More people want to study busi­ness: CBS breaks an­oth­er ap­plic­a­tion re­cord

The interest in CBS’ master programmes keeps on growing. When the application deadline ended on 1 March, 20,099 applicants had submitted an application. Applicants are split almost evenly between women and men. 

That’s the highest number ever, and nine percent more than last year, when the number of applicants also rose noticeably, back then by 10 percent. CBS therefore sets yet another record and is also topping the list among all Danish universities when it comes to the number of applications for master programmes. 

CBS also accounts for 22 percent of all applications for master programmes via the shared application portal DANS. For the first time, CBS has also received more applications than any other Danish university. 

Anna Thomasson, Dean of Education, sees this increased interest as a key indicator of the quality of CBS' programmes: 

“When so many people choose us as their first choice, it is a strong sign that our programmes are seen as relevant and of a high quality,” she says. 

Finance, innovation and technology draw people in 

If you take a closer look at the figures, it is especially the classic business administration programmes and the specialised programmes closely tied to the business community that attract even more interest. 

Courses in finance, investment and strategic management are still among the most sought after. At the same time, programmes like the MSc in Business Administration and Bioentrepreneurship, Organisational Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the MSc in Business Administration and Digital Business are seeing big increases in applicant numbers. 

In particular, the number of applicants has increased across CBS’ technology programmes. It shows that CBS is also really strong in technology and more STEM-focused areas, where business knowledge and digital skills go hand in hand. 

“Companies and organisations look for candidates with strong analytical skills, a good understanding of technology and a solid business mindset. That applies in the financial sector, in consultancy, in healthcare and in tech companies too, where innovation and governance are playing a bigger and bigger role,” says Anna Thomasson. 

Low unemployment is a factor 

CBS graduates have an unemployment rate of around 3.8%, and 9 out of 10 find jobs in the private sector. 

In a time marked by economic uncertainty and international tensions, job security can be a big factor when you are choosing what to study. 

At the same time, analyses suggest that Denmark will be short of social science graduates in the coming years. Productivity goes up when companies hire people with business and social science skills. 

”Young people go for education that open doors. Our graduates typically go straight into a job and help drive companies’ development and transformation and that matters,” says Anna Thomasson. 

Increase in applicants is ramping up the competition 

Even though the number of applicants is going up, CBS will have to take in fewer students over the next few years, both to meet the political agreement on sectoral dimensioning and the political agreement on downscaling in the big cities, which means that the competition has got tougher. This applies especially to the many international applicants, who make up more than half of the 1st priority applicants, as there are also political limits on how many international students CBS is allowed to admit. 

”We can see that applicants as well as the job market are asking for more CBS graduates, so if we had the chance to enrol more qualified students, we would love to,” says Anna Thomasson. 

Applicants will get an answer no later than 10 June.