General FAQ
Below you find a collection of the frequently asked general questions about our Master program. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, yet make sure to read all the FAQ before, as questions to which the answers can be found here will not be answered.
Every year, we reserve rooms for our incoming Master students through the Studierendenwerk Bonn – an institution providing social, financial and other support services for students in Germany. As there is a shortage of rooms, however, we can receive only a few rooms and incoming Master students will very much need to look for housing on their own.
We will inform you about the details and deadlines of reserving a room once you have been admitted. Please note, however, that you cannot rely on receiving a room through the department but will also need to apply directly at the Studierendenwerk and also look for private housing.
You can find more information on housing here.
As most German universities, Bonn does not charge a tuition fee and the costs of the university education are picked up by the German state – thus in a way all students receive a scholarship. Apart from that, German universities offer very few scholarships and those that are available are in general only for excellent students.
However, there are some organizations and institutions offering scholarships. You can find a list of them here.
If you want to find work, there are usually some openings in either the University or the general job-market to be found. Yet, most of the positions available require German language proficiency.
Information about the maximum hours that can be worked and the work permits for EU and non-EU citizens can be found on the page of the International Office.
Please note that the program is full-time and very demanding, thus you will need to invest a lot of time into the courses and the assignments surrounding them.
The Department of Economics and its facilities frequently search for student assistants. Check our job offers: Jobs at the Department
The Studierendenwerk Bonn offers a platform with job offers. Most of them necessitate German language skills, but if you get lucky you might find an offer where it is not required. In order to use the platform, you will need to register online ("Registrierung").
https://jobben.studierendenwerk-bonn.de/
The University of Bonn also provides a website with current vacancies in and around the University. Unfortunately, there are not too many which do not require German skills. In general, whenever the Job description is in English, German skills are not of essence.
FAQ Application Process
Language Requirements
If your native language is English or you have graduated from a program that was taught entirely in English, you do not need to submit an English language certificate. All other applicants have to prove that their level is at least equivalent to a B2 in the CEFR. We accept e.g. TOEFL test scores of 87 or higher, IELTS test scores of 6.0 or higher or a Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency. If you wish to send your ETS scores (TOEFL, GRE etc.) directly to us, you can do so with the code number for the University of Bonn, MSc in Economics: 7156.
As our entire program is taught in English, you do not need to have any knowledge of German in order to be admitted. However, as a basic command of German will make it a lot easier to get around in Bonn or to get to know students form other programs, we strongly encourage international students to take one of the German language classes offered by the Department. These classes start in the first semester of the Master program and are free of charge.
Application Documents
No, please do not submit this document. While other study programs require the file to be signed and posted, we do not. This is why there is no address printed on the pdf file.
During the application process, you will need to submit all documents online only. Please do not send your application documents by regular mail. Once you have been admitted to the program, you will need to present your original documents to the exam office. This registration process takes place in October- mid December.
Within 24 hours of you having submitted your online application, your professor will receive an automatically generated e-mail with instructions and an upload link to submit the letter of recommendation.
There is no special form required but the letter needs to be on official university letterhead, be in either English or German and be signed. Your professor might want to address your performance compared to that of your peers or might provide an assessment of whether you are suitable for the program.
We look for a letter from someone who can assess your academic potential and your promise as a graduate student and who can also evaluate your performance as compared to that of other students. Therefore we strongly recommend that you submit a recommendation letter from one of your professors.
There is no special form required. Please just list the books and/or articles which you used most during your program. This is required to give us a better idea as to what has been covered in your program. If you have used books written in languages other than English or German, please include the title of the English version or translate it yourself. The list should include 10 to 15 entries.
Including your GRE scores is not required but strongly recommended for applicants who received their degree from a university outside Europe. GRE scores generally help us to better assess applicants' performance. While submitting them can strengthen your application (if your score l in the quantitative section is high), even very high GRE scores cannot compensate for an inadequate academic background or less than good grades.
No. However, we only accept official university documents.
Yes, we also accept GMAT scores. Please upload a copy of your test scores with your appication.
We ask all students with a degree from China, India or Vietnam to include a certificate from the APS (Akademische Prüfstelle). We are aware of the long processing times and will thus accept applications without APS certificate and will also review them. Please upload your APS application form or a brief statement regarding your current status instead of the APS certificate. Please note that you cannot be enrolled without APS certificate. We therefore ask you to send us a copy of your APS certificate as soon as you get it.
Please note that we do not need the following documents for the application process:
- Your high school diploma
- More than one letter of recommendation
- A letter of motivation/statement of purpose
- Proof of working experience
We accept documents in either English or German. If you have documents written in other languages, you will need to provide a certified translation in either English or German.
If you have not yet completed your Bachelor degree, you may still apply. Instead of submitting your degree certificate, you will need to upload your current transcript of records (listing all grades of the courses you have completed so far) again.
If you are admitted to the program, you will need to present your degree certificate once you have received it, or – at the very latest – in December when you register with the Economics Examination Office. Please note: You have to complete all of your courses and/or assignments related to your Bachelor degree and you need to have submitted your Bachelor thesis by September 30.
