r/studyinGermany Apr 24 '25

New to studying in Germany and want to get started? Basic tips before opening a new thread

9 Upvotes

Germany is becoming more popular due to low/no tuition fees, and a large and healthy employment market. International applications are increasing some 10% a year with the largest group coming from India. But there are a few basic rules you need to know to get started.

  1. Before asking about programs or unis, have a look at the DAAD.de database and basic application guides. Everything you need to know about the basics of studying in Germany are listed here.
  2. The majority of program places in Germany have no GPA requirement and will accept all qualified applicants up to the class limit. Only about 30% of programs use the Numerus Clausus system (accepting only the best applicants). However, that doesn't mean its easy. Programmes in the best universities and in specific subjects like CS, AI and Data Science are in high demand and have to reject many applicants.
  3. The admissions process is very untransparent. Public universities are underfunded and understaffed. More applications just slows everything down. Don't be surprised if you get no info on when admission results are announced, or no answer from the admissions team. Its likely they also don't know when they will be able to process everything.
  4. There are about 80 accredited private universities in Germany. Some good, but many are just providing a basic education for people who can't get into public. It isn't always a bad choice, but always consider the public sector first.
  5. Not all public universities are good. The quality varies as in every other country. There is just no reliable ranking system in place as a guide. Take a look at studycheck.de to get some insights on the quality and experience from other students.

Now feel free to ask any questions :)


r/studyinGermany Jul 17 '26

Indian Student Visa Megathread

45 Upvotes

Due to the overwhelming number of repeat questions about the student visa process in India, please post your questions here. Any posts in the main subreddit will be removed.

------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the dedicated visa megathread for Indian students planning to study in Germany.

Use this thread for any questions or discussions related to the German student visa process, including:

  • Visa applications and appointment availability
  • APS certificates
  • Blocked accounts and proof of finances
  • Required documents
  • VFS appointments and processing times
  • Visa interviews
  • Delays, refusals and additional document requests
  • Student visas, prospective student visas and related residence permits
  • Experiences with different consulates and visa centres in India

Please search the thread before posting, as your question may already have been answered.

Thanks for helping to keep this subreddit tidy!


r/studyinGermany 3h ago

Masters M.Sc. Computer Science WiSe 2026/27 – Still waiting for decision? (Status: Received since June)

5 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

​Does anyone know when TU Dresden typically finishes sending out admission decisions for the M.Sc. Computer Science program?

​It’s already September, and my SELMA status has been stuck on "Received" since June. Is anyone else still waiting, or has anyone received their decision recently?

​Thanks!


r/studyinGermany 1h ago

Masters Enroll to uni now or wait? What happens if I miss the start date?

Upvotes

Hey everyone, I’m in a tough spot with my student visa and university enrollment and could really use some advice from anyone who has navigated this.

I have been admitted to the Master’s in Computer Science program at TUHH for the upcoming Winter Semester. The official enrollment window is open now (September 1st to October 1st), and classes officially start on October 12th.

The problem is my visa. I submitted my application through the CSP portal, but I still haven't received an appointment at the embassy. Even after I get the appointment, I know the visa processing will take around a month. I am very worried that this timeline will push me past the October 12th start date, and since TUHH already refused to give me a late arrival letter, I'm afraid this might result in an automatic visa rejection.

Here is what I am trying to figure out:

  • When to enroll: Should I enroll ASAP and pay the semester fee before the October 1st deadline, or should I wait to see what happens with my appointment?
  • Handling a rejection: If I enroll now and my visa gets rejected because I missed the October 12th deadline, can I just apply for the visa again for the next semester?
  • Admission vs. Failing: If I have to wait for the next semester, can I just stay enrolled and count this first semester as "failed"/skipped, or would I need to get a completely new admission letter from the university to apply for the visa again?

Any advice or similar experiences would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!


r/studyinGermany 2h ago

Masters Anyone waiting for admits from these German universities?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I'm waiting for application updates from the following universities for Winter Semester 2026:

Hochschule Anhalt- Biomedical Engineering · Köthen

Furtwangen University (HFU)Biomedical Engineering.Villingen-Schwenningen

Ulm-Biomedical Engineering (BMT)

TU Ilmenau-Data Science

KIT Karlsruhe-Biomedical Engineering


r/studyinGermany 2h ago

Masters Enrollment without taking any courses.

1 Upvotes

Hey, everyone. I posted here earlier as well. A bit of context: I got into the International Master's Program in Data Analytics at the University of Hildesheim for the winter semester 2026/27. However, starting in time for the semester wasn't possible, so I reached out to the program coordinator for deferment. He told me to send him an email with my decision to defer and reapply and send another email informing him of the reapplication. He also told me to reach out to an admin email address with further queries.
When I reached out to the admin to confirm if deferment guaranteed an admission for the next semester, they told me it didn't and gave me another option of enrolling in this semester and, in case i'm not able to attend in time, then re-registering (Rückmeldung) for the next semester.
My question is, can I enroll for this semester and not take any courses? And begin my studies from the next semester.
Also, I've reached out to them regarding clarification about this multiple times (dropped 8 reminders). But I haven't heard back. So if someone knows about this situation, i would appreciate that as well.


r/studyinGermany 3h ago

Masters Finishing my Master’s soon and a bit lost until PhD applications reopen next year

0 Upvotes

EDIT: Got the answers I needed, cheers to those who genuinely tried to help. Didn’t realise some people would get quite so salty and worked up over someone asking for advice lol. Anyway, good luck to everyone in a similar situation!

——

Hi everyone, looking for some advice because I’m getting a bit worried about my situation.

I’m 30M, finishing my Master’s in a social sciences major, live in Frankfurt and should be done with my thesis soon, possibly ex-matriculating by November.

My plan has always been to continue into a PhD. I applied to a programmes/ spoke to supervisors earlier this year, but they all wanted my completed Master’s degree before they could consider me. By the time I graduate, this year’s application windows are closed, so realistically I’ll have to wait until programmes reopen next year.

My dilemma is basically how to bridge this gap of 8-10 months and stay in Germany.

I do have a stable long-term remote job abroad which has covered my living expenses so far (which is why I never applied for work here), but unfortunately this doesn’t count as recognised income for German residence purposes. I already ran into this when applying for my student visa and still had to open a blocked account, so I know I can’t rely on this income for the next visa either.

After graduating, my option is the 18-month post-study job-seeker visa, but I don’t have enough savings to simply fund another full blocked account. That’s why I’ve been trying to find a part-time job here. So far, no luck, even with supermarket/stocking-type jobs.

My German is around A2 and I’m planning to start B1 soon.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

  • How did you prove financial means for the 18-month permit without a full blocked account?
  • If I finish/ex-matriculate around November, when do I actually need to switch from my student residence permit? Mine is technically valid until March 2028, although obviously it is tied to my current studies.
  • Is there any realistic buffer time I could rely on between finishing/ex-matriculating and applying for the new permit?
  • How did others bridge this gap between finishing a Master’s and the next PhD application cycle?

Also, if anyone knows places around Frankfurt that are actually hiring part-time/Minijob staff and are okay with basic German, I’d appreciate any leads. I know a lot of people are job hunting right now, so I’m not expecting miracles 😅

Basically, I’m just trying to find a realistic way to stay in Germany until I can apply for PhDs next year. Leaving Germany would be my last resort.


r/studyinGermany 4h ago

Masters Confused about TH Köln Digital Sciences application + applying to multiple courses at Hildesheim

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to apply for some Master’s programs in Germany for the upcoming intake and I’m a bit confused about a few things. Would really appreciate some guidance from people who have already applied.

First, I’m interested in M.Sc. Digital Sciences at TH Köln. From what I understand, the program has different specializations like Business Information Systems, Data and Information Science and Software Architecture (and IT Management).

I’m mainly interested in Business Information Systems / Software Architecture, but I’m confused about the application process.

Do we apply for Digital Sciences as one program and then choose the specialization, or do we have to apply separately for each specialization?

Also, I read that Data and Information Science is at the Cologne/Südstadt campus, while some of the other specializations are at Gummersbach. So if anyone has applied to TH Köln Digital Sciences, could you please explain how this works? I don’t want to make a mistake while submitting the application.

My second question is about University of Hildesheim.

I’m looking at:

  • Data Analytics
  • Software Engineering
  • Future Analytics: AI & Audio Worlds

Is it okay to apply to multiple Master's programs at the same university? For example, Data Analytics and Software Engineering, and then choose between them if I get admission?

I’m asking because I’ve recently seen quite a few posts about people getting rejected from German universities for the Winter Intake, including TU Chemnitz (Web Engineering) and University of Hildesheim (Data Analytics / Software Engineering). So honestly, I’m getting a little worried about the application strategy 😅

If anyone has applied to these programs, especially international students, I’d really appreciate your experience regarding:

  • TH Köln Digital Sciences application process
  • Choosing the specialization
  • Gummersbach vs Cologne campus
  • Applying to multiple programs at Hildesheim
  • How competitive these programs are
  • Anything I should be careful about while applying

Thanks in advance!


r/studyinGermany 9h ago

Masters Has anyone received results from of KOBLENZ WEB this week (any guess when they will release for remaining candidates)

2 Upvotes

r/studyinGermany 14h ago

Masters Anyone got response from Uni of Passau?

5 Upvotes

It's Sept 1st and idk when Passau will release its result. Has anyone received any response from Passau and what you guys think will Passau still release admits at this point?


r/studyinGermany 6h ago

Masters TU CHEMNITZ ADMITS and rejection Today?

1 Upvotes

Please share your timeline!


r/studyinGermany 13h ago

Masters DMAT Exam Preparation for Germany – Resources & Advice

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m planning to take the DMAT exam for studying in Germany.
I’m starting my preparation and would really appreciate some advice from people who have already taken the exam.
What resources or books did you use?
How did you prepare?
How much time is usually enough for preparation?
Are there any mock tests or practice materials you recommend?
Any guidance or tips would be really helpful. Thank you!


r/studyinGermany 14h ago

Masters University of Passau MSc AI Engineering — Indian B.Tech CSE profile

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

Has anyone who applied for MSc Artificial Intelligence Engineering at the University of Passau for Winter Semester 2026/27 received an admission or rejection yet?

If yes, could you please share:

  • When you applied
  • When uni-assist forwarded your application
  • Admit/rejection
  • Whether you had an interview (if applicable)
  • Your general background (B.Tech/BSc, country)

I'm still waiting and trying to understand the current timeline.


r/studyinGermany 11h ago

Masters Title: University of Passau AI Engineering interview experience (accepted, sharing for future applicants)

0 Upvotes

I applied for the Master's in AI Engineering at Passau for Winter Semester 2026/27, had my interview on Zoom, and just found out I got accepted. A few people here shared their experience before mine and it genuinely helped me prepare, so I wanted to pay it forward.

Format: 30 minutes total, over Zoom, with an immediate decision given by the interviewer at the end of the call (though the official portal/letter took a bit longer to update).

What was actually asked, in order:

  • Walked through my Bachelor's thesis/graduation project in detail
  • Questions on interpreters and compilers, including writing a small piece of code in C
  • Pointers, and the difference between heap and stack memory — what gets stored where, and what happens to heap-allocated data when you're done with it
  • Trees and graphs
  • Quicksort, and Big O notation in general — including what O(n log n) actually means
  • Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

My takeaway:
Don't assume the interview will only be about your thesis or only about high-level ML concepts — mine leaned surprisingly heavily into core CS fundamentals (memory management, data structures, algorithmic complexity) alongside the thesis discussion. If your background is more applied/ML-tool-focused like mine was, it's worth brushing up on classic CS fundamentals even if you think it'll be purely about your project or motivation.

The actual questions were straightforward once I had the fundamentals down nothing designed to trick you, just checking that you genuinely understand the basics rather than just having used the tools.

Happy to answer questions if it helps anyone else going through this.


r/studyinGermany 13h ago

Masters BTU Enrollment Issue need Assistance

Post image
1 Upvotes

I Got this message on 25th August. But still did not get my Enrollment Certificate. How many days it will take to get the Enrollment certificate after this. Is there any one facing same problem or who Completed their Enrollment after 20th August


r/studyinGermany 14h ago

Masters Admitted to MSc FAME – University of Stuttgart | Summer Semester 2027 – Anyone else?

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I’ve recently been admitted to the M.Sc. Fundamentals and Applications of Mechanical Engineering (FAME) at the University of Stuttgart for the Summer Semester 2027. 🇩🇪

I’m looking to connect with other students who have also received an admission to FAME for SS 2027.

If anyone here has also been admitted to the same programme, please feel free to comment or DM me. It would be great to connect with future batchmates and possibly make a WhatsApp/Telegram/Discord group for the incoming students.

Looking forward to connecting with you all! 🙌


r/studyinGermany 15h ago

Undergrad Freelancing as a EU student

0 Upvotes

Im starting my bachelors in october this year, but I also got a freelance job offer now. I’m EU student and I know that I can’t exceed 20 hours per week, but are there any other important regulations? I’m still deciding whether to get a contract, mostly because I don’t know how my tax situation would look if I accepted the offer, so any advice would be really helpful.


r/studyinGermany 15h ago

Visas Timeline After Submitting Additional Language Proficiency Document to German Embassy

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone

I applied for my German Student Visa through VFS Delhi for my Master’s at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg.

My timeline so far:

Appointment date : 12th August

- My passport is currently with the German Embassy/Consulate.

- On 28 August, I received an email from the German Embassy asking me to provide an additional document as proof of English language proficiency.

- They specifically requested the language proficiency document/certificate.

- I submitted the requested document on 28 August itself by replying to the same email/thread.

Now I'm waiting for the next update.

For anyone who had a similar case where the German Embassy directly requested an additional language document after the visa application, I’d really appreciate knowing your timeline:

- How long after submitting the requested document did you receive a visa decision?

- Did you receive any acknowledgement/reply from the Embassy after submitting the document?

- Was your next update directly the passport dispatch/VFS SMS, or did you receive another email first?

- Did the visa approval happen within a few working days after submitting the document?

I’m especially interested in experiences from people who applied through VFS Delhi.

If you had a similar situation, please share your dates/timeline. It would really help me understand what to expect. 🙏

Thanks!


r/studyinGermany 11h ago

Undergrad please guide me!

0 Upvotes

im a btech/B.e student in first year (just started 3 weeks back)
my course is computer science engineering and data science
i want to know what are the requirements aside from language that play a key factor.

like i know cgpa matters a lot and requirements vary from uni to uni but then what should my cgpa ATLEAST be to get admitted at a decent public uni?
please share any information regarding studying in germany or getting admitted in uni, whatever u deem to be helpful for me.

THANKS!


r/studyinGermany 9h ago

Masters Connect

0 Upvotes

I am starting Masters in Data Science in Uni of Trier Winter Sem 2026. Looking forward to connect with people flying from India to Trier!!


r/studyinGermany 11h ago

Undergrad please help me with sources to learn german!!

0 Upvotes

im currently in my first year of B.E (computer science engineering (datascience))
the first year just started, so i want to learn as much german as possible in the next year and i hope to reach till B1 ATLEAST before starting to apply there
please guide me (my native language is hindi if that helps)


r/studyinGermany 11h ago

Masters Chennai visa application for germany.

0 Upvotes

I met a girl today at VFS Chennai around 12:30 PM. We were there for our German student visa appointments and ended up having a really nice conversation.

I remember you’re from Pondicherry and you’re going to Germany for your Master’s in Management. We spoke quite a bit, but somehow I completely forgot to ask your name or get your Instagram/number before leaving 😂

I’m Sanjiv if you happen to see this and think it’s you, please DM me. Would be nice to continue our conversation and you left your passport size photo


r/studyinGermany 1d ago

Masters TU Chemnitz - Anyone received an admission decision yet?

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I applied to TU Chemnitz for the MSc Web Engineering program and received my application credentials on 20th August.

My application status is still showing “Received”, and I haven’t received any further updates yet.

For those who applied to TU Chemnitz this intake:

- How long did it take for you to receive a decision after getting your credentials?
- Does the “Received” status usually stay the same until a decision is made?

Would really appreciate any updates or insights from people who have applied! 🙏


r/studyinGermany 22h ago

Visas Need help, should I give ielts test again? Overall 6.5(5.5 in writing)

1 Upvotes

gave IELTS in May and got an overall score of 6.5, and I also got the offer letter, but I have a 5.5 in writing. What should I do?

Please help me. If you have a visa with a score of 5.5 in any module, please contact me.


r/studyinGermany 1d ago

Masters Tu Ilmenau MS RCSE Summer Semester 2027

3 Upvotes

Hi all. Did anyone apply to TU Ilmenau MS in RCSE for the summer semester around August 2nd week or before? I applied on 12th August and received my uni creds today. Please comment down below to share your timeline and queries (if any) so that we could all help each other out.