Druckansicht der Internetadresse:

Faculty of Law, Business & Economics

MSc Economics

Print page
RS162_Uni-Bayreuth-5418.jpg-uni-bayreuth-5418_1100x440

Deadlines, Admission Procedure, FAQ

Deadlines and Dates

The two-year studies can be started in the winter term (usually beginning mid-October) or the summer term (usually beginning mid-April).


Application period for start in the ...We recommend applying before:
German / EU citizens

... winter semester:    15 April – Registration deadline
... summer semester: 15 Oct. – Registration deadline

1 September
1 March
Non-EU citizens

... winter semester:    15 April to 15 July
... summer semester: 15 October to 15 January

1 June
1 December

Frequently asked questions

1. In which language is the programme taught?Hide

Mostly in English, complemented by options to take German seminars or lectures. All compulsory courses and sufficiently many elective courses are taught in English. So even if you don’t want to take exams in German or to participate in German-language seminars, it is possible to obtain enough credits for completion of the programme. But your choice of options may be somewhat restricted then. And since a significant part of overall administration is in German, you are required to have (or obtain during your first year of studies) basic knowledge of the German language corresponding to CEFR Level A1.

2. Is this a one or two-year Master’s programme?Hide

A two-year programme. Students begin their studies in either the summer or winter term, and then typically finish two years later. Most courses are offered in only one of the two terms. So if you start in the winter term, you may begin by taking the compulsory courses in advanced macroeconomics and econometrics and should then take microeconomics and maths in your second semester. If you start in the summer term, this order gets reversed.

3. Is this programme difficult?Hide

This depends on your background. The programme leads to a Master of Science degree which prepares you for PhD studies or for practical work that requires up-to-date theoretical and empirical methods of economics. Students are therefore required to have a Bachelor’s degree that has prepared them sufficiently well, especially for the quantitative parts of the programme. We recommend that you have a look at some of the material with which you will be confronted in the first weeks of the compulsory core courses

in order to get an idea of what awaits you.

4. I do not have a Bachelor’s degree in Economics but in a related discipline. Can I still apply?Hide

Yes. But your chances of getting accepted may be very small depending on the completed curriculum. We expect more than a year's worth of overlap between your completed Bachelor's curriculum and the Bachelor's programme in Economics at the University of Bayreuth. You need a minimum of 35 ECTS in the methodological core courses — mathematics, statistics, microeconomics, macroeconomics, empirical economics/econometrics — at a sufficiently advanced technical level. These should be complemented by more applied or specialized economics courses (such as economic policy, international economics, environmental economics, industrial economics, ...).

If you have a Bachelor’s degree in, say, Business Administration, Management, Commerce, or Banking & Finance and the overlap with a quantitative BSc in Economics consists only of basic microeconomics and macroeconomics, with little calculus involved, then there is no point in applying. If, however, your degree was taught at a reasonably high mathematical level (e.g., you know what to do with a probability density function, how to maximize utility subject to a budget constraint, you are familiar with the notion of a transitive preference relation, IS-LM diagrams, and OLS regression) then you should apply.

5. Is having several years of work experience after my Bachelor’s degree an advantage or disadvantage?Hide

Usually a disadvantage. But this depends on your job. For the great majority of our new students, knowledge of calculus, intermediate microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics is still pretty fresh. The compulsory courses on advanced microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics in the programme’s first year build on this knowledge. So if your work experience is four years of accounting, sales or Excel spreadsheets, you might have problems in following some courses. But if you did two years of econometric analysis that likely is an advantage.

6. Are there tuition fees?Hide

No. The programme does not involve a specific tuition fee. But students have to be enrolled at the University of Bayreuth. This comes with an administration fee of currently around 138€ per semester. See “Semesterbeitrag” at Student Registry Office.

7. Do you provide financial support to students of the programme?Hide

No. You will have to fund your living expenses yourself (750-1000€/month, or more depending on your style of living).

8. Do you provide designated placement services to your graduates?Hide

No. But prospective employers regularly present themselves to students at conferences and workshops held at the university. There is also an Internship Service at the University of Bayreuth which can be of help to you after enrollment.

9. Do you consider information from other than the mentioned application documents?Hide

Generally not. In particular, we tend to ignore letters of recommendation, writing samples, work certificates, etc.

10. Is there an easy way to check if my grades satisfy the admission requirements? Hide

No. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to compare or convert grades. You’ll find some general information on German grades if you check “Academic grading in Germany” on Wikipedia. But quality of college education is so heterogeneous even within many countries – let alone between countries – that it is impossible to simply take a transcript’s percentage scores and convert them into “sehr gut”, “gut”, etc.

Our decision on whether we consider your previous qualifications as equivalent to a final grade of 2.5 obtained in our BSc programme in Economics will be based on an individual evaluation. Understand that we do this evaluation rather cautiously, especially for graduates who come from far away: there are huge costs to you and to us if you are admitted but it should then – after the hassle of obtaining a visa, flying to Bayreuth, finding accommodation, etc. – turn out that the programme is too demanding.

11. What happens if I succeed in the Admission Procedure for Graduates without a German university degree?Hide

In this case, you will receive an email confirmation of your admission at UBT. The admission offer also appears for download in your CAMPUSonline Account. So be sure to check your inbox, your spam folder and your CAMPUSonline Account regularly. The letter of admission contains further instructions for enrolment. 

Note that being admitted to the programme is just giving you an option – exercising it by enroling in the programme requires your own action. Therefore, accept your admission offer as soon as possible! You can do this in your CAMPUSonline Account. Upon accepting your admission offer, you have the option to download your application for enrolment in CAMPUSonline.

12. Will I also hear from you in case my application is not successful?Hide

In this case, you will receive an email confirmation. The result of the admission procedure also appears for download in your CAMPUSonline Account. So be sure to check your inbox, your spam folder and your CAMPUSonline Account regularly.

13. Will you give me detailed feedback if my application is turned down or respond to follow-up mails?Hide

No. The rejection of an admission will only mention a short reason. This is either that the submitted documents haven’t allowed a definite conclusion on whether your degrees and grades provide sufficient qualification for Master’s studies in Economics at Bayreuth, or that we have concluded they do not. Given the number of applications we receive, we cannot provide more detailed explanations. Nor can we respond to mails saying that – perhaps because of some “conversion table” found on the Internet (see FAQ above) – we should regard the GPA in your Economics Bachelor’s as much better than a German 2.5, etc.

It only makes sense for you to follow up on a rejected application if you have obtained relevant new information, such as improved scores in your language or GRE tests.

14. Which is the most common reason for turning down an application?Hide

The most common reason is that you did not obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and we regard the completed curriculum in your related degree program as insufficiently similar to our BSc programme in Economics. Applications from many stellar performers in accounting, management, etc., are rejected because the respective curriculum simply has not included sufficient amounts of the core economics topics which are prerequisites for our Master’s programme.

15. Will accommodation be taken care of by the university? Am I guaranteed to be accepted to a dormitory?Hide

Neither. Finding accommodation in Bayreuth is not trivial, but all your predecessors succeeded. The student dorms typically have waiting lists. You can obtain more information from the University of Bayreuth’s International Office.

16. Do you provide help with obtaining a visa?Hide

No. We don't maintain special relations to the Federal Foreign Office nor do we have contacts to particular German Embassies. We therefore cannot help you getting a visa appointment, etc.


Webmaster: Heidi Roßner-Schöpf

Facebook Twitter Youtube-Kanal Instagram UBT-A Contact