Master of Science
Master International Management (CEMS MIM)
The key to your future career in a global business environment
This website is currently being revised for the 2027 application process until expected December
If you would like to find out more about the specific details of the master's programme International Management (CEMS MIM), please click here.
Application information
Application deadline
From mid-January until 31 March, 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 | A 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 70% 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 2.5 (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
| CEMS Language 1 - Accepted proofs of English language skills C1: | |
| TOEFL1 | 100 ibt (old score scala)
|
| IELTS Academic1 | 7.0 Accepted in addition to the regular test: IELTS Indicator and IELTS Online |
| Cambridge² | C1 Advanced (CAE) at least grade B, C1 Business Higher (BEC Higher) at least grade B, C2 Proficiency (CPE) at least grade C |
| Bachelor's degree² | Bachelor's degree totally taught in English only if
(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). |
| A-level GCSE issued in Singapore² | accepted |
| Pearson test of English Academic (PTE)1 | 68 |
| Master's degree² | not accepted |
| Native² | has to be verified by school certificates |
| German school-leaving certificate² (e.g. Abitur) | not accepted |
| School-leaving certificate from a member state of the European Union² | not accepted |
| International/ European Baccalaureat² | not accepted |
1 validity for two years 2 unlimited validity
Application documents
| The following documents must be uploaded to KLIPS as originals or authenticated copies, in either German or English. Documents in other languages must be accompanied by a certified translation. | ||
| Bachelor's certificate or proof that 70 % have been succesfully completed | mandatory | If you have not finished your bachelor studies but have passed at least 70% of the examinations (at least 126 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. |
| VPD by uni-assist Information on requesting a VPD | 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. |
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 | 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. *this does not apply to UoC graduates |
| Proof of English language skills | mandatory | Please note the accepted proofs of language under "Language requirements". |
| CEMS Application Form & Declaration of CEMS Languages | mandatory | Please note the accepted CEMS languages. |
| Motivation Letter CEMS | mandatory | Please note that we only accept self-written texts (not generated with an AI such as ChatGPT). The Motivation Letter is required in English Language. |
| Curriculum Vitae | mandatory | The CV must be submitted in English. |
| Internship, voluntary work and extracurricular activities | optional | For all volunteer and extracurricular activities (internships, education, employment) listed in the CV, please provide the certificates. |
| Admission test | optional | We strongly recommend that you take an admission test as this will increase your chances in the admission process. The individual admission score, where the test may add important points, will also be considered for the allocation to your CEMS term abroad within the CEMS year. Please note the information under "Selection procedure & admission test". |
| Transcript of semester abroad | optional | Only if examinations passed abroad should be considered for the admission criteria as well. |
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 10 and 30 points can be achieved for the Bachelor's grade (weighting 40%). Up to 30 points are awarded for the interview (weighting 30%). A prerequisite for the award of 5 points is that at least one point is achieved per dimension. If fewer points are achieved, the interview is awarded 0 points.
- Dimension 1: Education
- Dimension 2: Motivation
- Dimension 3: Analytical and communication skills
- Dimension 4: Personal demeanour and integrity
- Dimension 5: International experience
The detailed score calculation can be viewed ➡️here.
➡️ Feel free to use our PACO Score tool to calculate your personal score and compare it with the results from the last two years.
Admission test
Up to 30 points (weighting 30 %) are awarded for the admission test. If the percentile ranking achieved in the test is below 60 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 | Englisch Version only | GMAT |
| Accepted test type | Test centre or online version | |
| Validity | 5 years | |
| Submission deadline | 31 March - You are welcome to send your application and submit the test result by 31 March 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 International Management (CEMS MIM) 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.
➡️ Feel free to use our PACO Score tool to calculate your personal score and compare it with the results from the last two years.
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).
Admission process (study places: approx. 40) | 80 % of study slots for applicants with ...
| 20 % of study slots for applicants with…
|
| 2025 | 16,7 | 13,3 |
| 2024 | 15 | 14,3 |
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.
Studies
There is only a social contribution per semester for studying at the University of Cologne which includes the Deutschlandticket. CEMS charges a one-time registration fee of 110 €. There are no tuition fees when studying abroad, but costs for rent, living expenses and learning materials must be paid by the student.
There can be extra costs for some CEMS programme elements such as CEMS Block Seminar (around €300), language trainings and some study materials.
You can find information on financing your studies here.
Grade Conversion Tool
The conversion is a not binding official information, but provides orientation to convert your foreign grade into a German equivalent. The basis for this is the so-called modified Bavarian formula; you can find all information on this determined in the resolution of the Kultusministerkonferenz. You can only obtain an official conversion via uni-assist; please request your VPD as early as possible. Experience shows that the processing time is 8 weeks.
In the first field, enter the best grade that can be achieved in your university's grading system.; in the second field, the grade with which the examination is still considered to have been passed at your university; in the third field, your current overall grade.
The result is the equivalent of your grade according to the German grading system, in which 1,0 is the best grade and 4,0 is the grade with which an examination is just passed.
Please enter grades with decimal places, with a comma, e.g. 2,3.