Roland Berger application deadlines 2027: DACH closes September 4, US runs rolling

Rolling admissions, but with published cut-off dates

Roland Berger runs an unusual hybrid. In its DACH region the firm accepts consulting internship applications year round, collects everything received up to the next published deadline, then reviews that whole batch under identical conditions.1

The firm is explicit about why: regular deadlines give everyone the same chance and ensure a fair selection, while giving candidates a known timeframe for a response.1 Candidates are informed of the outcome roughly two weeks after each deadline passes.1

Note the firm cannot guarantee an internship start before January 2027 for the September intake.1 If you need a summer 2027 start specifically, factor that in.

The US operates differently. Roland Berger's US careers page routes candidates to live job postings rather than a national campus deadline.4 For summer 2027, the firm recommends applying four to six months before your desired start date, which means submitting August to October 2026, with the full process taking about six to eight weeks from application to contract.2

One of the smallest elite intern classes in consulting

Roland Berger is the only major European-headquartered strategy consultancy with a meaningful US presence, and it runs an estimated 20 to 40 interns per summer across just four US offices.2

For context, the firm has roughly 200 employees across four US offices versus tens of thousands at McKinsey.2 It is the largest strategy consultancy of European origin, entirely partner-owned, with revenue exceeding one billion euros in 2023.2 Intern reviews sit at 4.8 out of 5 on Glassdoor with 99 percent recommending the firm.2

The Korn Ferry test comes first

The reported process runs an online Korn Ferry assessment, then one consultant interview, then a final stage of two interviews, one with a manager and one with a partner.3 Passing all three stages leads to a scheduled internship and a temporary contract.3

In DACH the selection day format is a personality interview plus two technical interviews, with detailed feedback provided afterwards.1 That feedback is genuinely unusual and worth having even if the outcome is negative.

Cases are candidate-led.2 If your practice has been on interviewer-led McKinsey-style cases, that is a different skill and you should adjust.

What to do this week

1. DACH candidates: September 4 is a real deadline. Applications received after it roll into the next batch.
2. US candidates: submit August to October. Four to six months before your target start, per the firm's own guidance.
3. Check the start date constraint. The September DACH intake cannot guarantee a start before January 2027.
4. Prepare for the Korn Ferry assessment before the interviews, since it gates everything after it.
5. Practice candidate-led cases specifically. The format differs from MBB.

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