Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Admission Requirements

Please note, that there are multiple criteria in the eligibility check. An educated statement on your eligibility can only be made after you have submitted your complete application including all necessary application documents (e.g. transcript of records, degree certificate). Usually KLU does not offer any pre-checks.

Yes, you can apply at KLU prior to receiving your Bachelor’s degree. We kindly ask you to submit your transcript of records for the last 3 semesters of your studies . Additionally, please notify us when we can expect your final transcripts.

We understand that schools in most countries are closed right now and many of you are not able to receive your final transcripts. In case your final degree documents will not be available until July 31, please get in touch with our Office of Admissions during the enrollment process. KLU will do its utmost to take your circumstances into consideration and offer flexibility in terms of deadlines.

A complete application consists of your Bachelor’s degree including official transcripts of records, and your statement of purpose. In case your documents are in a language other than English or German, please send us officially translated versions of your documents (certified translations), either in English or in German, together with your original documents.

In addition to the above mentioned documents, applicants with a degree from India, China or Vietnam have to submit an APS certificate with their application.

Please send us officially translated versions of your documents, either in English or in German, together with the original documents.

A certified translation has to be accomplished by a ‘sworn translator’. It is certified by the translator or the translation company and accompanied by a signed statement confirming that the translation is accurate and complete to the best of the translator's knowledge and ability. For the admissions process at KLU, either a translation into English or German is required. Usually <link www.gov.uk _blank external-link-new-window "Opens internal link in current window">British</link> and local German Embassies provide a list of translation services on their website. Please refer to the respective Embassy in your country for further information.

Applicants who completed a degree in India, Vietnam or China must submit an APS certificate with their application to study at KLU. It is also a prerequisite for the visa application.

For our Master’s degree programs we require a degree in business or economics, but will consider other fields such as industrial or mechanical engineering, business informatics, and mathematics if your Bachelor's degree contains a sufficient number of courses in business (at least four).

The following courses could be recognized as necessary business courses: 

  • Microeconomics
  • Macroeconomics
  • Operations Research
  • Econometrics
  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Business Strategy
  • Marketing (Management)
  • Management (International, Operations, Strategic)
  • Human Resource Management
  • Supply Chain Management and similar

Please note, the following courses are NOT considered as business courses, but only as quantitative courses:

  • Mathematics
  • Statistics
  • Quantitative Methods / Techniques

You can  do so called MOOCs (massive open online courses) on online learning platforms (e.g. edX, coursera etc). Please find the list of courses that can be recognized as the necessary business courses here.

When choosing your course(s), please keep in mind that the course content of the chosen course must not be identical to a course you have already been credited with! E.g. if you have studied “Marketing” in your Bachelor’s degree at university, you cannot choose “Marketing Management” from the list.

Please note that in either case these courses

  • have to be conducted by a recognized university;
  • you have to prove your successful participation by a certificate.

For our Master’s degree programs, a high performance in so called quantitative courses plays a very important role. For example, the following courses could be recognized as quantitative courses:

  • Mathematics
  • Microeconomics
  • Finance
  • Analytics
  • Statistics
  • Operations Research
  • Quantitative Methods / Techniques
  • Econometrics
  • Numerical Methods
  • Volkswirtschaftslehre

No. For the MSc programs (not MBA) professional / work experience is not an admission requirement, but is definitely beneficial for the classroom and for the evaluation of your application. We require a degree in Business Administration or Economics for our MSc programs, but we will consider other degrees if you have completed a sufficient number of courses in business (at least four). Please note that professional / work experience cannot substitute missing academic business courses.

In order to qualify for the fast track Master program, your previous Bachelor’s degree must comprise of at least 210 ECTS points (German standard). In addition, you must have either studied outside of Germany for at least one semester in your Bachelor’s degree or you must have done an internship abroad, which was officially part of your Bachelor's degree program. Foreign university degrees will be evaluated according to the guidelines of the German Council of Higher Education.

We encourage all students to participate in the study abroad program. Students are able to stay in Hamburg for their third semester if they completed their entire Bachelor’s degree outside of Germany or spent a semester abroad during their Bachelor’s degree.

No, once the study program has started, it is not possible to change tracks anymore. Therefore, please check carefully with the Recruitment and Admissions Office which of the tracks (there are several on offer) you qualify for and is most suitable for you.

Study Abroad

  • No, the goal of the semester abroad is to gain international experience, therefore going to your home country does not build your international portfolio. 
  • If certain criteria are fulfilled, students will be allowed to study in their home country. Please consult the International Office.

Yes, we have over 60 partnerships around the world. For more information regarding our partnerships, check out our International Office page. *Please note that the partner and places available are subject to change.

No, if you would like, you can take part in your semester abroad as a ‘Free Mover’. When considering a free mover exchange it is crucial that students make sure that the academic content and quality at the exchange destination corresponds with that of KLU. As a general rule, free movers of KLU should be enrolled as non-degree students at the host university. For more information on study abroad and free movers click here.

Yes, courses from the study abroad period can be recognized and should belong to the fields of Management, Logistics, Economics and Leadership Skills. For more information, please go here, and look under course selection.

The places are allocated by the International Office, taking into account the average grade as well as a motivation letter, explaining the reasons of choosing this particular partner. 

Yes, KLU takes part in the ERASMUS+ program which enables us to support students going to another ERASMUS+ university with a small monthly sum for their study abroad period. More information can be found on our website. Please note that not all of our European partners are ERASMUS+ partners. 

In order to qualify for the fast track Master program, your previous Bachelor’s degree must comprise of at least 210 ECTS points (German standard). In addition, you must have either studied outside of Germany for at least one semester in your Bachelor’s degree or you must have done an internship abroad, which was officially part of your Bachelor's degree program.

We encourage all students to participate in the study abroad program. Students are able to stay in Hamburg for their third semester if they have completed their entire Bachelor’s degree or spent a semester abroad during their Bachelor’s degree outside of Germany.

Internship

Yes, internships are a mandatory component for our programs, and although you may have other work experience, you will still need to complete an internship.

At KLU, our Career Services are able to assist you in finding an internship. They provide resume support, mock interviews, and general guidance for the application process. For more information on the Career Services for KLU Students click here.

Students have freedom when it comes to their internship, if they would like to stay in Germany they can, if they would like to return to their home country they can, and if they would like to go somewhere new, they can. 

Language Requirements

Yes, you can submit your application before having the final results of an English language proficiency test. You will be given conditional admission until you hand in a proof of English proficiency. You have to submit this proof by July 31st (before you start your studies with us in September).

There are several ways to prove your English language proficiency.
Please note, proof of English proficiency can be submitted by July 31st. Do not wait to apply until you receive your test scores, rather apply early and proactively and submit them at a later date.

  • TOEFL (iBT: 90)*
  • TOEFL "MyBest Scores" (iBT: 90) 
  • TOEFL “Special Home Edition” (iBT: 90)
  • IELTS Academic (band 6.5)*
  • IELTS Online Academic Test (band 6.5)*
  • CAE (grade C) / CPE (180 points)*
  • FCE Cambridge English (grade A)*
  • Pearson PTE Academic (also online version) (score 61)*
  • IB diploma (for Bachelor's and Master's program)

In case of admission, please note that you will need an official score report (hardcopy) for the enrolment. Therefore, please name KLU if possible when registering for a test (TOEFL institutional code is 7373).

*Test score reports should not be older than two years at the time of application.

Applicable for MSc International Management & MSc Global Logistics and SCM:

  •  Bachelor degree in English, if proof of English language proficiency was an admission requirement and can still be proven (according to the above mentioned KLU standards).
  •  English high school qualification in a native speaker country combined with a Bachelor's degree in a language different to English.

No, all students are required to complete an English language proficiency test. Only nationals of Canada (excluding Quebec), USA, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand, (or students who have completed their entire degree in one of these countries) can get a waiver on the English language proficiency test.

If you completed your entire degree in English in Canada (excluding Quebec), USA, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand, then you do not need to complete a language proficiency test.

If you studied a program in English in a different country from the ones mentioned above, you may be eligible for a waiver on the English language proficiency test, provided that a proficiency test was an admission requirement for your previous degree (please see the tests accepted by KLU above).

No German language skills are required as all our master study programs are taught entirely in English.