University in Germany
Dresden, Sachsen, Germany
University profile
TU Dresden (TUD) is a public technical university in Dresden, Saxony, founded in 1828 as the Technische Bildungsanstalt. It describes itself as "The Collaborative University" and has been one of Germany's Universities of Excellence since 2012. It is a statutory corporation under the Saxon Higher Education Freedom Act, supervised by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism, and is a member of the TU9 alliance of leading technical universities.
The main site is the large TUD|Campus Südvorstadt south of the city centre, with the Johannstadt campus (University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, the Biocampus with CMCB, and institutes for lightweight engineering, plastics technology and aerospace engineering), the Botanical Garden in the centre, forestry sciences in Tharandt, institutes in Pirna, and the International Institute Zittau (IHI). The university has about 29,000 students, of whom about 21 % are international students from 128 countries, and about 8,400 staff including 5,500 academic staff.
Seventeen faculties are grouped into five schools. The School of Science covers Biology, Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences covers Education, the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science (Philosophische Fakultät) and Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies. The School of Engineering Sciences covers Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Mechanical Science and Engineering. The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering covers Architecture and Landscape, Civil Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Transportation and Traffic Sciences "Friedrich List" and Business and Economics. The School of Medicine consists of the Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus. Teacher training (Lehramt) is also offered.
TUD offers 121 degree programmes, including 28 taught in English and 26 double-degree programmes, with a student to teaching staff ratio of 21:1. Study is free of tuition for most programmes; students pay a semester contribution. Students can use the Studentenwerk Dresden halls of residence, the Dresden University Sports Centre (1,478 courses in more than 200 sports) and the Saxon State and University Library (SLUB), which serves as the university library.
International students are supported by the International Office, a German-language preparation route (Propädeutikum and the Studienkolleg) and DSH examinations. TUD participates in the EUTOPIA alliance of ten European universities and runs the transCampus partnerships with King's College London and IIT Madras.
TU Dresden is a public university and charges no tuition fees for its regular degree programmes. Tuition may be charged for continuing education (weiterbildende) programmes, with the amount shown in SINS, and a fee of EUR 350 per semester applies to a second degree under the Saxon Higher Education Act. Every student pays a semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag), which is not tuition: from the winter semester 2026/27 it is EUR 361.00 per semester for on-campus students, including the Deutschlandsemesterticket for public transport (EUR 234.18), the Studentenwerk contribution, a student council contribution of EUR 14.09 and MOBIbike. Students at IHI Zittau pay EUR 122.42, or EUR 356.60 with the semester ticket.
The Deutschlandstipendium gives EUR 300 per month for two semesters (EUR 150 from the federal government and EUR 150 from private donors), with extension possible. It is open to enrolled students and applicants of all subjects, regardless of nationality or income, based on academic performance and social commitment; about five applicants compete for each award. Applications are online (for international students, from 1 to 15 July each year); architecture applicants also submit a portfolio. Official page.
Through the International Office TUD lists: DAAD EPOS full scholarships for applicants from developing countries in four selected Master's programmes (the EPOS application is also the study application); the SECAI Scholarship for outstanding Master's or Diplom applicants in artificial intelligence (study application via uni-assist separately); first-year partial scholarships for graduates of DSD, DPS and DAS schools and of German schools abroad; places at the Studienkolleg for graduates of German schools abroad; DAAD STIBET I study completion scholarships and scholarships for volunteer work; the DAAD Prize; exchange scholarships (DAAD KOSPIE, Agricola short-term, Erasmus+, Research Experience Program); and DAAD Hilde Domin Programme and STIBET support for refugees. The university advises starting the search for full scholarships 12 to 18 months before study begins, with the DAAD as first contact. Official page.
Halls of residence run by the Studentenwerk Dresden offer single apartments and shared flats; some halls are linked to faculties under the WOMIKO programme. Students apply once they hold an admission letter.
Deutschlandstipendium at TU Dresden →
Elektro-Start-Deutschlandstipendium (Electrical Engineering) →
Deutschlandstipendium for Graduates of DAS/DSD/DPS Schools (First Study Year) →
DAAD STIBET Scholarships at TU Dresden (Graduation, Commitment, Equal Opportunities) →
Browse the scholarships listed for TU Dresden and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for TU Dresden →Entry requires a recognised Hochschulzugangsberechtigung. The German Abitur (general higher education entrance qualification) admits to all programmes; the subject-restricted Hochschulreife admits to specified subjects; the International Baccalaureate Diploma is accepted where the conditions of the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) are met. Applicants with foreign school-leaving certificates must hold a certificate that the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) rates as equivalent to the German Abitur. The Fachhochschulreife alone does not admit to a university in Saxony. Applicants without Abitur but with vocational qualification may qualify via a Meister-type further qualification and advisory interview, or via an entrance examination after three years of professional experience. Some artistic and linguistic programmes require an aptitude test. Numerus clausus programmes are allocated by ranking under the Saxon Study Place Allocation Ordinance, with special selection procedures in Medicine, Human Medicine, Dentistry, International Relations and Psychology.
Applicants with a foreign school certificate or foreign university degree generally apply through uni-assist (processing fee EUR 75 for the first application and EUR 30 for each further one) and upload all documents online; applicants with a German qualification, graduates of German universities, and repeat applicants apply through the TU Dresden application portal. For Bachelor, Diplom, State Examination and open-admission Master's programmes the application period for the winter semester is 1 April to 15 July; for the summer semester it is 1 October to 15 January, open only for advanced semesters. Deadlines for individual programmes, including earlier deadlines such as 31 May for some Master's programmes for non-EU applicants, are set in the study information system SINS. Doctoral applications run from 1 June to 15 September for winter semester starts (late period to 15 December) and from 1 December to 15 March for summer semester starts (late period to 15 June). Applicants with Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian educational certificates must supply the APS certificate.
Applicants to German-taught programmes with a non-German school qualification must prove German at the time of application. Accepted proofs for direct entry: DSH with at least DSH 2; TestDaF with at least level 4 in all four parts on average; DSD II of the KMK; the German examination within the Feststellungsprüfung; Goethe-Zertifikat C2; telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule with result satisfactory or better (sehr gut, gut or befriedigend); or a German-language Abitur or four school years at a German-language school. To sit the DSH at TU Dresden an applicant needs a C1 certificate, or B2 plus a further course up to C1, DSH 1, TestDaF with 2x3 and 2x4, or telc C1 Hochschule (ausreichend). The preparatory German course (Propädeutikum) and the Studienkolleg require B2, or B1 plus confirmation of attendance at a B2 course, or TestDaF 4x3. Applicants to International Relations, Medicine, Human Medicine, Dentistry, Midwifery (Bachelor), Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (Master) and Medical Radiation Sciences (Master) must prove sufficient German on application. No German proof is needed for English-taught Master's programmes.
English-taught Master's programmes set their own English minimums. Examples: Public and International Economics requires B2 (TOEFL 72, IELTS 5.5); Biology in Society requires, for example, TOEFL 79 or IELTS 6.5; Biochemistry requires B2 or better (IELTS 6.5, TOEFL iBT 79); a physics-related programme requires C1 (IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 95 iBT). Check each programme in SINS.
The required first degree is set in the study regulations of each programme. Applicants without their Bachelor certificate may apply with at least 80 % of the Bachelor ECTS credits confirmed by their examination office, and are enrolled for one semester provisionally; the degree must be proven by the end of the re-registration period for the second semester. Places in restricted Master's programmes are generally allocated by the Bachelor final grade, with additional aptitude procedures in some programmes (for example 35 ECTS in economics and 15 ECTS in quantitative methods for Public and International Economics, plus CV, motivation letter and two academic references). Foreign first degrees are assessed through uni-assist.
Admission to doctoral study normally requires a very good to good degree equivalent to a German academic degree in the relevant subject; in some cases a Bachelor degree suffices under the Promotionsordnung of the faculty. The dissertation may be written in German or English. German proof is needed only for dissertations in German; English ability is checked by the supervisor and an official certificate is normally not required.
Facilities include the Saxon State and University Library (SLUB), formed in 1996 from the Saxon State Library (founded 1556) and the TUD university library (founded 1828), with more than 90 million sources in its catalogue; 40 scientific and technical collections and about 4,000 works of art in the Kustodie; five botanical gardens, including the Forest Botanical Garden Tharandt; the Dresden University Sports Centre; guest houses; and halls of residence run by the Studentenwerk Dresden, with faculty-linked housing under the WOMIKO scheme.
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