The Corporate Development track of the Master of Science in Business Administration covers methods and means of strategic corporate management and development, as well as human resource management.
Key Focuses
Gain in-depth knowledge of corporate development, strategic management and strategic human resource management
Recognise your responsibility and that of stakeholders regarding a company's objectives and role in society
Learn how to make responsible business decisions based on ethical and economic criteria
Design your learning and work process independently
Meet potential employers both in courses and through career events, such as the WiSo job fair
Take the next step for your career in the industry, in public institutions or in consulting
Business Administration - Corporate Development
Career Opportunities
Contact between companies and students is established and promoted through guest lectures and seminars, thus enabling students to appreciate the practical relevance of the knowledge they have acquired in their master courses. This programme deepens the knowledge gained from your bachelor studies, giving you advanced expertise in your chosen field. It opens wide-ranging prospects for professional careers in business management (in private or public institutions) and in the manifold areas of consultancy, along with specialisation options - depending on the subject chosen - in human resource management or in strategic organisational design development. As the University of Cologne is state-funded, there are no tuition fees, just a "semester contribution" of roughly 250 euros. This cost covers the "semester ticket" for public transportation throughout the entire state of North Rhine-Westphalia (where Cologne is located). Therefore, with us, you can invest in an excellent education - and your future - without paying a fortune.
Practical Experience
As a student of the WiSo Faculty, you gain from an approach based on theory and methods, combining both research and teaching with practical elements. Education within our Faculty has benefited from many years of experience working with companies and guest lecturers from different professional fields. Many of the guest lecturers are professionals and managers who bring important industry experience to the programmes, resulting in sector-specific, up-to-date content for our students. This ensures that the programmes reflect the real world and that they combine practice and theory, whilst promoting knowledge-sharing between companies and you.
This programme offers a research-based, practice-oriented curriculum developing your skills in core tasks in corporate developement, such as international strategic management, M&A, entrepreneurship, organization design, human rescource management, and ethical leadership and governance.
Information on the application
Admission Requirements
The admission requirements must be fulfilled until the application deadline:
Bachelor's degree
Application in the case of unfinished Bachelor studies: In cases where present Bachelor studies have not been fully completed, application is permitted if the candidate has earned at least 80% of the required credits and will have achieved the remaining results by 30 September at the latest. The specific admission criteria governing the designated course of study (including the overall grade) must already have been fulfilled on the basis of the exam results available at the time of application.
Overall grade of at least 2.7 (German grade) in the Bachelor’s degree
Fulfilment of the following subject-related requirements
At least 78 ECTS credits in the field of Business Administration and Economics
of this at least 48 ECTS credits in Business Administration
of this at least 18 ECTS credits in Economics
At least 15 ECTS credits in Statistics and/or Mathematics (methodological expertise only, no user expertise)
Within the selection process each applicant receives an individual score that consists of the following criteria:
Grade earned in the preceding Bachelor’s degree [68-34 points]
Result of the admission test TM-WISO / GMAT [32 - 0 points]
The above criteria are used to determine a score for each candidate. Study places are subsequently allotted according to an applicant’s position on the ranking list. The submission of the test is not mandatory, but highly recommended.
The following documents must be uploaded to the Master's application portal of the WiSo Faculty - certified documents are recommended but not obligatory. For enrolment, all documents must be presented in original or authenticated form.
Bachelor degree certificate | 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 | list of all taken modules and courses including grades and credits
Transcript of semester abroad | only if examinations passed abroad should be considered for the admission criteria as well | the courses have to be recognised by the home university as part of the bachelor programme and recorded in the transcript of records.
University entrance qualification | A-levels/ High school diploma
Official description of the content of all taken bachelor courses | e.g. course catalogue or PDF-file with link to course description at the website of the University (see FAQ 1.12)
Proof of German language proficiency | for Business Administration - Accounting & Taxation and Supply Chain Management | This is not necessary for applicants who obtained their bachelor's degree or university entrance certificate (e.g. Abitur) in German language
If you are interested in the Double Master's Programme in Business Administration, please check the additional application documents and the different application deadline (see FAQ 2.4).
2) Applicants, who did not obtain their bachelor's degree in Germany must additionally apply online via uni-assist until 15 June. For your online application, please select "Winter Semester" and search for "Universität zu Köln".
Please note, you have to document your education in detail. You start with the certificate from the last school you graduated from (which entitles you to begin university studies in your home country) and continue up to the current state of progress in your university studies. Furthermore, you have to hand in all documents in original language and additionally in translation either in German or in English language.
Uni-assist recommends sending in the application at least eight weeks before the deadline expires. This ensures that uni-assist can inform applicants in time if they need to submit further documents. Only after the handling fee has been paid, the application will be evaluated.
The following documents are required by uni-assist - certified documents are recommended but not obligatory.
(translated) bachelor degree certification or attestation of 80% studies and Transcript of Records | Please submit all certificates in their entirety: include the diploma certificate as well as the overview of subjects and grades. You must not omit any parts of the certificate or single pages. In order to calculate your grade, uni-assist needs the grading system used by your university for your degree. More information can be read here.
(translated) university entrance qualification | e.g. A-level, High School diploma
proof of English language proficiency
proof of German language proficiency | only for the master programmes Business Administration in Accounting and Taxation and Supply Chain Management
all documents listed above in the original language | Only if the original document is not available in English or German language. Information about translation and authentication of documents can be read here.
only for applicants with Chinese (except Hongkong) or Vietnamese bachelor’s certificates | original APS certificate| certified copies cannot be accepted!
please check whether you need to hand in further additional depending on the country of origin: country-specific documents
not mandatory, however, useful for the uni-assist evaluation:(translated) diploma supplement
Application and admission procedure
Information on the application process and deadlines can be found on the application website.
Current changes with regard to the Corona Pandemic are summarised here.
