Master Business Administration
If you would like to find out more about the specific details of the master's programme Business Administration, please click here.
If you are interested in the Double Master’s Programme Business Administration in cooperation with Aalto University, the Louvain School of Management or the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, your application must be submitted by 15 May.
Application information
Application deadline
From April until 15 June, you apply exclusively online via the campus management system KLIPS.
- At the time of application, all subject and language requirements must be met.
- At the time of application, all documents must be provided in either German or in English.
- Documents submitted after the application deadline will not be accepted.
Subject-related requirements
To take part in the selection procedure, the subject-related admission requirements must be met:
| Completed bachelor's degree | Completed Bachelor's degree programme that corresponds to the subject of the selected Master's degree programme. If you have not completed your bachelor's degree, at least 80% of the credit points to be earned must be completed. The pending examinations must be completed by 30 September at the latest. | |
| Bachelor's grade | at least 2.7 (German grading system) | |
Subject-related requirements specifications on the allocation of courses to the subject areas |
PDF of personal subject-related admission criteria (see application documents) | |
Language requirements
Accepted proofs of German language skills C1: only mandatory for Business Administration Accounting & Taxation, Health Economics and Information Systems | |
|---|---|
| School knowledge of German | German school leaving certificate (Zeugnis der allgemeinen Hochschulreife) |
| Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree totally taught in German |
| Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang | DSH-2 oder DSH-3 International students who have attended the Studienkolleg in Germany (i.e. preparatory courses for foreign students) and have passed the assessment test do not require the DSH. The University of Cologne does not provide examinations for the "Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang" (DSH). |
| Deutsches Sprachdiplom der Kultusministerkonferenz | Second Level (DSD II) (for more information, please contact the German Embassy) |
| TestDaF (Deutsch als Fremdsprache) | with at least 4 in each of the four examination parts (can be obtained at Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft; only 3 or 4 test dates per year) |
| Goethe Zertifikat | C2: GDS (exams at Goethe-Institut in Germany) |
| telc Deutsch | C1 Hochschule or C2 |
All German language certificates mentioned above have unlimited validity.
Accepted proofs of English language skills B2: | Accepted for an application for the semester abroad: | |
|---|---|---|
TOEFL1 (highly recommended for those who intend to spend a semester abroad) | 72 ibt TOEFL iBT® Home Edition and TOEFL iBT® Paper Edition are accepted in addition to the regular test | Information on the accepted language certificates can be found here. When applying for a semester abroad, the valid language certificate must be available at the application deadline for the semester abroad. |
| IELTS Academic1 | 5.5 Accepted in addition to the regular test: IELTS Indicator and IELTS Online | |
| Cambridge2 | B2 First (FCE), | |
| Bachelor's degree2 |
(Please submit a proof that your Bachelor's degree programme was completed 100 % in English: e.g. Diploma Supplement or an official letter from the university clearly confirming this). | |
| Master's degree2 | Master's degree totally taught in English | |
| Native2 | has to be verified by school certificates | |
| German school leaving certificate2 (e.g. Abiturzeugnis) | After the end of class 11 (G8) or class 12 (G9) at least 5 points in German grading system must be demonstrated. If the higher education entrance qualification was obtained at Rudolf Steiner schools (Waldorf school), the grade at the end of the last class with at least 5 points will be considered. | not accepted |
School leaving certificate from a member state of the European Union2 | The school leaving certificate explicitly states English language proficiency at level B2 in a separate sentence. Only the grade is not sufficient. | not accepted |
| International/ European Baccalaureat2 | accepted | not accepted |
1 validity for two years 2 unlimited validity
Application documents
The following documents must be uploaded to KLIPS as originals or as authenticated documents in German or in English. | ||
| Bachelor's certificate or proof that 80 % have been succesfully completed | mandatory | If you have not finished your bachelor studies but have passed at least 80% of the examinations (at least 144 credits in a bachelor degree carrying 180 ECTS credits), you can apply by submitting a confirmation of all credits earned so far, along with a provisional average grade computed and certified by your examination office. Please note that the remaining credits must be earned by 30 September. |
| Transcript of records | mandatory | List of all taken modules and courses, including grades and credits, along with a provisional average grade computed and certified by your examination office. |
| Transcript of semester abroad | optional | Only if examinations passed abroad should be considered for the admission criteria as well. |
Subject-related admission criteria See PDF file in "subject-related requirements" | mandatory | Enter the courses you have successfully completed so far during your bachelor's degree programme in the PDF document. List only courses that you have completed at the time of application. |
| School leaving certificate | mandatory for applicants with a German bachelor's degree / optional for applicants with a foreign bachelor's degree | A-levels, High school diploma etc. (please submit all pages of the school leaving certificate) |
| Course catalogue | mandatory | Official description of the content of all taken bachelor courses. Course catalogue or PDF-file with link to course description at the website of the bachelor's university. |
| Proof of German language skills | mandatory for Business Administration Accounting & Taxation only* | Please note the accepted proofs of language under "Language requirements". *This is not necessary for applicants who have obtained a university degree (e.g. Bachelor) or the university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur) in German language. |
| Proof of English language skills | mandatory | Please note the accepted proofs of language under "Language requirements". |
mandatory for applicants with a bachelor's degree obtained outside Germany | Request a preliminary review documentation (VPD) issued for the University of Cologne from uni-assist. You can have your documents checked by uni-assist all year round, the VPD is not tied to an application semester. Read the request procedure carefully and follow the country-specific information. Experience shows that the processing time is 8 weeks. Please make sure to request a VPD at uni-assist well in advance of the application deadline in KLIPS. After you have received the VPD, create an online application in KLIPS. | |
| Admission test | mandatory for the Double Master's Programme Business Administration with Aalto University (Finland) and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (India) / optional for the Double Master's Programme Business Administration with Louvain School of Management (Belgium), Business Administration, Business Analytics & Econometrics, and Economics | We recommend that you take an admission test as this will increase your chances in the admission process. It will also be considered when applying for a semester abroad. |
Selection procedure & admission test
Selection procedure
If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of places available for the programme, a selection procedure will be carried out. The applications are ranked in descending order of score, and the applicants with the highest scores are admitted.
Calculating the personal score
To calculate the personal score, points for the Bachelor's grade and points for an optional admission test are added together. If the final grade is not yet available, proof of the current average grade is required.
Between 34 and 68 points can be achieved for the Bachelor's grade. The detailed calculation can be viewed here.
Admission test
Up to 32 points are awarded for the admission test. If the percentile ranking achieved in the test is below 36 or if no test is submitted, 0 points are applied to the score. We recommend that you take an admission test, as this increases your chances of admission. The individual score is also taken into account when applying for a semester abroad.
| Accepted tests | GTEBS (former TM-WISO) | GMAT |
| Accepted languages | German or English | English |
| Accepted test type | Test centre or online version | |
| Validity | 5 years | |
| Submission deadline | June 15 - You are welcome to send your application and submit the test result by 15 June via KLIPS. The test result tab remains editable until the application deadline, even if you have sent your application beforehand. In the meantime, we will check the admission criteria and give you feedback on your eligibility. | |
| Mandatory? | No | |
| Minimum score | None | |
| Upload proof to KLIPS | PDF file of the test result |
|
Admission results
The table below shows the admission results for five majors in Business Administration over the past two years.
The first number is the score of the main procedure. All applicants with this score or higher were granted admission. The number in brackets is the score of the move-up procedures. How the score is calculated is explained in the section selection procedure & admission test.
According to the "Ordinance on the Allocation of Study Places in North Rhine-Westphalia" (Verordnung über die Vergabe von Studienplätzen in Nordrhein-Westfalen), our eligible applicants are admitted in two quotas (see FAQ 3.5).
Year | Applicant has/ is...
| Applicant has...
| |
| Accounting and Taxation | 2023 | 53 (48) | 40 |
| 2024 | 52 - chosen by lot (47,9) | 38 | |
| Corporate Development | 2023 | 64,6 (58) | 66 (64) |
| 2024 | 64 - chosen by lot (60 - chosen by lot) | 74,1 (68 - chosen by lot) | |
| Finance | 2023 | 66 (61) | 78 (77,2) |
| 2024 | 65,6 - chosen by lot (60 - chosen by lot) | 80,5 (72,5) | |
| Marketing | 2023 | 56 - chosen by lot (50,2) | 66,2 (64) |
| 2024 | 48 - chosen by lot | 68,6 | |
| Supply Chain Management | 2023 | 50,2 (46) | 69,3 (64,8) |
| 2024 | 50 - chosen by lot (48 - chosen by lot) | 76,2 (72 - chosen by lot) |
Chosen by lot means that not all applicants with the same score could be granted admission. It was chosen by lot among all applicants with this score.
Fees & financing
Application
There are fees for the admission test. Please inquire with the test providers about the current prices. If you have obtained your bachelor's degree outside Germany, please note the handling fees for uni-assist.
Study
There is only a social fee for studying at University of Cologne of approx. 320 € per semester including ticket for public transport. There are no tuition fees when studying abroad, but costs for rent, living expenses and learning materials must be paid by the student.
You can find information on financing your studies here.