No GMAT or GRE — UCC publishes no standardised-test requirement for this MSc, so there is no minimum score or admitted-student average to quote. The academic gate is a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ Level 8), and it carries a condition most management masters invert: the degree must be 'without significant management or marketing component', which the programme director normally reads as fewer than 30 ECTS credits of it. A business or marketing major is therefore a reason to be turned away, not a qualification. Applicants who fall short academically may be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning with sufficient relevant professional experience. On English, UCC's course page says the requirement is for non-native speakers — but the postgraduate policy behind it decides on country, not first language, and its list is wide: you are normally assumed to have met it if you hold a level-8 or level-9 qualification taught in any of 49 named countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Singapore — though not India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. Otherwise the band is IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each skill, valid for two years, or the published TOEFL iBT / Duolingo equivalents. See MiM in Europe without the GMAT and the work-experience explainer.
Not required, and no score or admitted average is published. The gate is a Second Class Honours Grade II primary degree 'without significant management or marketing component' — normally read as fewer than 30 ECTS of it, so a business major is a reason to be turned away rather than a qualification — with a Recognition of Prior Learning route for applicants who fall short academically. English is decided on country rather than first language, across 49 named states
| Test policy | Not required, and no score or admitted average is published. The gate is a Second Class Honours Grade II primary degree 'without significant management or marketing component' — normally read as fewer than 30 ECTS of it, so a business major is a reason to be turned away rather than a qualification — with a Recognition of Prior Learning route for applicants who fall short academically. English is decided on country rather than first language, across 49 named states |
|---|---|
| GPA | A Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ Level 8) — and, unusually, a ceiling rather than a floor on business content: the degree must be 'without significant management or marketing component', which UCC's programme director normally reads as fewer than 30 ECTS credits. Applicants who miss the academic bar may be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning if they have sufficient relevant professional experience. No GMAT or GRE. |
| Work experience | Not required — a pre-experience conversion master built for graduates straight out of a non-business first degree. Relevant professional experience matters only as an alternative route in, via Recognition of Prior Learning, for applicants who do not meet the academic requirement. |
| MiMs we track admitting without a required GMAT/GRE | 75 of 118 |
A GMAT or GRE is not required to apply to the University College Cork, Cork University Business School MiM — it is one of the 75 of 118 Master's in Management we track (about 64%) that admit without a required test. See every European MiM you can apply to without a GMAT on our MiM without the GMAT shortlist, or read how GMAT waivers work.
Most European MiM programs, including this one, accept the GRE and often the GMAT Focus Edition or a school-specific test as alternatives, and weigh the whole application — academics, internships, essays, and interview — rather than the score alone.
Frequently asked questions
Does UCC require the GMAT or work experience for the MSc Management and Marketing?
Neither. UCC publishes no GMAT or GRE requirement for this MSc, so there is no minimum score, and no work experience is required — it is a genuine pre-experience master. The academic requirement is a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree at NFQ Level 8, and it comes with a condition that catches people out: the degree must be 'without significant management or marketing component', which the programme director normally reads as fewer than 30 ECTS credits of it. In other words, having studied business is a reason to be turned away rather than a qualification — the programme exists for graduates who have not. Applicants who do not meet the academic bar may still be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning if they bring sufficient relevant professional experience. On English, UCC's course page asks non-native speakers to meet the university band, but the policy behind it turns on the country your qualification was taught in rather than your first language — and 49 countries qualify, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore, but not India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. Where a test is needed it is IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each skill, valid within two years, or the published TOEFL iBT or Duolingo equivalents.
Sources
- University College Cork — MSc Management and Marketing, course CKL22 (course page: NFQ Level 9, 90 credits, 1 year full-time, taught in English, start 7 September 2026; 'designed for graduates who have taken no, or limited, management or marketing modules in their undergraduate degree, but wish to pursue a career in business'; entry 'Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ Level 8) without significant management or marketing component (as adjudicated by the Programme Director, but normally less than 30 ECTS credits)', with Recognition of Prior Learning for applicants with sufficient relevant professional experience; Part I 60 credits of taught modules, Part II a 30-credit Applied Research Project; work placement with an industry partner or self-secured, with a dedicated placement manager; EU deadline 'Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled', non-EU 'Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June'; 'The EU fee for this course is €10,800. The Non-EU fee for this course is €22,300'; 'most of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee'; 'Successful EU applicants will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of €500 on acceptance of their place'; recent graduates listed at Nike, Dell, Accenture, Deloitte, Meta, Google, Harrods, HubSpot, Stripe, Jameson, Gym+Coffee and Dingle Distillery; no class size, employment rate or salary published) ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork Finance Office — Postgraduate EU and International Fees 2027/28 (Management & Marketing - MSc: total annual fee €12,114 EU and €23,314 non-EU, full-time, 1 year, College of Business and Law; 'The total annual fee includes the tuition fee & capitation fee'; student capitation fee €214) ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork Finance Office — Postgraduate EU and International Fees 2026/27 (Management & Marketing - MSc: EU fee €10,800 full-time, non-EU fee €22,300 full-time, capitation fee €210, 1 Yr FT, College of Business and Law; the schedule's 'How to calculate your total fee' instructs adding tuition + capitation + bench fee, i.e. the tuition figures shown exclude capitation — the opposite convention to the 2027/28 schedule) ↗ — University College Cork
- Cork University Business School — Accreditations and Memberships (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS, the last 'achieved in December 2025', completing triple accreditation; memberships include EFMD and PRME) ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork news, 29 January 2026 — 'Cork University Business School joins top 1% of global business schools' (EQUIS held alongside AACSB and AMBA is 'the "triple crown" of international accreditation', 'the three most rigorous and internationally recognised quality standards in business education'; fewer than 150 business schools globally hold it) ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork — Postgraduate English Language Entry Requirements (taught programmes: IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 in individual skills, academic version, valid two years; TOEFL iBT 90 overall for exams before 21 January 2026 with component minima; Duolingo English Test 120 with a minimum 110 in each subscore). ENGLISH EVIDENCE CHECKED 2026-09-09 (P33b): re-read for the exemption rule, which this profile had not carried. UCC is one of the few schools whose 'non-native speakers' wording is genuinely its own — the course page states 'Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements' and this page opens 'These requirements are for postgraduate applicants whose first language is not English', adding 'If Gaeilge (Irish) is your first language these requirements do not apply to you.' But the operative test is country, verbatim: applicants from a country whose 'acknowledged primary language' is English, 'or who hold an undergraduate (level 8) or a postgraduate (level 8 or 9) qualification from a recognised institution that was taught in a country deemed by UCC to have English as its acknowledged primary language, will normally be assumed to have met the UCC language requirements', with the caveat 'Note, in some circumstances, the Admissions team may require further evidence of English language skills.' The list as printed has 49 entries and is materially wider than the 18-entry UKVI set most UK schools use: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, St Helena, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Kingdom, USA, US Virgin Islands, Zambia, Zimbabwe. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are NOT on it — checked by name. A discretionary route also exists for applicants with 'a minimum of 2 years of professional practice (professional practice relevant to the postgraduate programme of study) working through the medium of English in a country where English is the acknowledged primary language'. P33f RE-READ 2026-09-12: read again for one question only — does submitting a test result BELOW the course requirement remove an exemption the applicant would otherwise hold, as Bath states ('you will not be exempt')? This page publishes NO rule either way. Recorded as a dated SILENCE on that question, never as permission: a page that says nothing has not promised to ignore a weak score. ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork — Cost of living for international students (monthly estimates: on-campus accommodation €800–€1,030, private complex €800–€2,222, private house share €700–€900 excluding bills; utilities €120; food €120–€240; travel with a Leap Card €26–€30; mobile €20; personal/social €200–€300; 'Overall Expense (excluding Accommodation): €481 - €701 approx.'; 'Overall Expense (including Accommodation): €1,181 - €2,923 approx.') ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork — Historical Timeline (established by royal charter of incorporation on 30 December 1845 as Queen's College Cork; formally opened in 1849 with 115 students enrolling; renamed University College Cork in 1908 following the Irish Universities Act) ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork — International Scholarships table (lists 'College of Business and Law Merit Based Scholarships 2026/27' as awarded automatically to international students; the summary table itself publishes no amount, grade threshold or deadline — but it links a detail page that does, see the next two sources) ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork — College of Business and Law Excellence Merit Based Scholarship 2026/27 (the non-EU award, and the page that closes the amount question: 'Value: 20% fee reduction'; 'UCC First Class Honours or equivalent (1H): 20% off tuition fee'; awarded automatically at offer stage, 'No application required', requires an accepted offer in the UCC application portal; 'This scholarship cannot be combined or used in conjunction with any other scholarship offering of UCC'; 'Note: Capitation fees are payable by all students and are subject to change.' No 2H1 tier appears on the page) ↗ — University College Cork
- University College Cork — College of Business and Law PG - EU Merit Based Scholarship (the EU award: 'CUBS EU Students who received the highest First Class Honours (1H) in their undergraduate degree: EUR 1,000' and 'Law EU Students ...: EUR 700'; automatic, no application; one award per full-time taught masters programme; same non-combination clause as the international award) ↗ — University College Cork
- RTÉ News, 19 February 2026 — 'Apple opens new office building at Cork city campus' (Apple's European headquarters overlooks Cork city from the Hollyhill campus on the northside; Apple is Cork's largest private employer with some 6,000 people from over 90 countries, and the new building accommodates a further 1,300) ↗ — RTÉ