Master International Management (CEMS MIM)
The key to your future career in a global business environment
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 can apply online via the campus management system KLIPS. No documents need to be submitted by post.
- All subject-related and language requirements must be met by the application deadline.
- All documents must be provided in either German or English and submitted by the application deadline.
- Documents submitted after the application deadline will not be accepted.
Subject-related requirements
In order to fulfil the admission criteria for International Management (CEMS MIM) and take part in the selection procedure, you must demonstrate the following points:
| 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, you must have earned at least 70% of the credit points and have completed the outstanding courses by September 30 at the latest. The subject-related and language admission requirements as well as the minimum grade must be fulfilled at the time of application. | |
| Bachelor's grade | at least 2.5 (German grade) | |
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 | iBT100 |
| IELTS Academic1 | 7.0 Accepted in addition to the regular test: IELTS Indicator and IELTS Online |
| Cambridge² | C1 Advanced (CAE) at least grade B, |
| 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
CEMS Language 2 - any language B1 except for English | |
|---|---|
| Mother tongue | fill in mother tongue declaration |
| Secondary education | in the country of language 2 |
| Bachelor degree | taught in language 2 |
| Commercial language tests accredited by CEMS | |
| Cultural Institutes accredited for CEMS | |
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 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. |
| 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 English language skills | mandatory | Please note the accepted proofs of language under "Language requirements". |
| 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). |
| 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, a contact person (with email address and phone number) and a website address. |
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 | 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 "Admission test & selection procedure". |
Admission test & selection procedure
If the number of applicants meeting the admission criteria exceeds the number of places available for the programme, a selection procedure will be carried out to rank the applicants. The ranking decides on the admission. The calculation of the individual admission score (max. 90 points) is based on the bachelor's grade, admission test result and points for the interview. The points achieved for each of the criteria are weighted differently for the calculation of the final admission score.
Please note: The individual admission score is also used for the allocation to your CEMS term abroad within the CEMS year, as students will be allocated to their host schools regarding their preferences and application score rank.
| Bachelor's grade | 10-30 points | Weighting 40% | |||||||||
| Admission test | 10-30 points Prerequisite for the award of 10 points is a score of 60 in the admission test (Percentile Ranking). If fewer points are scored or no test is submitted, 0 points will be applied.
The following tests are accepted, if the results are not older than five years:
| Weighting 30% | |||||||||
| Interview | 5-30 points Prerequisite for the award of 5 point is, that at least one point per dimension is achieved. If fewer points are scored, 0 points will be applied.
| Weighting 30% |
Admission results
The table below shows the admission results for International Management (CEMS MIM) over the past two years; the result of any move-up proceudre is shown in brackets. On the basis of the "Ordinance on the Allocation of Study Places in North Rhine-Westphalia" (Verordnung über die Vergabe von Studienplätzen in Nordrhein-Westfalen), admission is based on two quotas. You can find more information on this in our FAQs at point 3.5 "Is there a separate admission quota for non-EU/EEA citizens?".
The score consists of the Bachelor's grade, the result of the optional admission test and the interview points (calculation of the score).
All applications that took part in the selection procedure and achieved the minimum score for the respective year were admitted.
| Admission process | Applications from EU/EEA countries, school or university degree from EU/EEA countries or spouse from EU/EEA countries | Applications from non-EU/EEA countries |
| 2023 | 13 | 15,7 |
| 2022 | Due to the change in the selection procedure, there is no comparability with previous years. | |
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. CEMS charges a one-time registration fee of 100 €. 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.