We are pleased that you have chosen the Bachelor’s program in Communication Design at the Faculty of Design in Würzburg. The application process for the winter semester 2025-26 consists of three steps:

1. Enroling in the Program

Here, you apply for a spot in the Bachelor’s program in Communication Design at the Faculty of Design at THWS. Without completing the application process for the program, your aptitude assessment cannot be carried out.
https://campusportal.thws.de

2. Registration for portfolio review

In addition to applying for the program, you need to register once again for the aptitude assessment process of the Faculty of Design.
https://bewerbung.fg.thws.de

3. Upload Your Portfolio

Send us your application portfolio in PDF format via WeTransfer to mappe.fg@thws.de.

To successfully apply, all three steps must be completed during the application period for the winter semester 2025-26.

Application Period Winter Semester 2025-26:
May 1st – May 31st, 2025
(12:00 PM noon)

In the event of a positive evaluation of your portfolio, you will be invited to a one-day practical exam with an interview on campus at Sanderheinrichsleitenweg on June 23rd or June 24th, 2025.

Please Note:
All communication regarding your application process will be done via email. Please check your inbox regularly and carefully so you can respond to any inquiries or issues promptly.
Please read through all the information about our application process on this page carefully.

General Requirements

To study Communication Design at the Faculty of Design in Würzburg, you must have one of the following qualifications:

• A general higher education entrance qualification
• A subject-specific higher education entrance qualification
• A university of applied sciences entrance qualification
• A completed journeyman’s or master’s examination plus a consultation meeting. However, this profession must be from a field related to the degree program (media design, photography, etc.).

Registration for the program is done through the Campus Portal of the Student Services (HSST) at THWS:
https://campusportal.thws.de

If you have questions about your application or foreign school diplomas, please directly contact HSST. Your contact person there is Stefan Schäfer (stefan.schaefer@thws.de).

Please note:
Your certificate can be uploaded at a later time. However, you should inquire with your school in advance about when the certificates will be issued.
Complete your application entirely. Without a complete registration, your application for the program— even if you pass the portfolio and aptitude assessments successfully— is not valid.

Content

We are interested in the full spectrum of your manual and creative skills: drawings, photographs, collages, objects, installations, films, websites… Show us how you work with images, text, line, surface, color, texture, and composition.

You are, of course, free to work with digital tools—however, mere software proficiency does not interest us much.

It is important for us to see how you address content-related topics and more complex questions and tasks. Communication design is not solely about form design. Engage with content. What interests you? What are your passions? Also, what are the socially and culturally relevant topics and questions of our time, and how can they be creatively implemented and communicated?

Show us your strengths, but also challenge yourself. Step off the beaten path. Experiment. Show us that there is more than one side to you.
However, be self-critical, and avoid clichés and banalities. Develop and craft your portfolio, create variations on your topics, and choose implementations that are convincing—in both form and content—for your portfolio.

Key Points for Your Application:

• The digital portfolio consists of a single PDF file with up to 30 pages—one page each for address, confirmation of authorship, and table of contents;
• The file size of the digital portfolio should not exceed 50 MB;
• Submit the digital portfolio only via WeTransfer;

What Exactly Does “Digital Portfolio” Mean?

We need digital images of the works from your original portfolio, i.e., a digitized version of your analog portfolio in a PDF file. The original portfolio must be presented at the interview during the practical aptitude test if the portfolio review is passed successfully. We recommend scanning or photographing the works from your portfolio. Please note that the total file size of the digital portfolio per application should not exceed 50 MB. Your portfolio is limited to 30 pages of work samples. The works must be created by you. Even pages from sketchbooks can be submitted digitally and count as one work.

What Are the Components of the Digital Portfolio?

Your digital portfolio consists of a PDF file with the following pages:

• Page 1: A cover page with your first and last name, date of birth, full address, and email address;
• Page 2: A written confirmation with your signature that all submitted works were created solely by you and without external help;
• Page 3: A table of contents for your portfolio;
• Pages 4 to 30: Your work samples;

How Can I Digitize My Works?

If you have access to a scanner, you can use it to digitize your works. Alternatively, you can photograph/digitize your works using a smartphone, tablet, or digital camera. Affixing your work samples to uniform sheet sizes and backgrounds can help you photograph your work samples better. Combine these files—typically jpg files—into a single PDF file: your digital portfolio. Ensure that the page order matches your table of contents.

Tips for Photographing Your Work

Get a large matte black cardboard as a background (size depends on your original works) and four matte white thick cardboards for side illumination. Place your “photo studio” preferably outdoors or by a bright window. It is essential to have indirect, soft light without direct sunlight, such as in a courtyard without direct sunlight. Once you have placed the object/drawing on the black cardboard, position your camera parallel and centered over the object. A wide-angle lens is less suitable; use a standard lens (50mm) with a relatively closed aperture of 5.6 or 8. The camera’s automatic settings may overexpose due to the black cardboard; you can counteract this with manual exposure settings or + overexposure. Placing a grey card next to the object allows for white balance adjustment later in image editing.

How Do I Create a PDF File from Individual Files?

You can combine your works and documents, usually in jpg format, into a single PDF file in various ways. You also have access to free online platforms, such as:
https://tools.pdf24.org/en/
https://www.ilovepdf.com
https://smallpdf.com/en

What Filename Should I Give My Portfolio?

Save your digital portfolio (a PDF file) following this schema, writing in lowercase and converting all umlauts to “ae,” “oe,” “ue” and “ß” to “ss”:
lastname_firstname.pdf

What Size Should My Digital Portfolio Be?

Each application should not exceed a total of 50 MB of storage—portfolios exceeding this maximum size or not submitted as a single PDF file will be excluded from the process. You can compress these portfolios, often without quality loss, using free online platforms before sending them.
https://tools.pdf24.org/en/
https://www.ilovepdf.com
https://smallpdf.com/en

What Dimensions Should My Portfolio Be?

For a digital portfolio as a PDF file, the actual dimensions of the individual pages do not matter, as they will be viewed on a screen. However, we recommend using A3 format for the pages and maintaining the same orientation (portrait or landscape) and size for all individual pages.

What If Colors and Material Don’t Look the Same in Photos or Scans?

We are aware that photos or scans do not perfectly replicate the original. This condition is considered by the examiners. You do not need to incur additional costs to have your portfolio professionally digitized.

Can I Send Analog Portfolios to the Faculty of Design at THWS by Post?

Unfortunately, this is not possible. Portfolios can only be submitted digitally.

What Do I Do With Works That Cannot Be Easily Scanned?

For example, for three-dimensional works, you can take photos from different perspectives and add notes regarding size, materials used, or anything else relevant on the page. Please note: The total number of pages must not be exceeded. It is recommended to show various views on one page.

How Do I Document Interactive Works or Animations and Films?

For interactive works or films and animations, take screenshots and then compile a storyboard from the key screens.

How Do I Know If My Digital Portfolio Has Arrived?

After sending your file, you will receive a notification from WeTransfer to your email address stating that your files have been “successfully sent to mappe.fg@thws.de.” Please keep this email as confirmation—for legal reasons—that you submitted the portfolio in time.

You will then receive another email from WeTransfer within approximately 48 hours, confirming that the Faculty of Design has “downloaded your transfer.” Make sure to pay attention to this WeTransfer confirmation and keep it as well.

If you do not receive the message “mappe.fg@thws.de has downloaded your transfer” even after 7 days, please contact us via email at bewerbung.fg@thws.de

Can I Re-submit My Portfolio?

You may re-submit your portfolio only in exceptional cases. Before doing so, contact the aptitude examination committee via email in these cases: bewerbung.fg@thws.de

Who Will Inform Me About the Status of My Application?

You will be informed about the current status of your application via email.

Why Are There Two Application Numbers?

You will receive two different application numbers during the application process: one FG number (FG plus 4 digits, e.g., FG0001) issued by the Faculty of Design for the portfolio and aptitude assessment and a second number (5 digits, e.g., 95242) issued by the Student Services for general application purposes at THWS (certificates, other documents, etc.).

Questions and Support

Who can assist me with further questions regarding the required documents?
For any questions regarding the application and the digital portfolio, please contact us via email: bewerbung.fg@thws.de

Starting from June 6, 2025, all applicants who have successfully completed the portfolio review and meet all other requirements for admission to the program will be invited to one of the two days of the aptitude test and informed about its procedure via email. The aptitude test will take place on-site at the Sanderheinrichsleitenweg Campus on June 23 or June 24, 2025. It consists of two practical exams (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) and an examination interview. Choosing the date freely is not possible.

Please notice

Passing the portfolio review or the aptitude test is only valid for the year in which the test was taken. For applicants who have passed the portfolio review but are unable to participate in the aptitude test, the validity is extended by one year if the applicant is not responsible for the reasons (e.g., illness). This also applies to applicants who have passed the aptitude test but are unable to start their studies in the same year. Both the portfolio review and the aptitude test can each be repeated twice. A retake of the test is only possible during the regular dates for portfolio or aptitude examinations.