Erfahrungen an der Rotterdam School of Management

Jasper, ein Student an der Rotterdam School of Management, berichtet über den Masterstudienang Master of Science in International Management (MSc) und CEMS Master in Management.

Der Bewerbungsprozess

In order to apply for a master program at RSM you need to send your CV, a letter of motivation and an official transcript of you bachelor studies. It is essential that you have attained a BSc degree in business at a research university (so no university of applied science) with a GPA of at least 7,0 (Dutch grading system).
If the bachelor degree was not fully in English, you need to validate your proficiency through one of the following certificates: IELTS: 7.0 +; TOEFL: 101+ (internet based), 600+ (paper based); Cambridge CPE or CAE. A GMAT with a minimum score of 600 is required for students who did not receive their bachelors at a Dutch research university.
For the CEMS program the extra requirement exists that students should prove to be proficient in a third language at the minimum level of B1 (CEF).
Whereas the other master programs of RSM merely asses the academic background of potential students, the CEMS application system contains two additional aspects. Applicants will be interviewed by two members of RSM’s staff following the STAR method. It is important to prepare well and follow the instructions that will be distributed in advance. Finally an assessment will be held, wherein four or five applicants will negotiate a realistic business case and will be evaluated by an equal amount of HR managers from CEMS corporate partners. For the CEMS admission the academic background, interview- and assessment performance of the applicants will be weighed equally, resulting in a ranking. The top performers will be admitted.
During my year there were over 200 applicants of which 140 were invited for the interview and assessment day (i.e. they met the application requirements). Finally around 60 students were admitted. If you are invited for the interview and assessment round, you are, however, automatically admitted to the other business administration master programs. Meaning that through applying for CEMS you can circumvent the standard admission procedure and secure your spot in one of the other programs.

Das Masterprogramm und die Hochschule

The academic culture at RSM is unique in the Netherlands. The commitment and devotion of its students towards achieving excellence is much higher than in any other Dutch business school. Therefore a professional atmosphere will be experienced at RSM. Professors and fellow students expect you to work hard. When you are participating well, you will be rewarded with intelligent cooperation and interesting insights.
The student life at RSM is less dynamic from a social perspective than at other Dutch business schools. This does not mean that it is absent, it is just less present due to the hard work and professional mindset of many fellow students. However, if you value an active social life, the city and its student population will offer you enough possibilities
From a practical, networking and reputational perspective, RSM is perfect. According to Financial Times it is ranked the seventh business school worldwide and its master program in business administration ranks tenth in the world. Furthermore due to the presence of Europe’s biggest harbor and its central position in the Metropolitan area ‘the Randstad’, RSM maintains many important corporate connections and possesses great expertise concerning supply chain management. Therefore the university can pass on much practical experience to its students.
Personally I was triggered to apply at RSM for two reasons. First of all I considered RSM’s and CEMS’s reputation to be an exceptional CV booster and secondly both universities are able to offer practical experiences which are unique in the academic world. For example, instead of case assignments, we were able to do actual consultancy projects for multinationals.
Basically the argument on practical experience was also valid for CEMS, where the development of your language skills, an internship and practical assignments are mandatory. Furthermore the international vibe of the program was truly rewarding. In our group of 60, there were only six Dutch students.
As a final recommendation I would definitely advice the CEMS program. You can consider to apply either at RSM or another university. At RSM you will have to work hard and therefore bond tightly with your fellow students, furthermore you will be secured of high level teaching. Professionally it is one of the top CEMS schools, socially it might be worth to give others a shot too. The good thing is the fact that you have to study a semester abroad anyway, so you can combine the best of both worlds, like I did with my semester abroad in Cologne!