Tuition Fees for Students from Non-EU Countries
At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), tuition fees are charged for international students from third countries who newly enroll in a degree program starting in the winter semester of 2024/25.
On this page, you can find out who these tuition fees apply to and how TUM uses them to improve studying and teaching for all students.
- Studying at TUM is free of tuition for
- students from Germany, the European Economic Area (EEA, includes the member states of the EU + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or equivalent states as well as from states with corresponding agreements.
- students who have acquired their higher education entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur) or an undergraduate degree (e.g. Bachelor) in the German education system.
- students who are already enrolled at TUM prior to the winter semester 2024/25 and are continuing their degree program.
- doctoral students and guest students
- degree programs leading to a state examination, as well as modular and other studies.
- persons who are enrolled at TUM as part of their participation in the Studienkolleg.
Please note: Participation in the Studienkolleg does not exempt from the obligation to pay tuition fees for a subsequent Bachelor’s degree program. - the other groups of persons in the section “Who has to pay the tuition fees?”
- Based on the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act (BayHIG) (PDF, 1.08MB), TUM will charge tuition fees for international students from third countries from the winter semester 2024/25.
- The tuition fee for a program is based on the field of study and will be announced in November 2023 for each Bachelor’s and Master’s program. The tuition fee per semester will usually be 2,000 or 3,000 euros for Bachelor’s programs and 4,000 or 6,000 euros for Master’s programs. You can find a list with the tuition fees for each program here.
- The tuition fees will be used primarily to improve study conditions, such as the further development of teaching, the expansion of advising and support services, and the improvement of student infrastructure.
- The introduction of tuition fees for international students will be structured in a socially responsible manner by creating opportunities for waivers and scholarship programs.
- To get an initial assessment of whether you are subject to tuition fees, you can use the tuition navigator.
Tuition Navigator: Are your studies subject to tuition fees?
FAQs about tuition fees for international students
As a leading international university, the Technical University of Munich is committed to offering our talented students the best possible conditions to develop their skills and personalities. Every year, more and more young people from all over the world place their trust in the opportunities that TUM offers them for their future. We want to continue to live up to this trust and give our students access to outstanding education and training.
To achieve this, it is essential to offer not only outstanding personalities in research and teaching, but also the highest standards of infrastructure, equipment, study areas, management, and support for our students. Within Germany and the EU, there are mechanisms and agreements in place that allow the financing of studies from public funds. In order to enable international students from third countries who are not part of this education system to study at TUM, we charge fees for international students from third countries. These fees benefit all students by ensuring sustainable and excellent study and learning conditions.
All international students from third countries must pay tuition fees from winter semester 2024/25 if they enroll in a new degree program at TUM.
The following groups are exempt from tuition fees:
- Students who are already enrolled in their degree program at TUM before winter semester 2024/25. They do not have to pay tuition fees for their further studies in their current degree program.
- Students who have acquired their higher education entrance qualification within the German education system (e.g. Abitur) or via a degree program with a standard duration of study of at least 6 semesters, which they have successfully completed at a German university. The final examination at the Studienkolleg does not count as a German higher education entrance qualification. Students who qualify to study at TUM via the Studienkolleg are subject to tuition fees.
- Students with citizenship from the following countries or regions do not have to pay tuition fees to study at TUM:
- Germany
- All EEA countries (EU + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway)
- All countries with corresponding agreements.
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Persons with an established domestic connection, regardless of their citizenship. Established domestic connection means
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You have lived in Germany for a total of at least 5 years before starting your studies and were regularly employed or
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at least one parent has been in Germany for a total of at least 3 years during the last 6 years and was regularly employed.
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Students with disabilities
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Students seeking asylum
Please note: Persons entitled to asylum and recognized refugees are not automatically exempt from the obligation to pay tuition fees based on this status. However, if they are not exempt from the obligation to pay fees due to an established domestic connection, you can apply for a waiver due to social reaseons, which will be considered favorably. Further information can be found on the site on scholarships and waivers.
Students in the following programs are also exempt from tuition fees:
- Doctoral students
- Auditors
- Students attending the Studienkolleg.
- Students in exchange programs that are based on a corresponding regulation
- Students enrolled in degree programs leading to a state examination, or in modular studies or other studies.
Please note: Different regulations continue to apply for executive degree programs.
There are opportunities for particularly high-achieving or needy students to receive a scholarship or apply for a waiver of fees.
To get an initial assessment of whether you are subject to tuition fees, you can use the tuition compass.
The tuition fees for international students from third countries will be charged from winter semester 2024/25 for new enrollment in a degree program at TUM.
All students who are already enrolled in a degree program at TUM before winter semester 2024/25 do not have to pay tuition fees for their further studies in this degree program.
The tuition fees usually amount to
- 2,000 or 3,000 euros per semester for Bachelor's degree programs,
- 4,000 or 6,000 euros per semester for Master's degree programs.
You can find a list with the fees for each program here.
If you are enrolled in two degree programs at the same time (parallel studies), tuition fees apply for both programs.
Irrespective of the tuition fees, the semester fees must also be paid.
If you have completed a Bachelor's degree at a German university, you are generally not required to pay tuition fees for a Master's degree. If your Bachelor's degree is not yet completed when you enroll in the Master's program, you would still have to pay the tuition fees. However, if you complete your Bachelor's degree in good time before the end of the enrollment period, you can avoid this.
In this case, you can accept the place in your Master's degree course and only transfer the semester fee, but not the tuition fees for your Master's degree course. You must then provide proof of your Bachelor's degree to the Admissions and Enrollment department of the TUM Center for Study and Teaching no later than five weeks after the start of lectures, either via your school or by sending an e-mail to studium@tum.de.
In addition, you must disenroll from the completed Bachelor's degree program no later than five weeks after the start of lectures. You can find the application form for this in your TUMonline account in the application “Documents”.
Please note: You must apply for immediate disenrollment so that you will be disenrolled on the day you submit your application; otherwise, disenrollment will not take place until the end of the semester.
You will then be automatically re-enrolled on your Master's degree program.
Alternatively, you can pay the tuition fees for the Master's program first and apply for a refund via the TUM Center for Study and Teaching's Fees and Scholarships department (beitragsmanagement@zv.tum.de). In this case, you must also provide proof of your Bachelor's degree within five weeks of the start of lectures and disenroll on the same day.
The tuition fees for international students from third countries serve to further improve the quality and sustainable development of study and teaching for all TUM students. This includes:
- Teaching staff and persons for the supervision of our students
- Equipment and provision of teaching and study areas
- Teaching formats and materials
- Student services and advisory offers
- Expansion of the infrastructure required for students' residence
The Technical University of Munich already offers numerous scholarships for current and prospective students.
With the tuition fees for international students, new waiver scholarships are being created to enable as many committed and high-achieving students from all over the world as possible to study at TUM. Here you can find all information on scholarships and tuition fee waivers for international students from third countries.
Due to intergovernmental agreements, the following special rules apply to students who are citizens of Switzerland, Turkey or the United Kingdom. These provisions always apply in addition to the other reasons for exemptions and waivers (established domestic connection, German Higher Education Entrance Qualification, etc.).
Students from Switzerland:
Students with Swiss citizenship are exempt from fees for international students if they have a sonstiges Aufenthaltsrecht – for example as an employee or self-employed person or as a member of their family. In this case, an exemption applies due to the established domestic connection.
Otherwise, studying a bachelor’s or master’s at TUM is subject to tuition fees for people with Swiss citizenship.
Students from Turkey:
Students with Turkish citizenship are exempt from the fees for international students if:
- at least one parent lives in Germany at the time of application and
- he parent living in Germany is or has been continuously and lawfully employed in Germany for at least one year or in the past for at least one year (self-employment is not considered employment in this case) and
- the applicant lives with their with the parent who meets the above criteria (main or secondary residence) at the time of application.
Otherwise, studying a bachelor’s or master’s at TUM is subject to tuition fees for people with Turkish citizenship.
Students from the UK:
Students with citizenship from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are exempt from the fees for international students if they were already resident in Germany before December 31, 2020 (“Brexit”).
Otherwise, studying a bachelor’s or master’s at TUM is subject to tuition fees for people with UK citizenship.
Ukrainian students are generally subject to tuition fees. However, if they can prove that they were resident in Ukraine on 24.02.2022 or later, and declare that they have left the country due to the war, they can apply for a waiver due to social reasons, which will be considered favorably. Further information can be found on the site on scholarships and waivers.