Admission requirements for studies at university in Germany

General requirements

First cycle studies (bachelor's)

If you have successfully completed upper secondary studies in one of the signatory countries of the Lisbon Convention, are in possession of a valid school leaving certificate and qualify for higher education studies in your home country, you may also qualify for higher education studies in Germany. However, you are requested to prove your level of English and/or German. In some cases, you are also requested to take additional qualifying courses.

Second cycle studies (master's)

If you are applying for a master's program at an institution in Germany, you are required to be in possession of a relevant bachelor's or equivalent degree diploma.

Third cycle studies (PhD)

In the event you are applying for doctoral studies at an institution in Germany, you are required to be in possession of a relevant diploma or master's degree program.

Language requirements to study at university in Germany

German

You can prove your level of command of German by presenting the results received at one of the following examinations:

• German Language Proficiency Examination for Admission to Higher Education for Foreign Applicants (Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang ausländischer Studienbewerber– DSH). You can take it at your university in Germany.
• Test of German as a Foreign Language for foreign applicants – Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache für ausländische Studienbewerber– TestDaF.
• You can also take the German language examination as part of the Feststellungsprüfung (assessment test) at a Studienkolleg.

English

Additionally, you may also be requested to take a course in English if you don't have the necessary level of command to successfully complete the selected study program. You should therefore check with your host university if your current level of English is sufficient.

Minimum grade point requirement

For some competitive study programs, students may be ranked based on their grade point average from previous studies. Therefore, always check with the university or college of your choice about the minimum passing grade point you need to meet. You may use the European grades comparison chart to learn how you would score in Europe.

Akademische Prüfstelle (APS)

If you are a student from China, you must have your certificates pre-checked by the academic verification office of the German embassy in Beijing (Akademische Prüfstelle (APS) der Deutschen Botschaft in Beijing) before you can apply for higher education in Germany.
This process simplifies the application at German universities and accelerates the issuing of a VISA.

Source: Eurydice database (Eurydice is an international educational database developed by the European Commission and Member States of the European Union with the aim of facilitating and improving the understanding of the different educational systems in Europe).