Dual study in the Taxation programmes

To apply for dual study, you need a cooperation agreement between your company and Worms University of Applied Sciences. There are two ways to get one.

Option 1: You bring your own practice partner

Have you already found an employer or completed an internship there? Then talk to your manager about our study model and recommend this page as a first source of information. The company then contacts the relevant contact person at the university, and together you clarify the next steps. Once the cooperation agreement is in place, you negotiate your employment contract. After that, you apply for your study place. Please note the deadlines below.

Option 2: You apply to an existing practice partner

You don’t have an employer yet? Some of our cooperation partners have vacancies. If you are interested, simply get in touch with us. In any case, you also need to apply for your study place at the university.

Important information on your application

• As soon as the agreement is in place or the practice partner has confirmed, apply to us.
• To do so, use the application for admission from Student Services and note on it ‘Cooperation agreement in place’.
• Allow enough time for the agreement with your partner company: it must be in place by the end of July (winter semester) or by the end of January (summer semester).
• Without this agreement, you cannot study on a dual basis.
• The application deadline is 31 August for the winter semester and 28 February for the summer semester. Both are strict deadlines: we cannot consider applications received after these dates.
• Be sure to check our entry requirements. You will find answers in the FAQs of the Taxation programmes.

The admission procedure for the dual degree programmes is handled by Student Services at Worms University of Applied Sciences. Please direct any questions about it and about your application to them.

Has your trainee convinced you of our study concept? Are you planning a dual Master’s degree with one of your Bachelor’s graduates? Or would you generally like to cooperate with Worms University of Applied Sciences? Then we look forward to getting to know you as a partner company. We welcome large, international consultancy and audit firms as well as smaller firms and companies with their own tax, finance or accounting departments.

To get in touch, please write to:

• Digital Accounting: Christian Flach, email: flach@hs-worms.de. You can find detailed information on becoming a partner company in the dual Digital Accounting programme on our partner page.
• Taxation (B.A.) and Taxation (M.A.): Claudia Maaß, email: maass@hs-worms.de

Please submit the cooperation agreement about four weeks before the university’s application deadline, i.e. by the end of July (winter semester) or by the end of January (summer semester).

Frequently asked questions from partner companies

Each dual study programme has a binding framework plan, which is attached to the cooperation agreement. It ensures transparency and reliable planning and closely links theory and practice. Your organisational effort remains manageable.

What are the benefits of the dual study programme for your company?

You gain qualified and motivated young talent at an early stage who learn with you alongside their studies. The course content is closely aligned with the requirements of tax advisory, auditing and finance departments. This means students already make a real contribution to your company while they are studying.

In the dual Taxation (B.A.) programme, your students can also obtain the vocational qualification of tax clerk (Steuerfachangestellte/Steuerfachangestellter). The prerequisite is that your firm is a member of the Chamber of Tax Advisers of Rhineland-Palatinate. More about the external examination

How is the dual study programme organised?

The framework plan sets out the study and practical phases. The practical phases take place during the periods without lectures or examinations, usually from the beginning of February to mid-March and from mid-July to the beginning of October. The university sets the exact dates in advance. Digital Accounting also includes an integrated work placement semester. This allows you to plan staffing and assignments reliably throughout the entire degree programme.

What does your company do during the practical phases?

You give students the opportunity to apply selected course content in their day-to-day work. The framework plan contains a catalogue of suitable tasks for this purpose, from which you choose suitable tasks for each practical phase. If a task fits better into a different period, students can bring it forward or complete it later. You do not have to cover all course content in your company.

How much organisational effort is involved for you?

The effort remains manageable. You appoint a contact person for professional matters and provide suitable tasks during the practical phases. The university is responsible for academic supervision and for assessing students’ coursework and examinations.

Which subject areas do the practical phases cover?

The focus is on the core topics of the respective degree programme: financial reporting in Digital Accounting and tax law in Taxation (B.A.) and Taxation (M.A.). Depending on your company’s profile, further course content can be added. The framework plan describes the tasks in detail. They build on the modules of the previous semesters and become more demanding as students progress.

How are theory and practice connected?

Students apply the knowledge gained in their studies in a targeted way in professional practice and reflect on their experiences. After each practical phase, they document their tasks in a learning journal and relate them to the course content. This makes the link between academic content and professional practice clear. In the Taxation (M.A.) programme, students also write a term paper together with their partner company in the module “Practical Cases in International Tax Law”.

Which skills do dual students develop?

This depends on the degree programme:

• Digital Accounting: national and international financial reporting, taxation, law and the confident use of digital tools
• Taxation (B.A.): tax law combined with business administration, accounting and law
• Taxation (M.A.): in-depth national and international tax law, for example business taxation, procedural law and tax planning advice

In all degree programmes, students take on increasingly demanding tasks step by step as they progress.

Where can you deploy dual students?

Typical areas include tax advisory, auditing, finance and accounting, management accounting and corporate tax departments. Digital Accounting students are also well suited to roles at the interface with information technology, law, compliance and consulting. The framework plan gives you clear guidance on this.

What role do digitalisation and artificial intelligence play?

Digital skills are part of all three degree programmes. For example, students work with the tax software DATEV. In Digital Accounting, digital processes and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) are a key focus. Students learn to use them in accounting, tax and legal practice, management accounting and auditing – and to question their use critically.

What are the prospects after graduation?

You can develop your dual students into skilled professionals at an early stage and take them on directly after graduation. After the Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree is possible, for example the dual Taxation (M.A.). This way, your young talent stays with your company during the Master’s programme as well. The Taxation (M.A.) programme provides a solid foundation for the tax adviser examination. In the long term, you gain highly qualified specialists and managers.

Here you will find current vacancies at our partner companies. You can also send a speculative application to partner companies that already have a cooperation agreement with us.

The following partner companies already have a cooperation agreement with Worms University of Applied Sciences. You can also send them a speculative application.