Brandeis International Business School

Applicants must have earned a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. or accredited international institution. Three-year degrees that are equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree will be considered for admission.

Unofficial transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended are required. Degree audits will not be accepted in lieu of unofficial transcripts. Transcripts must be provided in English. If you have graduated from a program, and your transcript does not verify your graduation, please submit a copy of your degree certificate with your unofficial transcript(s). Official transcripts are required from each institution only if you accept an offer of admission.

Courses: Economics 

Prerequisites can be met in the following ways:

1) Completion of an Economics course with a B or better at an accredited, three- or four-year, not-for-profit college or university. The course must be at least at least 3 credits or the equivalent of a full semester course

2) Courses to satisfy prerequisites may alternately be taken online via Coursera and/or EdX courses. If you have already graduated and/or are unable to fulfill the course requirements at an accredited college or university prior to submitting your application, Coursera courses are a great way to fulfill these requirements before or after submitting your application. On your application for admission, you will be able to indicate whether you require Coursera/EdX courses to meet the prerequisite course; Admissions will then be in touch after application review with more details if applicable.

Courses: Financial Management, Quantitative Methods

Prerequisites can be met in the following ways:

1) Applicants who have passed the level 1 CFA exam.

2) Completion of a Financial Management and Quantitative Methods course with a B or better at an accredited, three- or four-year, not-for-profit college or university. Each course must be at least at least 3 credits or the equivalent of a full semester course

3) Courses to satisfy prerequisites may alternately be taken online via Coursera and/or EdX courses. If you have already graduated and/or are unable to fulfill the course requirements at an accredited college or university prior to submitting your application, Coursera courses are a great way to fulfill these requirements before or after submitting your application. On your application for admission, you will be able to indicate whether you require Coursera/EdX courses to meet the prerequisite course; Admissions will then be in touch after application review with more details if applicable.

Additional Prerequisites for 9-month MSF- Candidates to the 9-month MSF should have meaningful professional work experience in finance. While most successful candidates for this accelerated MSF program will have at least two years of full-time, post-undergraduate work experience, consideration can be given to current undergraduates studying finance, accounting, or economics who have significant internship experience in finance. Students who do not have meaningful work or internship experience in a finance related field should instead consider the 16-month MSF.

One 500-word written essay is required as part of the online application.

• MA: What drove you to pursue a graduate program in international economics and finance?
• MSF: What drove you to pursue a graduate program in finance?
• MSBA: What drove you to pursue a graduate program in business analytics? Which domain of business analytics interests you the most, and why?
• MBA: Why are you interested in pursuing an MBA at this stage of your career, and how will the Brandeis MBA program prepare you to contribute to the global business community?

Additionally, applicants must respond to a short answer question regarding their career goals. Applicants may provide additional information that they would like the Admissions Committee to consider as part of their application via the optional essay, a short answer question within the online application.

A current résumé detailing educational and employment history is required. Our specialized master's programs do not require work experience. Typically, our MBA applicants have at least two years of full-time work experience.

We also require a detailed employment history as part of the online application so that we may fully understand your previous and current roles and assess your career progression. Candidates with little or no full-time work experience should include internships in the employment history section of the online application.

GMAT/GRE is optional for the Fall 2025 term.

Candidates who have scored in the 80th percentile or higher are encouraged to submit their test scores to support their application. Those without a quantitative background or who feel their undergraduate performance does not fully reflect their potential may consider taking the GRE or GMAT to strengthen their candidacy.

If you choose to submit a GMAT or GRE score, an unofficial test score should be submitted as part of the online application. Official test scores are required only if you accept an offer of admission. GMAT and GRE scores are valid for up to five years. Test scores must be valid at the time the application is submitted. If your test score will expire prior to the start of the program, you must submit your official test score prior to its expiration date.

The International Business School GMAT code for this program is 3FD-QK-07. The school's GRE code is 3122.

One recommendation is required. Candidates may submit up to two recommendation letters if they wish. Recommendations may be professional (supervisor, client, mentor, colleague, internship coordinator, etc) or academic (professor, dean, etc.)For MBA applicants, we strongly encourage submitting a professional recommendation letter.

You will be asked to provide your recommender’s contact information as part of the online application. Use your recommender's institutional or corporate email address. Submissions from anonymous email servers (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) may be subject to additional review. An email with instructions on submitting the online recommendation will be sent to your recommenders. Only online recommendations will be accepted, and recommendation letters must be submitted on the recommender's organization letterhead.

International applicants must submit a TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test, or PTE Academic score unless they meet at least one of the following conditions:

• Completed a bachelor’s degree with at least three full-time academic years of study where English was the ONLY language of instruction. (please note, English as the language of instruction should be indicated on the institution’s website, transcript, and/or mark sheets.)
• Completed at least one full-time academic year of graduate (master’s level degree or higher) study where English was the ONLY language of instruction (please note, English as the language of instruction should be indicated on the institution’s website, transcript, and/or mark sheets.)
• Has, within the last 4 years, worked full-time for 2 consecutive years in the United States. To be considered “full-time” work in this instance, students must have completed this work after their bachelor’s degree, and work at least 35 hours per week.

We recommend a TOEFL iBT score of at least 100, a TOEFL ITP score of at least 627, IELTS score of at least 7.0, Duolingo English Test score of at least 130 or PTE Academic score of at least 68. Brandeis International Business School accepts TOEFL iBT Home Edition, IELTS Indicator and IELTS Online test scores. The Business School only considers TOEFL scores from a single test date, not MyBest™ scores. Our Admissions Committees take a holistic approach to reviewing applications and consider each part of a student's application to evaluate communication abilities and fit for the program.

An unofficial test score should be submitted as part of the online application. Official test scores are required only if you accept an offer of admission. TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test and PTE scores are valid for up to two years. Test scores must be valid at the time the application is submitted. If your test score will expire prior to the start of the program, you must submit your official test score prior to its expiration date.

The International Business School TOEFL code is 3122.

The online application fee is $150. Candidates who attend an admissions Featured Event will qualify for $100 off their application fee as a “thank you” for attending.

Additionally, the members of the following organizations are eligible for application fee waivers:

• Current Brandeis and Wellesley students

• Brandeis alumni

• Current or former members of the U.S. Armed Forces

• Beta Gamma Sigma members

• Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Teach For America or other U.S. national service organization volunteers

The criteria for our merit-based scholarship awards include leadership traits, academic achievement, personal background and graduate education focus. All domestic and international students are automatically considered for full- and partial-tuition scholarships and will be notified of any awards upon admission. 

Our merit-based scholarships apply exclusively to tuition costs. Brandeis also offers on-campus employment opportunities for students who may be seeking additional financial support. Scholarships are available to both full-time and part-time students. View scholarships.

Brandeis undergraduates may be eligible for financial grants based on demonstrated need. Students seeking need-based funding should review available education loan programs on the university’s Student Financial Services website.