Information Systems

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 Information Systems (Wirtschaftsinformatik) which is equivalent to the B.Sc. Information Systems (Wirtschaftsinformatik) taught at TUM are eligible to apply. Other programs do not qualify for this Master's degree.

Importance of Informatics and Mathematics foundations
Equivalent academic qualification in Informatics and Mathematics is very important to us. Therefor, if more than 14 credits are missing when comparing your modules to the following group of modules of the BSc. Wirtschaftsinformatik, your Bachelor's degree is not equivalent and the application will be rejected without further assessment:

• Introduction to Informatics
• Programming
• Software Engineering
• Algorithms and Data Structures
• Databases
• Computer Networks and Distributed Systems
• Linear Algebra for Informatics
• Analysis for Informatics
• Discrete Structures
• Discrete Probability Theory / Statistics

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. Information Systems 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 - Curricularanalyse - Information Systems

The scientific essay / paper, submitted along with the online application, should be approximately 1,000 words in length and must be written in English.
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:
  (Business) process automation is a key technology for digital transformation. Identify two application areas with different requirements on process automation. For one of these application areas sketch the realization of a process automation project.
• Topic 2:
  Due to Moore's law, the technical abilities of database systems improved dramatically in the last century. What are the potentials and risks of implementing in-memory databases in business applications?
• Topic 3:
  According to "Gartner Hype Cycle 2023," generative AI is going to cross the "Trough of Disillusionment" and reach the "Plateau of Productivity" within the next 2-5 years. Which factors influence the decline of the hype? What else must happen to reach the "Plateau of Productivity," and what is the impact on enterprises interested in this technology?
• Topic 4:
  Discuss the opportunities and challenges of scaling agile software development methods in large established organizations.
• Topic 5:
  Explain the concept of „serverless computing" and discuss its relevance for German online retailers of different sectors and sizes.

The statement of reasons, submitted along with the online application, should not be longer than two DIN-A4 pages and can be written in English or German.
In your statement of reasons, you should explain your specific qualification and exceptional commitment for this particular Master's program. This may include demonstration of qualifications which exceed the knowledge and qualifications obtained at undergraduate degree level, e.g. program-related vocational training, internships, stays abroad, research papers etc. You should make clear the connection between your specific qualifications and the contents of the program.
The statement of reasons 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.

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

The following modules are mandatory in the Master's Program Information Systems:  
 

• IN2309 Advanced Topics of Software Engineering (winter term)
  There is a registration deadline for this course before the start of the lecture period. Please check the respective course-website for more information. In case you can't register in time (e.g. due to pending enrollment), please contact the responsible persons of the course. 
   
• IN2087 Software Engineering for Business Applications - Master's Course: Web Application Engineering (summer term)
  There is a registration deadline for this course before the start of the lecture period. Please check the respective course-website for more information. In case you can't register in time (e.g. due to pending enrollment), please contact the responsible persons of the course.
   
• IN2105 Business Process Technologies and Management (summer term)
   

From the area of the Elective Courses, the following modules are required: 

In the area of the Support Electives 6 credits are required. Regulations for the courses of Carl von Linde Akademie can be found here Support Electives 

Information in detail you will find here Examinations

The General Academic and Examination Regulations (APSO) of TUM and the respective Program-Specific Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO) apply to all students.

(FPSO English version)

In order to complete the master's degree program, students have to write a scientific paper, namely the Master's Thesis. The processing period for the thesis is six months. It can always be registered on the 15th day of a month. You can find everything you need to know, from its planning to the submission, here: Thesis.