Application & Admission

Applicants are eligible if they meet all of the following requirements:

• A Bachelor degree in Economics or an equivalent degree, e.g. a Bachelor degree in a related field with a focus on quantitative economics.
• A final Bachelor grade “good” or better, i.e. at least equivalent to the German grade 2.3.
• A solid quantitative background, i.e. in mathematics (differential and integral calculus, linear algebra), statistical methods (descriptive and inferential statistics) and econometrics.
• An adequate knowledge of English at level B2 CEFR, proven in one of the following ways:
  IELTS test score (preferably 6.0 or higher), TOEFL test score (preferably 87 or higher), Cambridge English First (FCE).
• Applicants who have received a degree from a study program taught entirely in English can ask their university to certify that English was the only medium of instruction in their program.

Please note that rules and regulations compel us to consider your Bachelor degree only when assessing whether you meet the entry requirements. Master degrees must not be taken into consideration.

Please note that the admission committee can consider your application only if you submit all application documents and if they meet the formal requirements, especially the recommendation letter (see below).

Applicants need to upload the following documents to the application portal:

• Bachelor degree certificate, including a certified translation if it is not in German or English. Students who have not received their degree certificate prior to the application deadline may submit it upon receipt;
• academic transcripts of the relevant Bachelor, including a certified translation if it is not in German or English. The transcript of records has to include the names of the courses and their grades;
• an up-to-date and complete curriculum vitae (in English or German). We do not require a specific format
• one letter of recommendation: Please ask your professor to provide a confidential letter of recommendation (she/he will receive an automatically generated e-mail with instructions and an upload link within 24 hours of the application's submission). We will not accept the letter if it does not meet all of the formal requirements detailed below.
• proof of English proficiency at level B2 CEFR by means of either: a TOEFL test score (preferably of 87 or higher). If you want to have ETS send the TOEFL test scores directly to us, please use the following code number: 7156 (University of Bonn, MSc in Economics);
  an IELTS test score (preferably of 6.0 or higher); other internationally recognized language certificates, e.g. the Cambridge English First (FCE); a document issued by your home university certifying that English was the medium of instruction; an Abiturzeugnis if it proves an English language proficiency at B2 level CEFR;
• a bibliography, i.e. a list of the 10-15 most important books and articles used in your study program – you put the list together yourself, there is no form for it. If you are unsure, please consult this detailed guide.
• APS certificate (applicants with degrees from Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian universities): Applicants who have both the original APS certificate and the "Nachzertifizierung" are required to submit both. For more information, please consult our FAQ;
• GRE test scores (not mandatory): Good quantitative reasoning scores in the GRE test can improve the chances of being admitted, especially for candidates who received their degreee from universities outside the EU. Applicants who want to have ETS send the GRE test scores directly to us can use the following code number: 7156 (University of Bonn, MSc in Economics).

The recommendation letter is a central piece of information when evaluating the academic profile and potential of a candidate, thus one of your university professors (not an employer) needs to write and submit it. Applicants need to:

1. reach out to the professor in time and notify her/him about the formal requirements detailed in this section;
2. specify the name and the official university email address of the professor (NOT their private email address, e.g. gmail or yahoo email address) in the section regarding the recommendation letter;

In particular, the letter must a) have an official university letterhead, b) be signed by the professor. In the letter, your professor may want to address the following questions:

• How do you rate the applicant's performance in comparison to her/his fellow students?
• How do you assess the applicant's depth and breadth of knowledge in the field?
• How do you assess the applicant's potential to perform well in a quantitative and research-oriented Master program?

Please note that your professor can upload the letter only after you submitted your application – your professor will receive an automatically generated e-mail with an upload link within 24 hours of your submission of the application. In case of technical issues (deprecated link, wrong email address, etc.), your professor may directly send the reference letter from her/his official university email address to master.econ@uni-bonn.de.

To successfully apply to the MSc in Economics you need to follow these steps:

1. familiarize yourself with the admission requirements;
2. prepare the required documents;
3. ask one of your professors to write a confidential recommendation letter that meets our formal requirements
4. go to the online application portal, register, fill out the form and upload your documents;
5. once you uploaded all documents, submit your application – in order for us to be able to process and evaluate it.

Please note that the admission committee will review complete applications only.

Please note that:

• when asked about your final GPA, you need to enter the final grade of your Bachelor in Economics (or of the equivalent Bachelor degree), not the grade of your most recent Bachelor or Master degree;
• the MSc in Economics always starts in the winter term, thus you need to select the winter term (Wintersemester, WS) as your preferred start of studies (both options are provided because the application portal is used by various programs, some of which also start in the summer term);
• when asked about your home address, please specify your permanent address or the one that is relevant for your VISA process (e.g. if you are studying in the US but are a Kazakh citizen, enter your Kazakh address, not the one in the US).

Once the application has been submitted:

• your professor will receive (within 24 hours) an automatically generated e-mail with instructions and an upload link for the recommendation letter. She/he needs to upload the letter by February 4 (early round) or by April 4 (final deadline);
• we will contact you to confirm the receipt of the application and inform you in case something is missing or does not meet the formal requirements;
• we will inform you about the final outcome by the end of March (early application round)  and by the end of May (regular application round). Applicants are either admitted or rejected, there is no waiting list. Please note that due to the high number of applications we receive, it is generally not possible to give individualized reasons for rejection.