All CEMS MIM graduates are required to have competency in three languages at the time of graduation. For English, the C1 level must be fulfilled upon admission.
For both the CEMS language and CEMS 3rd language, applicants need to fulfil an entry level (upon admission) and an exit level (upon graduation).
Entry Level:Minimum required level upon admission | Exit Level:Required level upon graduation | |
| English | C1 | C1 |
| CEMS Language | B1* | B2 |
| CEMS 3rd Language | A2 | A2 |
The minimum entry level is only sufficient for admissions purposes.
*If you only meet the entry requirement upon starting this master’s, you must take additional language courses and tests on your own during the IM/CEMS master’s year to meet the required exit level before graduation. Additional language courses are not offered in the curriculum of the IM/CEMS programme at RSM.
The minimal required level for the CEMS language is B1 upon admission.
All possible proof are listed in the table below. You can choose either one of the following to prove your CEMS language.
| Option 1 | ||
High School Studies completed entirely in this language |
| Example: If your mother tongue is German, and you completed your high school in German, you can upload your high school diploma as proof of your mother tongue. |
| Option 2 | ||
University Education completed entirely in this language |
| Example: If your mother tongue is Chinese, and you completed your university bachelor’s studies in Chinese, you can upload your current university diploma as proof of your mother tongue. |
| Option 3 | ||
University Formal Language Test obtained at a CEMS partner university or a university within the EU/EEA |
| Example: The Erasmus University Language & Training Centre offers assessment tests throughout the year RSM accepts the results of an intake test for admissions purposes. |
| Option 4 | ||
University Language Course obtained at a CEMS partner university or a university within the EU/EEA |
| Example: The Erasmus University Language & Training Centre offers language courses throughout the year |
| Option 5 | ||
| CEMS-accredited commercial test |
| The proof must meet the validity requirements set by CEMS (see Validity tab). |
The minimal required level for the CEMS 3rd language is A2 upon admission.
All possible proof are listed in the table below. You can choose either one of the following to prove your CEMS 3rd language.
| Option 1 | ||
High School level subject taken until the last year of study with a passing grade AND/OR were a part of your final exams with a passing grade |
| Example: If you attended high school in Germany and studied French until the final year of high school, you can use this as proof of your CEMS 3rd language (French) for the application. |
| Option 2 | ||
University Formal Language Test obtained at a CEMS partner university or a university within the EU/ EEA |
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| Option 3 | ||
Formal University Course obtained at a CEMS partner university or a university within the EU/EEA |
| The Erasmus University Language & Training Centre (LTC)* offers courses throughout the year. Assessment tests from the Language & Training Centre (LTC) at Erasmus University, as well as LTC course certificates, are accepted by RSM for entry to the programme, but not necessarily by CEMS upon completion of the master. |
| Option 4 | ||
| CEMS-approved commercial tests |
| For a student to be able to use an accredited A2 language certificate towards CEMS graduation, that certificate may not be older than 2 years calculated from the first day of the start of the IM/CEMS programme. See “Validity of your language proof” for more details. |
The following periods of validity apply for accredited language certificates and exams. The reference date for these periods of validity is the first day of the beginning of the programme (1st September 2025):
Proficiency Level | Validity Period |
| C2 and C1 | Valid indefinitely |
| B2 | Valid for 5 years (must be dated after 1 September 2020) |
| B1 and A2 | Valid for 2 years (must be dated after 1 September 2023) |
The following are not accepted as language proof:
- Passport
- Having lived in a country
- Speaking a language at home with your parents/ relatives
- Having completed an exchange semester
- Mother tongue statements
Additionally, the following languages or language combinations are not allowed:
- Dead/inactive languages such as Latin are not accepted.
- Languages which are too similar to each other are not allowed to be combined as the second and third languages:
- Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Montenegrin/Slovenian
- Czech/Slovak
- Danish/Swedish/Norwegian
- Danish/Faroese
- Dutch/Flemish/Frisian/Afrikaans
- German/Luxembourgischer
- Russian/Ukrainian/Belarusian
- Russian/Kazak
- Spanish/Catalan
When applying for the IM/CEMS programme, you will fill in the RSM Online Application Form. In this form you will be asked to indicate how you want to prove your proficiency in English and your second and third languages. You will also be asked to submit documentation such as academic transcripts or language course certificates as proof.
All proof must be submitted by the 31st of January. No exemptions can be made.
In order to guarantee the required minimum level of English proficiency, you must be able to show proof of proficiency on at least C1 level (according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language - CEFR). The accepted forms of proof for English proficiency are listed in the general admissions requirements page.
Submit your application early – this way the RSM admissions office can notify you if any documents are missing or insufficient. Applications can be submitted from 1 October onwards.
Contact a university language center (such as the EUR Language & Training Centre) to check whether they can give you an intake test to determine your current level.
In some cases, you may wish to choose a language that cannot be verified by an accredited language institution because no such institutions or exams are available. Unfortunately, this means you cannot use that language for your application.
For example, if your secondary or university education was entirely in Hindi, you can claim Hindi as your CEMS third language. However, if your education was not in Hindi, you cannot claim it as your third language, as there are no accepted methods for verifying your proficiency. Please note that a passport alone is not sufficient proof of language proficiency.
More information can be found on the IM/CEMS category in our general FAQ.