TU Berlin for international applicants: Bachelor entry in winter 2027/2028

Applications for a TU Berlin Bachelor from abroad in the winter semester 2027/2028 run 01.06.2027 until 15.07.2027 for NC programmes and 01.06.2027 until 31.08.2027 for open-admission programmes, according to the pages as of October 2026. With a foreign certificate you need a VPD from uni-assist, proof of German at least level DSH-2, and a place in the right route: direct admission or the Preparatory School first.

TU Berlin lists the same dates for international and German applicants, and applications with international academic credentials have the same deadlines as non-international applications. The semester fee is the only regular cost: there are no tuition fees to pay at TU Berlin, and the winter semester 2026/2027 total is €379.06 with the Semesterticket (the latest published).

A building of the Technische Universität Berlin

The key facts by topic

What to do first

• Check in anabin whether your certificate gives direct admission or only access to the Preparatory School.
• Request the VPD at uni-assist: processing can take 4 to 6 weeks.
• Book a German test that reaches at least level DSH-2.

TU Berlin decides alone, and there is no conditional or provisional admission.

Four of the five programmes covered here are taught in German, and Information Systems Management lists German / English as its language of instruction, according to the pages as of October 2026. Every applicant with a foreign certificate needs German anyway: you always require German language skills and additionally possibly English language skills at a certain level.

English proof for the Bachelor

None of the five programme pages sets an English test score. For Mechanical Engineering, English is useful but not a condition for admission, and for Industrial Engineering and Management it is also not a condition for admission. Computer Science and Information Systems Management name English only as a skill you should bring: solid English skills for understanding academic literature and solid English skills for understanding course content and academic literature. Under the Bachelor heading the language page lists no English certificate; English minimums appear only for the Preparatory School.

English at the Preparatory School

The W course of the Preparatory School asks for a language certificate at least at level A2 at entry, for example TOEFL iBT (41-30) / TOEFL ITP Level 1 (459-337) or IELTS (3.5, 3.0). For the assessment test, English at least at level B2 is recommended if you are interested in the W course, but you do not need proof of English language skills for your application.

The window for the winter semester 2027/2028 is 01.06.2027 until 15.07.2027 for NC programmes and 01.06.2027 until 31.08.2027 for open-admission programmes. It is not possible to extend the application deadline or submit documents after the end of the application deadline.

The first row is the one for readers entering in autumn 2027. The winter semester 2026/2027 windows ran from 01.06.2026 until 15.07.2026 for NC programmes and 01.06.2026 until 31.08.2026 for open admission, and both have closed. Applicants with a German certificate use the same NC dates, 01.06.2027 until 15.07.2027.

When the selection runs

After admission, enrolment for all bachelor's programs follows the letter of acceptance in tuPORT.

TU Berlin publishes no admit rate for its Bachelor programmes, according to the pages as of October 2026, but it does publish places and past cut-off grades per programme within the international advance quota. These figures do not predict future application semesters; they are provided for informational purposes only.

The cut-off is a German grade, where a lower number is better. It is the grade up to which places were awarded in the main procedure of the international advance quota, and it is not a typical grade of admitted students. Earlier winter semesters moved in both directions: Informatik 1,2 in the latest column against 1,1 and 1,2 before, Technische Informatik 2,0 against 1,7 and 2,2.

The Preparatory School share

The same sheet states that around half of the places in the main procedure go to graduates of the TU Berlin Preparatory School. For those graduates the cut-off was 1,7 in Informatik and 2,0 in Wirtschaftsinformatik, while the other three programmes in the table admitted all of them. Read the exact row of your programme before you estimate anything.

In NC programmes the advance quotas amount to a maximum of 20 percent in total, and applicants from outside the EU and EEA compete in the international advance quota with 5 percent of the places.

The international advance quota

Within this quota a ranking list is formed and the selection is based only on the average grade; the waiting period has no effect. There is a second, separate share: an additional 4 percent of the places are reserved for non-EU nationals who completed the TU Berlin Preparatory School. You can use it only once: one application for a restricted-admission bachelor programme in the first degree semester.

The main quota and the lottery

The main quota is mainly for German and EU applicants: the remaining places are allocated 50 percent by average grade and 50 percent by waiting period. Leftover NC places are not wasted: they will be allocated by means of a lottery system.

Programmes without NC

Open-admission programmes have no ranking, but you still have to apply: you cannot enroll without prior application and admission. All five programmes in this report are restricted-admission programmes, so the NC route applies to them.

The MINTgrün orientation programme

If you are unsure which engineering or science programme to pick, MINTgrün lets you get to know the bachelor programmes over two semesters, with applications only for the winter semester.

Your nationality sets how many applications you may file: a maximum of three for non-EU/EEA nationals and a maximum of five for EU/EEA nationals.

EU and EEA nationals are in a different position: nationals of another member state of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are equal to Germans, so they sit on the joint ranking list. If you hold several nationalities you must register and apply with the EU or EEA one, otherwise the application is rejected or an admission withdrawn.

Registration at hochschulstart.de

For the first semester of an NC programme, you must register with hochschulstart.de. The order of your choices matters because the maximum number of applications that can be submitted to hochschulstart.de for all universities in Germany is twelve. The application itself is online: the process is paperless and takes place online.

The VPD is a certificate on the educational certificates you presented to uni-assist, how uni-assist evaluates them, and how it rates your grade in the German system. Without a VPD issued for TU Berlin, it is not possible to apply to TU Berlin.

Apply for the VPD early: processing can take 4 to 6 weeks, you can apply at any time regardless of the application semester, and the VPD is valid for one year after the date of issue. At uni-assist you select the degree program Bachelor and Preparatory School.

What it costs and what you upload

The fees are set by the universities: the uni-assist universities set the handling fees. You upload the secondary-school final transcript and school-leaving certificate, where available, including the summary of subjects and grades, and a certified translation into German or English if the certificate is in another language.

Language certificates do not go to uni-assist

uni-assist does NOT check language certificates for TU Berlin; they must be uploaded directly and only via the application portal of TU Berlin. Once the VPD is issued, apply directly via the application portal of TU Berlin by the end of the respective application deadline. TU Berlin does not conduct any prior checks of recognition.

Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese certificates

If you hold Vietnamese certificates, note that an APS certificate is needed if you have acquired Chinese, Indian or Vietnamese educational certificates.

Whether your certificate opens the door depends on its anabin valuation: check anabin whether your certificate entitles you to study directly or only to attend a Preparatory School in Germany. TU Berlin publishes no country-by-country list on its pages.

International Baccalaureate

The IB Diploma is accepted as a direct entrance qualification only if the KMK recognition conditions are met for your application semester (the requirements of the KMK resolution on the recognition of the IB diploma). All subjects in the IB program must have been taken for two consecutive years, so you must submit your transcripts from your last two years of school besides the diploma. The country of acquisition is fixed: Switzerland, regardless of which country you acquired the IB diploma in. You can start early, because you can still apply for a VPD before your final IB results arrive.

A-levels and AP

The TU Berlin pages name no rule for A-levels and no rule for AP exams as school-leaving credentials, and the anabin valuation of your certificate decides. AP appears in one place only, as a German-language proof: a US Advanced Placement exam in German with a grade of at least 3 counts as proof of German.

French, Italian, Polish and European certificates

• A French Diplôme du Baccalauréat with a German certificate from a bilingual French-German branch counts as German proof.
• An Italian Reifediplom from schools in Bolzano, South Tyrol, with German as language of instruction counts as German proof.
• The Polish matura in German from bilingual lyceum branches counts as German proof.
• The European Baccalaureate is treated as a German educational certificate if the additional KMK certificate is submitted, and proof of German is still required.

For Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Brazilian, Indonesian, Algerian, Japanese, Egyptian, Saudi and Turkish certificates the TU Berlin pages state no separate rule; the anabin valuation and the uni-assist check apply.

The Preparatory School at TU Berlin prepares international applicants who do not directly qualify for university entrance in Germany, and preparation for the assessment test generally takes two semesters.

The route ends with the assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung). Passing it gives you a direct subject-specific university entrance qualification, valid only if it qualifies you for Berlin: the certificate must qualify you for a bachelor's program at a university in Berlin. You still need a VPD issued for TU Berlin by uni-assist.

Entry requirements and dates

For German at entry, the Preparatory School accepts a language certificate at least at level B2, DSH-1 or TestDaF with TDN 3 or higher in all modules. The application window for the winter semester 2027/2028 is 01.05.2027 expected until 30.06.2027, and the external assessment test and the supplementary test run 01.05.2027 until 31.08.2027.

Why the Studienkolleg route is competitive

Graduates have their own shares: an additional 4 percent of NC places are reserved for non-EU Preparatory School graduates, and around half of the main-procedure places go to them. Two other options exist: the Propädeutikum lasts one semester and ends with a German test equivalent to DSH 2, but it will not be offered in the winter semester of 2026/27, and a supplementary test can widen the range of subjects you qualify for.

To apply with a foreign certificate you need at least level DSH-2, and the Bachelor language page accepts DSH-2 or DSH-3 and a final TestDaF with TDN 4 or higher in all modules among others.

When no certificate is needed

Some certificates carry the German proof with them: a school-leaving certificate listed in the KMK resolution makes further proof of German unnecessary. Examples named on the page are the European Baccalaureate with an examination in German as L1 or L2 and an AP exam in German with a grade of at least 3. The IB works differently: IB German counts only if German citizenship is additionally proven, and the bilingual IB Diploma from foreign schools taught in German counts.

What does not count

• An identity card or passport of German, Austrian or Swiss citizens.
• The subject German on a secondary school-leaving certificate, apart from the listed exceptions.
• A degree in Germanistik from a foreign university.
• DSH examinations that are not officially recognized.
• The combined digital TestDaF certificate is not recognized.

How the certificate must be submitted

The final language certificate must always be submitted; a temporary certificate, a course registration or an attendance certificate is not sufficient. Older certificates are accepted as long as they do not contain an expiry date, and documents not issued in German or English need a certified translation. Even nationals of Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland also need a language certificate at the required level.

You are not required to have TestAS to apply or enroll, and the pages describe no admission test or interview for Bachelor applicants with a school certificate, according to the pages as of October 2026.

The one exception

TestAS enters only through the APS route: if your APS certificate is valid only with a TestAS result, provide all information about your TestAS result on the uni-assist application portal. For SAT or ACT scores, the pages name no use in the selection; the ranking is by grade, as the selection chapter shows.

Answer the portal carefully

Although no motivation letter is asked, it is important to answer all the questions in the application portal carefully and completely, because insufficient or incomplete information may lead to a rejection.

The sequence is anabin check, VPD, German proof, hochschulstart.de for NC programmes, the TU Berlin portal, then the letter of acceptance in tuPORT.

Use the checklist below to work through the application process.

Common ways an application fails

• Applying without a VPD issued for TU Berlin.
• Sending the German certificate to uni-assist: it must be uploaded only via the TU Berlin portal.
• Waiting for results: a temporary certificate is not sufficient.
• Counting on a second chance: there is no conditional or provisional admission.

The five programmes covered here are six-semester, 180-credit Bachelors, and all of them are restricted-admission (NC) programmes, according to the pages as of October 2026. Their language of instruction and start dates differ.

Interior corridor with study tables at the Technische Universität Berlin

The five programmes compared

Two programmes were redesigned

Computer Science was redesigned starting in winter semester 2026/27, and so was Information Systems Management, starting in winter semester 2026/27. Both pages describe a more AI-oriented curriculum, so read the current study and examination regulations that apply to applicants.

German is part of every programme page

The Mechanical Engineering bachelor's program is taught in German, and proof of German at a specific level is a prerequisite for admission for foreign certificates. The same holds for Industrial Engineering and Management: proof of German skills at a specific level. Every bachelor's program at TU Berlin requires a university entrance qualification. Taking maths, science or engineering subjects at school eases the transition into Industrial Engineering and Management, but they are not a formal requirement.

There are no tuition fees to pay at TU Berlin; the semester fee for the winter semester 2026/2027 (the latest published) is €379.06 with the Semesterticket and €149.56 without it.

The Semesterticket is part of the fee: each semester students are required to pay a semester fee, which can vary slightly from semester to semester. A late re-registration adds €19.94. The amount for winter 2027/2028 is not published yet.

How you pay from abroad

It is not possible to pay the semester fee in cash or in installments. From abroad, some banks charge additional fees for foreign transfers and these are deducted from the amount transferred, so the full sum must still arrive.

Other costs around the application

The uni-assist handling fee is EUR 75.00 for the first course and EUR 30.00 for each additional one. Once you live in Germany there is also a public broadcaster licence: the Rundfunkbeitrag currently stands at 18.36 euros.

TU Berlin's financing page points to BAföG, grants from foundations, jobs and the AStA social fund, and it warns that different rules may apply for EU citizens and students of other nationalities.

For BAföG, half of the funding is a grant that does not need to be repaid and the other half an interest-free loan. Apply early, as soon as possible, 6-8 weeks before the start of the semester. Check the eligibility rules for your nationality before you count on it.

Foundations, parents and the AStA

Grants from the Begabtenförderungswerke are generally a grant and do not have to be repaid. The AStA helps with transport: its social fund also provides grants to help you pay for your Semesterticket. On parental support the page states a monthly maintenance requirement of 735 euros plus health and long-term care insurance as the basis courts use, which is a legal reference and not a cost-of-living budget.

TU Berlin pages as of October 2026 give no scholarship list or total for international Bachelor applicants and no monthly living-cost figure.

As a rule you are not required to submit proof of a valid residence permit or visa to apply and enroll at TU Berlin.

Information about visas and residence permits is available from the TU Berlin Department of International Affairs, and the same office covers housing, jobs and working.

Health insurance

Students under 30 are mandated by German law to have health insurance. To enroll, you must make sure that a German health insurance company sends an electronic notification to TU Berlin.

Refugees

Refugees in two named groups can get an exemption from the administrative fee of 50 euros under certain conditions.

TU Berlin fits applicants who can reach German at least level DSH-2, have a certificate with direct access or are ready for the Preparatory School, and want a tuition-free Bachelor in engineering, computing or technology.

• Apply in 01.06.2027 until 15.07.2027 for NC programmes, with the VPD ready.
• Plan for 4 to 6 weeks of VPD processing.
• Budget the semester fee of €379.06 (2026/2027) and the uni-assist fee of EUR 75.00.

Be honest about the competition

Cut-off grades such as 1,2 in Informatik and 1,4 in Wirtschaftsinformatik are gates in the international advance quota, not forecasts. The figures do not predict future application semesters. The gate differs by programme: Maschinenbau at 1,5 and Technische Informatik at 2,0 in the latest column.

Official pages of Technische Universität Berlin, UCAS, gov.uk and the ranking publishers. Applicant reports, where shown, are self-reported and labelled.

https://www.tu.berlin/en/studierendensekretariat/dates-deadlines-for-application-and-enrollment-at-tu-berlin · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studierendensekretariat/bachelors-application-enrollment/prospective-students-with-an-international-higher-education-entrance-qualification/admission-requirements · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studierendensekretariat/bachelors-application-enrollment/prospective-students-with-an-international-higher-education-entrance-qualification/application/group-c · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studying/study-programs/all-programs-offered/study-course/computer-science-b-sc · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studierendensekretariat/bachelors-application-enrollment/prospective-students-with-an-international-higher-education-entrance-qualification/faq · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studying/organizing-your-studies/financing-your-studies · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studierendensekretariat/topics-a-z/semester-fees · https://www.uni-assist.de/en/how-to-apply/apply-online/pay-submit/ · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studying/study-programs/all-programs-offered/study-course/mechanical-engineering-b-sc · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studying/study-programs/all-programs-offered/study-course/industrial-engineering-and-management-b-sc · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studying/study-programs/all-programs-offered/study-course/information-systems-management-b-sc · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studierendensekretariat/bachelors-application-enrollment/prospective-students-with-an-international-higher-education-entrance-qualification/admission-requirements/language-skills · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studying/study-programs/all-programs-offered/study-course/computer-engineering-b-sc · https://www.tu.berlin/en/studierendensekretariat/topics-a-z/past-selection-cut-off-criteria · https://www.static.tu.berlin/fileadmin/www/10002460/Bewerben_und_Einschreiben/Bachelor/BA_international/INFOBLATT_Auswahlgrenzen_Vorabquote_International_Wintersemester.pdf · https://www.tu.berlin/en/international/students-1/preparatory-school · https://www.uni-assist.de/en/tools/uni-assist-universities/detail/hochschule/58/ · https://www.tu.berlin/en/international/getting-started-at-tu-berlin/living-in-berlin/financial-matters

Photos: Chemistry building of the Technische Universität Berlin: photo RobbieIanMorrison, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · A building of the Technische Universität Berlin: photo Lear 21, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Interior corridor with study tables at the Technische Universität Berlin: photo Lear 21, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons