Admission procedure
Mechanical Engineering (M.Sc.)

Your way to us!

Are you ready for our master's programme in Mechanical Engineering? Below we will guide you step by step through the application process.

We look forward to receiving your application!

  • The choice is yours: You put together your curriculum according to your wishes and interests or you can choose one of our specialised areas of study:
    • Sustainable Use of Resources
    • Clean Energy and Process Engineering
    • Future Automotive Systems
    • Digital based Production and Robotics
  • Shaping the future together: In often interdisciplinary teams, you research, design and develop solutions within the framework of current research projects in our fields.
  • Combining research and practical experience is important to us: We involve lecturers from the industry through teaching assignments and cooperative professorships.
  • The MechCenter: Our office supports and advises you for a successful course of studies with workshops and individual consultation. Your academic success is our priority.

Mechanical Engineering at the TU Darmstadt, We engineer future.

Find out more here.

The important dates and deadlines for your application can be found below. Please note which qualifications you are applying with, so that we receive your documents in time.

Please note, that your complete application documents (including certificates) must be received in paper form by the deadline (Ausschlussfrist).
For external applicants:
The current application deadline for applicants with a German university entrance qualification (HZB) can be found via the following link:

German HZB

Foreign HZB
(under -> Information for applicants with international certificates -> Application periods and deadlines)

Depending on the degree with which you apply, you may be invited to an entrance examination. In order to be able to guarantee participation in the exam for your desired semester, it is crucial that you have submitted your application documents by the stated application deadline. If the documents are not received by the TU Darmstadt until the stated deadlines, the application will not be valid and it will no longer be possible for you to take part in the entrance exam for the coming semester.
For internal applicants:
Are you enrolled in the current semester at the TU Darmstadt and would like to change your degree programme or course of study? Then you can find the deadline via the following link. Attention: Please note that the deadline (Ausschlussfrist) for the master's programme also applies to internal students. You may also be required to take the entrance exam. Therefore, submit all required documents to us by the deadline!

Change of degree programme for students of the TU Darmstadt

The successful completion of the Bachelor's degree must be proven within the first two Master's semesters at the latest by internal applicants. Please refer to the more detailed information in the section “Application for internal students” / “How and when do I provide the certificate of my Bachelor's degree?”.
Programme starting in… Exam date
… Summer semester Mid-February of the year
… Winter semester Mid-August of the year

The next substantive entrance examination will take place on:

16 August 2022 from 13:00 – 15:00 (MESZ/UTC+2) digital online and on-site in Darmstadt.

In case you need to participate in the test, you receive an invitation e-mail with further information.

Deadlines

The general deadline (Ausschlussfrist) of the Technical University of Darmstadt applies to applications for this degree programme. Application for the…

  • Summer semester: 15.01.
  • Winter semester: 15.07.

You can find the current deadlines and further information about this deadline (Ausschlussfrist) here.

The application process at the TU Darmstadt takes place exclusively online via the TU's internal campus network, TUCaN.

First you have to create a TUCaN guest account on the portal in order to receive temporary access data. You use this until you have the final TU-ID.

You will find out which documents you have to send to the university in a written form during the online application process.

If you are already studying at the TU Darmstadt, the simplified application procedure for enrolment in a (consecutive) master's programme at the TU Darmstadt applies to you. You can find more information via the following link. Please note that the deadline (Ausschlussfrist) also applies to you, bear in mind the internal deadlines for the application to the master's programme in Mechanical Engineering and remember to re-register for the following semester in due time.

Your first step is to submit your online application. Here you can go directly to the selection of the online application portal at the TU Darmstadt. Where you submit your application via TUCan depends on where you obtained your equivalent bachelor's degree as well as on your university entrance qualification.
German bachelor's degree Foreign bachelor's degree
German university entrance qualification Application to the Registrar's Office of the TU Darmstadt Application to International Admissions Office TU Darmstadt
Foreign university entrance qualification Application to International Admissions Office TU Darmstadt Application to International Admissions Office TU Darmstadt
Your application documents will then be forwarded to us for further review. You can find more details under "Details about the admission procedure”.

The admission procedure is divided into several stages. How you can be admitted depends on various factors, which we will outline below.

  • Required for the admission to the master's degree programme Mechanical Engineering is the completion of a degree programme that does not differ significantly from the bachelor's programme “Mechanical Engineering – Sustainable Engineering” at the TU Darmstadt in the acquired knowledge, skills and abilities.
  • In addition, proof of German language skills at the C1 (CEFR) level is required.

The department-internal admission procedure can be found in the current version of the study regulations of the master's degree programme Mechanical Engineering, which you can find in the download area .

Whether and to what extent your already completed bachelor's or diploma degree is suitable for admission to the master's degree programme Mechanical Engineering with or without conditions is determined on the basis of a multi-stage entrance examination.

  • Stage 1: Technical entrance examination based on the submitted documents
  • First, based on the submitted documents, we will check whether the study programme you have completed differs significantly from the above-mentioned reference study programme in terms of quality, level, learning outcomes, workload and profile. If the programme does not differ significantly, you can be admitted to the master's degree programme Mechanical Engineering at the TU Darmstadt, if necessary with conditions. If the study programme you have completed differs significantly, or if a review based on the submitted documents is inconclusive, we will invite you to a substantive entrance examination.
  • If you require the equivalency table for your online application, you can find it in the download area .
  • Stage 2: Substantive entrance examination
  • The substantive entrance examination is conducted in the form of a two-hour written exam. It is offered as an online exam via Moodle or can be taken on site at the TU Darmstadt. The contents of the exam will cover seven main topics:
    • Engineering Mechanics
    • Technical Thermodynamics as well as Heat and mass transfer
    • Machine elements and mechatronics
    • Systems theory and control engineering
    • Measurement techniques sensors and statistics
    • Numerical calculation methods / simulation methods
    • Fundamental fluid mechanics
  • The examination board of the Department of Mechanical Engineering decides, based on the results in the individual examination sections, whether you, as an applicant, fulfil the technical knowledge requirements for admission to the master's degree programme or not. Admission may be subject to conditions. If your admission is linked to conditions, you will be able to make up for missing knowledge, skills and abilities within a specified period of time during the master's programme at the TU Darmstadt. If the conditions are not met, the decision associated with it must be revoked. If the conditions imposed to compensate for missing competences exceed 30 credit points, your previous course of study will not be recognised as an admission requirement for the master's degree programme Mechanical Engineering
  • The entrance examination cannot be retaken in the same application cycle.
  • Example: Sample exam of the mechanical engineering course for winter semester 2017/18 with answers (opens in new tab)
  • Stage 3: Examination of the formal requirements
  • In addition to academic aptitude, there are also some formal requirements which need to be fulfilled for admission to the degree programme. These include, above all, a higher education entrance qualification valid in Germany, a first university degree and sufficient language skills. If you meet all the formal requirements and you have passed the substantive entrance examination, you can begin your studies in the semester of your choice. An admission to the degree programme is also valid for subsequent semesters.

You have been admitted to the programme? Congratulations! You have completed an important step on the way to your desired degree programme.

However, admission is not yet enrolment, i.e. having been admitted does not mean you are enrolled. Use the information on your letter of admission and in the application portal to complete this final step towards us. Here you will find information and explanations about the processing status of your online application and the steps still required for your matriculation.

The central site for first-year students at the TU Darmstadt is einfachsTUdieren. Check it out to find out about current topics and to get advice on starting your studies.

The International Student Services is the first point of contact for all international students. Here you will receive support in preparing for your studies in Darmstadt.

You have completed your bachelor's degree at another university and want to find out about organising and planning your studies in the M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering at the TU Darmstadt?

The online course “Starting Programme Master in Mechanical Engineering” provides you with all the necessary information for a good start to your master's degree.

In the online course we will answer your questions about the master's programme Mechanical Engineering. You can get specific information on the topics of planning and organising your studies in the M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering. Of course, you can also ask your own questions both in the course and at our ZOOM kick-off event for the Moodle online course ”Start Programme Master in Mechanical Engineering“. We are eager to hear your questions and look forward to helping you have a great start to your master's degree.

You can find more information about ”Start Programme Master in Mechanical Engineering", the access data, as well as the course dates here.

Picture: Sibylle Scheibner | PTW

We look forward to welcoming you to the TU!

Do you have any questions or need more information? We – the MechCenter – are happy to support you on your way to our department!

Learn more