Free Movers

Please let us know – preferably at least one week in advance – when exactly you will be arriving in Ilmenau. Then our student tutors can pick you up at the Ilmenau train station and accompany you to the campus. If you rent a room in a student dormitory on campus and arrive outside the opening hours of the dormitory administration, a tutor can also pick up your dormitory key for you. Then you can move in straight away!

There are hourly trains from Erfurt (the capital of the state of Thuringia) to Ilmenau. You can find information about train schedules on the Deutsche Bahn website.
Important: Please note that trains from Erfurt to Ilmenau are split in Arnstadt! The individual carriages of the train then continue their journey to different destinations. When boarding in Erfurt, make sure that the signs on the carriage indicate Ilmenau as the final destination.
Also important: Ilmenau has several stations (Ilmenau-Roda, Ilmenau Pörlitzer Höhe, Ilmenau Bad and Ilmenau). Please get off at Ilmenau station! This is normally the terminal station.

You can also easily reach Ilmenau by car via the A71 motorway. Please use exit 15 "Ilmenau-Ost" to get to the campus as quickly as possible.

By the way: Your tutor will accompany you through all the important administrative steps that arise during your first days in Ilmenau (e.g. registration at the town hall, enrolment, campus tour). And even during the semester, you are by no means alone! Your tutor will be available to answer all your questions. Thanks to our large international community, you will quickly make friends on our campus and perhaps find friends for life.

The Studierendenwerk Thüringen offers students fully furnished single and double rooms as well as single flats in student dormitories on the campus of TU Ilmenau. The rent currently varies between € 171.00 and € 295.00 per month, depending on the size and furnishings.
When you take over your room, you also have to pay a deposit of € 300.00. This deposit will be returned to you at the end of the rental period after the flat has been returned in good condition. You can find more information about the options, prices and the application process on the Studierendenwerk website.

TU Ilmenau is a campus university. This means that almost all faculty buildings, teaching rooms, the library, administrative buildings and the refectory are located on our main campus, the Hans Stamm Campus. Twelve of the thirteen student dormitories are located directly on our campus.

The officially recommended budget for living expenses for a study stay in Germany is € 934 per month.

If you have to apply for a visa for your stay in Ilmenau, you have to prove to the German mission abroad (embassy or consulate) that you have sufficient financial means. You have to prove that you have an amount of 931 € multiplied by the number of months you want to study in Ilmenau. For one semester (6 months) this means € 5,586, for two semesters (12 months) € 11,172.

In reality, Ilmenau is one of the cheapest places to study in Germany! Many students here get by with less than the amount mentioned above.

Persons covered by European health insurance or social security agreements

Health insurance is compulsory in Germany. Please inform yourself about the extent of your existing insurance before your departure. If you have a European Health Insurance Card and/or your country has concluded a social security agreement on health insurance with Germany, you do not have to take out new insurance in Germany.

In order to enrol at TU Ilmenau, you will need a certificate of exemption from compulsory health insurance if you would like to use the health insurance from your home country in Germany. We will gladly explain to you how you can get this certificate. Please contact us in good time!

Persons not covered by European health insurance or social security agreements

If you do not have a European Health Insurance Card or if there is no social security agreement between your country and Germany, you can take out insurance after your arrival in Ilmenau. The costs are about € 105 per month. Please contact us so that we can give you the name of a contact person.

For enrolment as an exchange student at TU Ilmenau you need the following documents:

• National identity card (if you are a citizen of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) or passport
• Letter of Acceptance from TU Ilmenau
• Passport photo according to biometric specifications for the student ID card (digital)
• Proof of health insurance (see "Health insurance in Germany")

The language of instruction for our Bachelor study programmes is German. The majority of the Master study programmes are also taught in German. Some Master study programmes are taught bilingually or entirely in English.

Further information can be found on our website:

Bachelor study programmes

Master study programmes

University catalogue

You can find a complete list of all study programmes and courses offered at TU Ilmenau in our Modultafeln (university catalogue). You can view the courses sorted by study programme. In addition, a specific list of all courses taught in English is available.

Language courses

TU Ilmenau offers in-semester courses in German and various foreign languages for all students. You can register via our online systems after you have enrolled at TU Ilmenau.

You can find all information about the language courses on the website of the Central Institute for Continuing Education (ZIB).

The laboratories, teaching rooms and workshops at TU Ilmenau meet the latest scientific standards. The Computer Centre offers a freely accessible Wi-Fi network on campus for all students. Students also receive a personalised email address which is used for communication within the university. Please therefore check your @tu-ilmenau.de address regularly.

The University Library offers a large selection of academic literature and has several online databases for research and ordering.

The campus and the town of Ilmenau offer you a wide variety of leisure activities: a lively club life, sports courses, mountain bike trails, cycle paths, swimming pool (indoor and outdoor), luge run, bowling, ice rink, nature and much more... Ilmenau is what you make of it!

Students from EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland

Students who are citizens of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland do not need a visa for their stay in Ilmenau. You can enter Germany without any problems using your passport or national identity document.

Students from non-EU countries studying in an EU country

You are a national of a non-EU country studying in an EU country and would like to come to Ilmenau for exchange studies or an internship? Then we will apply together for your mobility certificate at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. If the authority approves your stay, you do not have to apply for a visa for your stay. We will provide you with further information on the REST guideline.
Important: Please let us know when you apply if you are a national of a non-EU country, as the application for the mobility certificate takes a certain amount of time!

Students from non-EU countries studying outside the EU

Please apply for a visa for the purpose of studies at the German mission abroad (embassy or consulate) responsible for your country/region in good time. You will receive information on the documents required for this from the German mission abroad responsible for you.