University in Germany
Kaiserslautern und Landau, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
University profile
The Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) is the only technical university in Rhineland-Palatinate and the only institution in the state that trains teachers for all school types. It was formed on 1 January 2023 by the merger of the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern and the Landau campus of the former Universität Koblenz-Landau, and it is a public body (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts) led by a president, Professor Malte Drescher since October 2024. It has around 16,000 students (16,120 in winter semester 2025/26, of whom 3,195 are international), about 300 professorships and more than 160 degree programmes, and describes itself as home to people from over 120 countries.
Teaching and research take place at two sites, Kaiserslautern and Landau, and students can study across both locations. The university is organised into 16 departments (Fachbereiche): Architecture; Civil Engineering; Mechanical and Process Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Computer Science; Mathematics; Physics; Chemistry; Biology; Spatial and Environmental Planning; Natural and Environmental Sciences; Social Sciences; Cultural and Social Sciences; Educational Sciences; Psychology; and Economics and Business.
The programme range runs from engineering and natural sciences to humanities, social sciences and teacher education: 53 Bachelor programmes, 64 Master programmes, 7 teacher-training programmes, and 19 distance-learning programmes plus 5 certificates (winter semester 2025/26). The Distance and Independent Studies Center (DISC) runs the distance and continuing-education offer, and the orientation programme RPTUzero and early-study schemes for school pupils (FiMS in Kaiserslautern, Frühstudium in Landau) sit alongside the regular degrees.
Research partners close to the Kaiserslautern campus include the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Fraunhofer Institutes for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE) and for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM), the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, the Leibniz Institute for Composite Materials and the Institute for Surface and Thin Film Analysis. Central facilities include the university library, the regional university computing centre, the Zentrum für Sport, Gesundheit & Wohlbefinden with the UNIFIT gym (over 700 square metres of training space), CampusKultur in Kaiserslautern and the Zentrum für Kultur- und Wissensdialog (ZKW) in Landau.
Student life includes university sport (UNISPORT), student groups and initiatives, the student union AStA and departmental student councils. The university received the special prize 'Gesunde Hochschule SGM' of the Corporate Health Awards for its student health management. Housing is arranged through the Studierendenwerk in Kaiserslautern and the Studierendenwerk Vorderpfalz in Landau. International students are supported by the International Affairs office (Referat Internationale Angelegenheiten), whose International School for Graduate Studies (ISGS) serves international Master and PhD students in Kaiserslautern.
Bachelor programmes, consecutive Master programmes and doctoral studies are free of tuition in Rhineland-Palatinate; only the social contribution (Semesterbeitrag) is payable each semester and is a condition of enrolment and re-registration. Its amount is shown in the admission letter. Continuing-education Master programmes may charge fees. Students over 60 pay a fee of 700 euros. Withdrawal after enrolment costs 25 euros (free-admission programmes) or 45 euros (restricted programmes). The 60 euro assessment fee for foreign certificates (Kaiserslautern) does not apply to exchange students, Erasmus students, DAAD scholarship holders and applicants continuing in the same course after an intermediate diploma from a German university.
The RPTU has awarded Deutschlandstipendien since winter semester 2011/12: 300 euros per month for talented and committed first-year and advanced students of all subjects, funded jointly with about 50 private sponsors. Grades and also social or university engagement are considered. Applications open in May/June, with interviews in September/October. In winter semester 2023/24 there were 156 recipients.
Study awards for particularly engaged international students and final-stage completion grants (DAAD funds, administered by the RPTU) pay 400 euros (without Bachelor/Vordiplom) or 500 euros (with) per month; the first runs 6 months, extendable to 12, the completion grant up to 10 months. Applicants need at least 24 credit points per semester; deadlines are in December and April/May and announced by mailing. The Stipendienstiftung Rheinland-Pfalz awards 300 euros per month for 12 months to students with above-average results and social engagement, and also funds excellence awards. The Roland-Mall-Stiftung currently invites Master students, preferably in Civil and Environmental Engineering, to apply by 31 October 2026.
Department BAföG and Stipendien, Gottlieb-Daimler-Straße, building 47, room 504, 67663 Kaiserslautern, telephone +49 631 205 2235, [email protected]. Official scholarship page. BAföG state aid and advice from the Studierendenwerk are also available.
Deutschlandstipendium at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau →
DAAD STIBET Scholarship for Particularly Committed International Students at RPTU →
Browse the scholarships listed for RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau →Admission requires a university entrance qualification (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung), for example the Abitur. Applicants with a vocational qualification may qualify subject-specifically with a final grade of at least 2.5 and a related field, or generally with a master craftsperson (Meister) qualification. International school certificates must be equivalent to the German Abitur. In Kaiserslautern a certificate assessment fee of 60 euros applies; in Landau the assessment is handled by uni-assist. Applicants from China, Vietnam and India must attach the APS certificate of the German embassy to their application.
Applicants with a German qualification and those with an international qualification for Kaiserslautern apply through the RPTU application portal (studium.rptu.de); international applicants for Landau apply through uni-assist. Deadlines for German-qualification applicants: admission-restricted programmes 15 July (winter semester) and 15 January (summer semester); free-admission programmes 15 September and 15 March. International applicants: admission-restricted programmes 15 July and 15 January; free-admission programmes in Kaiserslautern 15 July and 15 January; in Landau 15 September and 15 March for EU citizens and 15 June and 15 December for non-EU citizens. Master Psychology and Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy have separate windows. Some programmes require an aptitude test before application, including Sport (teacher training and Sports Science), Fine Arts and Art Studies (Landau); the BaPsy-DGPs test for B.Sc. Psychology (Landau) is optional but improves ranking.
Applicants who did not complete school in Germany must prove German skills. For a German-taught programme in Kaiserslautern, level B1 is needed for the application and a higher exam such as DSH-2 or DSH-3 for starting the subject studies. The DSH exam and preparatory courses are offered at the RPTU in Kaiserslautern; Landau requires the language level at the time of application. TestDaF is also named for direct admission.
A Bachelor's degree or equivalent is required, plus language evidence depending on the programme. Some departments run an aptitude assessment, and restricted programmes run a selection procedure when applicants exceed places. Detailed rules are in each programme's examination regulations. For English-taught Master programmes, English proof is TOEFL 550 (paper), 213 (computer) or 79/80 (internet-based), or IELTS 6.0, with exemptions for degrees from English-speaking countries. International Master students need no German at the start but must attend German courses and pass the A1 exam within the first year (a Goethe A2 certificate not older than one year exempts them). Applicants from China, Vietnam and Mongolia need an APS certificate; for India the APS certificate is mandatory for the visa procedure. Deadlines for many international Master programmes in Kaiserslautern are 31 October for the summer term and 30 April for the winter term; Cognitive Science and Commercial Vehicle Technology 30 April; the European Master in Embedded Computing Systems 31 January.
Doctoral candidates are usually admitted as individual doctorates by a supervisor; some departments offer structured doctoral programmes. Admission requirements are set in each department's Promotionsordnung. After acceptance, doctoral candidates register at the RPTU and may enrol as students; enrolment applications are due by 20 October (winter semester) or 20 April (summer semester).
Enrolment requires electronic proof of health insurance status from the applicant's insurer and payment of the semester contribution.
The Universitätsbibliothek operates a central library in Kaiserslautern, a library in Landau and departmental libraries on the Kaiserslautern campus. Campus facilities include a fitness-trail across the campus, a bicycle rental, a hammock park and a campus orchard (Naschcampus). Student housing is run by the Studierendenwerk Kaiserslautern and, in Landau, the Studierendenwerk Vorderpfalz.
Experiences shared by students of RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau.
Studied here? Share your experience to help other applicants.
Book a free consultation with our expert counsellors and take the first step towards your dream university.
Copyrights © 2026 StudyMapped. All rights reserved.
Enter your credentials to continue.
Join us and start your study abroad journey.
