An Experiential Report of the MGP Degree Program

This degree program provides insights into various topics of modern media. These include film, animation and VFX, sound, as well as print/graphic design. Throughout the course of study, depending on the area of interest, students can choose various specialization modules. In the first two semesters, every student essentially goes through the basics of a specific field.

Unfortunately, the courses are mostly poorly structured. Often, only projects are shown to inspire "creativity." Actual technical backgrounds are mostly taught in the area of camera/film. Generally, I had the impression that this degree program primarily caters to those interested in film and camera work. In this area, the equipment seems to be professional. However, the workstations for post-production are partially very outdated. Especially the audio production facilities are lacking for anyone even remotely interested in the topic. There is a lack of professional plugins and production tools. This led to the fact that almost everyone worked at home with their own equipment. It's a shame! The initial enthusiasm to create beautiful projects gradually faded throughout the course of study. One has to overcome an almost insurmountable mountain of formalities and bureaucracy just to start the projects (if they require university equipment). Constantly being bothered by trivialities can be quite nerve-wracking. This often led to many students simply implementing their projects at home with simplified means to escape a long-lasting psychosis. I had the feeling that, in the end, it didn't really matter how the projects were realized: the grading was mostly the same. So, production-wise, people adjusted to the lenient grading, invested only the minimum effort, and often received a grade of 1.0 (the best grade in Germany). Great! (Irony off). If there were any questions during the production or implementation of the project, the instructors were generally not available in, let´s say "7 out of 10 cases". This resulted in an extensive "email bombardment" on my part, especially with two or three particularly resistant instructors. This is a "no-go," especially when deadlines have to be met! It works much better at other universities! By the way, canceled classes are also more frequent than one would like: there have been cases where a lecture was canceled one hour before it was supposed to start because the instructor participated in an animation film festival (if one even receives a cancellation notice). Fortunately, there are also instructors who take their teaching responsibilities more seriously and care about the opinions, suggestions, and questions of the students. They always have an open ear and deliver their teaching material professionally. Unfortunately, for me, the negative experiences outweigh the positive ones. I could fill an entire list with absurd experiences at Offenburg University in the MGP program...

The spaces for seminars are often too limited, which means there is no guarantee of being able to enroll in a course. "First come, first serve" is the principle...how I love that phrase. There were serious "power struggles" among students because of this scarcity. I occasionally used the library, which is quite small, but it has everything needed for studying. However, workspace is scarce and limited due to the size of the facility.

In conclusion, I can only strongly advise any prospective student against choosing this degree program. I realize that, especially several years after my graduation, I haven't acquired any real "skills." In conversations with students from other universities, I've discovered gaps in my knowledge. In my opinion, time would be better spent on self-study. Therefore, I give this degree program a rating of "satisfactory." I consider this rating to be very generous.

The statements and impressions presented here are solely my personal opinion and experience.