Application
Admission requirements for the M.Sc. AI in Society
Admission to the program “AI in Society” at the Technical University of Munich requires:
- a qualifying bachelor’s degree of at least six semesters with modules worth at least 140 ECTS credits
- proof of English proficiency (more information here)
- at least 5 ECTS credits worth of modules from mathematics or statistics passed during your previous studies
- a practical project worth at least 18 ECTS credits completed during the bachelor’s studies
- passing of the aptitude test
Optionally you may add a motivational letter of at most 800 words, in which you explain why you are particularly suitable for the master's degree program “AI in Society”. The motivation is to be justified, for example, by explanations of course-specific professional training, internships, stays abroad or subject-related further training in the bachelor's degree program that went beyond attendance times and compulsory courses. This must be documented by attachments if necessary.
Important: in case you choose to submit a motivational letter, you should additionally add a signed declaration of having prepared the letter independently and without outside help, and that the ideas taken from outside sources are marked as such.
Requirement: Practical project
During your previous studies, you should have successfully completed a practical project, usually comprising at least 18 credits. This project should have integrated engineering or scientific knowledge with insights from political, economics, or social sciences. The aim of the project should have been the practical analysis of societal challenges, demonstrating the ability to apply a blend of technical and social science perspectives.
For instance, suitable projects may have focused on areas such as:
- analyzing social media trends through data analytics
- developing or assessing educational technologies
- exploring the ethical dimensions of AI or data usage
- innovating within the smart cities framework
- implementing data-driven approaches in healthcare
If your practical project does not exactly match the above description content-wise, we highly encourage you to apply regardless.
Please also take note of the following:
We are paying much attention to the interdisciplinarity aspect, so please make sure your practical projects fulfil it. They especially need to involve a practical aspect, e.g. you should have investigated or worked on a societal problem with technical tools, for example programming, statistical analysis, or similar. Experiences that have no evident hands-on content, e.g. a seminar where you have written a literature review paper, are not sufficient!
Requirement: Aptitude test
After your submitted documents (full list see here) have been reviewed and approved, you will be invited to the aptitude test. This is a written test spanning 90 minutes, consisting of 35 multiple-choice questions. The test aims to assess your knowledge in the fields of
- politics and social science
- economics and law
- mathematics and statistics
- science and engineering
Please note that knowledge which is yet to be learned during the program itself will not be assessed in the test.
Having successfully passed the test, you will be admitted to the study program. In some cases where you don’t meet the required threshold of points, you will be invited to an additional interview.
Details about the test
As mentioned above, the contents of the test will span social sciences and well as technical subjects, and will be held online in a multiple-choice fashion.
In order to prepare for the test, we suggest you familiarize yourself with the following topics:
Social Sciences:
- General understanding of global/EU political structures and political theory
- General Sociological concepts
- General knowledge of legal concepts and global institutions
- General knowlegde of economic theory
Technical subjects:
- Basic statistics, statistical tests
- High school level maths skills
- Basic engineering knowledge e.g. physics: eletrical circuits, optics
Please understand that we can’t give you more detailed information about what exactly will be asked, since the questions will be set up shortly before the test date. We kindly ask you to refrain from questions regarding this matter. It will be useful to have an idea about the above topics.
We wish everyone taking the test the best of luck, and hope to welcome you soon as part of the AI in Society cohort!
Frequently Asked Questions
General
- „I haven’t finished my bachelor’s degree yet. Can I apply regardless?”
Yes. To apply to the MSc. AI in Society, we require you to have completed at least 140 ECTS credits worth of modules, but not to have finished your degree already. However, you will need to have finished it by the time you will be enrolling in TUM.
- “I don’t have an official English language certificate. Can I prove my English language skills any other way?”
Yes. Your knowledge of the English language is also proven in the following cases:
1) You have completed at least 15 ECTS credits worth of English taught modules*.
2) Your bachelor’s thesis was written in English*. In this case, the bachelor’s thesis module should also span at least 15 ECTS credits.
Application
- “The provided forms do not have enough fields for me to enter my modules. What should I do?”
Please duplicate the respective form, use as many fields as you need, and merge the forms back into one document.
- “How do I enter my practical projects in the application portal?”
You will be provided a form to fill in your projects, where you will need to enter the title of the project, as well as a project description. The project description should clearly and concisely explain the content of the project, as well as highlight the interdisciplinary aspect. Please do not simply copy a generic module description in this field, as it will not be evident to us what you worked on.
If your project modules are based on ECTS, please also enter the amount of ECTS for each project.
If your project modules are not based on ECTS, or you are entering projects which you completed outside of university, please leave the field for ECTS empty.
- “Can I list internships or work experience as a practical project?”
Yes. In this case, please (additionally to the form) submit a work certificate in the field for practical projects, which states the duration as well as the content of your work. Since work certificates are not credit based, we will recalculate from work hours to credits (30 hours = 1 ECTS).
- “Do I need to provide one single module worth 18 ECTS?”
No. You can also submit multiple modules which in sum make up 18 ECTS credits.
- “I am not meeting the requirement for the practical project. Can I make up for it after the application deadline?”
No. We need to have received all your documents by the application deadline (May 31st).
- “Does my bachelor’s thesis project count as a practical project?”
Yes. In this case, please make sure it adheres to our requirements (see above).
- “I want to submit my bachelor’s thesis as a practical project, but I will not be finished with it by the application deadline. Can I upload it later?”
No. We need to have received all your documents by the application deadline (May 31st).
* This needs to be apparent to us from your transcript of records or an official letter from your university verifying this. In the application form, you should upload either of these documents in the field for English language skills.
Please also see here: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/application/application-info-portal/admission-requirements/language-certificates (“Verification of English Skills by Language of Instruction”)