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I A - Office of Student Affairs
Language skills
German language skills
A proof of German language proficiency is necessary for all degree programs held in German language unless you hold a higher education entrance qualification under German law.
PLEASE NOTE: As of an application for the summer semester 2022, Nationals of Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland with a foreign Master's entrance qualification also need a language certificate at the required level. Your identity card or passport is NOT sufficient proof of language skills!
Only the following certificates are acknowledged. Other proofs cannot be accepted.
- DSH-2 with registration at German Rector's Conference
- DSH-3 with registration at German Rector's Conference
- Goethe-Zertifikat C2 (Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom - GDS) or Kleines Deutsche Sprachdiplom or Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP) of Goethe-Institut
- "Deutsche Sprachdiplom" of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany, Level II (DSD II)
- Deutsche Sprachprüfung II (DSP II) of Sprachen- und Dolmetscher-Instituts München
- TestDaF (the sum of the four subtests have to amount at least 16 points, a minimum grade of 4 must have been achieved in every subtest at the level of the TestDaF).
- telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule
- successfully passed examination part Deutsch of assessment test at Studienkolleg (FSP Deutsch)
- examination of a German language Gymnasium (language of instruction: German)
- high school diploma, equivalent to a German higher education qualification
- foreign degree certificate according number 3 (4. bullet point) of the agreement „Zugang von ausländischen Studienbewerbern mit ausländischem Bildungsnachweis zum Studium an deutschen Hochschulen: Nachweis der deutschen Sprachkenntnisse (Decision of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany from June 2 1995 in the currently valid version)
- Completed vocational training in Germany
- Proof of the examination subject "German" as language "A" or "B at Higher Level" in the IB Diploma, IF German citizenship is additionally proven
- Proof of a study qualification acquired at a German-speaking institution, for example:
- Austrian "Reife- und Diplomprüfungszeugnis"
- university degree taught in German at a German-speaking institution incl. Austria and German-speaking Switzerland (if German is not clearly recognizable as the language of instruction and institution, additional proof of this must be provided)
Important! Please note that only final certificates can be accepted. We are unable to accept provisional language certificates. Please inform yourself in time (approximately 6 months before the application deadline) of examination dates and how long it will take to issue the final certificate.
If you can provide a secondary school-leaving certificate listed in the current KMK resolution "Zugang von ausländischen Studienbewerberinnen und Studienbewerbern mit ausländischem Bildungsnachweis zum Studium an deutschen Hochschulen: Nachweis von Sprachkenntnissen", further proof of German language skills is not required:
- German certificate in the French Diplôme du Baccalauréat obtained after attending a bilingual French-German branch of a secondary school (agreement of 10.7.1980 between the the Federal Republic of Germany and France)
- French Diplôme du Baccalauréat with the option “internationale” of the German departments (agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France on the simultaneous acquisition of the German general university entrance qualification and the French baccalauréat of 13 May 1994)
- European Baccalaureate from a European School, provided that an examination in German as a first language (L1) or second language (L2) has been successfully completed ("Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools" of 17.08.1994, "Regulations for the European Baccalaureate", ref: 2014-11-D-11-en-3, and "Arrangements for Implementing the Regulations for the European Baccalaureate", ref: 2015-05-D-12-en-6, as amended)
- US Advanced Placement exam (AP exam) in German (KMK resolution of 10./11.09.1992)
- School-leaving certificate of upper level secondary education from the German-speaking community of the Kingdom of Belgium
- Secondary-school leaving certificate from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
- School-leaving certificate issued by secondary schools (Reifediplom) with German as language of instruction in the autonomous province of Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy
- School-leaving certificate of the German language international section at the Liceo Ginnasio “Luigi Galvani” in Bologna, Italy (KMK resolution of 06.03.2002).
- School-leaving certificate of the German language international section at the Liceo Gimnasio Statale “M. Gioia” in Piacenza, Italy (KMK resolution of 27.09.2005)
- School-leaving certificate of the German language international section at the “Educandato Statale Collegio Uccelis” in Udine, Italy (KMK resolution of 28.03.2006)
- German-Irish bilingual secondary school-leaving certificate issued by St. Kilian’s German School, Ireland (agreement of 29.05.2006)
- School-leaving certificate of the bilingual branches at the Liceo Ginnasio Statale “Romagnosi” in Parma and at the Liceo Classico Statale Socrate in Bari, Italy (KMK resolution of 11.12.2007)
- School-leaving certificate of the German language international section at the Scuola Internazionale Europea “A. Spinelli” in Turin, Italy (KMK resolution of 17.03.2010)
- School-leaving certificate of the German language international section at the Liceo Classico “Guiseppe Garibaldi” in Naples, Italy (KMK resolution of 10./11.12.2013)
- School-leaving certificate of the German language international section at the Liceo Classico Statale “Umberto I” in Palermo, Italy (KMK resolution of 23./24.03.2016)
- The Polish matura examination in the subject of German from general secondary schools qualifying for university entrance (Lyzeen) with bilingual branch with the subject German as second language of instruction ("Joint Declaration of Intent on the Recognition of the Polish Matura Examination in German as a Second Language of Instruction taken by Graduates of Bilingual Education at General Lyceums with German as a Second Language of Instruction as a Language Certificate for Admission to Higher Education in Germany between the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Poland and the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany" of 27.08.2009 and the KMK resolution of 17.09.2008.)
- School-leaving certificates from foreign schools taught in German culminating in the bilingual International Baccalaureate Diploma (“Bilingual International Baccalaureate Diploma from Foreign Schools with Subjects Taught in German”, resolution of the KMK of 26.05.2002 in the version of 26.09.2019)
Further Information
Framework regulations for German language examinations for studies at German universities (RO-DT) of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany
Admission of foreign applicants with foreign educational certificates to studies at German universities: Proof of German language skills in accordance with the resolution of the KMK of 2.6.1995, version of 12.12.2007
Precourse (technical German preparatory course)
A precourse is a pre-study offer which prepares you for a degree program. Precourses are offered at TU Berlin by its Preparatory School. It offers both general German and technical German courses.
You can find information about applying for a precourse on the following page.
English language skills
English language skills are required for all English-language degree programs. If you want to submit a TOEFL certificate, please use the uni-assist code 2727 for your test center.
Please note, however, that some German-language programs also require proof of English language skills. Refer to the subject-specific admission requirements for your chosen degree program to learn which language skills are required.
Other language skills
Please note that some master’s degree programs may require proof of other language skills (officially certified copy). You can find further information in the subject-specific admission requirements of your chosen degree program.