Study option-specific Admission Procedure and Evaluation Criteria
Applicants meeting Aalto’s general eligibility criteria for master's studies will be evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria that has been decided in advance for each study option. The applications to Master’s Programme in New Media - Game Design and Production will be evaluated based on the following criteria.
Phase I
Suitability
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Assessed area
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Applicant’s overall suitability to the study option, based on background, experience, motivation, and commitment for studies.
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Admission requirements
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- Strong professional interest towards game design and/or game development
- Insight into design and/or research related to games
- Demonstrated competence in a skill relevant to making games, e.g., visual art, programming, sound design, creative writing.
- Relevant previous studies
- Fluent English (both oral & written)
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Method of demonstrating competence
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Motivation letter, CV, transcript of records (courses and grades), and other materials (e.g, links to an online portfolio, videos of completed games, Github, Artstation…) will be evaluated as a whole.
Note that if you provide links in a .pdf file, the links may be broken when the files are processed by the admission system. Thus, full URLs must be visible to ensure that the evaluators can access them. Please also note that the evaluators will not be able to download and install any software.
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Phase II
Suitability
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Assessed area
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Applicant’s capability for independent creative work, analytical thinking, and communicating the results.
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Admission requirements
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- Insight into game design
- Creative ideation and problem solving
- Analytical thinking and critical reflection
- Capability to document and communicate one’s work clearly and efficiently
- Fluent written English
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Method of demonstrating competence
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Second phase assignments
The assignments are revised each year, but it is reasonable to expect, e.g., a board/card game design exercise with a given theme, and writing a short essay.
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Suitability
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Assessed area
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Applicant’s further suitability to the study option, motivation, and commitment for studies/communication skills/ assessment of second-phase assignments
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Admission requirements
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- Strong professional interest towards game design and/or game production
- Insight into new media design and research related to games
- Demonstrated competence in a skill relevant to making games, e.g., visual art, programming, sound design, creative writing.
Fluent English (both oral & written)
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Method of demonstrating competence
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Interview, portfolio
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Evaluation process
The applicants will be first evaluated based on Aalto’s general eligibility requirements. Applicants meeting the general eligibility criteria for master's studies will be evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria that has been decided in advance for each study option.
The selection process for applicants who meet the general eligibility criteria comprises of two phases.
Phase I
In Phase I, the applications are evaluated based on the following criteria
- Suitability
- Strong professional interest towards game design and/or game production
- Insight into new media design and research related to games
- Demonstrated competence in a skill relevant to making games, e.g., visual art, programming, sound design, creative writing.
- Fluent English (both oral & written)
These will be assessed based on the materials sent by the applicant, including a CV and a motivation letter.
Only the applicants who fulfill the requirements/are ranked highest in the preliminary evaluation will be invited to phase II in the selection process.
Phase II
In Phase II, the evaluation is based on the following criteria
- Suitability/Second-phase assignments
- Suitability/Interview, portfolio
- Strong professional interest towards game design and/or game production
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- Insight into new media design and research related to games
- Demonstrated competence in a skill relevant to making games, e.g., visual art, programming, sound design, creative writing.
- Fluent English (both oral & written)
These will be further assessed based on preliminary exercises that applicants have to make in the second phase and an interview, where also a portfolio of earlier work is presented.
Part of the applicants are invited to Phase II. The invitation to Phase II will be send to the applicants at latest 7 days in advance.
In Phase II the applicants should complete a set of preliminary exercises that will be send to them before the interviews. In the interview, the applicants should be prepared to present and discuss a portfolio of their previous work and projects. There will also be other questions asked about the applicants and their preliminary exercises.
The final selection decisions will be made based on the evaluation conducted in Phase II.
Study-option-specific documents requested
The documents requested from all applicants are listed on the Aalto University website (https://www.aalto.fi/en/study-at-aalto/applying-to-masters-programmes). In addition, applicants to this study option are requested to provide the following study-option-specific documents:
Portfolio
A portfolio is not needed in the first stage, but if the applicant has one, it’s good to provide the link for us in case we want to get more information about the applicant.
CV
Applications must include the applicant’s CV (single PDF-file) indicating personal data, educational background, work experience, exhibitions, publications and articles, awards and grants, study trips and positions of trust. As a game applicant, please also add links to videos or other audiovisual documentation of your games or related work such as interactive computer graphics. Note that we will not be able to download and test executable software binaries or source code.
Motivation letter
Applicants must write up a motivation letter of a maximum of 4000 characters in length, explaining why they wish to apply to the degree programme in question, what their particular interests are in the field, and what their hopes and expectations are regarding studies at Aalto University. The plan should explain the applicant’s personal strengths, areas of interest, professional visions and objectives.
Language of application documents
Application documents must be written in one of the following languages: Finnish (Swedish) or English.