Undergraduate specialization (SBWL) hosted by the Institute for Ethics in Management in collaboration with the Institute for Organization Studies and Institute for Business Education

The purpose of this specializationis to offer an interdisciplinary educational experience that focuses on questions of ethics in management, business, and society. These include: What is the responsibility of business facing crises and systemic risks? What is good governance and transparent decision-making? What is the role of leadership? Are AI-powered platforms new economic opportunities or do they discriminate and put users under surveillance? These themes are at the core of this specialization and essential to economic and societal wellbeing. The aim of the specialization is not to provide rigid guidelines for ethical conduct but to encourage critical thinking and to provide different approaches to evaluating ethical challenges.

The students who choose this specialization will broaden their capacity to deal with fundamental ethical problems and develop a repertoire to address them, as future decision-makers in organizations. Students will be prepared for ethical challenges in further study and organizational life, whether in graduate programs in fields such as sustainability, leadership, and general management or in careers in business and consulting, including roles in strategy, human resources, risk and compliance, and corporate responsibility.

To participate in the selection process, register via the new registration tool @myWU – Access to Specializations! between January 29, 2026, 2pm and February 1, 2026, 11:59pm for Course 5532 – Access to Specialization: Ethics for Management, Organizations, and Society.

On the Canvas page of the course, you can then upload a one page motivational letter in PDF format until February 3, 2026, 23:59pm, that should answer the following:

• Why do you wish to join this specialization?

• What experiences and expertise do you bring to the specialization?

• Please identify and describe a contemporary case where an organization is faced with an interesting ethical challenge.

Admission is primarily based on motivational letters, alongside grade point average.

All admitted students will be contacted via e-mail, and in this case we ask you to confirm immediately via e-mail whether you accept the offered place. This confirmation will be decisive for final acceptance.

Note that our SBWL cannot be completed within one semester.

Course IV also may be eligible for credit transfer. Contact Anna Maria Rath (annamaria.rath@wu.ac.at) in advance to find out if credit transfer is possible.

Architecture of the specialization:

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