CEMS Master's in International Management

Term 1 | Nova SBE or CEMS Partner University

3 ECTS Block Seminar

28 ECTS Global Strategy and other CEMS courses   

Term 2| CEMS Partner University or Nova SBE

1 ECTS  Global Citizenship Seminar 

12 ECTS Global Leadership and other CEMS courses

15 ECTS Business Project 

During Term 1 and 2 

5 ECTS In Hard Skills courses 

2 ECTS in optional Skill Seminars 

Language courses and evaluations

International Internship 

8 weeks minimum

The International internship is a CEMS requirement, which can take place

1. after the end of the Bachelor graduation and before starting the Nova SBE Master

2. between CEMS Year 1 and CEMS Year 2 or

3. after CEMS Year 2 (a full-time job contract will be considered for this requirement)

Courses combine mandatory and exclusive courses, reserved to CEMS students, and a selection of the best elective courses from the Nova SBE MSc portfolio.

Additionally, during their CEMS Year 2, students must complete 5 ECTS in Hard Skills courses, such as Applied Business Analytics, Introduction to Programming, Data Curation, Financial Modeling or Financial Statement Analysis.

Mandatory CEMS courses at Nova SBE: 

• Term 1, Global Strategy: Strategy in Global Markets or Applied Global Strategy 
• Term 2, Global Leadership: Wicked Global Leadership 

Exclusive courses at Nova SBE in 2021/2022: 

• Applied Sustainable and Responsible Finance 
• Applied Business Analytics (Hard Skills) 
• Global Talent Management 
• Impact Venture Capital  
• Leadership Insights and Paradoxes 
• Negotiation Strategy  
• Sustainable International Business 

Students are encouraged to broaden, personalize, and enrich their academic path by selecting from a diverse list of elective courses. 

Elective courses offered recently at Nova SBE: 

• Applied Entrepreneurship
• Banking
• Blockchain Fundamentals
• Brand Management
• Brands and Marketing in Asia's Emerging Markets
• Digital Marketing
• Doing Business in China
• Entrepreneurship
• Evidence-based Practices for Wellbeing
• Family Business
• Fintech Ventures
• Geoeconomics and International Relations
• Impact Investments
• Integrated Marketing Communications
• Islamic Finance
• Leading Social Enterprises with Impact in International Development
• Luxury and Fashion Marketing
• Mergers, Acquisitions, Restructuring
• Negotiation
• Performance and Progress
• Private Equity
• Product Design and Development 
• Risk and Crisis Management
• Social Media Marketing
• Sovereign Advisory

*Please note that these courses were offered during the Academic Year of 2021/2022 and might suffer some changes. 

There are 3 different types of Seminars in the CEMS MIM program:

Block Seminar

The Block Seminar is offered in the beginning of Term 1 and is designed to be a cultural and academic intense week. At Nova SBE the Block Seminars are typically around topics such as “Innovation in a World of Change”. Corporate Partners present challenges for student teams to explore.

Global Citizenship Seminar 

The Global Citizenship Seminar is offered at the beginning of Term 2. It is an interactive workshop. Students are immersed for two days and asked to deal with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) challenges alongside CEMS Corporate and Social Partners.

Skill Seminars

Skill Seminars are practical skills training workshops (usually half a day), brought to students by the school and CEMS Corporate Partner Companies. Recent Skill Seminars at Nova SBE include:

• “Let's Enter a New Market - In a Sustainable Way” powered by H&M
• “Crack the Case” powered by BCG
• “P&G Case Challenge – Data-centric Marketing and Sales in FMCG” powered by Procter & Gamble
• “Designing your Life: Effective Leadership & Communication” powered by the Handel Group, corporate consulting and life coaching company
• “How to be Remarkable by Helping Others Being Remarkable” powered by Google
• “Anti-Corruption as a Strategic Drive in Business” by Xavier le Mintier, Judge, and former executive

Entry requirements – Language 1

Candidates must provide one of the following options as proof of completing an English certificate upon submission of their application:

• TOEFL iBT minimum score – 100
• IELTS Academic minimum score – 7,0
• CPE minimum grade of C
• CAE minimum grade of B
• BEC Higher minimum grade of B
• A-level GCSE issued in Singapore
• University degree taught entirely in English (from a CEMS School or an EQUIS/AACSB Accredited School) and validated by the CEMS Office

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, the CEMS MIM program accepts the following online test as well:

• TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition test: a minimum score of 100 is required in the Internet-based TOEFL (iBT) with a score of at least 20 in each section
• TOEFL ITP® Plus for China Solution: a minimum score of 627 is required (Listening 64, Structure and Written 64, Reading 63)

Please note that CEMS does not accept TOEFL MyBest Scores. 

A valid certificate must be submitted by the end of the application period. In the meantime, candidates can submit their application providing a proof of enrolment in one of the exams mentioned above. 

Graduation Requirements – Second and Third Languages

Students must be able to prove the following level for their second and third languages:

• Language 2: mother tongue or B1 proficiency level
• Language 3: 2^nd mother tongue or elementary level language

The 3rd Language requirement can be fulfilled by one of the following options:

• Exclusive courses for CEMS/IMF/IMM students, in Spanish and Portuguese, organized and funded by Nova SBE
• Elementary courses of 60 hours (minimum) in a CEMS school (to be validated by each member school)
• Elementary courses of 60 hours (minimum) in an accredited Cultural Institute, such as Alliance Française and Goethe Institute;
• Commercial exams with a B1 result (minimum) from a CEMS school or from an accredited Cultural Institute, such as Alliance Française and Goethe Institute;

More information and details on courses, validity and locations of these institutes can be found here. 

Business Projects (BPs) are a mandatory component of the CEMS MIM, and each 34 CEMS School offers Business Projects over the CEMS MIM second semester. They are designed as a real-life learning experience for international teams of students who solve a real business problem while being tutored by a company representative and a professor. The Business Projects are worth 15 ECTS and engage at least half of the students’ workload in the second semester at Nova SBE (from February to May).

Recent examples of CEMS MIM Business Projects at Nova SBE:

• BNP Paribas – “Developing a Framework for a More Agile Digital Transformation” (2020)
• Daimler – “How Might Lab1886 Establish a Holistic and Scalable Best Fit Model Providing Mobility Solutions for Future Smart Cities and their Residents?” (2019) – Selected by Daimler as one of the top BP Team to present to Lab1886 Top Management at “Lab1886 Experience Days" in Stuttgart
• EDP – “Shareholder Activism during a Takeover Bid” – Finalist (top 5) in the CEMS Alliance Best Business Projects Award in 2019
• McKinsey & Company - ““Perceptual Mapping of the Football Market Worldwide” –Top 3 Finalists of the CEMS Alliance Best Business Project Award (2020)
• UNICEF – “How to Re-position the Brand UNICEF in Portugal to Achieve the Envisioned Fundraising Goals & Objectives?” (2018)