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Master’s · Data Science & Artificial Intelligence

Operations Research and Business Analytics M.Sc.

Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg · Magdeburg · Official programme page

19 facts from 10 official pages · last checked 14 November 2026

Reviewed by Dennis Maaß, admission and immigration expert
Published 8 November 2026 · Last reviewed 8 November 2026

Key facts

Length, deadlines and costs

Study mode
Not stated by the university
3 pages checked, 7 Nov 2026

No OVGU page states the teaching mode. Only the Studien- und Prüfungsordnung of each programme would, and the 'Examination regulations' links on the English pages are partly wrong (the Visual Computing page links to the Computervisualistik regulations), so nothing is recorded rather than an assumption of on-campus teaching.

Length
4 semesters
Source
“Duration 4 Semesters Enrollment Wintersemester Admission restriction Restricted admission”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

Credits
Not stated by the university
2 pages checked, 7 Nov 2026

The datasheets and the English-programmes overview give only the standard period of study in semesters. Credit totals appear solely in each programme's Studien- und Prüfungsordnung in the German Verwaltungshandbuch, which is reached through a multi-level index and whose links from the English pages are partly stale, so no figure is recorded.

Intakes
Winter
Source
“Duration 4 Semesters Enrollment Wintersemester Admission restriction Restricted admission”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

Non-EU deadline
15 Jun 2027 (winter 2027)uni-assist window opens 15 April.
Source
“Applicants with an International Bachelor degree über uni-assist 15 June”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

The uni-assist page gives the same window. Applicants with a German bachelor's degree have until 15 July.

Non-EU tuition
None
Source
“There are no tuition fees and the semester fee already includes the Deutschland-Ticket.”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Organization+of+the+Stay/Finance-p-48630.html · checked 14 November 2026

Saxony-Anhalt charges no general tuition and OVGU charges none by nationality. Fees apply only for a second degree (500 EUR per semester), for guest students and for students over 60.

Application fee
€75 one-off uni-assist handling fee for the first chosen course of study in a semester€30 one-off each additional chosen course of study in the same semester
Source
“Cost for the first chosen course of study: EUR 75.00 For each additional chosen course of study: EUR 30.00”

www.uni-assist.de/en/how-to-apply/apply-online/pay-submit/ · checked 7 November 2026

OVGU itself charges no application fee; applicants with a foreign qualification pay uni-assist's handling fee.

Places
Restricted (limited places)
Source
“Admission restriction Restricted admission”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

Locally restricted with an internal selection procedure (statute of 16.05.2022). The number of places is set in the annual Zulassungszahlen and is not published on the programme page.

Places for non-EU applicants
Separate quota · 50 % of the places · Separate ranking lists for German and foreign applicants, scored on the criteria in § 4 of the statute; unused places move to the other group
Source
“Aufgrund des internationalen Charakters des Studiengangs wird ein Anteil von 50% der Studienplätze an ausländische Bewerber und Bewerberinnen vergeben. … Für die in der Bewerberliste enthaltenen Bewerberinnen und Bewerber erstellt die Auswahlkommission aufgrund der in § 4 genannten Auswahlkriterien für die deutschen und die ausländischen Bewerber und Bewerberinnen jeweils eine Rangliste.”

www.bekanntmachungen.ovgu.de/media/Amtliche+Bekanntmachungen/1_12+Satzungen+zu+Hochschul+_+Auswahlverfahren/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics_+M_Sc_/Satzung+zur+Durchf%C3%BChrung+des+hochschulinternen+Auswahlverfahrens+im+Masterstudiengang+Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics+vom+16_05_2022-p-19170.pdf · checked 7 November 2026

German quote: the statute has no English version. The largest share reserved for foreign applicants of any programme in this record.

Admission

What you need to apply

3-year bachelor’s
Accepted
Source
“1. Relevant bachelor's, diploma, or comparable degree from a recognized university in Germany with at least 140 ECTS (at the time of applying), and an average grade from 1.0 up to 2.9 (German grading scale applies), determined from the examination results.”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

140 ECTS at the time of applying, so a three-year 180-ECTS bachelor's qualifies; the same requirement counts non-EU degrees in modules, so foreign degrees are clearly admitted despite the words 'in Germany'.

Subject background
Relevant bachelor's, diploma or comparable degree with either 45 ECTS (EU degrees) or 9 modules (non-EU) in economics and business administration plus 20 ECTS or 4 modules in quantitative methods, or 65 ECTS or 13 modules in mathematics, statistics, econometrics and operations research
Source
“A. 45 ECTS (EU degrees) or 9 modules (Non-EU degrees) in economics, business administration, and at least 20 ECTS (EU degrees) or 4 (Non-EU degrees) in the field of quantitative methods, or B. 65 ECTS (EU degrees) or 13 modules (Non-EU degrees) in Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Operations Research modules have been acquired.”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

Minimum grade
Between 1.0 and 2.9 on the German scale
Source
“and an average grade from 1.0 up to 2.9 (German grading scale applies)”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

English
Level C1. IELTS 7 · TOEFL iBT 95 · TOEFL band 5 · Home Edition accepted · PTE 76. Cambridge: Certificate of Advanced English + Grade B or C (CAE). The Faculty of Economics and Management also accepts GMAT 550 total, GRE quantitative 153 and verbal 151, TOEIC (945/180/180, all three), telc C1, UNIcert III, or 30 ECTS of English-taught modules from a degree in the European Higher Education Area. Certificates proven by a language test are valid for five years only.. Exemption: No certificate is needed with a secondary school certificate from Australia, Canada (except Quebec and New Brunswick) or the USA, with British or international GCE A-Levels, an Irish Leaving Certificate, a New Zealand NCEA, a Scottish Qualifications Certificate, an IB Diploma (Language A or Language B HL) or a European Baccalaureate (L1 or L2); with a university degree from Australia, Canada (same exception), Ireland, Great Britain, New Zealand or the USA; with a qualification equivalent to a German degree from Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Overseas Territories, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines or Trinidad and Tobago; or with the German Abitur.
Source
“3. Proof of English Language Skills on C1 level with one of the recognized options.”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

The Faculty of Economics and Management publishes its own list (faculty-specific entries highlighted in blue) on top of the university framework; the programme pages link it as 'Overview of recognized English proof options'. No Duolingo English Test on either list.

German
Not needed when applying
Source
“International students can pursue a degree without learning German first. OVGU offers a wide range of bachelor and master degree courses of study that are taught in English completely.”

www.ovgu.de/en/International/Incoming+_+Ways+to+the+University/International+Students.html · checked 7 November 2026

No German certificate is asked for in this programme's admission requirements, and no page sets a German level for graduation.

GRE / GMAT / GATE
Optional
Source
“430 total score … quantitative part: 147”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg_media/Nachweis_English.pdf · checked 7 November 2026

GMAT and GRE appear only as two of the accepted proofs of English language skills (GMAT 430 / GRE 147 quantitative and 145 verbal for B2; GMAT 550 / GRE 153 and 151 for C1). Neither test is required as an aptitude test, and no page asks for one.

Selection
The faculty's standardised 'Relevance' form, its standardised letter-of-motivation form, and professional experience and internships set out in a tabular CV
Source
“4. Mandatory, standardized form "Letter of Motivation" of the faculty. 5. Professional experiences, and internships set out in a tabular CV”

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/Study/Study+Programmes/Study+Programmes+in+English/Operations+Research+and+Business+Analytics.html · checked 7 November 2026

India, Pakistan, Nigeria

Rules for applicants from India, Pakistan and Nigeria

English test waiver
No waiver stated for India, Nigeria or Pakistan: plan for an English test
Source
“Some applicants are exempt from showing an additional proof of their English proficiency. This is the case for the following … All other applicants must submit official language certificates with their application.”
“Proof of completion of at least 30 ECTS credit points (CP) in English-language modules obtained through a degree ECTS program within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). … Proof of a school or university degree or of a school attendance for a minimum duration of nine months, from … Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Great Britain (incl. overseas territories), … Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Canada, New Zealand, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, USA (incl. overseas territories)” page

www.ovgu.de/unimagdeburg/en/International/Incoming+_+Ways+to+the+University/International+Students/Full_Time+Studies/General+Requirements.html · checked 7 November 2026

The exemption list covers secondary school certificates from Australia, Canada (except Quebec and New Brunswick) and the USA, British and international GCE A-Levels, the Irish Leaving Certificate, the New Zealand NCEA, the Scottish Qualifications Certificate, the IB Diploma (Language A or B HL), the European Baccalaureate (L1 or L2), university degrees from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Great Britain, New Zealand and the USA, a qualification equivalent to a German degree from 14 Caribbean and Commonwealth states, and the German Abitur. India, Nigeria and Pakistan appear nowhere in it, and no OVGU page accepts a medium-of-instruction letter or an English-taught degree earned in those countries, so applicants from the three always submit a certificate. An applicant from one of them who happens to hold a listed qualification (most plausibly international GCE A-Levels) is exempt on that qualification, not on their country. The faculty's own list adds 30 ECTS of English-taught modules from a degree in the European Higher Education Area, and a degree or nine months of schooling with English as the teaching language in one of 16 named countries; India, Nigeria and Pakistan are in neither.

Rules that name these countries

The rules for your country across all universities, and the visa rules on English tests, are on the India, Pakistan and Nigeria pages.

More on this programme

Every value was read on an official page and is stored with a verbatim quote; open “Source” to see it. “Not stated by the university” means none of the pages we checked says, and lists those pages. Rules change: confirm with the university before you apply or pay.