Informatics: Games Engineering

Type of Study: Full-time

Standard Duration of Studies: 4 semesters

Credits: 120 ECTS

Main Locations: Garching

Start of Degree Program: Summer or Winter semester

Language of Instruction: English

Costs: Semester fees, tuitions fees for Students from Non-EU Countries

Professional Profile: Informatics

The master's program in Computer Science: Games Engineering takes 4 semesters in total. In the first three semesters, in addition to the compulsory modules, the focus is on the content from the focus areas ("lines of specialization") you have chosen. As a student, you can put together your study plan flexibly and thus create an individual skills profile. Specialization lines offered are:

The master's program in Computer Science: Games Engineering is research-oriented. It broadens and deepens specialist knowledge, enables independent academic work, lays the foundation for the further development of the subject and prepares students for demanding professional work or a doctorate. It qualifies you in particular for independent and managerial activities and is characterized by scientific knowledge, promotion of independence, the ability to judge and make decisions and proximity to research.

The main goal is to complement the bachelor's degree in Computer Science: Games Engineering by continuing it to a complete university degree in Computer Science with a focus on Games Engineering, which has an appropriate professional breadth and depth. In addition, flexible deepening in at least two lines of specialization is required without reducing the qualification profile of a generalist in the field of interactive computer game technologies. The master's degree program gives students a high degree of freedom in designing their individual studies in order to enable them to get an early start in research-related and innovative practical subject areas.

The gaming market is booming. Therefore, there is a great need for qualified specialists in the field of “Informatics: Games Engineering” among all development studios. Under the catchphrase “Serious Games,” game concepts also increasingly find their way into economic sectors such as automobile, aircraft and plant engineering, medicine, banking and management. Computer Science: Games Engineering is an international subject. With a degree in Games Engineering, graduates can work and research worldwide in a variety of different application domains.

You have to apply for the Master's degree via TUMonline. After you have created your account in TUMonline, enter personal data and information about your education, and upload the required documents. The application is done completely electronically.

Prospective students with a Bachelor's degree from outside the European Union have to request a preliminary examination documentation from uni-assist (VPD) in advance.

Only in case of admission, you will have to submit some additional documents as certified copies for the enrollment.

Application for a Master's program - step by step

The following documents have to be submitted for the application (the required documents may vary depending on the applicant):

• A statement of reasons explaining why you have chosen this master’s program and TUM specifically (max. 2 pages)
• Your CV/résumé
• A scientific essay of approx. 1,000 words on a specified topic (see below)
• Form "Analysis of the Curriculum" (see below)
• Bachelor's degree certificate, including a list of courses and grades OR an official transcript of records. Documents not issued in German or English must be translated and notarized by a sworn translator.
• Curriculum (module descriptions, course catalog or syllabus) of the underlying university degree; this document is very important for the check of the academic qualification!
• Proof of your English language proficiency
• GRE or Gate score for applicants with a B.Sc. degree from Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Pakistan (original scorecard or have the score transmitted directly via ETS)
• Preliminary documentation from uni-assist for all applicants with a Bachelor's degree from outside the EU/EEA
• APS certificate for applicants with a Bachelor's from China, Vietnam or India
• Certificates from professional training or additional qualifications related to the program (e.g. participation in research competitions, internships, etc.) (not mandatory)
• A passport photo
• A copy of your passport

International applicants:

Attention: If you did not obtain your Bachelor's degree in a country within the EU/EEA, you have to upload a preliminary documentation from uni-assist (VPD). In order to get the VPD, you must send the required documents (some as notarized copies!) to uni-assist via post! Uni-assist still needs the documents in paper. As the issuance of the VPD can take up to 4 weeks, we highly recommend sending the necessary documents to uni-assist very early. More information on Preliminary Documentation (VPD) by uni-assist.

Please do check the requirements for Notarization, especially for translations!
Special requirements for documents apply for certain countries.

The admission office checks if your uploaded documents are complete and correct. When this is the case, the department can access your application and forward it to the admission committee. The admission committee will decide whether your application is admitted, rejected or processed to the second stage of the aptitude assessment.

Students from Non-EU countries:

At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), tuition fees are charged for international students from third countries who newly enroll in a degree program starting in the winter semester of 2024/25.

Preliminary documentation from uni-assist (VPD)

Applicants who did not obtain their qualification for postgraduate studies (usually a bachelor's degree) in a country within the EU/EEA must apply for a preliminary documentation (VPD) from uni-assist, additionally to the TUM application.

What documents must be submitted to uni-assist?

• Filled-in application form for VPD (see Downloads)
• a copy of your degree certificate (if available)
• a copy of your transcript of records
• a translation, given that the original documents have not been issued in either German or English
• if necessary: Certificate of the German Evaluation Center (APS)

You don't have to submit an entire application for a specific program to uni-assist, you only have to apply for the general preliminary documentation (VPD).

An application for a VPD via uni-assist alone does not qualify as an application for a degree program at TUM.

GRE and GATE

Applicants with a Degree from Bangladesh, China, India, Iran or Pakistan have to submit a GRE (General) Test. We have defined required minimum scores, lower scores will not be accepted!

The required scores are:
Verbal reasoning: (will not be taken into account anymore)
Quantitative reasoning: 164
Analytical writing: 4.0
The Institution Code: 7806, Department: 5199 ("all other departments").

Alternatively, students can submit a scorecard of the Indian GATE test (Computer Science; for M.Sc. CSE the Mechanical Engineering Test will also be accepted). The minimal qualifying score of the respective year is necessary.

Certificate from the German Evaluation Center (Akademischen Prüfstelle, APS)

Applicants with an undergraduate degree from China, India and Vietnam have to submit a certificate from the German Evaluation Center (APS).

Students with a Bachelor’s degree in Informatics: Games Engineering are eligible to apply. We will check your degree for equivalence with the B.Sc. Informatics: Games Engineering taught at TUM.

Applicants also have to provide a proof of sufficient English language proficiency.

Stage 1 of the Aptitude Assessment

The following criteria will be evaluated in stage 1:

1. Academic Qualification: The modules of your Bachelor's degree will be checked for equivalence with the B.Sc. Informatics: Games Engineering of TUM. The prerequisite modules are listed in the document "Analysis of the Curriculum" (see below).
2. Grade: The grade of your best courses in the amount of 120 Credits resp. 2/3 of Bachelor's degree credits will be considered for this criteria. You must indicate your best courses in the Excel sheet "Analysis of the Curriculum" (see below). After filling the form, upload it as a PDF(!) in your application in your TUMonline account.
3. Scientific Essay / Scientific Paper: see below
4. Statement of Reasons: see below

According to your score, you can be directly admitted, rejected or invited to the second stage of the aptitude assessment.

Stage 2 of the Aptitude Assessment

The second stage of the aptitude assessment consists of a 20-30 minute interview with the admission committee. You will be invited at least one week before the interview date. After the interview, we will inform you as soon as possible about the result.

Please download and complete the form for the analysis of curriculum, and then upload it in your TUMonline application!

Form - Analysis of the Curriculum - Informatics: Games Engineering

The scientific essay / paper, submitted along with the online application, should be approximately 1,000 words in length and can be written in English or German
Your scientific paper / essay has to introduce the topic, discuss it, and lead to a logical conclusion. Please use relevant data and scientific literature to support your argumentation. Ideas that are not your own must be identified as such! The term "essay" can be misleading - we require a scientific paper with proper citation! Your sources of information must be listed at the end. The essay must be your own work and you have to write it without any assistance. We reserve the right to check the essay for authorship of the applicant and the use of unauthorized tools.

You have to choose one of the following topics:

• Topic 1:
  The role of computer games and their influence on society

• Topic 2:
  Gamification – how concepts and techniques from computer games are going to affect other applications

• Topic 3:
  Multi-sensory devices and interaction in modern computer games

Analysis of the Curriculum

1. At my university, we do not use credits at all. What should I do?

We assume that all courses are weighted equally. You can indicate one credit for each course. In this case, each course is of the same weight. The total number of credits then is the total number of courses that were part of your study program.

2. At my university, we have a letter grade scheme. What should I do?

For the grade calculation, the Excel sheet does not acept letters, you have to indicate numbers. You can use one number for each letter, i.e. if your grade scheme is A+, A, B, C, D and E = Fail, you have A+=1, A=2, B=3, C=4 and D=5. The highest possible grade is 1, the lowest grade to pass the course is 4.
If your grading scheme is A+, A, B+, B etc., you have A+=1, A=2, B+=3, B=4 etc.

3. I have more than one degree. Can I indicate all courses and grades in the Excel sheet?

If you are applying for M.Sc. Robotics, Cognition and Intelligence, you can only specify courses and grades from a single Bachelor's program for the grade calculation. This must be the Bachelor's degree that qualifies for the Master's degree and that you have indicated in TUMonline as your entrance qualification for the Master's program.
If you are applying for M.Sc. Information Systems or M.Sc. Informatics: Games Engineering, you can enter courses from more than one program in part 2 (matching your courses with courses at TUM), but only courses and grades from one program (the master's entrance qualification) in part 3 (calculating the grade).
You have to prove all entered grades and credits by uploading a corresponding Transcript of Records of all courses.

Postponing of the study start

1. I have been admitted, but I have to postpone the start of my studies. Is that possible?

Yes, you can postpone the start of your studies. After reapplying (!) via TUMonline within the regular application periods, you can receive a new admission for the respective semester. The new application works as follows:

You enter a new application in TUMonline and upload an updated CV (!). The rest of the documents must also be uploaded again, but here you can use the same documents which you submitted for the first application. This means that you do not have to write a new essay and a new statement of reasons, but you can upload the documents from the first application again here.

Please make sure that you actually upload a document for all requested documents, otherwise your application will remain on the status "incomplete" and will not be processed. If you have uploaded your application documents completely and correctly within the official deadline, you will automatically receive a new admission.

2. I have postponed my study start and received an admission for the following semester. Which documents do I need to submit for enrollment?

The documents you need to submit for enrollment are listed in your TUMonline account. You can also find information here: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/application/enrollment-info-portal/enrollment

Please note that some required documents must be submitted in paper, and that some documents have to be submitted as certified copies for the enrollment:
https://www.tum.de/en/studies/application/application-info-portal/notarization

You must complete the following compulsory modules amounting to 30 ECTS:

• IN2015 Image Synthesis (4V, 5 ECTS)
• IN2107 Master Seminar (2S, 5 ECTS)
• CIT4210000 Advanced Games-Specific Practical Course (“Games Lab”), (6P 10 ECTS)

In the scientific master's seminar, you will independently familiarize yourself with a new area of ​​games engineering. This includes a literature search, the preparation of a summary of the most important facts and their presentation in a lecture.

In addition, in the Games Lab you will have to design, implement and test a game in teams of 3 or 4 students that integrates elements of your specialty lines into the game in a novel way.

More information about master lab courses and games labs

Students must choose two lines of specialization from the following list. You must earn at least 10 credits on each line. Together both lines must have at least 24 credits in total. You can, however, additionally earn more credits from either these two lines or other lines. What you earn more here, you need to earn less in the “free” electives in Informatics area. 

• Computer Graphics and Animation
• Interaction and Communication
• Hardware oriented Programming
• Autonomous Systems
• Game Theory and Algorithmic Economics
• Internet Models, Technologies, Applications
• Visual Computing

Up to 30 Credits you can deliberately choose from:

• any modules out of any line of specialization or
• any subject area of the catalog of elective modules of the Master Informatics (also possible: up to 6 ECTS modules of LMU of the fields of Media-Informatics or Human Computer Interaction can be taken) or from
• IN2169 Forschungsarbeit unter Anleitung (Guided Research, 6P, 10 ECTS)
• IN2377 Concepts of C++ Programming (2V+2Ü, 5 ECTS)

Current module catalogues can be found on TUMOnline

In the area of support electives, 6 ECTS must be earned from the support electives catalog of computer science. Details such as regulations for language courses and courses at the Carl von Linde Academy can be found under Support Electives.

Important: the number of selectable modules is continually expanded by the examination board and includes significantly more modules than are listed in the FPSO. (see Support Electives.). 

For detailed information, see Exams. The TUM General Examination and Study Regulations (APSO) and the respective subject examination and study regulations (FPSO) apply to all students:

[To complete a master's degree, students must write a scientific paper: the master's thesis. You have six months to do this. Registration can always be done on the 15th of the month. You can find everything you need to know from planning to submission under final thesis.