Department of Management Sciences
Study Requirements and Application Process
Application requirements
Prerequisite for admission to the MBA programme Start-Up Development is a first professional university degree with at least 180 ECTS credit points with a minimum average grade of 3.0. Additionally, at least one year of professional experience after the first degree must have been completed in accordance with § 62 Para. 3 HG NRW.
German language proficiency
Applicants who do not own a German university entrance qualification or a German-language degree must prove their knowledge of the German language by passing the DSH examination (DSH 2) or by passing the TestDaF examination (at least level 4 in all four categories) or equivalents in accordance with § 2 section 2 of the current regulations for the German language examination for applicants with foreign educational qualifications at the H-BRS.
Application deadline
The MBA programme Start-up Development starts annually in the winter semester. The application deadline is from 15 March to 15 August annualy.
If the requirements for the Master's programme are fulfilled, places are allocated via a local selection procedure (NC procedure).
Applications received after the deadline or incomplete applications will not be considered!
The number of applicants to be admitted per year is limited to a maximum of 25 students in accordance with § 62 Abs. 1 S. 5 HG NRW in order to guarantee the purpose of further education.
Documents for the application
Before starting entering data in the online application form, please check that you have all the necessary documents you need for your application. Following documents must be submitted in German:
- Curriculum vitae
- Meaningful letter of motivation (maximum 500 words).
- University degree certificate including transcript of grades (with German or English translation in the case of foreign certificates);
- Certificate of the APS, if your university degree was obtained in China or Vietnam;
- Proof of German language proficiency (TestDaF 4 x 4 or DSH 2) if your degree was obtained abroad;
- Proof of at least one year of professional experience after the first degree in accordance with § 62 Para. 3 HG NRW.
Selection procedure
Selection takes place via a so-called aptitude procedure. This is a two-stage process in which the admissions committee checks whether you meet the specific requirements (see above) for the Master's programme Start-up Development after your official online application.
In the first stage, the Bachelor's degree grade and the submitted documents (basically the letter of motivation in German as well as proof of at least one year of professional activity after graduation) are evaluated by means of a point system. Depending on the number of points achieved, applicants are either admitted immediately, rejected or, exceptionally, invited to a selection interview.
The letter of motivation and, if applicable, the interview will be evaluated in particular on the basis of the following eligibility criteria:
- concrete interest in the topic of start-up or business innovation
- Existence of an own start-up idea or a project idea within the company
- Entrepreneurial Mindset
The letter of motivation and, if applicable, the interview is evaluated for the suitability assessment.