A very important admission requirement is an applicant’s creative academic qualification. It may demonstrate not only artistic skills and creativity, but also media and computational literacy, problem-solving abilities and a capacity for teamwork. We are well aware that not all applicants can be equally talented in all mentioned areas. We welcome applications from people with a strong talent in art and design as well as those more focused in other areas of study such as technology and media studies. Applicants’ creative academic qualifications are checked in an application procedure which takes place once a year between February and May. Furthermore, students need a good command of the English language. Applicants’ English language proficiency is checked throughout the application procedure. A formal certificate is not required.

During the course of the application phase, the admission board tests the applicant’s English language skills. Therefore, an additional official certificate, e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, is not necessary to be accepted. German language skills are not necessary.

In the first stage of the application process applicants are asked to send work samples. These do not need to be works in game design, since we do not require that applicants have previous experience in that field.

Applicants have to send works they have created in the past. We accept everything from analogue to digital works. The work samples can be sent in a PDF document, as link to a Dropbox or Google Drive folder or an online portfolio, among other options. Analogue works need to be scanned or photographed and sent in digital form.

Some CGL students have created a Discord channel to assist you with any questions about preparing your portfolios. As successful applicants, the students contributing to this group can give useful advice on how to create an impressive portfolio. Curious? – This way, please!

The application tasks are published on CGL’s website in the beginning of March.

Each study program has a particular task or set of tasks:

Applicants to the MA in Digital Games need to hand in a concept for a research and development project that they want to follow up throughout their graduate studies at CGL. It is possible to submit a group project. However, each team member needs to send an individual application detailing his or her contribution to the project as well as proposing a personal research project. Please keep in mind that this means that not all group members might be accepted.

The exact details concerning these tasks can only be disclosed with the official tasks’ document.

Applicants need to upload a CV, a portfolio, and a high school diploma*. Master applicants need to upload their Bachelor’s degree as well. The form also requires applicants to fill in some fields with personal information and to provide a passport photo.

International applicants need to have their qualifications pre-validated by the German academic service “Uni-Assist” before/while applying to CGL (Deadline: March 31).

If you went to school or have studied outside Germany, you must not only apply to Cologne Game Lab through the form on our website, but also submit a couple of documents to the Uni-Assist service in Berlin. Uni-Assist verifies the validity of your secondary school leaving certificate and university degree (if applicable) in Germany.

For more detailed information visit the following websites:

• https://www.uni-assist.de/en/?pk_campaign=332
  
• http://www.th-koeln.de/en/academics/uni-assist-document-review_8553.php
  
• https://www.th-koeln.de/en/academics/admission-requirements_5982.php
  

If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to contact our International Office.

You can pre-check whether your secondary school or university diploma qualifies you for studying in Germany at anabin.kmk.org (in German language).

Choose “Schulabschlüsse mit Hochschulzugang”, your country and then the diploma you have obtained in order to check if and where it enables you to study. If you have studied at a university before, you also need to check whether or not your university is accredited. To check that, choose “Institutionen” on the left, your country and then the university where you studied at. There you should see the university’s “status”. If it says “H+” your university is accredited. “H-” means it is not accredited.

More information on the formal requirements for studying in Germany can be found here. 

There are no tuition fees for the MA Digital Games, but every student has to pay a so called “semester fee” that includes a public transport pass for the whole semester as well as different administrative fees. Currently it is 276,60€ per semester. For more information please visit the TH Website.

The following websites offer information on scholarships:

For German students: www.stipendienlotse.de 

For international students: www.daad.de/en 

Yes. All degrees are accredited by the German Accreditation Council (Akkreditierungsrat) and granted by TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences. MA graduates in “Digital Games” with 90 ECTS.

The major challenge of game design programs is to meet the demands of the constantly shifting world of the games industry in both the shorter and longer term. Job descriptions, which outline the specific competencies required for a position, vary from company to company. Whilst individual skill sets will vary according to the individual ́s blend of creative and technical skills, graduates from CGL programs will be qualified for various roles in game development, e.g.:

• Game Designer
• Game Artist
• Game Programmer
• Interactive Designer
• Concept Author
• Stage Director
• Project Manager

Furthermore, the broad interdisciplinary education at CGL might qualify graduates for game-related positions in related fields of interest such as journalism, communication, education, and applied research.

The table below provides an overview of the main differences between the two programs. You can find further details about each program here >MA Digital Games or here >MA Game Development & Research

*The 12 months of work experience count from the moment the applicant obtained their Bachelor’s degree until the start of classes at CGL in September.

**In both cases a general student fee of approximately 265 EUR per semester applies. This fee provides students with a ticket for public transportation in the area of North Rhine-Westphalia, including the cities of Cologne, Bonn, and Düsseldorf. In the case of the M.A. in Game Development and Research, this general fee is added to the tuition fee mentioned in the table.

Once you have passed the artistic-scientific aptitude test and Uni-Assist has greenlit your degree documents, you will receive a letter of admission from the Students’ Office of TH Koeln. You can use this letter of admission for the visa application process.

As the visa appointment situation in most countries is very competitive, we would generally advise you to make the appointment as early as possible – at best once you are invited to the interview stage. You can still cancel the appointment if you do not need it any longer.

More information on the visa process can be found on the homepage of the German embassy in your country or on the homepage of TH Koeln’s International Office: https://www.th-koeln.de/en/international_office/visa_66058.php

In Germany you do not automatically receive a spot in student housing, once you are admitted into a study program. You are required to find a place by yourself in student housing or on the private market.

If you are interested in student housing, apply early for a spot. The current processing time is 6 months and more. So, if you want to have a spot in the fall, you need to apply in spring to have chance. You can apply here: https://tl1host.eu/SWK/index.html#admission

The International Office of TH Koeln provides further pointers in your search for a place to stay: https://www.th-koeln.de/en/international_office/accommodation_54136.php