Unlike public universities in Germany, CBS is a private institution, so tuition applies for both EU and non-EU students at every degree level. Fees are set per programme and study format (full-time or part-time; Bachelor, Master or MBA), starting from about 995 EUR a month for the full-time Bachelor's, which works out to roughly 5,970 EUR a semester.

On top of tuition, everyone pays a semester fee of about 300 EUR, which mainly funds the semester ticket, the Kölner Studierendenwerk, university sport and the student parliament or student initiatives, so "private and tuition-charging" does not mean the semester fee disappears too. A one-off enrolment fee of 600 EUR is due once you accept your place, and international applicants also pay a deposit equal to one semester's tuition, which is deducted from the first invoice.

A university that charges its own tuition does not remove the separate proof-of-funds requirement for your visa. You still need to show about 11,904 EUR for the year, usually in a blocked account, on top of whatever you pay CBS directly, and that money has to be in place months before the semester starts.

CBS runs a rolling admissions process with no fixed general deadline, so you can apply at any time while places remain open, which is unusual compared with public universities. The one firm date that applies to non-EU applicants is tied to the student visa itself: if you need a visa, CBS asks for your completed application by 30 May for the winter semester or 30 November for the summer semester, well before the general rolling window would otherwise close.

These dates apply specifically to applicants who need a student visa; the general admissions page states there is no fixed deadline otherwise.

Through CBS's own online application on its website. CBS does not use uni-assist, so there is no uni-assist account or uni-assist processing fee. You upload your documents directly on the site; CBS reviews your qualifications, may invite you to a personal consultation, and then makes you a personalised study offer once you meet the requirements.

Open the admissions page at cbs.de/en/admissions

CBS teaches around 27 of its roughly 40 Bachelor's, Master's and MBA programmes fully in English, concentrated in international business, finance, marketing, digital marketing, supply chain management and business psychology. Most of the English-taught catalogue sits at Bachelor's and Master's level, with the MBA taught only in English; several German-taught Bachelor's and part-time Master's programmes exist alongside it, mostly in CBS's dual-study and part-time formats. You can complete an English-taught degree without German, though everyday German still helps with housing, part-time work and the authorities.

CBS accepts IELTS, TOEFL iBT and Cambridge, and the minimum score depends on the degree: Bachelor's programmes ask for IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 83, Master's programmes ask for IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 92. Two things make CBS more flexible than most public universities: a previous degree taught fully in English is accepted as proof regardless of which country it was earned in, and if you don't have a certificate yet, CBS offers its own internal English test or interview instead. Certificates must not be older than two years.

The exact score is set per programme, so check your programme page before booking a test.

Work backwards from the lecture start rather than the semester start. CBS's winter semester starts in September or October and the summer semester in March or April, but exact lecture dates are published separately for each programme format (Bachelor full-time, Bachelor part-time, Master and MBA full-time, Master part-time, MBA Fast Track), so check your own programme's calendar before booking travel or a room.

CBS International Business School is a private, state-recognised university of applied sciences and part of the Klett Group, with its main campus in Cologne and further locations in Mainz, Potsdam, Aachen, Brühl, Neuss and Solingen. Founded in 1993 and formed in its current shape in 2020 from the merger of Cologne Business School and the European Management School, it specialises in practice-oriented business and management education, with strengths in international business, finance, marketing, digital marketing, supply chain management and business psychology, and all study programmes are accredited by FIBAA and Germany's Council of Science and Humanities.

Students from around 75 nations make up roughly a fifth of the student body, and the English-taught Bachelor's programmes build a semester abroad into the curriculum through a network of more than 120 partner universities worldwide. Cologne itself is one of Germany's main business hubs for media, insurance, logistics and financial services, which keeps CBS's practice-oriented model, including its business projects and simulation games, well supplied with company partners for internships.