Frequently Asked Questions

The program starts in the winter semester; i.e. October. There is only one intake per year. The application period runs from 15 February to 31 March.

We offer 60 study places each year.

In the selection process, 50% of the places are allocated to 'foreign students', 50% are allocated to 'domestic students'. Please check our information about the selection criteria for further information.

In the past years, we received approximately 800 applications for the 60 study places available.

If you consider switching from another master’s program to MIBAS, you’d have to follow the regular application process. Your application will be evaluated based on the defined standard criteria. Your current master’s studies will not be considered within the admission process.

Once you have been admitted to the program and once you are enrolled as a student at the university, you may apply for recognition of external achievements.

Yes, you can study this master’s degree part-time. Detailed information about prerequisites, deadlines, the application procedure, and any exceptions is available on the university's Campus Centers website. Part-time degrees however, are not designed as evening and/or weekend programs. Our classes normally take place during the week between 8 am and 8 pm.

It is not necessary to announce that you would like to become a part-time student within the application.

You don't need to prove German language skills within the application, since MIBAS is taught in English. All applicants have to prove English language proficency with one of the accepted certificates.

When enrolling for MIBAS at Universität Hamburg, all prospective students must submit proof of adequate English proficiency.
The language tests have to be valid until the end of the application period (i.e. 31 March).

The following tests are accepted as proof of your English language skills:

• a university degree in an academic study program taught in English
• Revised TOEFL Paper-delivered Test: at least 22 points per skill (Reading, Listening, Writing)
• TOEFL internet-based test: 92 points with at least 22 points per skill (listening, writing, speaking, reading)
• Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): Results A, B, C
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – Academics: Band 6,5, Good Competent User, with at least 6,0 per skill
• proof of at least five years of English lessons at a German speaking school (please hand in a copy of your Abitur-Zeugnis or the equivalent), or
• proof of English proficiency with the Level B2 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) from a recognized institution.

Applicants, who haven't received their test results when applying, can hand in one of the accepted English language certificates when enrolling at Universität Hamburg (approximately in May).

Please plan and prepare for your English examinations well before you apply!

Yes, it is possible to apply if you did not study Business Administration in your Bachelor's.

Applicants who did not specialise in business administration must prove successfully completed examinations accounting for at least 12 ECTS altogether from at least 4 of the following areas:

• introductory course in business administration,
• accounting,
• financing,
• investment,
• marketing,
• management,
• controlling,
• HR,
• organization,
• information systems,
• production,
• taxation.

You will be asked to indicate the relevant courses during the online application procedure. A confirmation of enrolment to or participation in a course does not meet the requirements. The course has to be finalized with an examination and a grade / credits.

Applicants who did not specialise in business administration during their first degree must prove successfully completed examinations accounting for at least 12 ECTS (or equivalent) altogether from at least four areas in the field of business administration.

• The relevant knowledge needs to be achieved on academic level, i.e. by proving credits from university programs (e.g. a Master's program, exchange semester, etc.).
• If the course content is not clear from the course title in the transcript of record, you may add a course description to your application documents as well.
• We cannot give you feedback on courses regarding their eligibility. The selection committee will assess all applications after the application deadline.
• Professional experience cannot be considered for fulfilling this requirement.

No, the GMAT, the GRE or the TM-WISO are not required for your application. The selection of candidates is made based on the grade achieved in your first degree and a written justification for the chosen program.

Unfortunately, we cannot provide any information about individual eligibility in advance. The selection committee will assess all applications after the application deadline.

STiNE is Universität Hamburg’s academic information network and is an internet-based information and communication platform for degree programs and teaching. Application procedures at Universität Hamburg are processed through STiNE. Hence, in order for your application to be successful, you must register with STiNE.

If you do not understand a question in the online application, please contact the Campus Center.

If you have technical problems with the online application form, please contact the STiNE support.

If you have recently completed your first degree but do not yet have your degree certificates, or if you have not yet completed your first degree, you may apply to MIBAS nevertheless.

To do so, you have to submit a current transcript of records containing your current grade point average as well as a written confirmation from the examinations office / academic office at your institution that you are expected to have sat any outstanding examinations required for you to pass your degree prior to commencement of the master’s program.

It is possible to submit your degree certificates at the latest by the end of the first semester (i.e. March 31).

We prepared questions you should answer to tell us your motivation to study MIBAS. Please use the designated template and fill it electronically on your device. Please do not handwrite, write in English and do not exceed three pages.
The questions for the written justification serve to establish comparability between applicants for evaluation by the selection committee.

To fill the template, we recommend you to first save the PDF file to your device before filling it.
After saving the PDF file to your computer, you may open it with Adobe Reader (or any equivalent software; we recommend to use the latest version of the Adobe Reader), fill the form and save it again as PDF.

If you experience serious problems saving your text in the form, you may also copy your answers to the questions to another text-processing program.

Yes, in order to ensure that your documents can be displayed correctly, please take the following recommendations into account when uploading your application documents into the online portal:

• Please merge documents with several pages (e.g. your degree certificates) to one file.
• Documents have to be submitted in German or English. Please submit certified translations if original documents are not issued in German or English.
• Please upload preferably PDF documents.
• Only one file can be uploaded per upload category.
• In case of technical problems, please contact: application-mibas.wiso@uni-hamburg.de.

As our capacities are restricted during the application period, we are not able to confirm the receipt or the completeness of your application documents.

No. Applications for MIBAS have to be submitted to Universität Hamburg between 15 February and 31 March. We do not accept applications after this deadline.

Admission results will be published around mid-May. You can find the exact date in the online application portal.

Letters of rejection / admission will be made available to you in your STiNE account under the menu item “Documents” together with the enrollment application. Please check your account on the date provided by the Service for Students.

Once you have been admitted, you will need to enroll until the deadline mentioned in the letter of admission.

If you miss this deadline, you will no longer be entitled to the place you have been offered!

There is no minimum GPA required. For the selection of candidates, your GPA is one criteria and counts for 60%. Your personal motivation is weighted with 40% (please refer to the information about the selection procedure).

In the past years, we received more than 900 applications for 60 study places available. This means that only applicants with above average grades in both criteria had chances for admission in the selection procedure.

In the past years, we received more than 900 applications for 60 study places available. This means that only applicants with above average grades in both criteria had chances for admission in the selection procedure.

To apply to MIBAS, all applicants with a first university degree from outside of Germany need to have their documents evaluated by uni-assist e.V. (University Application Service for International Students).

uni-assist checks your university certificates and veryfies whether your educational qualification is recognized for starting a Master’s program in Germany. Furthermore, uni-assist converts your grade point average (GPA) into the German grading system. uni-assist issues a document called “Vorprüfungsdokumentation” (VPD, preliminary review documentation).

Universität Hamburg needs this information for the evaluation of your application for MIBAS.

Information about uni-assist can be found on their website: www.uni-assist.de/en/

You apply for preliminary documentations via uni-assist's online portal. You have to submit your personal information and your degree certificates to uni-assist.

Please note that the application via uni-assist's online portal is for the purpose of applying for preliminary documentation only. It does not replace the application for MIBAS at Universität Hamburg, i.e. after applying for preliminary documentation, you have to apply via Universität Hamburg's online application portal.

uni-assist usually needs at least four weeks to check your documents. Please plan accordingly to have your certificates reviewed. We highly advise you to send your documents as early as possible to uni-assist, the latest by 15 February. It cannot be guaranteed that uni-assist will be able to provide VPDs in time for applications that were handed in later.

Yes! The application via uni-assist's online portal is for the purpose of applying for preliminary documentation only (evaluation of your degree certificates and conversion of your GPA). It does not replace the application for MIBAS at Universität Hamburg, i.e. after applying for preliminary documentation, you have to apply via Universität Hamburg's online application portal.

The handling fee charged by uni-assist is EUR 75. For details, please check the information about fees and payment options.

In case you have not yet finalized your first degree or you did not yet receive your degree certificates, please send your current transcript of records including your GPA to uni-assist. They will use your transcript of records to issue a preliminary VPD and to transfer your GPA into the German grading system.

uni-assist confirms that your university is recognized in Germany and transfers the grade from your degree into the German grading system. If nothing has changed since last year, you can use the VPD documentation again.

Students providing an APS Certificate do not need to hand in a preliminary review documentation (VPD) from uni-assist.

However, please bear the following in mind:

If the APS Certificate does not show your grade point average (GPA) converted to the German grading system, we strongly recommend you to have your documents evaluated by uni-assist anyway. uni-assist converts your GPA into the German grading system.

The GPA is one criteria in the selection process and counts for 60%. If there is no GPA (converted to the German grading system) available in the application documents, this criteria will be counted with 0 points. Thus, your chances for admission will significantly decrease.