Application to a higher subject semester (Fachsemester)
If you have already completed relevant courses at a different university or in another course of study, you can apply to a higher subject semester (Fachsemester). To do this, you need a credit transfer report.
In any case, be sure to contact your departmental student academic advisor before applying to a higher subject semester (Fachsemester). You can find the respective contact person in the search field at the bottom of this page.
The recognition process depends on your previous course of study:
If you apply for a degree program at TUM and have already completed courses in an identical or related program, your previous study periods will be officially recognized and you will be enrolled in the corresponding semester at TUM. After enrolling, it is mandatory for you to apply for the recognition of your previously earned credits at your department.
If you apply for a degree program at TUM and have already completed courses in another, non-related program, you can make an application to have these courses recognized. If courses or previously earned credits are recognized to a certain amount, you will be placed in a higher subject semester (Fachsemester) of the degree program at TUM.
The recognition of credits is defined by the Bavarian University Law and the General Academic and Examination Regulations of TUM.
Periods of study from identical or related degree programs will be officially recognized. This means that at TUM you will be enrolled in the semester corresponding your previous study times. After your enrollment at TUM, you additionally have to apply for the recognition of your previously earned credits at your school.
Credits from other, non-related degree programs can only be recognized if there is no essential difference between the acquired learning outcomes and those required in your TUM degree program. This can only be assessed after an in-depth review at the school upon application.
Study periods from identical or related degree programs will be recognized automatically. At TUM you will be enrolled in the semester corresponding to your previous study times. After your enrollment, you additionally have to apply for the recognition of your previously earned credits at your school. Please make sure to contact your departmental academic student advisor early on! You can search for the corresponding contact in the right margin column under “Departmental Student Advising”.
If you apply for a degree program at TUM and have already completed courses in another, non-related program, there are two different application processes to a higher subject semester (Fachsemester): the upstream and the downstream process. Please check the list below for the relevant process concerning your application.
The upstream process starts with a mandatory advising session at the school before the online application. There, you will discuss your previously earned credits with a representative of the school. You fill in the application form to a higher subject semester (Fachsemester) during the advising session. With the signature of the school, the application form turns into a credit transfer report. You can then apply online, and submit the credit transfer report together with the other application documents.
The downstream process starts with you applying directly via TUMonline. You fill in the application for the credit transfer report yourself and upload it together with the module descriptions and the grading system (not necessary if the German grading system was used) as one PDF-document during the online application. The relevant school then processes your application and decides whether sufficient credits can be recognized to place you in a higher subject semester (Fachsemester). Please contact the responsible departmental student advisor in advance, who will also be able to tell you the application deadlines.
Important: The credit transfer report should not be confused with the official procedure for recognizing previously earned credits, which can only be initiated once you have actually enrolled. The credit transfer report is always preliminary (except for programs with restricted admission) and the result may be changed after the official recognition process.
Learn more about the recognition of previously earned credits
Please note: If you need to provide a Preliminary Documentation (VPD) from uni-assist for your application, please still apply for it for the first subject semester (Fachsemester).
In this list you will see how your school handles the recognition of credits. Be sure to contact the departmental student academic advisor of your desired program in any case.
| TUM Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability | downstream | Learn more |
| Former TUM Department of Sport and Health Sciences | upstream | Learn more |
| TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology | dpends on the program | Please contact the academic advisor of your program. |
| TUM School of Engineering and Design | depends on the program | Please contact the academic advisor of your program. |
| TUM School of Life Sciences | downstream | Learn more |
| TUM School of Management | downstream | Learn more |
| Former TUM School of Medicine | Please consult with the contact persons for M.Sc. Radiation Biology and M.Sc. Biomedical Neuroscience. Students of Medicine can find all information on how to apply at www.tum.de/en/studies/application/medical-studies/medicine-clinical-work. | |
| TUM School of Natural Scieces | upstream | Learn more |
| TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology | depends on the program | Please contact the academic advisor of your program. |
You will have to submit
- the credit transfer report (upstream) or the application for a credit transfer report (downstream)
- the module descriptions of the modules you want to have recognized
- the grading scale which was used in case the modules have been completed outside of Germany.
You have to submit these documents to the Admissions and Enrollment Office by the end of the application deadline for the desired program to the school for application and admission, just like the rest of your application documents. Please contact the responsible departmental student advisors as early as possible; they will also be able to tell you the application deadlines.
Important: Enrollment at TUM in a higher subject semester (Fachsemester) is not possible without the credit transfer report! Make sure to contact your departmental student academic advisor early on.
For degree programs with restricted admission (numerus clausus), the credit transfer report has to be completed by the end of the application period, even if it is a downstream process. So please be sure to contact your school early on in order to allow for the review of your application to be completed in time. Also, for degree programs with restricted admission, the result of the credit transfer report is binding.
Applications from the first subject semester (Fachsemester) to the second subject semester (Fachsemester) are not possible in all schools. Please be sure to contact your departmental student academic advisor in advance to find out whether applying from the first to the second subject semester is generally possible, and if so, which documents you need to supply.