

Publisher Ranking Year Worldwide Germany
Financial Times Global MBA 2024 63rd 1st
Master in Management 2024 14th 1st
Master in Finance 2024 20th 1st
Top MBAs for Entrepreneurship 6th 1st
Executive MBA 2024 29th 2nd
European Business Schools[3] 16th 1st
QS Top MBA 2025 55th 3rd
Executive MBA (Joint Programs) 2024 10th .
Master in Management 2025 24th 1st
Master in Finance 2025 28th 1st
Subject Ranking: Business & Management Studies 2023 128th 3rd
Subject Ranking: Accounting & Finance 2023 101st-150th 2nd-4th
Subject Ranking: Business & Management Studies 2023 451st-500th 17th
ARWU Subject Ranking: Business Administration 2023 101st-150th 1st
Subject Ranking: Finance 2023 151st-200th 3rd-4th
Subject Ranking: Management 2023 151st-200th 2nd
THE Subject Ranking: Business and Economics 2018 88th 5th

History

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WHU was founded in 1984 by the Koblenz Chamber of Commerce as the Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Unternehmensführung,[4] with preparations for the founding starting in 1983.[5] Starting in 1986, the school began offering a doctoral studies program, and the process for offering postdoctoral studies began in 1997.[5]

The name was modified in 1993 to honour WHU's benefactor, the businessman Otto Beisheim, after he donated 50 Million Deutsche Mark.[6][5]

In 1997, an executive MBA with Kellogg School of Management was started.[5] A year later, the school received a EQUIS-accreditation, followed by a FIBAA in 2005 and the beginning of MBA studies the same year.[5] In 2006, the school became a member of AACSB, and was re-accredited by EQUIS in 2009.[5]

Ulrich Lichtenthaler, a professor at the university, had his right to teach revoked in 2013 after accusations of scientific misconduct.[7][8][9]

Entrepreneurship

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A study by the Technical University of Munich titled Entrepreneurial Impact of Academic Institutions 2025 – DACH Ranking: Munich Impact Study found that, according to the study, WHU has the highest number of startups per student in Germany, with approximately 350 startups per 1,000 students. The same study also identified WHU as the university with the second-highest absolute number of startup foundations in Germany between 2014 and 2024.[10][11]

The University Startup Index 2025, published by Redstone and RWTH Aachen University, ranks WHU as the most efficient university in Europe according to its methodology in terms of startup creation relative to its budget, reporting the highest number of new startup foundations (88.0) per €100 million in university funding.[12]

Reports published by the venture capital firm Antler in 2022 and 2023 also indicate that WHU ranks first among German universities and second in Europe—after the University of Oxford—in terms of the number of founders of so-called unicorn companies.[13][14]

The business school's critics say it fosters an overly competitive environment, places too much emphasis on rankings,[15][16] and that it focuses excessive memorisation.[17][15] After the death of a student who was believed to have died due to overworking himself during an internship but was found to have died due to an underlying condition, the school responded that high pressure is an unfortunately norm in the business world and that they are taking steps to address it.[18]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ↑ "About WHU - whu.edu". www.whu.edu.
  2. ↑ Deininger, Roman (27 May 2014). "WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management: Geld und Moral". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  3. ↑ "European Business School Rankings 2023 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  4. ↑ "Kaplan A.: European Management and European Business Schools: Insights from the History of Business Schools". European Management Journal. 32: 529–534. doi:10.1016/j.emj.2014.03.006.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Die Erfolgsgeschichte der WHU". WHU. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  6. ↑ "Kaplan A.: European Management and European Business Schools: Insights from the History of Business Schools". European Management Journal. 32: 529–534. doi:10.1016/j.emj.2014.03.006.
  7. ↑ "Top-flight German business prof faces severe accusations of academic misconduct | Economics Intelligence". 2012-09-22. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  8. ↑ "ulrich lichtenthaler". Retraction Watch. 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  9. ↑ "Vorwürfe unredlicher wissenschaftlicher Praxis gegen Professor Dr. Ulrich Lichtenthaler: Senat der WHU beschließt Aberkennung der Lehrbefähigung - whu.edu". 2013-09-21. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  10. ↑ Lemanczyk, P.; Tretow, I.; Treffers, T.; Füller, J.; von Wangenheim, F.; Welpe, I. M. (2025). "Entrepreneurial Impact of Academic Institutions 2025 – DACH Ranking: Munich Impact Study". Chair for Strategy and Organization, Technical University of Munich. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  11. ↑ Kewes, Tanja (2025-06-24). "Wo Gründergeist herrscht – Die zehn besten Universitäten im Vergleich". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  12. ↑ "Redstone University Startup Index 2025". AlpMomentum; Redstone; RWTH Aachen University. 2025-06-25. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  13. ↑ Djurickovic, Tamara (2023-06-26). "New Report: Europe is witnessing a record number of emerging founders". Tech.eu. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  14. ↑ "The 2022 DACH Unicorn Founder Roadmap: An Unprecedented Time in Unicorn-Land". Antler. 2022-07-20. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  15. 1 2 "Kritik an Privatunis: Viel lernen, wenig diskutieren und hinterfragen". Der Spiegel (in German). 2013-05-01. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  16. ↑ gruenderszene (2020-07-21). "Mythos WHU: So tickt die junge Generation an der Gründer-Uni". Business Insider (in German). Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  17. ↑ "SAAL ZWEI: "Business Schools züchten Nachwuchs, den die Gesellschaft nicht braucht"". 2016-05-10. Archived from the original on 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  18. ↑ gruenderszene (2020-07-21). "Mythos WHU: So tickt die junge Generation an der Gründer-Uni". Business Insider (in German). Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  19. ↑ "Verena Hubertz". Website of the Federal Government | Bundesregierung. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
  20. ↑ "Thomas Buberl | AXA". AXA.com.
  21. ↑ "Curriculum Vitae Dr. Julian Deutz Axel Springer SE". www.axelspringer.de. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  22. 1 2 "The Management Board". Zalando Corporate Website.
  23. ↑ "Deutscher Bundestag - Nick, Andreas". Deutscher Bundestag.
  24. ↑ "Leadership | TÜV SÜD | TÜV SÜD". Tuev-sued.de. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  25. ↑ "About | Rocket Internet". Archived from the original on 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
  26. ↑ "BCG's New CEO-Elect Christoph Schweizer | BCG".
  27. ↑ "Margret Suckale". www.basf.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  28. ↑ "CV Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG". www.press.bmwgroup.com.
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50°24′01″N 7°36′49″E / 50.4003°N 7.6135°E / 50.4003; 7.6135

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