The University of Cologne is a public university and charges no tuition fees for the CEMS Master in International Management — for EU and non-EU students alike. The only mandatory cost is the per-semester social contribution, which the Studierendensekretariat sets at €355.65 for winter semester 2026/27 — up from €335.65 in summer semester 2026. It bundles the Kölner Studierendenwerk fee (€110.00), the Deutschland-Semesterticket, a nationwide public-transport pass (€226.80), the AStA student-union fee (€13.25), the departmental-committee levy (€3.60) and student sport (€2.00). Some CEMS-specific costs apply on top — the WiSo Faculty has listed a one-time CEMS registration fee of about €110 plus paid programme elements such as a block seminar — and non-EU applicants must additionally prove living funds of €992 per month — €11,904 a year — for the study visa. Against an FT weighted three-year salary of about US$120,000 the tuition-free structure makes this one of the strongest value propositions near the top of the FT table.
Tuition for the University of Cologne Master in Management is No tuition fees — €355.65 per semester social contribution (incl. nationwide transit pass) for the 24 months program.
| Total tuition | No tuition fees — €355.65 per semester social contribution (incl. nationwide transit pass) |
|---|---|
| Tuition (numeric) | Free (EU/EEA) |
| Program length | 24 months |
| Median tuition (80 euro-priced MiMs we track) | €23,157 |
Tuition is free for EU/EEA students at University of Cologne, placing the University of Cologne MiM among the most affordable Master's in Management in Europe. See how it stacks up on our cheapest MiMs in Europe and best-value shortlists.
Tuition figures are the published rate for the 2026–27 cycle and exclude living costs, travel, and optional exchange fees. Scholarships and need-based aid can materially reduce the net cost — see the FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the University of Cologne rank for the Master in Management?
How much does the Cologne CEMS MIM cost?
Sources
- CEMS Master in International Management — official programme page ↗ — University of Cologne, WiSo Faculty
- WiSo in the FT Masters in Management 2025 — #37 worldwide, #4 in Germany ↗ — University of Cologne, WiSo Faculty
- Costs & financing — no tuition fees; blocked-account proof of €992 per month / €11,904 per year ↗ — University of Cologne
- Übersicht Semesterbeiträge — "Wintersemester 2026/27 Semesterbeitrag 355,65 EUR: AStA Beitrag 13,25 · Studierendensport 2,00 · Deutschland-Semesterticket 226,80 · Fachschaftenbeitrag 3,60 · Verwaltungs- und Härtefallbeitrag 0,00 · KStW 110,00" ↗ — University of Cologne, Studierendensekretariat
- Financial Times — Masters in Management 2025 ↗ — Financial Times
- University of Cologne, WiSo Faculty — "Ordnung über die Zulassung zu den Masterstudiengängen Economic Research sowie International Management", Amtliche Mitteilungen 4/2026, dated 07.01.2026, in force from the winter semester 2026/2027 and superseding the ordinance of 29 January 2025 (13 pages, sha256:15aace84b1746f1b, read 2026-09-04 with npm run pdf:text). SELECTION CHECKED 2026-09-04 — this is the legally binding text, and none of it appears on the programme page, which lists only general eligibility. § 2(1): first degree of at least six semesters and 180 Leistungspunkte. § 2(3) for International Management: final grade at least 2.5, plus at least 10 ECTS Volkswirtschaftslehre, 48 ECTS Betriebswirtschaftslehre and 10 ECTS Statistik/Mathematik. § 3(2): "Der Anteil der Studienplätze für ausländische Staatsangehörige und Staatenlose, die nicht Deutschen gleichgestellt sind, beträgt im Masterstudiengang International Management 20 vom Hundert" — a 20% quota on international places. § 4(2): the criteria are the degree result, the result of a subject aptitude test ("englischsprachiger GTEBS beziehungsweise TM-WISO oder GMAT") and the result of a mündliches Eignungsfeststellungsverfahren. Anhang Auswahlkriterien § 2 (International Management), each criterion scored to a maximum of 30 points and then weighted: (a) bachelor grade 1,0 = 30 points and 2,5 = 10 points, linear interpolation, weighted 40%; (b) test percentile 100 = 30 points and 60 = 10 points, linear interpolation, weighted 30%, and "hat eine Bewerberin beziehungsweise ein Bewerber kein Ergebnis eines fachspezifischen Studieneignungstests... nachgewiesen oder einen Prozentrang von unter 60 erzielt, werden 0 Punkte angesetzt"; (c) the oral assessment 5 to 30 points, weighted 30%, scored up to 6 points in each of five dimensions — Ausbildung, Leistungsbereitschaft, analytische und kommunikative Fähigkeiten, persönliches Auftreten/Integrität, internationale Ausrichtung — with at least one point required in EVERY dimension or the whole criterion scores 0. The oral may be an individual interview, a group discussion or a presentation of solutions to a practice-oriented problem, with the format announced in the invitation; the panel is normally four members (a professor, an academic or technical/administrative staff member, a student, and a practitioner or alumni representative) and the applicant's score is the mean of their individually recorded marks. NOTE the sibling programme differs: Economic Research uses the GRE, a 100-point scale and a three-member panel ↗ — Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Universität zu Köln