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Application - Requirements

 General Information - Please read carefully and check the FAQ before writing E-Mails!

  • Please make sure to scroll down to the bottom of this page to the download materials!
  • An overview of all documents necessary for the whole application process is available here.
  • Please make sure you read it carefully and that you prepare all required documents thoroughly. 
  • ONLINE application by March 1st: All applicants have to apply to the M.Sc. Psychology: Learning Sciences office (more details under point 1 below). This is the application to the program and decides about your acceptance or rejection to the program (the Master's Office reviews applications in terms of the eligibility and fit to the Program)!
  • HARDCOPY Application by May 31: International applicants have to additionally apply to the LMU International Office (IO; more details under point 2 below) via the Master's Program Office. This is only a preliminary check that there are no enrolment obstacles in case of acceptance to the program (legal review of documents). This procedure cannot replace the online application to the program! Hardcopy applications without a corresponding online application are not valid and are rejected.
    Please note: International students do not get an extension until May 31 if they missed the online application deadline March 01!
  • If your final Bachelor certificate is still pending, send the latest version of your transcript of records and an official document from your university, which confirms that your graduation will occur in the summer before your intended program start. 
  • Any questions? Check our FAQ (please check the general and specific FAQ)!

 

1.    ONLINE Application to the M.Sc. Psychology: Learning Sciences Program
       by March 1st  (Mandatory for all applicants)

Document submission occurs exclusively online via the Online Application Tool (available Mid January - March 01, 11:59pm (UTC+1) ). We do not accept late submissions (in case of technical issues shortly before the submission deadline, you must document them and make them known to the coordination before the submission deadline).
If documents are issued in a language other than German or English, a certified translation of the document is required.

The following application documents are required in PDF format:

  1. Curriculum vitae with up-to-date information
  2. A copy of the bachelor’s certificate (or equivalent).
    Applicants who have not yet finished their bachelor’s studies are required to upload a letter from their university, confirming the expected date of graduation instead.
  3. Transcript of records from the bachelor’s program, which includes all completed courses and obtained grades. By the time of application, students must have completed the majority of the courses specified in their program curriculum.
  4. A Prior Knowledge Table (for template see bottom of this page) which indicates your prior knowledge and experience in the following domains. It does not matter from which degree/courses/experiences this prior knowledge comes from. Please state ALL courses that addressed one or more of the three domains mentioned below.
    These domains encompass:
    - Learning Sciences: Theoretical background, methods, and empirical findings concerning different aspects of learning and teaching in different educational contexts. These aspects encompass e.g. cognition, emotion, development, instruction, training, excellence, achievement, transfer, counseling, education, didactics, neuro-cognitive and clinical perspectives.
    I
    n this field you need to prove at least 20 ECTS (1 ECTS credit equals 30 hours of work - including preparation, in-class time, homework, and examination); 30 or more ECTS credits are recommended for good chances of acceptance
    - Scientific Research Methods and Statistics: You should be familiar with elements, key terms and processes of research designs and strategies as well as statistics (descriptive and inferential) and preferably statistical software (e.g. SPSS). Concepts which refer to Descriptive Statistics include Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion, Frequency Distribution, Z-Scores among others. Key Terms which refer to inferential statistics are Hypotheses-testing, One- and Two-Tailed Tests, Bivariate Correlation and Regression, Method of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), One-Way Independent ANOVA and Factorial ANOVA, t-test and t-distribution and Chi-Square Tests among others.
    Again, you must prove at least 20 ECTS in this field; 30 or more ECTS credits are recommended for good chances of acceptance
    - Academic Skills: Academic skills refer to the skills necessary to find, process, understand, interpret, evaluate, discuss and present research. 
     These skills might have been taught in courses explicitly, or might have been obtained in other classes implicitly. Either way, you need to prove at least 10 ECTS in this field; 20 or more ECTS credits are recommended for good chances of acceptance 
    - If  you do not reach the minimally required number of ECTS credits in any of the above mentioned three domains, unfortunately your application will result in a rejection!
    - If you fill in the table and leave any of the columns empty (i.e., you do not assign any credits to e.g. Learning Sciences), this will result in a rejection!
    - If you miss to provide proof for the workload associated with your university's credits and/or how they are converted into ECTS credits, unfortunately your application will result in a rejection (check the specific FAQ for more details)!
    - If you do not use the template for documenting your prior knowledge and experience (but provide other documents,  change the layout so it cannot be efficiently scored anymore by e.g. deleting columns, etc.), this will result in a rejection!
  5. Essay (ca. 500 words) in English. It should address which specific skills, qualifications, and interests qualify you as an applicant to study in the Psychology Master’s Program in the Learning Sciences.
  6. An elaborate analysis of a specific article from a scientific journal in accordance with an assessment sheet issued by the Department of Psychology. The task of this analysis is to answer questions regarding the article available on the application tool
    Further information on the analysis and access to the specific article is available only on the Online Application Tool (Tab: Scientific Understanding). The tool opens in Mid January, you will not get access to it earlier! This is an essential application criterion and insufficient performance may result in a rejection.
  7. Proof of English proficiency of at least Upper B2 Level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for non-native English language speakers.  
    Note: German proficiency is no requirement, as our program is exclusively taught and assessed in English. Different information on the International Office's website can be ignored (they apply to German programs exclusively).

            Correspondence table for upper B2 level of English proficiency
            The minimum required score is reported for each language test or higher-education examination.

IELTS TOEFL CBT TOEFL IBT CAE
(post-2015)
FCE Englisch- Abitur Duolingo
6.5 211 79 177 B 10 Punkte or B2 105

This list is not exhaustive and any other proof of English proficiency will be evaluated on a case-to-case basis by the selection committee. Usually previous studies conducted in English are sufficient, but ONLY if you do provide some form of proof for it during the online application! Additionally, your English skills will be validated during the interview.

Please consult the general FAQ if any questions remain.

 2. Application to the International Office via the Master's Program by May 15
      (Mandatory for all international applicants not holding a German citizenship and/or a German university entry qualification certificate)

  • If in doubt, please check whether you are considered an international student here: https://www.lmu.de/en/study/degree-students/applications-for-admission/where-do-i-apply/index.html 
  • Please send all necessary documents as hardcopies to the Master's Program Office via postal services by May 31 the latest (if possible, we recommend waiting with sending the documents until you get your final result typically Mid-May):
    • Postal address:
      Master’s Program in the Learning Sciences
      c/o Studiengangskoordination (PF 64)
      Department für Paedagogik und Psychologie
      Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen
      Leopoldstrasse 13
      80802 Muenchen
      GERMANY
  • Please check the "Application - FAQ and docs" site and especially the documents "Overview of all necessary documents" and "FAQ- General Application Information", and "FAQ - Specific Application Requirements" for information on the necessary documents, tipps and tricks
  • Please include ONLY the relevant documents (as stated in the document)! This means, do not include unnecessary documents such as: elementary school certificates, print-out of the online application, TOEFL test results, recommendation letters, work or internship confirmations, ...
  • Please make sure to send your documents for the International Office solely to the Master Program’s office. If you are accepted, we will finalize your documents and forward them to the International Office directly! This ensures fast communication and support by the program. Do not send your documents to both offices either!
  • If you are not able to have all necessary documents ready by May 31 (deadline), please contact the Program Coordinator to arrange further steps. If your hardcopies still arrive in time, you may wait for results from the review phase/the interview before sending them.
    For all applicants who were accepted to the Program, we will check the documents for completeness, add the Program's acceptance letter to the package and hand it over to the International Office well before their deadline (July 15).
    Sending the documents to the Program ensures that your documents definitely arrived at the LMU (we confirm arrival) and are processed according to their priority (especially important for applicants, who need a visa).
    If you do not send your documents to the Program's Office but directly to the IO, we will not be able to help you with the application process in the International Office, if any problems occur.
  • Since the Psychology Master’s Program in the Learning Sciences is offered in English, there is no need for proof of German language fluency.
  • If you want to double-check our information on the necessary documents, information about the required documents can be found on the International Office official webpage: https://www.lmu.de/en/study/degree-students/applications-for-admission/index.html 

Downloads of all documents necessary for the application process