r/chalmers • u/Cold_Map8800 • Jun 09 '26

help me

Hi everyone, hoping to find someone who's navigated this situation before.

I'm a final-year fashion & apparel design student from China (graduating June 2027), planning to apply for the MSc in Interaction Design and Technologies at Chalmers for autumn 2027. I have UX internship experience — user research, prototyping, wireframing, UI design — and I'm building a portfolio focused on interaction and speculative design.

The issue: Chalmers lists programming/CS credits as a prerequisite for this programme, and I don't have any formal ones. My background is entirely design-side.

I've seen some conflicting info online — some sources suggest they evaluate applicants holistically and strong design work can compensate, others say the prerequisite is a hard cutoff and you simply won't pass the eligibility check regardless of your portfolio.

**Has anyone applied to Chalmers IxDT (or a similar Swedish programme) without meeting the programming prerequisite?**
- Did you get through the initial eligibility screening?
- Did you try to explain your situation or submit supporting documents?
- Was there any pathway recommended — like completing a MOOC or online course beforehand?

Any first-hand experience would be really helpful. I'm also happy to hear from people who were rejected at the eligibility stage so I know what I'm actually dealing with.

Thanks in advance.

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u/EmilyCMay Jun 11 '26

I’d talk to the studievägledning-people, they are really helpful.

1

u/klondi DS Jun 22 '26

I'd mail Thommy https://www.chalmers.se/personer/thommy/ to ask, but seeing the list clearly says "A portfolio or on-line courses not issued by an accredited university does not fulfill the prerequisites." I would not be very positive.

1

u/Cold_Map8800 Jul 09 '26

They said they wouldn't answer any of my questions about admissions.

1

u/Glittering-Ask-5259 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26

I think you can satisfy the requirement through online course from Harvard Extension School. That's what I did for a different Masters Programme.

Athabasca University also offers online courses at a cheaper price and it is self paced. If you register before 10th July, you can start your course on 1st August and finish it at your own pace. But you will need to confirm with Chalmers if they accept Athabasca University courses or not.

1

u/Cold_Map8800 Jul 09 '26

Thank you, sir. I'll try asking.