Frequently Asked Questions

All candidates that wish to enroll to the Zagreb School of Economics and Management MUST take the state matriculation exam. All candidates must have passed the Croatian language, mathematics and foreign language tests at the B level.

The following candidates ARE EXEMPT from taking the state matriculation exam when enrolling at ZSEM:

• Candidates that have graduated from high school within the state matriculation system in a previous year, but have decided to enroll at ZSEM and take the entrance exam this year
• Candidates that completed high school in another country
• Candidates that completed a four-year vocational high school
• Candidates that are older than 24 years of age.

The Zagreb School of Economics and Management allows enrollment for all candidates that have passed our entrance exam and fulfilled other conditions (such as the state matriculation exam). After the results for the state matriculation exam have been published in July, you’re free to take our entrance exam in the same month (it’s usually around the middle of July).

The Zagreb School of Economics and Management holds an entrance exam for several reasons:

• Our entrance exam isn’t exactly designed to eliminate candidates from the enrollment process, but to help us gauge your level of knowledge at enrollment, and do decide if you need to take an additional semester before classes start; depending on if you need to spend some more time polishing your math or English skills.
• Despite this, the entrance exam is one of the tools we use to determine which candidates will be accepted to ZSEM. We believe that high school grades aren’t the best measure for an individual knowledge, as standards and conditions vary from high school to high school.
• Based on your results on our entrance exam, we’ll assign you to your study group. Some students have better knowledge of mathematics and English coming into ZSEM than others. It’s our position that not one student should fall behind his or her colleagues; so students with a lower level of prior knowledge or English are placed in study groups which will allow them to catch up.
• Our entrance exam represents a great opportunity for us to find out why you want to enroll at ZSEM. Part of our selection process is a motivational interview, and cover letter writing section, which are conducted on the same day as our entrance exam.

Planning which university you’re going to enroll in before completing high school is a standard practice all over the world, as it’s a crucial step that requires extensive preparation. ZSEM firmly believes that candidates that take our entrance exam are almost 100% sure about their school of choice. After completing the entrance exam successfully, every candidate that has complied with the conditions for enrollment will receive a call for enrollment. If you haven’t completed high school by the time you receive this call, you must submit any additional documentation by the 1^st of September (including results of the state matriculation exam).

At the Zagreb School of Economics and Management, we believe that it’s unfair to ask students to choose what they’ll be doing for the rest of their lives when they’ve just started their higher education. For this very reason, many students will change universities, or drop out altogether.

At ZSEM, our four-year Undergraduate Program in Economics and Management (240 ECTS) has just one program: Economics and Management. However, this doesn’t mean that you won’t specialize your skills in the time you’ll spend at ZSEM. On the contrary, this means that, when the times comes to choose a specialization on your forth year at ZSEM, you’ll know exactly what you want to do, as in the preceding three years you will have received an overview of all the aspects of economics and business administration.

As part of our program, you will take courses from the areas of marketing, economics, management, finance, accounting, and even social responsible behavior, social psychology, and an Introduction to Philosophy. Besides these courses, throughout your education, you’ll choose elective courses according to your own preferences, and which will define your specialization.

After completing our four-year undergraduate program, as part of our Graduate MBA Program, you’ll be able to choose modules of courses according to which you’ll be able to specialize in the following areas:

• Management
• Marketing
• Management of Information Systems
• Finance and Accounting
• Finance and Banking
• Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation
• Quantitative Finance
• Human Resource Management
• General MBA.

The Zagreb School of Economics and Management is the largest individual contributor to the Ivana Hodak Foundation, which offers disadvantaged children an opportunity to receive higher education. Every year, the Zagreb School of Economics and Management offer three scholarships through this foundation. For more information, please visit the web pages of the Ivana Hodak Foundation.

Students of the Zagreb School of Economics and Management have the right to seek dorm accommodation during their time in Zagreb, access to student restaurants, use of the services of the Student Center, and other student rights. As soon as you’ve enrolled at ZSEM, you’ll receive a student ID, popularly known as the X-Card (iksica). Thanks to this card, you will be able to access subsidized student restaurants in Zagreb, and other services of Zagreb’s Student Center. Along with all other students in Zagreb, you have the right to request accommodation in Zagreb’s student dorms, but be advised that dorm space is limited, and that you will have to apply through tenders issued by the Student Center.

Even though the Zagreb School of Economics and Management doesn't presently maintain its own student dorms, we do cooperate extensively with several real estate agencies, which can assist you in finding adequate and affordable accommodation in the area surrounding ZSEM's campus. For more information, please send a message to

In order to successfully apply for international exchange, you must be enrolled in your second year at ZSEM, and have a grade point average of at least 3.5. You can spend at most one year on international exchange.

At the Zagreb School of Economics and Management, one of your goals is to assist you in finding employment, however, be advised that finding a job depends on several different factors and conditions, and it depends mostly on a student’s individual motivation and effort. What ZSEM does offer is everyday assistance through our Career Center, which is willing to prepare each and every one of our students for success in the business world. As ZSEM students, you will have the opportunity to attend workshops which will teach you how to prepare your resume, how to approach a job interview, where to look for employment, and how to recognize what kind of career is right for you. Every year, we host Croatia’s best career fair, Student Future Day, where you’ll have the opportunity to introduce yourself and talk directly to your future employers.

So, where you will work, for whom, and when is your decision and responsibility, but when you do decide to apply for an open position, we’ll see to it that you’re perfectly prepared for the selection process.

And don’t worry: 75% of our graduates find employment within four months of graduation from ZSEM.

Unfortunately, in Croatia, many people still have negative stereotypes about private institutions of higher education. One of these stereotypes is: “If I pay the tuition/fees, I’m guaranteed to pass/graduate!” However, we assure you that this couldn’t be further from the truth, and we’ve assumed an active role in fighting these prejudices.

Namely, the Zagreb School of Economics and Management charges a fee of 150 HRK (150 EUR for applicants to our English Economics and Management Undergraduate Program) for the following reasons:

• This fee allows us to differentiate between candidates that are serious about enrolling from ZSEM, from those that have a casual interest. Many applicants for our entrance exam have no intention of actually taking it, and holding such a comprehensive exam for so many applicants is a significant drain on our resources.
• Holding an entrance exam such as our carries certain costs. Considering how ZSEM is a non-profit institution, to maintain our level of objectivity and quality, this fee is unavoidable.
• Every candidate that takes our entrance exam IS REQUIRED to pay this fee, but paying the fee in no way guarantee enrollment at ZSEM. In fact, without paying the fee, YOU CAN NOT take the entrance exam.