The Master’s programme in International Management prepares students to operate responsibly and successfully in influential decision-maker positions in a globalized environment. The programme develops students’ knowledge and skills in strategy, business development, leadership, and cross-cultural understanding. Students have the opportunity to acquire two highly prestigious qualifications: an MSc in Economics and Business Administration granted by Aalto University School of Business and the CEMS Master’s in International Management (MIM) granted by CEMS, the Global Alliance in Management Education.
CEMS MIM is an internationally recognized and highly valued management programme. Aalto University ranks 1st in Finland in Financial Times’ European Business Schools 2020 ranking. Both research and teaching are state-of-the-art, and involve intensive corporate collaboration. This ensures that upon graduating from the International Management programme, graduates will have:
Extensive knowledge about responsible business decision-making. Graduates possess invaluable knowledge and skills in global strategy, analytical thinking, leadership, cooperation, and teamwork in a sustainable business environment.
A holistic approach to global management and leadership. Graduates are able to work in a fast-paced, diverse, and ever-globalizing business environment.
Two highly respected qualifications. Graduates are double-qualified, as the programme consists of MSc in Economics and Business Administration (Aalto University) and the CEMS Master’s in International Management (MIM) granted by CEMS.
A deep connection with the international CEMS community. Worldwide ca. 1.300 CEMS students start in the CEMS MIM programme annually and they form local CEMS Clubs like CEMS Club Helsinki. Graduates become a part of the unique and tight-knit global community that consists of 33 academic members, ca. 80 multinational companies and NGOs, and more than 20.000 alumni worldwide. This provides the graduates with a life-long network of friends and collaborators.
The language of instruction is English.
The tuition fee for this programme is 15 000 euros per academic year. Citizens of European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland do not pay tuition fees. Citizens of other countries must pay tuition fees.
Aalto University offers a small number of scholarships in the form of tuition fee waivers to fee-paying students. Scholarships can be awarded to the highest-achieving applicants based on the programme's evaluation criteria. Applicants are ranked according to the criteria outlined on the programme's webpage.
More information on tuition fees and scholarships at Aalto University is available at the Scholarships and Tuition Fees webpage.
Overall, the Master’s programme in International Management comprises a total of 120 ECTS credits completed in two consecutive academic years, where the second year is the CEMS MIM year. The programme consists of:
Master's Programme in International Management courses and curriculum
At Aalto, we provide the students with high-class teaching, utilizing a great variety of student-friendly methods in teaching and supervision. While this also enables flexible methods in conducting coursework, including but not limited to distance attendance at class in many courses if necessary, the programme as such cannot be conducted overseas and it requires consistent physical presence in Finland. Thereby we can ensure the highest impact of teaching and create a strong community between students (and the staff) that also enables shared learning and socially rewarding student-life for everybody.
In the first year of studies, students will develop a solid foundation in e.g. international strategy, political economy, business analytics, and financial management. Students also write their 20 ECTS Master’s thesis in the first year. The possibility to write the thesis in pairs facilitates on-time completion and provides valuable project management skills. The second year of the programme focuses on CEMS MIM (Master’s in International Management) studies. During the CEMS MIM year the students will learn about global strategy and global leadership, and complete the CEMS business project. The students can also widen their knowledge through elective CEMS studies.
Students spend either fall or spring term of the second year in another CEMS school. The second year of studies follows the common CEMS MIM curricular content in place in all CEMS member schools.
Ben Laszlo, studentThe programme is not about learning theories by heart but applying them to real-life settings.
Global CEMS network, courses in collaboration with global businesses, CEMS term abroad, international internship, and two internationally recognized qualifications reflect the programme’s international core.
Aalto University as a whole is international by nature, welcoming thousands of degree and exchange students from abroad every year. These students join the diverse Aalto community not only through studies but also via multiple free time events, activities and celebrations around the campus. Active tutoring programs and support services work hard to help international students integrate into the Nordic culture and feel at home in Finland.
The Master's programme in International Management at Aalto is considered a great foundation for doctoral studies and post-doc positions.
Programme graduates are highly valued in working life. The programme provides graduates with the skills, knowledge and connections to pursue careers in many different areas of activity, such as consulting, business analytics, finance and sustainable business strategy.
CEMS Alliance offers extensive career support, such as global Career Web, CEMS Career Forum and other career events. Many CEMS graduates start their careers outside their home country.
Aalto University has well-established career services through which you can get employed in Finland and elsewhere. Aalto students tend to find good positions with ease upon their graduation. An active entrepreneurship community is also present at Aalto, which can help as a springboard for founding your company.
The research in this programme is linked to several focus areas in the School of business. Additional information about research related to this programme can be found at the Department of Management Studies website: https://www.aalto.fi/en/department-of-management-studies
Aalto University and the departments involved in the programme collaborate with many high-quality universities worldwide.
The student can take advantage of the studies within other Aalto University Schools, studies under the flexible study right agreement (JOO) within other universities as well as the major's international connections and student exchange possibilities.
In memory of Pekka Mattila, these merit-based scholarships are aimed at particularly talented students selected to attend the School of Business Master’s Programme in Marketing and Master’s Programme in International Management who are liable to pay tuition fees.
The Pekka Mattila Excellence Scholarships consist of a €3,000 relocation grant, paid at the beginning of the degree programme.
All tuition fee liable applicants applying to the School of Business Master’s Programme in Marketing and Master’s Programme in International Management are eligible to apply for the Pekka Mattila Excellence Scholarship, regardless of age, nationality, or gender.
Application Instructions:
Apply to the Programme and Aalto University Excellence Scholarship
Submit your application for the programme at Aalto University. You can apply for the Aalto University Excellence Scholarship during this process with the same application form.
Submit the Pekka Mattila Excellence Scholarship Form
After submitting your application to Aalto University, complete the Pekka Mattila Excellence Scholarship form stating your motivation and eligibility using the link provided below.
Application formThe scholarship application must be submitted by 20 March 2026 at 15.00/3pm (UTC +2) at the latest for the 2026 master's admissions.
Scholarship admission results
Selected applicants will be informed in the same week that the Aalto University admission results are published.
Payment of the Grant
The €3,000 grant will be transferred during the first year of the student's attendance at Aalto University. Payments will be made to Finnish or SEPA bank accounts for selected scholarship recipients after enrolment.
Questions?
Please contact tuitionfees@aalto.fi.
Applicants meeting Aalto’s general eligibility criteria for master's studies are evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria decided in advance for each study option.
The applications to Master’s Programme in International Management are evaluated based on the following criteria.
Admission group 1: Bachelor’s degree from a university in Finland.
Also, if you have been an exchange student at Aalto University School of Business and are applying to the Master’s programme in International Management, you can apply in admission group 1, if you meet all the following conditions:
1. you have completed a bachelor’s degree at an official partner university of the Aalto University School of Business; and
2. you completed a part of your degree in student exchange at the Aalto University School of Business between 1 August 2024 and 31 December 2026; and
3. during your exchange period you completed courses organised by the School of Business amounting to at least 18 ECTS if your exchange lasted one semester, and 36 ECTS if it lasted two semesters; and
4. the weighted GPA (grade point average) of the studies completed during the exchange at the School of Business is at least 3.50. The GPA is calculated of the studies completed at the School of Business during the exchange period.
Admission group 2: Bachelor’s degree from a university of applied science in Finland or from a higher education institution abroad
This study option (master’s programme) requires two sets of documents from their applicants:
All the above documents are mandatory for an applicant to be eligible.
1) Applicants whose mother tongue marked on the application form is other than English are not required to submit additional proof of language 2 proficiency.
Use of AI Tools – Application Guidelines
To ensure transparency and fair evaluation, all applicants must clearly declare any use of AI tools, if at all, across all parts of the application specifying in which parts of the application AI tools were used (e.g., text, design, development, proofreading, translation, spelling, grammar) and for what purpose. If excessive use of AI is suspected, this may affect the evaluation of the application negatively.
Applicants' suitability for the programme will be assessed based on the following CEMS-wide selection criteria:
The applicants that fulfill the programme’s requirements of previous studies and languages are ranked according to the CEMS selection criteria.
Proof of proficiency in English is required from both Admission group 1 and group 2 applicants according to the programme-specific language requirements. Acceptable proof of proficiency:
The official language of such degree must have been English, and this must be clearly stated on the degree certificate or a statement issued by the university.
or
* Additional minimum required by Aalto University. Please check the general Aalto eligibility rules to see if this additional requirement applies to you: https://www.aalto.fi/en/study-at-aalto/applying-to-masters-programmes.
**Note: In TOEFL iBT Home Edition test a score of at least 20 in each section and 22 in writing section is required, in addition to the minimum score of 100.
Applications missing proof of English proficiency accepted by the programme will be rejected.
Applicants whose mother tongue marked on the application form is other than English are not required to submit additional proof of language 2 proficiency.
Good proficiency (CEFR level B1 or above) in a language other than English is required from applicants, whose mother tongue marked in the application form is English. Acceptable proof of language 2 proficiency:
The comprehensive CV evaluation takes into account relevant education, work experience, and extracurricular activities, as well as international orientation as demonstrated by e.g. work, studies, or extracurricular activities abroad, participation in various international or inter-cultural activities in home country, and knowledge of and interest in learning foreign languages.
Work experience in the CV must be documented by enclosing corresponding work/internship certificates. English translations of these are not required.
Please do not include letters of reference or academic work, such as Bachelor’s thesis.
GMAT or GRE is obligatory in admission group 2 (minimum score 600 in GMAT, 555 in GMAT Focus edition or GRE score of 157 verbal reasoning - 158 quantitative reasoning).
Based on the evaluation in phase I, the best applicants are allotted a time for an interview and further assessment.
The selection of applicants into the programme is based on phases I and II described above. In case of a tie, phase II scores are used as the basis for evaluation.
Study international management in the highly regarded, world's most international MIM programme at Aalto University School of Business. CEMS is a global alliance of academic and corporate institutions and NGOs, dedicated to educating and preparing future generations of international business leaders.
Here you can find School of Business alumni stories. Our alumni share their professional journeys and give advice and tips regarding working life. The stories have been sorted based on the alumni's majors.
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School of Business
In case of programme-specific questions and inquiries, please contact the School of Business.
programmes-biz@aalto.fi
Aalto University Admission Services
If you have any questions regarding the application process, application documents or language tests, please contact Aalto University Admission Services
admissions@aalto.fi
