Master of Science in International Management Kühne Logistics University

MSc International Management

At KLU – ranked among the world’s top five percent of business schools (AACSB) – you’ll gain the skills to lead across cultures with a unique mindset. Our MSc in International Management develops an operations mindset: strategic, data-driven, actionable and agile, ready for the AI era. Study entirely in English within a truly global community, with students and faculty from every continent and connections to our new campus in Vietnam and future hubs in Africa and Latin America. An integrated internship and semester abroad expand your experience and network even further. Small classes, faculty trained at world-leading universities and hands-on projects using the latest technologies make your learning practical and powerful. Supported by KLU’s strong employer connections in companies like Deloitte, KPMG, McKinsey, P&G, or Unilever, and an individualised career coaching, your profile will stand out of the crowd, and you’ll be ready to launch an impactful global career.

Why study International Management at KLU?

• Unique Approach to Business: Develop an operations mindset, a unique skill set that will make you stand out from the crowd and give you an advantage in the future business world.
• Truly International: KLU brings the world to your classroom, and takes you out into it. With a diverse campus, an integrated exchange semester, over 100 partner universities, and our international hub in Saigon, you’ll be ready to launch a global career.
• Small Classes, Strong Community: Big ambitions thrive in small groups. KLU’s close-knit learning environment means more interaction, better feedback, and greater opportunities to shine, both inside and outside the classroom.
• Real-World Applications: At KLU, you will learn what you really need. Your professors bring to the classroom up-to-date research, real business cases, and meaningful projects. You will work on actual industry challenges with a global perspective.
• AI, with Critical Thinking: Technology is transforming business, but using it strategically is what gives the real advantage. KLU confers you access to cutting-edge tech and challenges you to think critically, act responsibly, and lead with clarity.

The standard track spans four semesters and 120 ECTS. In the first semester, you build your foundation with core modules in Business Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Financial Performance Management & Control, Leadership & Organisational Behaviour, and Statistics & Econometrics, complemented by an elective and a managerial skills course of your choice. The second semester broadens your perspective with Global Trends in Human Resources and Economics of Business Strategy, while you choose a focus area in either Sustainable Management or Digital Management to sharpen your specialisation.

A mandatory internship, supported by KLU's Career Services team, connects your studies to real industry practice. In your third semester, you decide between broadening your horizon with a semester abroad at one of KLU's 100+ partner universities, or staying in Hamburg to work on a capstone project alongside specialised electives such as Sustainable Globalisation or Marketing Analytics. You round off your degree in the fourth semester with Applied Research Methods and your Master's thesis, where you will dive deep into a topic of your choice under the guidance of a faculty member.

Your Internship

Your Master's in International Management includes an integrated internship, which you may choose to complete in Germany or abroad. This is your chance to put the concepts and methods you've learned into practice, gain first-hand insight into real business challenges, and identify a relevant topic for your Master's thesis. Throughout the process, KLU's Career Services team supports you in finding the right opportunity.

Admission Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent from a recognised university or college
• Proof of English language proficiency

We require a degree in business or economics, but we will also consider other analytical fields such as industrial engineering, business informatics, or mathematics, provided your Bachelor's degree includes at least four business courses. There are several ways to make up for missing business courses.

Your Bachelor's degree must comprise 180 ECTS for the standard track or 210 ECTS for the fast track. Applicants for the fast track must have completed at least one academic term abroad during their previous studies, or provide proof of an internship abroad that was officially part of their Bachelor's degree programme.

Have you not yet received your final degree certificate? No problem — simply apply with your latest transcript of records and submit your certificate once it's available.

Included in tuition fees

Financing & Scholarship

At KLU, we're committed to helping you achieve your academic goals with a range of scholarships:

• We offer a limited number of merit-based (up to 50% of tuition) and need-based scholarships.
• Sports scholarships are available for German and international top-athletes.
• International students may also apply for STIBET scholarships or, for select Southeast Asian countries, dedicated regional scholarships.
• Students with grants from gifted education institutions (Begabtenförderwerke) can apply for a full tuition fee waiver.
• We proudly offer support to students from refugee communities in Hamburg.
• Additional funding is available through the Deutschlandstipendium and various external scholarships.

Be sure to check out the specific criteria for each scholarship and see which opportunities are the best fit for you!

At KLU, we’re here to help you launch a successful career with a full range of services designed to give you the competitive edge:

• Pursue and manage your professional goals with our unique systematic and strategic Career Skills Course.
• Benefit from 1:1 consultations with our professional career coaches.
• Learn from high-profile industry professionals in practice-oriented guest lectures.
• Take advantage of exclusive networking opportunities and participate in on-campus recruiting events.
• Connect with alumni through alumni career talks and our alumni portal.
• Access exclusive internship and job offers.
• Showcase your skills in our annual CV book, which is sent to top employers before graduation.

It is recommended that you start looking for accommodation as early as possible. Our Student Services Office will be happy to assist you in finding suitable accommodation.

KLU, Kühne Logistics University, is a leading, state-recognised, international university based in Hamburg, Germany, with a second campus in Saigon, Vietnam, and with a planned expansion to Africa and the Americas. Among the top five percent of business schools worldwide, as per AACSB accreditation, KLU offers high-quality education, fully in English, including Bachelor’s, Master’s, MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programmes in business and management, data science and analytics, and notably, logistics and supply chain management.

Funded by the Kühne Foundation, KLU is committed to empowering contemporary leaders with a strong operations mindset. Our teaching and research activities blend academic excellence with a hands-on approach preparing our students to tackle real-world problems with a future-oriented approach. Emphasising digital transformation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability, KLU shapes leaders to drive responsible and sustainable change globally.

Our students benefit from an exceptional professor-to-student ratio, providing them individual support from world-class, highly research-active professors. Integrated internships, participation in student and sports clubs, and international exchanges with prestigious business schools and universities worldwide provide the best environment to gain additional experience and enjoy their student life. This is rounded off with tailored career coaching and partnerships with top companies to ensure a successful career path.

KLU's Name and Meaning:

• Kühne represents our founder and benefactor, Klaus-Michael Kühne, a visionary German businessman whose influence has shaped KLU’s powerful corporate network, bridging academia and industry while creating exceptional opportunities for our students and alumni.
• Logistics reflects our origins in driving progress in logistics, operations, & supply chains. While this stays core to our mission, offering students a unique edge through an Operations Mindset, we’ve since expanded into broader management education, earning global recognition with prestigious AACSB accreditation, placing us among the top five percent  of business schools worldwide.
• University stands for our faculty’s dedication to producing cutting-edge science. As world-class researchers, they bring the latest insights to students, helping them gain up-to-date knowledge and hone the critical skill of knowledge production. Students learn to differentiate rigorous research from mere opinions, giving them a competitive edge in an era of continuous learning.

KLU's Operations Mindset

The operations mindset is a unique skill set (rooted in our logistics heritage) that allows anyone to approach any challenge with the strategic and pragmatic vision of a leader. This mindset empowers you to “get things done”, enhancing your problem-solving skills by rigorously analysing the situation and coming up with effective and innovative solutions that can be implemented, even in a fast-paced environment. The operations mindset encompasses many skills that are key to moving projects forward, such as strategic thinking, data-driven decision-making (“head”), open mentality, quick adaptability, strong cooperation (“heart”), and a hands-on approach (“hand”).

Hamburg is a popular city among German students. Its cultural spectrum rivals that of Berlin. Students can experience the diverse nightlife offered at the Reeperbahn, enjoy great music at the Elbjazz and Dockville festivals, relax in the cafés and trendy bars in the St Georg and Schanze districts, and watch the Hamburg sunset at the city's popular harbour beach clubs.

With over five million inhabitants, the Hamburg metropolitan area is among the biggest winners to profit from the opening up of Eastern Europe and worldwide globalisation. This metropolis on the water is the most easterly of the northern seaports, making it the ideal port for Eastern Europe. As a global hub serving overseas countries, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Baltic area, Hamburg benefits from its central position at the confluence of the global trade handled by European logistics.

Hamburg is also considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Its extensive stretches of water and green parks and the historic residential areas are renowned. There are many attractive possibilities for leisure activities. These special qualities, together with the maritime atmosphere and its proximity to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, make Hamburg a jewel among international cities.

The historic core of Hamburg's port is the "Speicherstadt", the former warehouse area, where the world's most beautiful warehouse complex was built at the end of the 19th century. Against this background, the new HafenCity is being constructed on the former harbour area, and it is right here — in the centre of Hamburg and right on the waterfront — where Kühne Logistics University is located. Students find everything they need in order to study and feel comfortable. This includes superbly equipped interactive teaching and study rooms, state-of-the-art facilities, broadband wireless access, a well-stocked library, and access to relevant online databases for research.