Bachelor in International Business Administration: Application and Admissions –
Start your WHU journey today!
The Bachelor in International Business Administration (BIBA) at WHU is a rigorous undergraduate program. It demands outstanding intellectual abilities as well as exceptional personal and interpersonal skills.
We value your whole personality, looking beyond academic proficiency and towards your potential in business. Exceptional logical and analytical skills should be balanced with creative thinking, openness, and team spirit. Excellent communication skills, general knowledge, and fluency in English are important.

What you need to know about our admission requirements:
Secondary school diploma or equivalent higher education entrance qualification (e.g., IB, Abitur, A-Levels). If your secondary school diploma has not been issued by the application deadline, you may apply with the most recent mid-term report card/predicted grades from your final school year.
If you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact us.
WHU accepts one of the following English language tests:
- TOEFL iBT: Minimum score 95. Our TOEFL code is 0682. The minimum score is based on the official score and not on the "myBest scores"
- TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition: Minimum score 95
- Institutional TOEFL (ITP): Minimum score 587
- IELTS (Academic Module): Minimum 6.5
- Cambridge C1 Advanced: Minimum grade C
We recommend that you plan to take the English test well in advance. This gives you plenty of time to retake the test by the deadline if you don't get the required score on your first attempt.
If you are graduating from an English-taught school (English as a subject is not sufficient), you may be exempt from an English test. In this case, we ask you to please upload a confirmation from your school in our application portal.
Achieved through either an internship or apprenticeship amounting to a total of six weeks in the field of business administration/management, e.g. marketing and sales, administration, finance and taxes, real estate, logistics, innovation and technology, or in areas such as communication, media, corporate social responsibility or sustainability. The pre-study internship can be completed in a start-up, small to medium-sized company or corporation.
This practical experience can also be a combination of multiple internships lasting at least two weeks each. Internships shorter than two weeks, older than two years, or completed at your family's business will not qualify. The internship(s) must be completed before the start of the program.
* Proof of English proficiency and confirmation of (upcoming) internship(s) must be submitted by May 15, 2024, at the latest. Please note that the English test must be completed by the end of April at the latest (correction time approx. 2 weeks). Please allow even more time for the Cambridge C1 Advanced test (correction time approx. 3 months). The actual internship(s) must be completed before the start of the program.
Important Dates & Deadlines
Application Period October 2023 to May 15, 2024
(deadline for English test results and proof of internship/s: May 15, 2024)
Apply by February 25, 2024 and receive an application fee waiver!
Application Fees
February 26, 2024 – March 31, 2024: 75 €
April 1, 2024 – May 15, 2024: 150 €
Rolling Admission
Online Assessment and Final Interviews: flexible – suitable candidates will be chosen by the admission team
Admission Round 1
Application Deadline: February 25, 2024
Written Test and Online Assessment: March 8; March 9, 2024
Final Interviews: March 21; March 22; March 23, 2024
Admission Round 2
Application Deadline: March 31, 2024
Written Test and Online Assessment: April 19; April 20, 2024
Final Interviews: May 2; May 3; May 4, 2024
Admission Round 3
Application Deadline: May 15, 2024
Written Test and Online Assessment: May 31; June 1, 2024
Final Interviews: June 14; June 15, 2024
Beginning of Studies: September 1, 2024
Welcome Week: End of August/Beginning of September
Applicants can participate in only one of the admission rounds or the rolling admission. For more information on the admission rounds, please click here.
Applicants who need a visa are highly encouraged to apply for the first admission round or rolling admission.
Our three-step application process –
Get started now!
If you meet the admission requirements and are motivated to start your future now, you will be eligible to take part in the three-step admission process. We carefully select approximately 250 students in total for our bachelor programs per year.
Step-by-step application process:
Once you have reviewed the Bachelor Programs’ admission requirements please read through the required application documents (pdf) and then complete the following steps:
- Prepare a CV (see Required Application Documents, pdf, and CV example, pdf)
- Prepare a letter of motivation (see Required Application Documents, pdf)
- Collect the application documents (see Required Application Documents, pdf)
- Create an account online on our application portal
- Upload all required documents
- Pay application fees (see below)
You may be eligible to apply for the recognition and crediting of external achievements. Please view information sheet on the recognition and crediting of external achievements for more information.
Application fees
Applications submitted until February 25 will receive an application fee waiver. After February 25 the following application fees are due:
February 26, 2024 – March 31, 2024: 75 €
April 1, 2024 – May 15, 2024: 150 €
Upon review of all application materials, we will invite qualified candidates to participate in the final admission round. We select candidates based on academic performance as well as personal characteristics and extracurricular activities.
In this step, we want to learn more about you. The admission round consists of three parts:
- Online analytical test (sample questions, pdf); here you can find a sample quiz to test your skills
- Online assessment (presentation and questions on personality and motivation)
- Online one-on-one interviews
The decision is usually made within a week after the final step of the admission round and you will receive the results via e-mail.
You can also reserve your study offer for a year if you are planning a gap year after school (e.g. work & travel, internship, au-pair). In this case, you can of course defer submission of your English certificate and proof of work experience until the following year.
Please note: To download the forms, we recommend to save them on your desktop (right mouse click, save as) and then open them afterwards with Adobe Reader DC from there.
Taking a gap year? An early application is possible.
If you are graduating but still wish to take a year off, no problem - apply early! You can submit your proof on internship and English language skills later on.
Our online application portal is now open!