Masters courses

To apply for a master´s course you have to hand in the following documents:

• Bachelor certificate, including transcript of records. If you have not received you BA certificate yet, the latest transcript of records can be accepted instead. In this case your BA certificate plus your final transcript have to be handed in until the end of the first semester.
• For study courses with restricted admission: Your school leaving certificate or "Hochschulzugangsberechtigung" (HZB), i.e. your secondary school certificate. A transcript of records or a degree certificate of your former studies and, if available, the results of a university entrance exam of your home country.
• Proof of the required German and/or English language skills; please check the homepage of the study course for detailed information.
• Further documents like a letter of motivation or CV might be asked for. Please check at the homepage of your chosen study course.

Important information for all courses:

You can only hand in documents written in German or English. Documents in all other languages have to be accompanied by a translation into German or English by a sworn-in translator. Please always load up both - your original documents and their translations.

Some faculties may ask for additional documents. Please always also check the homepage of your chosen study course or with the application officers or Studienfachberater*innen in charge. You can stop your online application midway, find the document you are being asked for, and take up your application again at a later date. 

You have received an offer letter from the University of Tübingen and you would like to register as a student? 

To register as a studient studying for a Master degree, please find information here. 

Please note that we cannot defer admissions.

Paying the tuition fees and registering at a German statutory health insurance are necessary to complete the enrollment.

Study programs with German as the language of instruction: Proof of German language skills for application to study at the University of Tübingen 

International applicants who did not obtain their higher education entrance qualification in Germany and in German language must document German language proficiency enabling them to study at university level.

Proof of university-level language proficiency must be concluded by the deadline for applications and included in your online application. Your application will be rejected if this documentation is not provided on time.

Therefore: Do not submit an application without documentation of your German language proficiency.

EU citizens who have obtained a study place via www.hochschulstart.de cannot enroll at Student Administration without documentation of German language proficiency. In that case, their approval to study becomes invalid.

German language proficiency may be documented via the following exams:

• The Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang (DSH); you must attain an overall grade of at least DSH 2 oder DSH 3.
• The Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache“ (TestDaF); you must attain at least a 4 or 5 in all parts of the exam.
• The Prüfungsteil Deutsch of the assessment test at a preparatory college (Studienkolleg).
• The Telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule exam.

The University of Tübingen offers exams and preparatory courses for the Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang (DSH).

The following are exempt from DHS and TestDaF:

• Holders of the Deutschen Sprachdiploms der Kultusministerkonferenz, level II or C1 (DSD II or DSD C1) respectively.
• Holders of a certificate showing they have passed the Goethe-Zertifikat C 2, Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS). The Goethe-Zertifikat C 2 Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS) succeeded the Oberstufenprüfung des Goethe-Instituts, Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP), and the Kleine Deutsche Sprachdiplom (KDS), on 1 January 2012. If the exam date of the Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP), Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom (KDS), or Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS) was more than 5 years prior to the cutoff date of 31 Dezember 2016, the University will decide whether to recognize the certificate or not.
• Applicants with the Deutsche Sprachprüfung II issued by the Sprachen- und Dolmetscher-Instituts München.

Other recognized documentation  

The following certificates from institutions outside Germany are recognized as documentation of German language proficiency required for acceptance into higher education studies in the Federal Republic of Germany:

• Documentation of German in the French Diplôme du Baccalauréat, which is obtained upon completion of a bilingual German-French stream at secondary school.
• The US-Advanced Placement-Prüfung (AP-Prüfung) in the subject of German.
• The final certificate from the final phase of secondary school in the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
• Secondary school final certificates from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
• Leaving certificates with German as language of instruction from the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol.
• The final certificate from the international section German language at the Liceo Gimnasiale Luigi Galvani in Bologna.
• The final certificate of a German-Irish bilingual secondary school (Bilingual Leaving Certificate) at the Deutsche Schule Dublin, St. Kilian’s.
• The certificate of the Polish Matura which was completed with a bilingual German exam in the subject of German.
• The Maturitätszeugnis certificate from Liechtenstein, which is simultaneously recognized as documentation of German language proficiency.

Programs conducted in English

You do not require proficiency in German for degree programs taught completely in English. You can find a list of our international degree programs here.

The University of Tübingen will check the validity of your certificates and convert your grades into the German grading system.

At the information portal anabin (German only) and the DAAD database on admission requirements (English/German) you can check yourself whether your qualifications meet requirements. If in doubt, please contact the application officers. Final authority of approval rests with the University.

Once you have submitted your application, you can track the status of your application via our campus management portal Alma. If you would like to add further documents or replace documents that have already been uploaded before the application deadline, please contact us by e-mail study.master@uni-tuebingen.de

It is not possible to transfer admission to another semester. Please apply online for the next possible semester and upload your letter of admission from the previous semester. Contact us immediately with your applicant number. The decision will then be made immediately so that you have enough time for the visa procedure. This applies only for non-restricted programs.

Visa (before entering Germany) 

You can find out if you need a visa to enter Germany by checking the  list of countries that require one. Pay attention to the footnotes! The Visa-Navigator might be helpful as well. 

Please apply for your visa in a timely manner through the responsible German representation. To find embassies, consulates, and other representations, see here. Please be aware that in some countries it will take up to 24 months to receive an appointment for a visa application. Therefore, we recommend applying for your visa appointment immediately after receiving your admission. More information regarding student applicant visa is available here. 

Please note:

• The University of Tübingen is not involved in the visa process and cannot speed up the procedure or influence the requirements. 

• Please do not enter Germany on a visa intended for any purpose other than studying, such as a tourist visa (also known as a Schengen visa). You will not be able to change it to a residence permit after you arrive! 

Usually required documents for visa application

• Valid passport
• Proof of health insurance
• Proof of sufficient funds
• Letter of admission
• Records of previous studies and language skills
• Possibly a curriculum vitae
• Possibly a letter of motivation

Residence permit (after entering Germany) 

Step 1: Register at the Citizens’ Office (Bürgerbüro)/Residents Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt)

Before applying for a residence permit, you must register with the citizen's office or resident's registration office responsible for your area within 14 days of arriving in Germany.

If you live in Tübingen, you can schedule an appointment here.

If you live in Reutlingen, you can make an appointment here.

If no appointments are available, we recommend checking the respective websites regularly. Depending on their availability, the Citizens’ Offices often publish appointments that have spontaneously become available for the respective day about 30 minutes before opening. 

If you live in a surrounding municipality and not one of the cities listed above, the resident’s registration office is probably located in the town hall of your municipality. The relevant addresses are listed online. Please note that the opening hours of regional offices often differ from those of the main office.

If you do not have a place to stay yet, start with step 2. 

Step 2: Applying for a residence permit at the immigration office ("Ausländerbehörde")

Once you have registered, please apply for a residence permit at the Immigration Office serving your area well before your visa expires. To find out where to submit your application, visit BAMF website. 

Citizens of EU countries, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland only need to register with the relevant Citizens’ Office/Residents Registration Office.

Citizens of Andorra, Australia, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Canada, Monaco, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, San Marino, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States have to apply for a residence permit at the Immigration Office within 90 days of entering the country.

All prospective students and students who have entered the country on a visa for study purposes or for the purpose of seeking a university place must apply for a residence permit before their visa expires. 

Usually required documents for visa application (varies by country):

• Valid passport 
• Current biometric passport photo submitted digitally by a certified photo studio or drugstore.
• Proof of health insurance
• Proof of sufficient funds
• Enrollment certificate 

When renewing your residence permit, it is important to prove that your studies are your primary activity in Germany. Therefore, a current transcript of records (TOR) —which you can download from the Alma portal—may be helpful.  

You can find information about studying in Germany here: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/de/studium-ausbildung/studieren-in-deutschland 

The necessary allowance of a university student at the University of Tübingen per month would be:

Source: 21. Sozialerhebung des Deutschen Studentenwerks (DSW) 2017

(Not included is the study fee of Euro 1,500.00 per semester for NON-EU interntaional students).