Preparatory Study at the Studienkolleg

Applications for Studienkolleg are filed via our online application portal TUMonline – you cannot apply directly at the Studienkolleg itself. During the online application, you will be asked which degree program you wish to apply for after successfully completing the “Feststellungsprüfung”. The degree program you choose in this step determines the course at Studienkolleg you are assigned to, so choose carefully.

To our online application guide for the Studienkolleg

Entering your personal data:

Please provide your personal data, entering your name according to your ID.

If you already have an address in Germany, please use this address (and enter an apartment number and/or c/o name if relevant).

Please note: Invitations to the admission exam for the Studienkolleg sent to Gmail addresses do not get delivered! Please make sure you set up a different e-mail address if necessary.

Application periods:

• For summer semester: 15.11. – 15.01.
• For winter semester: 15.05. – 15.07.

By the end of the application period, you must have completed the online application and uploaded all required documents:

• your higher education entrance qualification
• a translation of your higher education entrance qualification by a sworn translator, if it has not originally been issued in German or English.
• Applicants with an Iranian higher education entrance qualification must submit the corresponding documents in a legalized form when applying for the Studienkolleg. Please see the website of the German Embassy in Tehran for all information on the process of legalizing documents.
• your passport
• a current and complete curriculum vitae in German detailing schools visited, examinations passed, etc.
• proof of German-language proficiency Level B2 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
• verification of any prior university study (e.g. Transcript of Records)
• a certificate issued by the “Akademische Prüfstelle“ (APS) (for applicants from China, India or Vietnam)
• Please note further special rules applying to specific countries.

If you comply with the admission criteria and all of your documents have been checked successfully, you will receive an invitation to the admissions exam at Studienkolleg per e-mail.

This same message also informs you about your assigned area of concentration – depending on the desired degree program you stated during the online application.

Areas of Concentration

Studienkolleg offers several areas of concentation. Depending on the choice made in TUMonline, you are assigned to one of the four courses:

• T-course for technical and mathematical programs and programs in the natural sciences
• M-course for medical programs and programs connected with biosciences or sports
• W-course for business and economics programs
• G-course for programs in arts and humanities

Once you have sent your online application and uploaded all documents, your application will be reviewed. When all uploaded documents have been checked and accepted (status “OK” in TUMonline), you will receive an invitation to the admission test by e-mail within approx. 10 working days. Please check your inbox and spam folder regularly. You can then download the official PDF document of the invitation in your TUMonline account.

Please note: Invitations to the admission exam for the Studienkolleg sent to Gmail addresses do not get delivered! Please make sure you set up a different e-mail address if necessary.

If you have not received an invitation one week before the admission test, please write an e-mail to studium@tum.de with the exact subject “Einladung Aufnahmetest Studienkolleg” and ask for your official invitation to be sent to you again.

If you are unable to take part in the admissions exam, please withdraw in good time by sending an e-mail to studiumspam prevention@tum.de with the exact subject “Aufnahmeprüfung Studienkolleg” and state your applicant number. If you do not withdraw by e-mail in good time, you will be deemed to have failed the examination.

You can only take the exam if you have received an invitation from a university – e.g. from TUM.

The admission exam takes place on a certain date for every semester. The dates can also be found on the website of the Studienkolleg.

Should you fail the exam, you can repeat it twice. Should you not attend an exam date, it will count as a fail – provided you do not inform the Studienkolleg in time via email, including your application number.

If you are assigned to the T-course, the M-course or the W-course, you also have to complete a maths test.

Learn more about the admission exam on the website of Studienkolleg

If you pass the admission exam, you can start your course at Studienkolleg, by enrolling at TUM.

The deadline for enrollment is

• October 1 for the winter semester,
• March 1 for the summer semester.

Once you receive your offer of admission, you can download the application for enrollment in your TUMonline account. You need to download it, sign it, and upload it to TUMonline together with the remaining documents for enrollment. A list of these documents will also be available in TUMonline.

Please note: Special requirements apply to graduation documents to prove your higher education entrance qualification issued by schools in China, Georgia, or Iran. Detailed information can be found in the overview of special conditions for certain countries.

As a student at Studienkolleg, you only have to pay the student union fees.

As soon as

• your application for enrollment
• and all documents for enrollment are received
• and the payment of the semester fees is confirmed,

you are enrolled as a regular student at TUM.

After 2 semesters (one year) you take the so-called Feststellungsprüfung. If you pass, you receive a subject specific higher education entrance qualification for Germany – and are free to apply for the Bachelor’s program of your choice (see step 1).

Please note: The passing of the Feststellungsprüfung does not exempt students from paying tuition fees for students from third countries at TUM.

Together with the qualification for higher education from your home country, the Zeugnis über die Feststellungsprüfung qualifies as a subject-specific higher education entrance qualification. This means you can apply for all undergraduate programs within the range of your subject-specific qualification. The Zeugnis über die Feststellungsprüfung is also valid as proof of your German skills, provided that German is listed as examination subject.

Your qualification for higher education from your home country (50%) + Zeugnis über die Feststellungsprüfung (50%) = subject-specific higher education entrance qualification (100%)

The subject-specific qualification is defined by the course you take in Studienkolleg. With it, you can apply for all subjects from your area of concentration in Studienkolleg. 

If you have applied for Studienkolleg via TUM, you have already chosen a degree program you are interested in pursuing after Studienkolleg. You are, however, eligible to apply for every undergraduate program with the subject-specific qualification. 

Thank you for understanding that we can only assess your eligibility to apply for a certain program within the regular application process. A preliminary evaluation is not possible.

Please note: In order to study at TUM, you will need a Zeugnis über die Feststellungsprüfung, which is valid for eligibility to study at universities and universities of applied sciences in Germany.

Your grades will be evaluated by uni-assist.

Your higher education entrance qualification consists of both the qualification for higher education from your home country and the Zeugnis über die Feststellungsprüfung. The results from both documents will be evaluated equally.

So both the general grade average as well as the subject-specific grades the average from both documents will be considered.

To give an example: 

Grade from your secondary school diploma: 2.5

Grade from the Feststellungsprüfung: 1.5

Average grade considered for the application: 2.0

After the end of the online application via TUMonline, you will receive an individual list with the documents you have to submit within the designated deadline. 

Your higher education entrance qualification consists of both the documents which constitute a qualification for higher education in your home country (e.g. your secondary school diploma) and the Zeugnis über die Feststellungsprüfung.

In addition, you will need a Preliminary Documentation (VPD), which you must apply for at uni-assist.

You can apply for an undergraduate degree program at TUM if your Zeugnis über die Feststellungsprüfung confirms your qualification to study at German universities and universities of applied science. Also, the program you apply for has to be within the range of your subject-specific qualification.

Thank you for understanding that we can only assess your eligibility to apply for a certain program within the regular application process. A preliminary evaluation is not possible.

You also need to apply for a Preliminary Documentation (VPD) at uni-assist.