1. General Information
In order to enrol for the Masters Program in English Studies at the LMU it is necessary to have successfully completed the selection procedure. The basic admission prerequisite is a grade of at least 2.5, or an international grade equivalent thereof, in a previous university degree (e.g. Bachelor) in English Studies.
You do not have to provide formal evidence of knowledge of German, but please be aware that you will need sound knowledge of German in order to find your way around our university and about town.
For the winter semester 2026/27 the application deadline is June 1st 2026.
The application deadline for summer semesters (only for applicants transferring from other universities who have already accrued credits that can be recognised for the Masters program) is always Jan 10. Please get in contact with Prof. Ruge by then (but better as early as possible) and provide relevant transcripts with previous credits that can be recognised for our MA English Studies. Regularly, i.e. without previous credits, it is only possible to begin our MA program in the winter semester.
(Please note: Most other degree programs offered in English Studies - Bachelor of Arts and most of our teacher educaton programs - have a different admission procedure, the so-called Aptitude Assessment Procedure or EFV. Please be careful not to confuse the two. The information on this page is only relevant for the English Studies MA)
2. Application
Applications for admission to the selection procedure for the Masters program in English Studies should be submitted electronically via our
online application platform [accessible here from May 1 onward for applications for the winter semester]
between May 1 and June 1 (for enrolment in the following winter semester). In exceptional cases (i.e. students who have already completed one (or more) semesters of a Masters program at other universities) candidates can also apply for enrolment in the summer semester in which case applications must be submitted by Jan 10 - in that case, please contact Prof. Ruge in time. No applications can be accepted after the deadline. Your application should include the following:
- your complete personal information in the online application form
- a curriculum vitae in tabular format
- a scan of your first academic degree (if necessary with an official translation)
- and/or, if this is not part of your degree certificate or if your first degree is not yet completed, a list of your credits to date (Transcript of Records), if necessary with an official translation
- a 1,000-word essay in English on one out of several topics to be announced on the application platform from May 1 onward
- proof of your competence in English on level C 1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (see below). If you cannot provide a certificate, you will be admitted to a 25-minute written proficiency test (C-Test) in phase 2 of the procedure. In that case please get in contact with Prof. Ruge before submitting your application.
The following minimum scores are required for English language certificates:
- TOEFL (internet-based): 100
- TOEFL (computer-based): 250
- TOEFL (paper-based): 600
- Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency: C
- Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English: C
- IELTS: 7 points
All candidates who submit complete applications by the stipulated deadline, who fulfill the prerequisite of a first degree in English Studies with a grade of 2.5 or above and who have not had any information from us to the contrary are admitted to the selection procedure.
3. Procedure
The selection procedure consists of two stages.
At the first stage, the initial prerequisite is the final grade of your first degree. Your first degree must be in a course in (or closely related to) English Studies (not, e.g., in "Translation"), and the grade must be 2.5 or better (or the equivalent thereof). We also need proof of your competence in English at level C 1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). And you will need to submit an essay (critical review) in English (about 1,000 words) on one out of several topics which will be announced on our application platform (see below) during the application period (May 1 until June 1). Your essay will be evaluated by the selection commission. If a decision can be made at this stage already whether you can be accepted or not, the result will be communicated to you in writing.
If not, you will be informed that your application will enter stage 2 of the procedure.
NB: All candidates who enter stage 2 of the procedure (apart from those who fail the C-Test, see below) will be invited to a selection interview.
If you did not provide a C 1 English language certificate in phase 1 (in which case you need to get in touch with Prof. Ruge before submitting your application!), you will usually take a written proficiency test (C-Test). This will be held at the department on
Wednesday July 22 2026 at 8:30 a.m.
Please come to the foyer, Schellingstraße 3 front building at that time. Due to place capacities in our media lab there may be delays, so please make sure you have enough time. Here are two demo versions of the language test:
this one demonstrates how the c-test works, based on a shorter passage;
this one (PDF, 123 KB) has texts of the same length as in our 'real' test, i.e. four texts with 25 gaps each. In this PDF you can also find important information on the test format and rules. We strongly recommend that you first work with this demo version before opening the file with the solutions (PDF, 103 KB).
The selection committee applies the results of the test as follows:
- less than 77 points: candidate is not accepted to the Masters program in English Studies.
You will be informed about the result of the written proficiency test after all the tests are over.
The selection interview is held online by members of the selection committee and lasts approximately 15 minutes per person. There may be group interviews with up to three candidates. In this interview, your competence in English Studies will of course be relevant.
The result of the selection procedure will be communicated to applicants in writing.
Candidates who are invited to attend the second stage of the selection procedure and do not turn up at the stipulated date/time are deemed "not suitable" and are therefore not accepted for the Masters program in English Studies.
Candidates who can convince the selection committee in writing that they are unable to attend for reasons beyond their control will be given an alternative date. NB: this written notification must be submitted BEFORE the actual test date.
Repetition:
Candidates who are not successful in the selection procedure are allowed to repeat their application one more time at the next possible date, one year later (application deadline June 1). A further repetition is not possible. Candidates who choose to repeat their application should note that a complete application needs to be submitted again by the stipulated deadline.
4. MA Admission Procedure and Enrolment at LMU
The selection procedure is merely a requirement for enrolment at the LMU, but it is a different process. Please get information on how to enrol on the relevant LMU pages.
For this reason no further documentation (e.g. certificate of exmatriculation, health insurance certificates) is needed at this stage. The recognition of credits from a Masters program in English Studies at a different university is not part of the selection procedure. This is done on an individual basis, please contact the English Studies academic counseling for that.
In addition to the successful completion of this selection procedure, the usual further requirements apply in order to be able to register for studies at this university (e.g. the legal adequacy of your first degree). This means that a positive result in our selection procedure does not automatically guarantee you a place at the LMU. For information on further requirements please contact the LMU International Office (international students) or Office of the University Registrar.
5. International students
International students also need to apply to the International Office (Referat für Internationale Angelegenheiten) - please mind the deadlines!
The International Office has issued guidelines in which all the steps required for international students are described.
Please be aware that the English Department's selection procedure described above refers to step 1 only.
In order to be allowed to register at the LMU for the MA English Studies program (step 4), you need to have two letters of acceptance: the letter of acceptance from the International Office (steps 2 and 3) PLUS the letter of acceptance issued by the English Department (step 1) which you get AFTER you have successfully completed our selection procedure.
Legal basis of the admission procedure:
The legal basis for the admission procedure is the statute concerning the Eignungsverfahren für den Masterstudiengang English Studies (PDF, 37 KB) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München of May 27 2020.
Contact:
If you have any questions related to the selection procedure for the Masters program in English Studies, please contact master-english-studies@anglistik.uni-muenchen.de or Prof. Ruge. If you have general questions about the Masters program, please contact our academic counseling advisors.