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 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 70% of the credit points to be earned must be completed. The pending examinations must be completed by 30 September at the latest.
at least 48 ECTS in the field of Business Administration/ Management
at least 10 ECTS in the field of Economics
at least 10 ECTS in the fields of Statistics and/or Mathematics (only modules with mathematical and/or statistical methodological skills; pure (software) application skills are not accepted)
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
issued in an English-speaking country or
from a CEMS member university or
from an EQUIS/ AACSB-accredited university
(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 as authenticated documentsin 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
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. If your university does not issue module descriptions or does not provide it in German or in English, please upload a PDF document explaining this informally. Please do not have your module descriptions translated! If we still need the module descriptions when reviewing your application, we will contact you.
Proof of English language skills
mandatory
Please note the accepted proofs of language under "Language requirements".
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, 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.
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 "Selection procedure & admission test".
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.
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.
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.
Release result at GMAC for University of Cologne: We only guarantee that results submitted by 10 April will be taken into account. Without approval, the test result will be included in the score calculation with the value 0
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.
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
80 % of study slots for applicants with ...
EU/ EEA citizenship OR
EU/ EEA school-leaving certificate OR
EU/ EEA Bachelor’s degree OR
Married to EU/ EEA-citizen
20 % of study slots for applicants with…
No EU/ EEA-citizenship AND
No EU/ EEA school-leaving certificate AND
No EU/ EEA Bachelor’s degree
2024
15
14,3
2023
13
15,7
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.
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.
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.
