Applying for the Master's programme

The Master's programme in Design starts every winter semester. To be offered a place, applicants must meet the requirements and also demonstrate their special conceptual and creative aptitude during a one-step assessment procedure.

Each year, applicants can register for the assessment procedure between 20 January and 15 March; application documents must then be uploaded from 8 to 10 April.

You will find detailed information on the requirements, the assessment procedure, and the documents to be submitted below.

Applicants need the following supporting documents to enrol in the Master's degree programme in Design:

• Successful completion of a Bachelor's or Diplom degree in a design discipline that is offered as an area of specialisation at MSD (Illustration, Media Design, Communication Design, Product Design) worth at least 210 CPand with an ECTS grade of A or B, alternatively, an absolute grade of 2.0 or higher. (Please note: Applicants who have completed a Bachelor's degree worth only 180 CP or lasting only 6 semesters will be offered a variety of options for the subsequent recognition of any credit points that may be lacking. You can find the possible scenarios here.)
  
• Successful participation in the procedure for determining the programme-related special conceptual and creative aptitude for the Master's programme.
• Proof of knowledge of the German language (Test DaF4 or DSH2, applicable only for students from abroad).

On 23 January at 5 pm, Prof. Dr. Lars C. Grabbe (Dean | Münster School of Design) and Dipl.-Des. Judith Schäffer (Study Information) invite you to an information event via Zoom on the Master's programme and application procedure and answer any questions you may have. The event will be held in german.

You can find the registration options here:

You have the possibility to register for participation in the assessment procedure via our Applicant Portal between 20 January and 15 March at the latest.

During registration, you will be asked to provide information about your Bachelor's or Diplom degree, and any work experience you may have (employment and/or work placements). You should also have a digital portrait of yourself available.

Once the closing date for applications has passed, you can submit your compelling portfolio and the other application documents via an upload area of the myFH Portal, which you will be able to access between 8 and 10 April (12 noon). The upload link will be sent to you by email once the closing date for applications has passed.

You will need the following documents to be able to participate in the assessment procedure:

• A compelling portfolio (30-50 pages) in PDF format (16:9)
• A covering letter explaining your reasons for wanting to pursue the Master's programme in Design at MSD (no longer than one A4 page)
• A letter of recommendation (no longer than half an A4 page) from a professor explaining why you are suitable for a Master's programme at MSD
• Your university certificate or a current transcript of grades, including all (preliminary) Bachelor grades, enabling an average grade to be calculated, and, where applicable, proof of having registered for the final thesis.
• A curriculum vitae in tabular form
• Proof of employment, where applicable
• To document the 30 CP that you must complete to bridge the gap in the transition from a 6-semester Bachelor's degree to a 3-semester Master's degree, please add a proposal for the bridging scenario you have chosen (see link).

Please merge your files into PDF format and name each file using your surname, first name and the relevant description (e.g. "Surname_FirstName_CV").

The portfolio should include compelling samples of your work and documentation of your working style; if possible, your work should be presented in landscape format as a PDF file (16:9), which you should name as follows: "Surname_FirstName_Portfolio.pdf".

Please save cinematic resources in a video format such as mpg, m4v or mov, and check to make sure that they work. These file names should also include your first name and surname.

The data volume limit is 500 MB per file.

Once you have uploaded your portfolio and the other application documents, the documents you have submitted will be checked for completeness in April, and viewed and assessed by the evaluation committee.

Until the middle of May, you will be notified of whether you have passed the assessment procedure; you can then apply for enrolment in accordance with the requirements using the notification of conceptual and creative aptitude.

Evidence of your conceptual and creative aptitude is valid for the following application period. You can find out the deadline for applying for enrolment from the Service Office for Students.

We look forward to receiving your application!