MSc in Responsible Management

The University of Geneva’s MSc in Responsible Management is an English-taught, 90-ECTS management master at the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM) — and one of the lowest-cost AACSB-accredited management master’s anywhere in Europe.¹ ⁴ It is the fourth Swiss programme on this site, alongside St. Gallen, HEC Lausanne and ZHAW, and the first based in Geneva — the world’s leading hub for international organisations.⁵ The programme does not appear in the FT Masters in Management table, so this profile draws on the school’s own published programme, admissions and fee data rather than FT figures.¹ ²

Overview

The University of Geneva (UNIGE), founded in 1559, ranks among the world’s top-50 universities and is a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), with Nobel laureates and Fields medallists among its honours.⁵ Its business faculty, the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM) — established in its current form in 2014 — earned AACSB accreditation in 2024, the recognition awarded after a review of all its bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes.⁴ The GSEM’s stated mission is to “educate responsible leaders for a diverse and changing society,” and the MSc in Responsible Management is the master built directly around that idea.¹ ⁴

The programme runs over three semesters (90 ECTS) and is taught entirely in English.¹ Rather than bolting sustainability onto a conventional management degree, it integrates responsible management throughout — teaching how to manage effectively in pluralistic environments where the needs of multiple stakeholder groups have to be balanced, with the management tools, techniques and industry practices to do it.¹ As a PRME signatory programme in a city built around the UN, the WTO, the WHO and the Red Cross, it is unusually well-placed for students aiming at ESG, impact, policy and international-organisation careers — see our guide on how to break into sustainability and ESG from a MiM.

Curriculum & Structure

The MSc in Responsible Management is a three-semester, 90-ECTS master taught in English.¹ Students build a management core threaded with responsibility and stakeholder thinking, then have the option to go on exchange in the third semester — earning up to 30 credits abroad — before completing the degree with a thesis or internship.¹ Because the responsibility lens runs through the courses rather than sitting in a single module, the master is best read as a generalist management degree with a distinctive ethical and sustainability frame, rather than a narrow specialist track.

Geneva itself is part of the value proposition. It is one of the most international cities in Europe — home to dozens of UN agencies and international NGOs, a major private-banking and commodity-trading centre, and a dense network of multinational headquarters — which gives a responsibility-focused management master an unusually relevant setting for internships and recruiting.⁵

Application & Deadlines

Admission is test-optional but selective. Applicants need a recognised three-year bachelor’s degree of at least 180 ECTS from a recognised institution, plus English at B2 level — evidenced by IELTS, TOEFL or a Cambridge certificate, or by previous study conducted in English.² ³ The GSEM does not list a GMAT or GRE requirement, so the rest of the file carries the weight; for the wider field, see our list of MiM programmes without the GMAT. The Scientific Committee may ask some admitted applicants to complete bridging coursework (up to 30 or, in some cases, 60 ECTS) before or alongside the master.³

The programme runs a single September intake, with an application window that opens on 15 January and closes on 28 February.² ³ There is no spring start, and attendance is required from the first day of the semester. These dates recur each cycle, but the exact 2027 window is confirmed on UNIGE’s admissions page — verify it before you plan around it. To map your timing against the rest of your shortlist, use the deadline tracker.

Tuition & Funding

The fee structure is the headline. As part of a public Swiss university, the University of Geneva charges a flat fee of about CHF 500 per semester — CHF 65 in fixed fees plus CHF 435 in administrative fees — to all students regardless of nationality.⁴ Across the three-semester master that is roughly CHF 1,500 in tuition for the entire degree, which makes the MSc in Responsible Management one of the most affordable AACSB-accredited management master’s in Europe, and a natural entry on our cheapest MiM in Europe and low-cost and tuition-free MiM shortlists.

The honest catch is living costs: Geneva is consistently ranked among the most expensive cities in the world, so rent and daily expenses — not tuition — are the real budget item, and applicants from outside Switzerland should plan carefully and look into scholarships and assistantships. On fees-against-reputation, though, an AACSB-accredited master at a top-50 global university for around CHF 1,500 is among the strongest value propositions in European management education.

Rankings & Reputation

The University of Geneva is one of Europe’s leading public research universities — top-50 worldwide, a LERU member, with Nobel and Fields-medal honours — and its GSEM holds AACSB accreditation (2024).⁴ ⁵ The MSc in Responsible Management is not ranked in the FT Masters in Management table; the FT-ranked Swiss programmes are St. Gallen (#1), ZHAW and HEC Lausanne.¹ Applicants comparing on FT standing should weigh that against the school’s AACSB accreditation, the university’s research reputation, Geneva’s international setting and the very low public fee.

For applicants weighing Switzerland, it is worth comparing the GSEM master directly against the country’s other public options on ranking, fee, focus and city — our best MiM in Switzerland guide lines up the FT-ranked three side by side, and Switzerland vs Germany for a MiM sets the country against its biggest neighbour. To see how the full European field compares, browse the composite rankings and the programme catalogue, place Geneva among the country’s options on the Switzerland MiM hub, and map your application timing on the deadline tracker. If you are still weighing the degree itself — and especially if sustainability and impact are the draw — start with is a MiM worth it in 2026 and how to break into sustainability and ESG from a MiM.

Sources (retrieved June 2026): the University of Geneva GSEM’s own MSc in Responsible Management programme page for the degree, the three-semester/90-ECTS structure, the English-taught delivery, the responsible-management focus and the third-semester exchange option; the GSEM Master’s admissions page and the Master’s FAQ for the bachelor’s (180-ECTS) requirement, the B2 English level, the absence of a GMAT/GRE requirement, the possible bridging coursework and the 15 January–28 February September-intake window; the University of Geneva tuition-fees page for the flat CHF 500-per-semester fee (CHF 65 fixed + CHF 435 administrative) applied to all nationalities; and the GSEM AACSB accreditation announcement for the 2024 AACSB accreditation and the school’s founding/mission, with the University of Geneva’s 1559 founding and top-50/LERU standing corroborated across UNIGE’s own pages. No figures are invented; where a detail lives only inside UNIGE’s live application or varies by applicant profile, this profile says so rather than quoting a fixed value. The MSc in Responsible Management is not listed in the Financial Times Masters in Management table, so no FT rank is assigned.

¹ University of Geneva GSEM — MSc in Responsible Management programme page. ² University of Geneva GSEM — Master’s admissions. ³ University of Geneva GSEM — Master’s FAQ. ⁴ University of Geneva — tuition fees and GSEM AACSB accreditation (2024). ⁵ University of Geneva — institutional profile (founded 1559; top-50; LERU member).