Management in Nonprofit-Organisations (M.A.)
Master of Arts
For the society of tomorrow: become an expert in nonprofit management
Do you want to use your management talent to make a positive impact on society?
In our English-language Master's degree program, you will acquire the specialist know-how to create significant added value in the nonprofit sector of the future, steer social discourse and drive transformative change. Benefit from a globally networked, multi-perspective learning environment that prepares you for your role as a leader through innovative teaching formats.
Nonprofit organizations are growing in importance and competition is getting tougher – this requires leaders who make a difference with creativity, responsibility and strategic skill.
We will prepare you for a sustainable, fair and collaborative tomorrow. Are you ready to redefine management and make a real difference?
Degree program at a glance
- Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Type of study
Consecutive Master degree program
- Start of studies
Winter semester
- Standard period of study
4 semesters
- Admission restriction
Yes
- Location
Osnabrück – Caprivi Campus
Students and alumni introduce themselves
Oskar Heinrichs
After completing my Bachelor's degree in Public and Nonprofit Management in Berlin, it was important to me to complete a Master's programme that was as practice-oriented as possible. My choice fell on Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences.
I was mainly attracted by the broad range of course content and the specialisation options on offer. These provide a comprehensive and realistic knowledge base, perfect for anyone who wants to work professionally in the non-profit sector. A lot of the knowledge transfer is based on project work, excursions and guest lectures by practitioners. I particularly like the relaxed atmosphere within the cohorts and the good interaction with our professors. The diverse CVs of my fellow students are also interesting, which always makes it exciting to interact with each other. I can recommend the degree programme to anyone who is interested in an intercultural and interdisciplinary degree with a high practical component.
I was also really positively surprised by the framework conditions. As a young student city centre, Osnabrück has really grown on me over the last year and our Caprivi Campus offers a really nice learning environment.
Alejandra Bedoya Robledo
I am currently studying for a Master's degree in "Management in Non-Profit Organisations" and I am also a DAAD scholarship holder of the Helmut Schmidt Programme in cooperation with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design in my home country of Colombia and, parallel to my studies, I was involved with the NGO Techo for a long time. This is how I discovered that my path is more towards non-profit organisations and that design is the creative tool for me that can help improve processes and projects in an NPO.
Volunteering is an aspect that is taken into account when applying for the Master's degree, but it is not a mandatory requirement. I am currently a member of the Verein für Nonprofit Management e.V, which was founded by lecturers and alumni of the Master's programme. The association focuses on creating networks to support students and alumni as they enter the professional world. Through this experience, I learnt how a non-profit organisation works in Germany.
The Master's programme offers many courses and focus areas in which we can learn about the functioning of non-profit organisations from many perspectives. Through field trips and visits to different organisations, we can understand how the different working structures function and we can get closer to practice and the professional world. We also have teachers with different educational backgrounds, which gives us a theoretical and practical insight into today's world.
Nadia Burdenski
I already knew during my Bachelor's degree in Social Work that working at management level appealed to me and that I would like to work in a non-profit organisation later on. I am therefore very grateful that my path led me to Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and to this Master's programme.
The diversity of the programme content on offer and the different professional and cultural backgrounds of my fellow students are what I find most appealing. As the number of students on this degree programme is relatively small, there is an intensive exchange of ideas about various socially relevant topics and questions during the seminars and beyond, which encourages students to critically question their own views. I find this very enriching, both personally and professionally. As well as broadening my horizons, I also appreciate the specialist and professional expertise of the lecturers on this degree programme. The lecturers come from different subject areas and therefore bring a variety of theoretical and practical experience with them, which enriches the seminars.
I also find the alumni association of the degree programme very special, which offers the students of the Master's programme a varied programme every year and enables them to put what they have learned from their studies into practice in their association work. I can also highly recommend Osnabrück as a place to study. The small but beautiful city has much more to offer than it seems at first glance. In addition to the beautiful old town centre with its many nice cafés, bars and restaurants, there are regular food festivals, music events and other such events that bring Osnabrück to life, especially in the summer. A visit to the theatre (free of charge for Osnabrück students) is also not to be missed.
Thea Marie Bade
During my two years of professional experience - after completing my Bachelor's degree in Social Work and Social Pedagogy - I realised that I was very interested in both the management aspects and the political dimensions of the NPO sector. The diverse course content and opportunities to choose a very individual specialisation on the one hand and to gain various insights into academic work on the other made this Master's degree the right choice for me. The numerous options to carry out projects for and with organisations during my studies or to get involved in the student association for non-profit management make it possible to put a lot of theoretical content into practice and also create good networks in the industry at an early stage.
Coming from a larger city, I was very surprised at how much Osnabrück has to offer in all respects - be it the variety of offers for students, the lively city centre with numerous cafés and bars or the opportunities for activities with friends and family.
I recommend the degree programme to anyone who wants to get to know the world of NPOs in depth in a familiar yet highly professional environment and then put what they have learned into practice with a great deal of passion.
Marlene Walk
- Today's professional activity:
Assistant Professor, Indiana University, School of Public
and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Master thesis:
Employees in Nonprofit Organizations – Influencing Factors
for Disoppointment and Recommendations for Human Resouce Policies
- Bachelor's programme:
Diplom-Sozialp?dagogin/Sozialarbeiter, HAWK Hildesheim, Germany
Sebastian Joy
- Today's professional activity:
Prasident of ProVeg International - Master thesis:
Strategic management in non-profit organisations - an empirical study in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) - Bachelor's programme:
Cognitive Science, Universit?t Osnabrück, Germany / Universit?t Yokohama
Ilona Adamova
-
Today's professional activity:
Officer "Coordination of private funds" at World Vision Germany e.V.
-
Master thesis:
Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development from the perspective of development co-operation. What specific contributions development organisations make in disaster situations using the example of Misereor -
Bachelor's programme:
German Studies / German Language, State Institute for Foreign Languages Tbilisi (Tbilisi), Georgia
Rachide Tennin
- Today's professional activity:
Finance Coordinator bei Medico International e.V.
- Master thesis:
Role and Impact of NGOs in Basic Education in Togo
- Bachelor's programme:
Education Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo
Theresa Aengenheyster
- Today's professional activity:
Consultant, Corporate Cooperations and CSR Partnerships, Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V. Cologne
- Master thesis:
Corporate Giving - An investigation into the motivation of companies to donate using the example of corporate donations from Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli e.V.
- Bachelor's programme:
European studies, University Osnabrück, Germany
Mennatallah Gadelkrem
- Today's professional activity:
Labour broker, Jobcenter Kreis Steinfurt, Germany
- Master thesis:
Refugees as potential employees in Germany. Challenges and opportunities.
News
For the winter semester 2024/2025 we are looking forward to two new lecturers from the global south:
Prof. Dr. Umer Khayyam is professor at the renowned NUST university from Islamabad in Pakistan. He will teach the module “Theories of the Third Sector”. Prof. Khayyam will be present during the blockweek and teach in Osnabrück. He is a political scientist who researches intensively in the areas of sustainability, climate and energy.
Dr. Dina Abdelhafez is an Egyptian NPO manager, who wrote her dissertation with a special focus on good governance and internal management in NGOs. She will teach the module “Human Resource and Volunteer Management for the Nonprofit-Sector”. The module will be taught in presence and online. Dr. Abdelhafez is a lecturer with several universities and has longterm experience in the management of NPOs in Europe and the Arabian region.
Further Information
The Association for Nonprofit Management e.V. forms an interface between theory and practice in the nonprofit field. It was founded in 2012 by students of the Master's program in Management in Nonprofit Organizations. We promote a lively exchange of knowledge and experience between students and graduates of the Master's program in Management in Nonprofit Organizations at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and nonprofit organizations. The association's network paves the way for students and graduates into the profession and at the same time offers organizations the opportunity to recruit young talent. Our aim is to act as a reliable intermediary and to ensure the stability of the relationships between the individual target groups.
We achieve this through:
- active networking
- information events
- fireside chats
- excursions
- placement of internships, theses and jobs
Contact
Would you like to talk to someone about the Management in Nonprofit-Organisations degree program, ask specific questions or simply find out more? Then we look forward to hearing from you via one of the following contact options.
Advice and information
Program coordinator
Here you can reach the program coordinator and get advice about the program:
Phone: 0541 969-3054
E-mail: npo@hs-osnabrueck.de
Program management
Program director
Application, admission and exams
Registrar's office