Germany is the most common European destination for a reason: public universities charge no tuition in most states, only a semester contribution of roughly €100–€400, and English-taught master's programmes now exist in almost every field. What costs applicants the place is never the fee, it is the sequence of certifications that has to be finished before a deadline that does not move.
The country separates the two degrees sharply. A taught master's is an admissions-office decision with no supervisor involved. A PhD is a person: you are accepted because a professor or a graduate school wants you, and often paid as a research assistant on a project contract.
At a glance
| Language | English-taught master's are common; German needed for most PhD-adjacent jobs and daily life |
|---|---|
| Tuition | Public universities: no tuition in most states, €100–€400 semester contribution. Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU students around €1,500 per semester |
| Living costs for the visa | Blocked account (Sperrkonto) of €11,904 for the year, released about €992 a month |
| Main intakes | Winter (October) is the big one; Summer (April) is smaller and not offered by every programme |
| Where you apply | uni-assist for roughly 170–180 universities, or directly at the rest |
| After graduation | 18 months to look for qualified work |
What they require
- A recognised bachelor's in a closely related subject; Germany cares about subject match more than almost anywhere else
- Typically 70%+ or a 2.5 German-scale equivalent for competitive programmes, but the subject-match rule outweighs the number
- IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 88–90 for English-taught programmes; TestDaF 4 or DSH-2 for German-taught ones
- APS certificate before or alongside the application if you studied in India, China, Vietnam or Mongolia
- Officially certified copies (amtlich beglaubigte Kopien) of degree and transcripts, with certified translations
How admission actually works
Decentralised and document-driven. There is no national ranking system and no interview for most master's programmes: a committee checks whether your bachelor's content covers the modules they require, then whether your grade clears the bar. Restricted (numerus clausus) programmes rank on grades; unrestricted ones admit everyone who qualifies.
uni-assist is a document-checking service, not an admissions body. It verifies and converts your grades, then forwards the file. Its queue in peak season runs four to eight weeks, which is why the printed 15 July deadline is not your real deadline.
How much does a supervisor matter?
Not used for master's. Decisive for a PhD.
For a taught master's, contacting professors achieves nothing; the admissions office decides. For a PhD it is the whole game: you find a professor or a structured graduate school, agree a topic, and the formal admission follows. Most German PhD candidates hold a paid research position rather than a scholarship.
When applications open and close
The pattern below is what these systems normally do. Every programme sets its own dates, so treat this as the planning shape and confirm on the official portal linked at the end.
Funding that genuinely exists here
The main route for a funded master's. Applications usually close in the autumn for the following October, roughly a year before you start.
Many consortia are German-led. Deadlines typically October to January for the September start.
€300 a month, awarded by the university itself, applied for after or alongside admission.
The standard PhD funding: a 50–100% TV-L E13 position on a chair or project, i.e. a salary rather than a stipend.
Politically or religiously affiliated foundations with their own cycles; they fund fewer people but are less crowded than DAAD.
Documents this country asks for
- APS certificate (India, China, Vietnam, Mongolia) — start it 6–8 weeks ahead of everything else
- Officially certified copies plus certified translations of degree and transcripts
- Module or subject descriptions for your bachelor's, which German committees genuinely read
- Letter of motivation tied to specific modules of the programme, not general enthusiasm
- Blocked account confirmation for the visa appointment
- CV in the European style, dated and signed if the programme asks
Visa and permit
Book the consulate appointment the day you have the admission letter; in peak season slots go months out. The blocked account, health insurance and the certified documents all have to exist before the appointment, not after it.
After you graduate
18 months to look for qualified work
An 18-month residence permit to seek employment matching your qualification, during which you may take any job to support yourself. Once you hold a qualified offer, the EU Blue Card route is the usual next step and is the fastest path to settlement in Europe.
What they favour
- A bachelor's whose modules visibly overlap the master's curriculum
- Clean, certified, complete paperwork over a polished personal story
- Evidence of practical work: internships, a Werkstudent job, a lab project
- Applicants who can show they will manage without German at first, and plan to learn it
Where applications fail
- Submitting to uni-assist in July for a 15 July deadline
- Applying to a programme whose prerequisites your degree does not cover, whatever your grades
- Starting the APS after the applications instead of in parallel
- Assuming every state is tuition-free; Baden-Württemberg is not
Official sources
Rules and dates change, sometimes mid-cycle. These are the pages that carry the authoritative version; if anything here disagrees with them, they are right. Reviewed September 2026.