Applicants FAQs

At the end we need the certified documents as mentioned in the application guidelines. Sending us your documents via e-mail doesn't really speed up the process.

Yes, the deadline is until 31st of May. As we receive many application we have to be quite strict regarding the deadlines. Depending on the number of applications it takes around 2 to 3 months to process them here at TU Ilmenau and another 2-3 months of processing time for the visa applications.

The application deadline is 31 May (as long as you start your application by then, there is even a one month grace period to provide any missing documents, in your case the degree/transcript). If even that is not possible then a provisional certificate from your university with information about when you will graduate will also work and we will wait for the final transcript. The one thing you should keep in mind though is that the sooner you provide all the documents, the sooner we can assess your application and make a decision about admission. Since lectures start at the start of October, you should keep in mind that there is enough time for the visa process.

The process is as follows:

• Your application arrives at the Academic Service Center, where the documents are checked for completeness, some average grades are calculated and an acknowledgment of receipt is sent back by mail. 

• After that, the applications are forwarded to the program manager, who will check if the application fulfills the basic requirements.

• In the next step, the application (with a positive or negative decision) is forwarded again to the academic service center, where the results are being sent out via mail.

If you don't get any feedback within 4 weeks after the submission of the documents, please double-check the status with the academic service center:

Contact: info.apply@tu-ilmenau.de, +49 3677 69-2023

In case your application arrives late, or all seats are taken, we'll keep your application for next year's intake and contact you again via e-mail, to see whether you are still interested then.

You will have to complete the whole application process again and apply for a new admission. Unfortunately, there is no other way.

There is no general rule for the approval of credit points from different Master's programs. For the approval of individual lectures, you have to get into contact with the corresponding Professor here and proof that you covered the material treated in his course. If he agrees, the credit points can be transferred.

No, we don't. It is enough to have documents certified at the country where you graduated.

For the application at our University you don't need German skills. It might be required to obtain a visa. Please verify this with your regional visa authorities. Anyway, we recommend some basic German skills for everyday life, e.g., public offices, shopping centers or just to get in contact with German students more easily.

Yes, our language center offers all kinds of German classes, like A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, DaF, and DSH.
Furthermore, the international office offers "Summer German Courses" in August and September. The courses last 7 weeks. The fee for teaching and the accompanying program, like excursions, guided lab tours, and cultural events is about €800 to €1000.

Yes, you absolutely can apply and get conditional admission (try to mention somewhere date for the test).

To open an account you have to appear at the bank personally. One possible way is to go to a branch office of the "Deutsche Bank" in your country and open the account there.

Please use the admission letter to apply for visa, and then we hope to see you in Ilmenau by the time the lectures start (check Important Dates).
You do not need anything extra from us that you do not already have. Don't forget, that you need to bring all your hard copies of the documents that you uploaded to the application portal with you to Ilmenau.

Yes, you absolutely can apply and get conditional admission (try to mention somewhere date for the test).

Use the address and telephone number at the contact section at the bottom of this page.
Use mscsp@tu-ilmenau.de  for email address and for name you can use Prof. Martin Haardt.

Your admission is valid for two years. You can catch up a delay of two weeks, but it won't be easy. For larger delays, we recommend you to start your studies one year later.

Please double-check directly with the Immigration Office (in Germany called "Ausländerbehörde") in Ilmenau what problems might have occurred. Usually, it is difficult to speed up those processes. From our side, we are not able to speed up the visa process.

Unfortunately no. University doesn't participate in this process. You can try to contact the we4you team, they'll try to help you.

The nearest Airport is located in Erfurt (small regional airport). International flights usually arrive in Frankfurt (Main) or in Leipzig. From Leipzig, it is about a 2h20 train trip to Ilmenau, from Frankfurt 3h20. You'll find train connections at www.bahn.de. If you look for connections from Frankfurt make sure you search for "Frankfurt Airport" as the airport has it's own train station. In Ilmenau the main station (last station) is most closely located to the university.

This would be hard as we do not list students in terms of which country they come from and we do not have the manpower to look through all the applicants, plus we do not know who will come and who won't. On top of that, we are not authorized by the applicants to share their contact details with other applicants or anyone else, so we cannot do it.

You only need to bring the originals of all the documents you uploaded at the admissions portal (the degree certificates etc.) so we can verify that they were authentic. Nothing new is required.

You'll need:

• your passport,

• the admission letter,

• a proof that you transferred the semester fee

• a confirmation for a health insurance.

A short-term insurance which you'll likely have for the travel will be fine in a first stage, afterwards you have to choose a health insurance here in Germany. There are about 400 possible insurance companies. Some common ones with English web pages are TK and BIG, or only with German web pages AOK and Barmer, ... To get an insurance there, you'll need the confirmation that you are enrolled in a study program. With these documents you visit the Academic Service Center (ASC) which is located in the Mensa-Building. Your welcome tutors will help you with those kinds of questions.

As Ilmenau is quite a small city (like 30.000 inhabitants) there are not many student jobs available. At the university, there are usually some open positions as student research assistant, but this depends on your research interests and the current project situation in the corresponding labs. We cannot guarantee a job in advance.

We estimated around 650 €/month including rent, food and so on.

Recently, the "Studentenwerk Thüringen" changed the application procedure for the dormitories. From now only online application are possible. If you received your admission letter please apply directly this webpage for one of the dormitories. There you will find also information about the application procedure.

The application deadline for the dormitories is July 31, for starting in October. If you cannot meet the application deadline for the dormitories please contact the we4you team, they'll try to help you.

Please check our webpage (Important Dates) for the information about the beginning of the Winter Semester. Usually it is the second week of October.
Also you can find this information on the webpage of ASC.

No, as the lectures are only offered once a year.

Unfortunately there is no possibility. You can start your study on MSCSP program only in October (Winter Semester).
The reason is that there is a flow to the studies and the courses are only offered once a year, so if you start with the second semester courses before the first it will be very hard for you and you might end up wasting a semester anyways.

We recommend enrolling the MSCSP program until the end of October. If you can’t come to Ilmenau before the end of October, we highly recommend starting your study in October of the next year. Because you miss big part of lectures and tutorials, if you come in November.

There are no tuition fees. Semester fee is around a 135 euros per semester (it is not strictly obligatory though) to be the member of the student union. You can choose not to be a member but then you are not eligible for subsidized student housing, or subsidized food in the cafeteria or free train travel in the Thuringia state. Some more information about some costs.