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Alternative ways of financing your full-time MBA

Through tax savings and/or fringe benefits

Are you in a situation where your company is not willing to help finance your education, or is only willing to finance part of it? If so, then there are a couple of alternative ways, in which you can finance your education that you might want to consider or be eligible for.

Payment via gross salary


In a landmark decision by the Danish Tax Authority, educational expenses can legally be withdrawn from your Danish gross salary:
  • you pay salary taxes in Denmark, and
  • your employer agrees to participate by deducting the cost of your share of the education from your gross salary.
This may make it possible for you to finance your CBS Full-time MBA.

What the various financing models mean for you and your employer


Technically and financially, the tuition fees to participate in the CBS Full-time MBA programme can be split over two (2) calendar years, so that approximately 54% of the tuition fee needs to be paid the first year and 46% the second year. Additional expenses for books, study tours, housing etc. should also be anticipated. The tuition fees and expenses to participate in the CBS Full-time MBA programme can be viewed by clicking here .

In the first model, your employer pays for the entire cost of your CBS Full-time MBA. In the second model, you agree with your employer to pay 25% of the cost of your MBA, whereby the 25% is withdrawn from your gross salary. By doing so, your income will only fall by a total of DKK 13,250. The remaining portion of your “share” is financed through marginal tax savings.

This is a good starting point for a dialogue between you and your employer on how to best invest in your future!


Various alternatives also exist, which may help you finance your CBS Full-time MBA.

Please click on the following link to find out more: Possible scenarios through tax savings and/or fringe benefits for participants to the CBS fulltime MBA programme

Other options

  1. Scholarships

    A limited number of scholarships are offered to exceptional candidates joining the Full-time MBA each year.
  2. Financial aid for US and Canadian citizens

    CBS is approved for participation in the International Student Loan Programme (ISLP), and the Canadian Higher Education Loan Programme, CanHELP. Both ISLP and CanHELP are run by the International Education Finance Corporation (IEFC). IEFC is the premier provider of international student loan programmes for the rapidly growing population of students who wish to study in foreign countries.
  3. Grant schemes in Denmark - Statens Voksenuddannelsesstøtte

    Statens Voksenuddannelsesstøtte (SVU) is a grant scheme for Danish participants in post-graduate programmes. Danish citizens, who are employed but on leave from their company, while studying for an MBA, may apply for SVU.

    For 2007, the weekly payment for full-time education (37 hours) is DKK 3,415. SVU is seen as tool to help defray living costs while studying, not as a payment for tuition fees.

    To be able to apply, you need to:
  • be between 25 and 65 years of age
  • have Danish citizenship or equivalent rights comparable to Danish citizens
  • have been employed full-time for at least the past three-five years
  • have an agreement of leave from your company in order to study for the MBA. The agreement must specify the conditions for your return to the company after graduation.
Statens Uddannelsesstøtte
Participants in an MBA programme cannot apply for Statens Uddannelsesstøtte (SU).

Last updated by Susan Agerskov 18/02/2009