Preselection procedure

In order to improve the quality of the master's program in architecture, the department has introduced a mandatory pre-selection procedure for which

1. work samples
2. a curriculum vitae and
3. a letter of motivation

must be submitted. These documents serve as proof of subject-specific aptitude and must be submitted by all applicants for a Master's study place in architecture. Without the obligatory participation in the pre-selection procedure, an application for a Master's study place in architecture is not possible.

The legally binding framework conditions of the preselection procedure can be found in the subject examination regulations for the Master 's degree program in Architecture of the Department of Architecture Urban Planning Landscape Planning dated May 20, 2020.

• You must demonstrate your subject-specific suitability for the master's degree program in architecture by submitting self-selected work samples . 
• A minimum of twelve pages to a maximum of 18 pages of work samples must be submitted in DIN A4 landscape format .
• If work samples are submitted in a larger format (e.g. DIN A 3, double pages, ...), these pages will be counted several times accordingly (i.e. as two pages with work samples, for example).
• Only those pages on which (exclusively) work samples can be seen will be considered, i.e. cover sheets or tables of contents will not be counted. Also, the letter of motivation and the CV do not count as work samples. It is strongly recommended to consistently separate the individual parts to be submitted (work samples, letter of motivation and CV) and not to combine them on individual pages.
• If work samples were created in group work, all persons involved in the work must be named and the presentation should focus on the applicant's own contribution to the work.

The letter of motivation should include:

1. Reasons for applying for a place in the Master's program in Architecture at the University of Kassel as well as personal expectations for this program,
2. concrete information about specific study interests and intended focus with reference to the structure, contents, master's majors and objectives of the Kassel Master's Program in Architecture.

The letter of motivation must be written in German and should have a length of approximately 3,000 characters (including spaces).
The motivation for the application should be described according to points 1 and 2, each with approx. 1,500 characters (including spaces). 

• If it is discovered during the examination that individual parts of the required application documents are missing, the examination will be discontinued and the applicant will not be admitted to the further procedure. In this case, the applicant will receive a formal notice of rejection.
• The individual members of the selection committee evaluate all criteria independently and the criteria are weighted equally.
• The total score is the arithmetic mean of the individual scores, rounded up to whole numbers of points.
• The pre-selection for the admission procedure is passed if at least 35 points out of 50 possible points are achieved.
• In case of passing the pre-selection, the result is valid for two semesters (for two application periods).

The documents for participation in the pre-selection process must be submitted via the upload portal.

Register in the upload portal. This requires you to enter your first and last name, your current e-mail address, and date of birth. At the end of registration, enter a password of your own choice and accept the terms of use and privacy policy.

Upload portal

After successful registration you will receive an activation link and a personal registration number (ID) by e-mail. 

If you should not receive an e-mail with an activation link, this is related to the e-mail address you provided. In this case, repeat the registration and make sure that the e-mail address is spelled correctly.

Using your email address and password, you can now log in to the upload portal and upload your documents. During the upload process, the name of the submitted PDF file will be changed: The new file name will be formed from the personal registration number (ID) and your last name.

Upload the requested documents in a PDF with the maximum size of 15 MB . Other file formats are not accepted.

After uploading, you can independently open your PDF file and check whether you have submitted the documents in the form you intended. The review of the submitted documents by the selection committee will take place only after the submission deadline.

It is possible to replace the already uploaded PDF file with an updated version. In this case, the already existing PDF file will be overwritten with the updated version, therefore it is imperative that all requested documents are combined in one PDF file.

After the successful update, a confirmation e-mail about the receipt of the PDF file will be sent automatically.

Documents for participation in the pre-selection procedure that are not submitted via the upload portal cannot be considered in the procedure.

The evaluation criteria can be found in the subject examination regulations for the Master 's degree program in Architecture of the Department 06 Architecture - Urban Planning - Landscape Planning dated May 20, 2020 §7 Proof of subject-specific suitability.

The submitted documents are reviewed and evaluated by a selection committee. Only if the documents have been submitted completely and on time, the individual parts will be given evaluation points. Important aspects for the evaluation are:

• Quality of the work: Conceptual strength, design quality and level of elaboration.
  Technical aspects will be evaluated as well as epistemological interest and plausibility of the solution, architectural quality and innovative content. The work samples should provide a representative cross-section of the applicant's own work to date.
• Presentation and graphic layout: Structure of the presentation and choice of means of presentation. 
  Comprehensibility (content and structure), aesthetic quality (graphic design) and linguistic expressiveness (textual design) are assessed.

• If it is discovered during the examination that individual parts of the required application documents are missing, the examination will be discontinued and the applicant will not be admitted to the further procedure. In this case, the applicant will receive a formal notice of rejection.
• If the required number of pages of work samples is not met or exceeded, the applicant will receive a formal notice of rejection.
• Individual members of the selection committee will score all criteria independently and the criteria will be weighted equally.
• The total score is the arithmetic mean of the individual scores, rounded up to whole numbers of points.
• The pre-selection for the admission procedure is passed if at least 35 points out of 50 possible points are achieved.
• In case of passing the pre-selection, the result is valid for two semesters (for two application periods).

The following criteria will be evaluated:

a) Concept of the work samples: Each member of the selection committee will award a maximum of 20 points for the coherent conception and, if applicable, execution of the work presented in accordance with high professional standards, in particular taking into account the aspects of architectural and design quality and innovative content.

b) Presentation and graphic layout of the work samples: Each member of the selection committee will award a maximum of 20 points for the appropriate choice of the means of presentation with special consideration of the aspects of expediency, clarity and comprehensibility (content and structure) as well as aesthetic quality (in the case of graphic means of presentation) or linguistic expressiveness (in the case of text as means of presentation).

A maximum of 40 points can be awarded for the work samples by each member of the selection committee.

Four points are awarded per criterion for the evaluation of the motivation letter. In addition, two points will be awarded for correct spelling, fluency of expression and correct form, i.e. a maximum of ten points from each member of the selection committee.

Letters of motivation that fall short of the required character set of 3,000 characters (including spaces) by 25% (2250 characters or less) or exceed it by 25% (3750 characters or more) will not be considered in the pre-selection process. In this case, the applicant will receive a formal rejection notice.

The review and evaluation of the submitted documents starts only after the end of the submission period and takes about 6 weeks. As soon as the pre-selection process is completed, you will be informed by e-mail that a notice has been deposited for you in the upload portal. In the notification you will be informed about the achieved score.

With the notification that you have successfully passed the preselection procedure, you can nowapply for the master's program in architecture . It is essential that you attach a copy of thenotification to the application documents , otherwise your application for admission to the Master's program cannot be considered.

All candidates, who have not passed the pre-selection procedure, may participate in the next pre-selection procedure. There is no restriction on participation. For a renewed participation, a revision of the documents is recommended. You must also register again via the upload portal in order to upload your documents.

Pre-selection procedures always take place at the following times:
01.04. to 30.04. for the next winter semester
01.10. to 31.10. for the next summer semester