Students interested in enrolling to the Media Informatics (MI) master program must apply for admission. Further, if (and only if) the applicants are accepted, they can enroll to the MI master program. There are hard deadlines for both steps, i.e. for submitting the application for admission and for enrolling to the MI master program.

The MI master program starts each winter term, which begins around October. In order to join the MI master program, applicants have to submit their application for admission before the application for admission deadline (this is a hard / strict deadline!). The deadline depends on the applicant as there is

• a deadline for applicants who are not from the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) and
• a deadline for applicants who are from the EU or EEA.

Note that exceptions to this rule are described on the master application information for internationals page.

¹: For the latest information always refer to the master application information for internationals page on RWTH Aachen University’s website. The MI master program is a program with an open admission (not a restricted admission (NC)). In case the information on this page and the linked page differs, consider the information on the linked page as correct.

²: There are increased requirements for an admission to a higher semester start. Students do not only need to provide qualifications for the admission to MI but also for the semesters they want to skip, e.g., if they apply for a second semester start they apply for MI plus skipping the first semester. For this students need to provide proof of completed courses related to the master MI curriculum amounting for the number of semesters they intend to skip (approx. 30 ECTS credit points / semester). Most students do not have the qualifications for a higher semester start and thus should apply for a first semester start. Carefully check this before applying!

³: Applicants from China may have to deal with application matters earlier due to APS and interview matters. Further information about that can e.g. be found here.

There are two types of requirements that an applicant for the MI master program needs to meet in order to be admitted:

1. formal admission requirements and

2. special admission requirements.

Formal admission requirements

An application must strictly meet the formal admission / entrance requirements. The International Office checks whether submitted applications meet these requirements. Applications that do not meet these requirements are rejected. Thus, the requirements must be read carefully before applying.

• An applicant must have a first degree in Computer Science or closely related field awarded by an internationally recognised university-level institution. This can be a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Informatics, or other closely related discipline.
• An applicant must have one Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test result that meets all of the following requirements (see exception below):
  • quantitative reasoning score: above 75th percentile (among 25% best)
  • verbal reasoning score: above 15th percentile (among 85% best)

  The GRE general test result must be provided with the application for admission before the application for admission deadline. It cannot be handed in after the application for admission deadline.

  Exception: The GRE is not required for applicants with citizenship of the European Union or European Economic Area or who completed their secondary education in Germany (to be more precise, they have to be what is called „Bildungsinländerinnen oder Bildungsinländer“ in German).

• An applicant must have a English language certificate that proofs that he/she is able to speak and write fluently in English.
• For a list of accepted English language certificates and further information refer to the English language requirements for master programs described on the International Office’s language requirements page on RWTH Aachen University’s website. Note the limited validity time of language certificates (TOEFL and IELTS tests lose their validity after two years after the tes). For an IELTS test, note that it must be the academic IELTS test, not the general IELTS test.
• We strongly recommend that an applicant should have a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 65% in his/her computer science or closely related undergraduate / bachelor degree.
• To see further information, please check the examination regulations here. An inofficial translation can be found here.

Special admission requirements

The special admission / entrance requirements are specific for the MI master program and must be read carefully before applying. The requirements are defined in the MI master program’s examination regulations that currently are only available in German language. In order to help students without German proficiency, they are described subsequently in English.

An applicant should have performed above average in their undergraduate studies and must have a substantial background in computer science and mathematics. This means that an applicant must have qualifications (from a university) with contents matching the contents of the subjects listed below. The subjects match qualifications that are part of RWTH Aachen University’s Bachelor in Computer Science.

If an applicant cannot provide matching qualifications for few of the required subjects, there is a small margin for still being admitted. Each application is carefully examined regarding whether each of the required subjects is matched by one ore more of the applicant’s provided qualifications. For this, not only title and credit points of the subjects are considered but also the subjects‘ contents. If the qualifications provided by the applicant deviate from the required subjects only slightly, the requirements might still be recognized as met. The decision of whether or not the provided qualifications meet the requirements is made by the exmination board.

* Click on the „English“ button (near to the top of the page) to get to the English version of the module description.

Please note that credits (CP) are calculated by the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System.

How to apply

German applicants should check the Zugangsvoraussetzungen für den Master page and the Bewerbung Master page.

Get translations of documents

The online application portal requires you to upload some documents for your application for admission. Note that the documents need to be translated if they are not in German or English language. For further information refer to the International Office’s master application for internationals website and in particular the „translation of your documents“ section on that page.

Make sure to obtain a proof of English proficiency

For details on when to upload the document proving the applicant’s English proficiency, refer to the language requirements page on RWTH Aachen University’s website. As of March 2021 the website explains that the applicant is not asked to upload a document proving his/her English proficiency during the application for admission. Instead the applicant has to provide the document(s) when enrolling.

Prepare the module descriptions document

For the application for admission, you need to upload a module description document describing the subjects / courses that are relevant to the application for admission to the MI master program. Please consider the following when preparing the module descriptions document as this helps us process your application quickly and correctly (without overlooking any of your qualifications):

• Provide a matching of the requirements: Add a cover sheet in front of the module descriptions document(s) and write down on this cover sheet which of the courses you passed fit to which of the special admission requirements.
• Provide an easy to search document: Add on the cover sheet for every course you passed that is relevant for matching the special admission requirements the page number of the repective module description. If possible provide a searchable PDF module description document.
• Provide a complete document: Make sure to provide official descriptions of all courses relevant to meeting the special admission requirements of your application.
• Provide a list of open (not yet completed) exams: If you have not yet completed all courses relevant to meeting the special admission requirements, but you will soon, note this down in the cover sheet. If we do know about these courses, you might be admitted based on the condition that you later prove that you completed the exams.

Submit your application

Submit your application for admission via RWTH Aachen University’s online application portal. You need to register and create an account first. Then, you can input and submit your application. Make sure to submit your application before the application for admission deadline.

Application result notification

Checking the applications takes some time. For the application for admission with the deadline of 1st March the applicants are usually not informed before May. Once the admission decisions are made, RWTH Aachen University informs all applicants about their result.

Enrollment

Accepted applicants must enroll to the MI master program in time, i.e., before the enrollment deadline.

For further general information please check the RWTH webpages.

If you have specific questions on course content please contact:
msc-mi(at)b-it-center.de