A. Master’s Degree
Although the duration of master’s education in Germany varies from 2 to 4 semesters depending on the success of students, generally it is 4 semesters.
In order to receive master’s education in Germany, one must have a bachelor’s degree. Students completing their undergraduate education in Germany can begin master’s program directly.
The fact that candidates have studies related to master’s program, especially that they have done their internship provide a significant advantage in terms of the acceptance of their applications.
Another requirement to be able to take master’s education is language. To enroll in a master’s program, candidates must have a sufficient level of English or German proficiency depending on the language of instruction of the program. Candidates not having sufficient language proficiency can attend a language course for 1 year by receiving “conditional pre-acceptance”. Candidates getting sufficient language score make final registration procedures and become master’s students.
In Germany, there has been an increase in the number of master’s programs whose language of instruction is English. Having a sufficient level of English for these programs is required, candidates are not expected to know German. Candidates must get a minimum of 80 from TOEFL or a minimum of 6.0 from IELTS to fulfill English proficiency requirement. If the language of instruction of graduated undergraduate program is English, candidates are not required to submit language proficiency certificate by majority of the universities.
Candidates who have obtained their bachelor’s degrees or those on the verge of graduation can apply if they fulfill the following requirements:
- Undergraduate GPA must be a minimum of 2,50 or over. If undergraduate GPA is below 2,50, candidates are required to register to complete undergraduate (Aufbaustudium) and they are required to take extra courses.
- If GPA is below 2,50, visa application may be rejected even if acceptance from a university is received.
- Master’s application must be made to the program of undergraduate graduation. Even if an application made to a different master’s program is accepted by university, visa request may be responded negatively.
- Motivation letter answering the questions why candidates want to do master’s degree, in what fields they want to study, the subject of the research, the method of the research must be well-prepared.
- Reference letters must be received from the professors of the courses taken during undergraduate education.
Required Documents for Application:
- Bachelor’s Degree or provisional graduation certificate*
- Transcript*
- Course content (sometimes not required.)*
- Foreign language score
- Motivation letter
- Reference letters
- CV
- Passport photocopy
*The originals of documents must not be sent. Notarized German translation of documents must be sent after the issuance of an apostille.
Documents in English generally do not have to be translated into German.
B. Doctoral Degree
To be able to apply to a doctoral program (PhD Program), candidates are required to have a master’s degree.
In receiving acceptance for a doctoral program, rather than universities,thesis professors are more effective. Therefore, before applying to a doctoral program, candidates must find a professor who can supervise their theses.
Another requirement is language. To enroll in a master’s program, candidates must have a sufficient level of English or German proficiency depending on the language of instruction of the program. Candidates not having sufficient language proficiency can attend a language course for 1 year by receiving “conditional pre-acceptance”. Candidates getting sufficient language score make final registration procedures and become doctoral (PhD) students.
In Germany, there has been an increase in the number of doctoral (PhD) programs whose language of instruction is English. Having a sufficient level of English for these programs is required, candidates are not expected to know German. Candidates must get a minimum of 80 from TOEFL or a minimum of 6.0 from IELTS to fulfill English proficiency requirement. If the language of instruction of graduated undergraduate or master’s program is English, candidates are not required to submit language proficiency certificate by majority of the universities.
The duration of doctoral program is 3 years but this is not a strict rule. Candidates who cannot graduate within 3 years submit a report explaining their excuse as to why they have not been able to complete their theses to relevant faculty/Institute and can start dissertation study.
Required Documents for Application:
- Bachelor’s Degree Diploma or provisional graduation certificate*
- Bachelor’s Degree Transcript *
- Master’s diploma or provisional graduation certificate*
- Master’s Transcript*
- Course content (sometimes not required.)*
- Foreign language score
- Motivation letter
- Reference letters
- CV
- Passport photocopy
*The originals of documents must not be sent. Notarized German translation of documents must be sent after the issuance of an apostille.
Documents in English generally do not have to be translated into German.