Englisch 
Deutsch 
The Central State Office for Distance Learning (ZFU) has approved the course Brand Management under the number 1160723. Who can apply for the MBA Brand Management at the Brand University?
You can apply with either a Bachelor's degree of at least 180 ECTS plus one year of work experience, or without a degree via an entrance exam if you have at least one year of relevant professional experience. There is no admission cap, enrolment is open year-round, and the programme is taught entirely in English.
That opens two routes: one for graduates ready to move into brand leadership, and one for experienced professionals who never completed a degree but can prove their capability in an exam.
Formal admission requirements
- Academic route: a completed Bachelor's degree with at least 180 ECTS and at least one year of work experience afterwards.
- Without a Bachelor's: at least one year of relevant professional experience plus a passed entrance exam – an Abitur or university entrance qualification is not required.
- Recognition of foreign degrees: if you studied outside Germany, your Bachelor's is checked for equivalence – the official reference for this is the database at anabin.kmk.org.
- English proficiency: the programme is English-taught, so you need to show you can study in English. Confirm the exact certificate and score the university accepts with its admissions team before you apply.
- Technical setup: a PC with stable internet plus webcam and microphone for the online exams.
What you should bring personally
An asynchronous distance programme gives you freedom and asks for discipline in return. These traits help:
- Self-organisation: you structure your own study rhythm over many months without fixed deadlines.
- Interest in brands and marketing: you care about how brands work, how people decide and how messages land.
- Analytical and creative thinking: brand strategy blends data with a feel for stories and audiences.
- Communication skills: you can argue a positioning and present it convincingly, often in writing.
Who this programme is built for
Three profiles fit the MBA Brand Management especially well:
- The career-building marketer: a few years of experience, now aiming for a brand or marketing management role.
- The international professional: based anywhere in the world, looking for an English-taught, German-accredited MBA without relocating.
- The experienced practitioner without a degree: strong on the job, now adding the formal qualification via the entrance-exam route.
One thing to be clear about: this is a professional, application-oriented MBA – not a research-focused academic master's. If a direct path into a PhD matters to you, check the boundary in the decision section below.
The MBA Brand Marketing is taught entirely in English and runs 100% online – you can study it from anywhere in the world. In English, the programme is offered with the Brand Management specialisation; the other specialisations (Consumer Psychology, Green Marketing & Sustainability, Customer Experience Management) are currently taught in the German track only. Everything below describes the English, fully online version.
What will you study in the MBA Brand Marketing?
The MBA carries 90 ECTS across three blocks: business and marketing core modules, the Brand Management specialisation, and the master's thesis. In total you work through around ten modules plus the final project, each closing with its own online exam.
The core modules build the foundation: management skills, marketing management, academic writing, search engine marketing, project management and social media marketing. This is where you learn how marketing is run strategically and delivered across digital channels.
Your specialisation: Brand Management
In English, the programme deepens into Brand Management. The specialist modules cover Data Based Brand Management, Services Marketing, Psychology & Neuromarketing, Brand Communication and International Marketing & Brand Management – the toolkit for building, positioning and leading brands in a digital, global market.
The programme ends with the master's thesis – proposal, written thesis and defence (colloquium) – guided throughout by a personal supervisor.
Assessment is modular and flexible. Exam formats include multiple-choice and open-book exams, case studies, video presentations and oral exams, matched to each module.
How does the online MBA at the Brand University work?
The MBA is a fully online distance programme with no on-campus attendance. You study asynchronously and sit your exams online, wherever you are. The standard duration is 18 months full-time or 24 months part-time, with a free extension of up to twelve months.
Learning platform and support
All content sits on the online campus: digital scripts, interactive exercises and learning videos, also via app. Voluntary live lectures and online tutorials are recorded and added to the platform, so a time-zone gap is never a blocker. Certified study coaches support you from onboarding through milestone planning.
Exams you take from anywhere
You complete one assessment per module, fully online – there is no exam centre to travel to, which is what makes the programme workable from any country. You verify your identity at the start; a webcam and microphone are all you need on your side.
Accreditation and ZFU approval
The MBA is accredited by FIBAA with its Excellence in Digital Education seal, and the Brand University is institutionally accredited by the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) and state-recognised. As a distance programme it also carries ZFU approval under number 1160723 – Germany's consumer-protection clearance for distance learning. More on the provider is on the Brand University profile.
What does the MBA Brand Marketing cost – and how can you finance it?
The MBA costs €9,900 in total, the same whether you study full- or part-time. That works out to about €550 per month over 18 months, or €412.50 over 24 months. Tuition is all-inclusive: materials, the online campus, every exam attempt and the free extension.
Compared with most MBA programmes in the UK or US, where fees often run well into five or six figures, €9,900 sits at the affordable end of the international market. A one-time payment earns about 4% off, semester instalments about 2%, and the university runs time-limited discount campaigns from time to time.
Because you study from home, there is no student visa and no blocked account (Sperrkonto) to fund – a major cost factor for on-campus study that simply doesn't apply here. Most distance students self-fund through monthly instalments, an employer contribution or a private education loan; the only extra is the refundable €200 entrance-exam fee, if you take that route. You can compare fees across providers on the MBA programmes overview.
Is the Brand University MBA recognised internationally?
Yes. The Brand University is institutionally accredited by the German Council of Science and Humanities, Germany's highest body for institutional quality, and the MBA itself is programme-accredited by FIBAA, an international agency for business and management degrees. The 90 ECTS are based on the European Credit Transfer System, so they translate into a recognised, comparable framework.
If you plan to use the degree in the US or Canada, a credential evaluation (for example through WES) maps it onto the local system; within Europe, ECTS recognition is straightforward. One honest limit: an MBA is a professional, application-oriented degree, so it is not designed as a stepping stone into a research PhD – if that is your goal, a research master's is the better fit.
What career prospects does the MBA Brand Marketing open up?
Graduates typically move into roles such as Brand Manager, Marketing Manager, International Brand Manager or Marketing Communications Manager, with a focus on brand strategy and positioning. In Germany, entry-level salaries in these roles sit roughly at €45,000–€60,000 gross per year, rising well beyond that in senior and leadership roles; in other markets the figures differ.
| Role (Germany) | Entry (gross/year) | Senior / leadership |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Manager | €45,000–€55,000 | up to €90,000 |
| Marketing Manager | €45,000–€60,000 | up to €85,000 |
| Marketing / Brand Director | — | €90,000–€130,000 |
Figures are orientation values from salary portals such as StepStone and Gehalt.de and apply to Germany; pay varies by country, sector and experience.
Why is brand expertise in demand right now? AI increasingly automates the execution side of marketing – copy, image generation, campaign delivery, reporting. What it doesn't take over is the strategic layer: positioning a brand, reading consumer behaviour, designing brand experiences. That judgement and strategy is exactly what this MBA builds – and the Brand University frames the programme around brand strategy, digital transformation, innovation, AI and sustainability.
If you later decide to move to Germany, non-EU graduates of a German degree can apply for an 18-month residence permit to look for work, which can lead to an EU Blue Card – but that step is optional, not a condition of the programme.
For whom is the MBA Brand Marketing the right choice – and for whom not?
It fits if you want to grow into strategic brand leadership, study in English, and keep working while you do it – from anywhere in the world. It fits less well if you want a campus experience, a research track, or one of the specialisations the university only teaches in German.
The MBA Brand Marketing is the right choice if you …
- … want an English-taught, German-accredited MBA you can study fully online from your home country;
- … want to move into strategic brand and marketing leadership with a Brand Management focus;
- … need maximum flexibility and prefer to study asynchronously alongside a job;
- … have professional experience but no Bachelor's, and want the entrance-exam route to a recognised degree.
It is less suitable if you …
- … want one of the other specialisations – Consumer Psychology, Green Marketing & Sustainability or Customer Experience Management – these currently run in the German track only; in English the programme focuses on Brand Management;
- … are looking for an on-campus experience with a fixed cohort and in-person networking – this programme is asynchronous and online only;
- … need a research-oriented master's as a route into a PhD – a professional MBA is not built for that;
- … expect government study funding tied to studying in Germany – as a distance MBA studied from abroad, it does not come with that.
Weighing up other options? You can compare the broader field on the Marketing programmes overview.
Lade… 
Advisory Service
Have questions about Academic Programs Brand Management? Ask your question here, even anonymously. An employee of the institution Brand University of Applied Sciences or the editorial team will answer you.