ESMT Berlin is private, so unlike the public universities in this guide it charges tuition on every programme, for EU and non-EU students alike. It offers no Bachelor's degree at all: its only degree programmes are at master's level (Master in Global Management, Master in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Master in Analytics & Artificial Intelligence), alongside MBA and PhD tracks.

There is no semester contribution here, and no bundled Deutschlandticket. What every student pays is tuition, currently EUR 36,000 for the two-year Master in Global Management, paid in three installments (a EUR 5,000 deposit at enrollment, then two equal installments at the start of each academic year), covering courses, seminars, teaching materials, orientation, and career support.

Tuition here does not remove the proof-of-funds requirement for the student visa. You still need to show about EUR 11,904 for the year, usually in a blocked account, and that money has to be transferred months before your programme starts.

ESMT Berlin does not publish a fixed non-EU application deadline the way public universities do. Admissions for the master's programmes run on a rolling basis with scholarship-linked early-application rounds, and the school explicitly advises applicants who need a student visa to apply before 30 June for a September start of the same year, because visa processing can take up to six months. Applications submitted after 30 June are still considered, but ESMT states it can only provide minimal visa support for non-EU applicants who apply that late.

Through ESMT's own online application portal at apply.esmt.berlin. ESMT does not use uni-assist, so there is no uni-assist account and no uni-assist processing fee, but ESMT charges its own EUR 75 application fee when you submit. You upload your documents, CV, transcripts, essays and one recommendation letter directly in the portal.

Open the Master in Global Management admissions page

ESMT Berlin teaches all of its degree programmes fully in English: three master's programmes (Global Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Analytics & Artificial Intelligence), four MBA variants, and the PhD programme. There is no German-taught degree and no Bachelor's degree of any kind at ESMT. You can study the entire catalogue without German, though the school offers optional German language classes to help with everyday life and the local job market.

Submitting an English test score is not mandatory at all: ESMT waives it if English is your native language or if your prior degree was taught fully in English, regardless of country, which is a wider waiver than the UK/Ireland/US/Canada/New Zealand/Australia list used at public universities. Your English is also assessed again in the admissions interview. The exact score is set per programme, so check the programme page before booking a test.

ESMT Berlin's master's programmes don't run on the separate semester/lecture-period structure used at public universities. All three programmes (Master in Global Management, Master in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Master in Analytics & Artificial Intelligence) begin in September each year and run full-time, on-campus, for 24 months. Plan to arrive before September to handle city registration, a bank account and a room.

ESMT Berlin is a private, non-profit business school founded in 2002 by 25 major German and international companies, including Bosch, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom and Allianz. Its campus sits on Schlossplatz in central Berlin-Mitte, in the former East German State Council building, directly opposite the Berlin City Palace.

ESMT teaches only master's, MBA, PhD and executive-education programmes, with no Bachelor's degree, and its strengths are general management, innovation and entrepreneurship, and analytics and AI. Its founding by corporate members gives students close ties to industry recruiters and a small, campus-based community in one of Europe's main start-up and corporate hubs.