FAQ

The "Amt für Ausbildungsförderung" ("Educational Maintenance Office") is responsible for BAföG. Further information on applying for financial aid is also available from the Munich Student Union (Studentenwerk München).

• Exchange students can get in touch with the accommodation service for exchange and international program students.
• The allocation of rooms in the Munich student housing network takes place through the Munich Student Union.
• More information on accommodations (for German and international students)

TUM does not offer conditional admission.

If you intend to study at TUM, you need to fulfil all requirements for the program you apply for. This means that all documents proving all required qualifications, including the language skills, have to be submitted to TUM by the end of the designated deadline. If you are unable to prove sufficient language skills by then, we will have to reject your application. 

The qualifications you need to have for a certain program are listed on the degree program pages. There, you will also find the academic and examination regulations with more detailed information. 

TUM does not offer preparatory language courses.
 

For almost all programs at TUM, there is no specific grade point average (GPA) requirement. The offer of admission is based on several factors, and the grades only play a certain part. 

All applicants who complete the admission process successfully receive an offer of admission – there is no limited amount of places, and consequently there is also no waiting list or decision by lot. 

Detailed information on the admission process and the factors considered in it are described on our degree program pages. There, you will also find the contact details of the departmental student academic advisor if you have further questions about the admission process for a specific degree program.

Depending on the country in which you completed your A-Levels or IGCSE, certain preconditions apply. These are defined by the ministries of education. 

TUM is unable to offer any preliminary checks – we can only assess your qualification in the course of a regular application for a degree program. 

These are the general preconditions for applications with A-Levels or IGCSE. They are intended to provide an overview, and are in no way binding. More detailed about the specific requirements for your A-Levels or IGCSE is available in the ANABIN-database or via the office for certificate recognition. 

Graduation certificate

• General Certificate of Education - Advanced Level (GCE AL)

together with

• General Certificate of Education - Advanced Subsidiary Level (GCE AS)

or with

• Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE)

or with

• Cambridge-PreU

enables direct, subject-specific university admission, provided that the basic requirements and subject-specific prerequisites are met:

1.1 basic prerequisites

You must provide proof of four examination subjects, which must be independent of each other and have general educational, non-vocational content. The following subjects must be included among the four examination subjects:

• a language
• mathematics or a natural science, e.g. biology, chemistry or physics.

at least three of the four subjects must be passed at the General Certificate of Education - Advanced Level (GCE AL), for the fourth subject the General Certificate of Education - Advanced Subsidiary Level (GCE AS) is sufficient.

1.2  Discipline-specific requirements for individual fields of study

• Humanities, law, social sciences, economics and art degree programs: a subject in the GCE Advanced Level corresponding to the chosen field of study
• for economics and social sciences, an additional GCE Advanced Level in mathematics
• Degree programs in natural science: two of the following GCE Advanced Level subjects: mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics
• Technical and mathematical degree programs: GCE Advanced Level in mathematics and one of the following GCE Advanced Level subjects: biology, chemistry, physics, informatics
• Medical degree programs: three of the following GCE Advanced Level subjects: mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics

If you apply with your SAT, certain conditions have to be met. These are defined by the ministries of education. 

To learn more about the specific requirements, please refer to the ANABIN-database or the office for certificate recognition. 

TUM is unable to offer any preliminary checks – we can only assess your qualification in the course of a regular application for a degree program. 

For some degree programs, the GRE or GATE is required for applicants with a qualification acquired in certain countries, for others it is optional but may boost your score in the admissions process. Please contact the departmental student academic advisor to learn about the specifics – the contact detail can be found on the degree program homepage.

Currently, the GRE and/or GATE are relevant for these programs: 

• All master’s degree programs offered by the Department of Informatics: GRE (general) or GATE, if you have completed your qualification for postgraduate studies (e.g. your bachelor’s) in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China or Iran. Minimum score: QR 157, AW 3,5.
• M.Sc. Mathematics in Data Science: GRE (general) or GATE, if you have completed your qualification for postgraduate studies (e.g. your bachelor’s) in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China or Iran. Minimum score: QR 157, AW 3,5.
• M.Sc. Materials Science and Engineering: GRE (general) or GATE, if you have completed your qualification for postgraduate studies (e.g. your bachelor’s) in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China or Iran. Minimum score: QR 157, AW 3,0.
• M.Sc. Matter to Life: GRE (subject) with a score of at least 700.
• M.Sc. Computational Mechanics: GATE, if you have completed your qualification for postgraduate studies (e.g. your bachelor’s) in India.
• M.Sc. ESPACEand M.Sc. Environmental Engineering: GATE or GRE (general) may be submitted optionally to enhance your application 

Please note: This information is intended as an overview and non-binding. Detailed information on the GRE/GATE requirements are available in the academic and examination regulations of each degree program. 

The GRE at Home is also accepted.

Apart from a high motivation, there are several formal requirements you must meet in order to study at TUM.

The specific requirements vary depending on your personal background and the degree course you are interested in. To find out more about the specifics, visit our pages on application at TUM.

In general, TUM can only check your qualification in the course of a regular application – a preliminary check or assessment is not possible. Please note that TUM only checks compliance with the given standards for higher education - the decision whether a school leaving certificate is accepted as qualification for higher education in Germany is made by the ministry of education.

To find out whether your qualification (e.g. your school leaving certificate) qualifies you to study at TUM, online databases with further information are available. The DAAD offers information, and you can also refer to the ANABIN database.

If you are qualified for higher / university education in your country but not in Germany, you can acquire the necessary qualifications by visiting the Studienkolleg (preparatory study).

TUM does not offer preparatory language courses. You have to acquire the required language skills for admission at another institution or school. 

If you already study at TUM, i.e. are enrolled as regular student, you can use the services offered by the TUM language center. 

TUM only offers the second stage of studies in medicine - clinical work. This means that you can not start your medical studies at TUM.

Concerning the first stage of medical studies – pre-clinical work – we cooperate with LMU Munich. At LMU, you can apply for medical studies. Students having completed the first part of their medical studies at LMU can choose to continue their studies at TUM. 

Students having completed the first part of their medical studies at a different university can only be accepted if study places remain available after accepting all students from LMU. This is why we have been unable to accept external (non-LMU) applicants for several years. 

Medicine is exclusively taught in German. 

• If you wish to apply for a bachelor's degree program and you have a foreign university entrance qualification, you must first have your documents reviewed by uni-assist(service centre for international students)

• Under certain circumstances, you may be required to enroll in the Studienkolleg (preparatory studies program)..

Click here for further details on international applications.

Each master's program has specific requirements your bachelor's degree needs to meet in order to qualify. Executive master's degrees also require professional experience. 

Please be aware that we are unable to check your qualification beforehand – we can only make a valid assessment during a regular application, i.e. when all of your documents are available. To read up on the requirements of a particular program, you can check out our degree program pages. There, your will also find the academic and examination regulations with more detailed information on the qualification requirements. 

Since the requirements vary depending on your degree as well as the degree you with to apply for, we advise you to contact Student Advising or the Departmental Student Advisor for your particular degree program. The contact details are also available on our degree program pages.

The application period for each program is described in our degree program overview. Outside of these periods, an application is not possible. In our degree program overview, select the program you intend to apply for and refer to the section “what application deadlines do I need to meet?”.

Most programs start in the winter semester (october), many programs also offer an application for the summer semester (april). This is also described in the degree program overview. If the possibility of applying for the summer semester is not explicitly stated, an application is only possible for a start in the winter semester.

If you are unable to select a program in the online application, please check whether the application period has already started. If not, an application is currently not possible. 

Your applicant number is stated in your TUMonline Account.

Under “My Applications”, your applicant number can be found at the very top of the page. 

The applicant and application numbers are generated only when an online application is submitted. You can then enter these numbers in all documents if they are required. You can then upload the documents in your application. The documents can be submitted after the application has been sent until the application deadline. Please use the application status in TUMonline for this purpose.

If your citizenship changes, email the Citizenship Change Notification Form to studium(at)tum.de. 

Please note that we need a scan of an official document or identity document (e.g. ID card) as proof. 

Download: Form for notifying a change of nationality (PDF, 1.1MB)

Successful studies regularly require a computer with Internet access – ideally a laptop or notebook for mobile working. Without this technical equipment, e.g. participation in digital courses or digital exams, work on research projects, or even writing scientific papers is not possible or only possible to a very limited extent.

Students who do not own such a device or for whom the purchase represents too high a financial burden can obtain information about possibilities of financial support from the Munich Student Union or also from the advisory services of TUM. Please also note our job offers for student assistants.

The most important deadline is the application deadline. You will find the deadline for every program in our program overview.

Within the specific deadline, you need to submit your online application and upload all documents for admission as well as the application for admission.

The deadlines for the submission of documents can be found in the degree program overview. Generally, all documents have to be provided by the end of the respective deadline. The details regarding your individual case will be displayed in your TUMonline account.

If you are unable to prove the required level of language proficiency by the end of the designated application deadline, we will be unable to consider your application. After the deadline, no documents will be accepted. 

For admission, you do not have to submit any documents as hardcopies.

Only after you have received an offer of admission and accepted your study place will we require certain documents (e.g. diplomas or certificates) as certified hardcopies. Detailed information about the required documents will become available in TUMonline after you accept your offer of admission. 

Our glossary of documents explains every document you need for an application. You can also find out more about the required form of every document - i.e. simple copy, notarized copy etc.

No, we require a VPD issued specifically for TUM.

This is not possible, because the VPD for a application for a bachelor’s degree and the VPD for an application for a master’s degree are completely different documents:

• A VPD for a bachelor’s application checks your secondary school diploma and converts it into the German grading system.
• A VPD for a master’s application checks your undergraduate degree and converts it into the European ECTS-System.

Yes – we accept every VPD which was issued for TUM. The date it was issued on as well as the given expiration date are not relevant when applying to TUM.

The semester you select on the uni-assist website is not relevant for TUM. Please always choose the current semester, as this will enable you to apply for the VPD. It will remain valid regardless of the selected semester.

Please do not choose a specific program on the uni-assist website. Choose “TUM” and “all subjects”. 

• You can download your proof of enrollment directly from TUMonline. This document can be found under "Print Documents" in your TUMonline profile.
• Along with your proof of enrollment, you will also find a confirmation of enrollment to present to the Deutsche Bahn, as well as your enrollment record and verification of study periods for German Pension Insurance (DRV Bund) for download.

• Go to your profile in TUMonline, click on "Study status/Curriculum" and choose the desired examination from your schedule of courses.
• If you would like to sign up for an exam that is not part of your curriculum, click on "Exam Registration/Withdrawal" in your profile. Here you can search and register for the relevant exam by clicking on "Register".
• How-to register for exams (manual provided by IT-Support)
• If you are experiencing difficulties registering for an exam, please contact it-support@tum.de stating your full name, student ID number and a detailed description of the problem.

Yes, generally speaking you still have to pay your fees. Under certain conditions you can, however, apply for a refund. More information on fees

Your student fees account can be found in your TUMonline profile under "Tuition fees". (TUM Wiki: Manual provided by IT-Support)
Your account page gives you an overview of payments made, as well as outstanding payments, and provides information on how to make a bank transfer.

If you encounter problems or have further questions, please contact studium(at)tum.de.

The application “degree programs” in TUMonline lists all current degree programs. Via the applicable version of the Academic and Examination Regulations, you can view the course schedule and the semester plan.