Copenhagen Business School MBA Essay Prompts & Writing Guide 2025–2026

Copenhagen Business School looks for candidates who are not just academically qualified but genuinely aligned with Scandinavian values and the school's philosophy of sustainable leadership. In your 250-word response, you need to show that you've done your homework and understand what makes CBS distinct. Admissions staff read every application carefully and can spot generic, impersonal essays immediately, which will disqualify you on the spot. Your essay should be specific to CBS, not something you could submit to any European business school. Think about what genuinely attracts you to CBS's culture, not just its rankings or location.

Focus on three layers of fit: first, CBS's commitment to the Scandinavian business model, which emphasizes collaboration, equality, ethical decision-making, and sustainability over hierarchy; second, the school's intimate community of roughly 40-50 international students from 20+ nationalities, where peer learning and cross-cultural exchange are central to the experience; and third, Copenhagen itself as a hub for forward-thinking industries like green tech, fintech, and logistics. If you're drawn to the school's Governance and Sustainability concentration, or if you have international experience or aspirations to stay in the Nordic region post-MBA, weave that in. Show that you understand what it means to study in a flat, trust-based organizational culture and that you're ready to embrace it. Avoid generic statements about wanting to study abroad or gain an MBA; instead, articulate why the specific combination of CBS's values, teaching methods, and environment will accelerate your unique career trajectory.

Be concrete and research-driven. Name a specific concentration or elective that interests you, mention a particular company or industry cluster in Copenhagen relevant to your goals, or reference the Leadership Discovery Process or Integrated Strategy Project if those resonate with your development needs. If you've connected with current students or alumni, you can briefly reference those conversations to show genuine engagement. Admissions interviewers also note whether applicants have asked thoughtful questions beyond what's on the website, so your essay should reflect genuine curiosity about how CBS will support your specific ambitions. The CBS admissions team emphasizes that they value personality and maturity alongside professional credentials, so let your authentic voice come through. You're writing to a small, dedicated team that reads closely, not a form-letter committee.

This essay is your chance to demonstrate not only that you understand sustainability as a business imperative, but that you have a pragmatic, solutions-oriented mindset aligned with the Scandinavian and CBS values. CBS places sustainability at the core of its MBA curriculum, not as an elective add-on, so admissions readers will evaluate how concretely and thoughtfully you approach the topic. In 300 words, you should name a specific sustainability challenge within your current or recent organization, articulate why it matters both environmentally and commercially, and then propose a realistic, implementable change. Avoid generic statements like "we should reduce waste" or purely theoretical solutions. Instead, show that you understand the real trade-offs managers face; for example, supply chain redesign for sustainability may increase upfront costs but reduce long-term material waste, or shifting to circular product design requires stakeholder buy-in across multiple departments.

Choose a sustainability opportunity that feels authentic to your industry or role. If you work in manufacturing, you might explore circular economy principles such as product redesign for durability and repairability, reverse logistics for material recovery, or supplier collaboration to lower emissions across the value chain. If you are in services or finance, consider how your organization could integrate ESG metrics into decision-making, measure and report environmental or social impact, or reimagine your business model to create value beyond profit. CBS values the practical application of sustainability thinking in real business contexts, so ground your essay in actual constraints you have observed or data you have encountered. Reference a metric, a bottleneck, or a stakeholder dynamic you would need to navigate. This specificity signals maturity and self-awareness that admissions officers respect.

Finally, connect your proposal to your personal leadership approach and your motivation for studying at CBS. Briefly signal why you want to develop your skills in sustainable business management through the program; you do not need to over-explain, but a single sentence linking your idea to your desire to lead responsibly in your post-MBA role will reinforce cultural fit. CBS attracts leaders who see sustainability not as a compliance burden but as a catalyst for innovation and long-term competitive advantage. Your essay should convey the same conviction.

With only 250 words, you need to be sharp and specific; there is no room for generic business school language. CBS values concrete, actionable ambitions rooted in Scandinavian business principles like sustainability, responsibility, and ethical leadership. Show that you have thought seriously about what success looks like for you in the three to five year window post-MBA, and be precise about which CBS resources or concentrations will fuel your trajectory. Rather than talking broadly about "leadership" or "impact," anchor your goals to a specific industry sector (consulting, finance, entrepreneurship, cleantech, or technology) and describe a tangible role or outcome you are targeting. This tells admissions you have done your homework on both yourself and CBS's ecosystem.

CBS's alumni network is particularly strong in consulting, finance, and impact startups, so connecting your post-MBA ambitions to these high-demand sectors signals cultural fit. If your goals involve sustainability or responsible management, mention it explicitly; the school emphasizes the Scandinavian model of ethical decision-making and green business, and admissions readers pay attention to applicants who share this worldview. The phrase "force for positive change" appears frequently in CBS messaging, so if your three to five year goal involves driving innovation, solving climate challenges, or building responsible organizations, make that connection clear without forcing it. Be specific about the type of role, company size, or geography you aim for: are you targeting a consulting partnership at a Nordic firm? A head of sustainability role at a tech scale-up? A venture in green finance?

Finally, signal how the MBA will operationalize your vision. Rather than saying "I want to become a leader," say something like: "I aim to transition into a senior strategy role at a Series B climate tech company, where CBS's Entrepreneurship and Governance & Sustainability concentrations will equip me with both the innovation mindset and responsible management framework I need." This shows maturity, self-awareness, and alignment with CBS's values. Admissions readers want to see that you have a realistic, informed pathway forward, not just a dream. In 250 words, prioritize clarity over complexity, specificity over scope, and let your genuine ambition shine through without resorting to jargon.

With only 250 words, you must be laser-focused on concrete examples rather than generic reflection. CBS values the Scandinavian leadership model, which emphasizes collaboration, trust, and practical problem-solving, so your essay should showcase how your international experience directly shaped your ability to work effectively across cultural differences and tackle challenges in teams. Rather than listing multiple countries you have visited, zero in on one or two deeply influential moments that reveal your maturity and open-mindedness, two qualities the admissions team explicitly looks for in candidates.

Start by anchoring your essay in a specific, vivid international experience: a project where you led a multicultural team, navigated cultural miscommunication, adapted your problem-solving approach due to local context, or learned an entirely new way of doing business. Name the country, the stakes, and your role. For example, instead of saying "I worked internationally," say "While leading a supply chain optimization project in Vietnam with a team from five countries, I discovered that my direct American approach to problem-solving clashed with the team's consensus-based decision-making culture." Then immediately connect this to what you learned: how did you shift your approach? What specific teamwork or adaptability skill did you gain? CBS, with over 90 percent international students in a tight-knit class of 40 to 50, depends on people who can bridge cultural differences in group settings, so your essay should evidence that you actively listen, adjust, and thrive in multicultural environments.

Finally, close by briefly suggesting how this international mindset makes you a better fit for CBS specifically. The Nordic emphasis on equality, collaboration, and ethical decision-making resonates with you because of your experience, and you are eager to bring that cross-cultural capability to their small, tight cohort and contribute to learning from peers across all sectors and backgrounds.

This optional essay is a genuine opportunity to deepen the admissions team's understanding of who you are beyond your resume and career trajectory. With only 250 words, you need to be strategic and personal in what you choose to reveal. CBS values candidates with substance and authenticity, so use this space to articulate something that genuinely drives you (versus what sounds impressive on paper). Whether it's a core value like integrity, a commitment to sustainability, a belief in collaborative leadership, or your passion for solving real-world problems, show how this conviction has shaped your decisions and actions. Tie your answer to something concrete from your life: a project where you prioritized ethics over profit margins; a moment when you chose collaboration over competition; or an experience that crystallized your commitment to responsible business. CBS's admissions managers specifically note that they read applications carefully and discuss almost every candidate individually; they immediately spot standardized or impersonal responses. Don't force a connection to the program or Nordic values; instead, demonstrate genuine introspection about what animates you as a leader.

Given the program's emphasis on sustainable leadership, responsible management, and the Nordic Nine capabilities (which focus on ethical reasoning, collaboration, and long-term thinking), your answer should reflect whether these principles already resonate with you personally. CBS isn't looking for candidates who will learn to care about stakeholders and sustainability during the MBA; they're seeking people who already have that orientation and can bring it into the classroom. If you have experience with purpose-driven work (whether in a corporate ESG initiative, a startup tackling social challenges, a volunteer leadership role, or even a personal conviction that has shaped how you work), this is the moment to mention it. However, avoid the trap of simply listing what CBS teaches; instead, show that your values align naturally with the school's ethos because of who you already are.

At 250 words, brevity is non-negotiable, so choose your story carefully and make every sentence count. Open with a clear statement of what matters to you, then provide one or two concrete examples or moments that prove it. Close by reflecting on how this commitment will shape your approach as you move forward (whether in the MBA or beyond). This essay is optional, but given CBS's small cohort size (approximately 40–50 students per class) and their hand-picked admissions process, skipping it could be a missed opportunity to strengthen your candidacy if you have a meaningful story to tell.

Your scholarship essay at Copenhagen Business School is not an opportunity to simply recount your career achievements or recite your resume in prose form. CBS is looking for candidates who demonstrate genuine alignment with the school's core mission around sustainable, responsible leadership grounded in Nordic values. The admissions committee reads every application carefully and discusses each candidate individually, so generic or templated answers will stand out for the wrong reasons. Instead, use this 250-word space to show how your unique profile across at least three of their evaluation criteria (academic excellence, career progression, leadership potential, sustainability passion, international experience, and drive) makes you not just qualified, but genuinely positioned to benefit from and contribute to their community.

When you write about why you should be awarded a scholarship, root your answer in concrete evidence of impact and specificity. Don't simply state that you have "demonstrated leadership"; instead, describe a moment where you led by collaboration and listening (reflecting the Nordic emphasis on flat hierarchies and trust) or where you solved a problem by considering its broader stakeholder implications rather than just profit. CBS values candidates who have shown they think systemically about business problems and understand how corporate decisions affect both organizations and the people within them. If you have worked on sustainability initiatives, digital transformation, or diversity and inclusion, explain the measurable results: how much did efficiency improve, how many people did you reach, what shifted in organizational culture? Numbers and concrete outcomes convince readers of your leadership more effectively than general assertions. Similarly, if your international experience has shaped your ability to work across perspectives, show this through a specific example of how you bridged cultural or professional divides to create something meaningful, not just through a list of countries where you have worked.

Remember that with only 250 words, every sentence must earn its place. Connect your post-MBA goals directly to CBS's ecosystem and curriculum, particularly if you have genuine interest in their sustainability focus, Danish business culture, or the Nordic Nine capabilities (which emphasize ethical thinking, systems perspective, and long-term value creation). The scholarship committee wants to see that you have researched CBS specifically, understand why Copenhagen's unique blend of business rigor and responsible leadership matters to your trajectory, and that you will be an engaged member of their intimate cohort of roughly 40 students. Avoid the trap of focusing only on what the scholarship will do for you; instead, articulate how CBS will unlock your potential to contribute meaningfully to sustainable business leadership, both during the program and in your career ahead.