Deadlines & Dates

International students from non-EU countries must apply for a visa for study purposes before entering Germany. The application must be submitted to the responsible German diplomatic mission abroad. The necessary documents must be submitted to prove that the student has been admitted to the university and that he or she will be able to finance their studies. If you do not have a study permit yet, you can apply for a so-called study applicant visa in many cases. The visa for study purposes is issued by the German diplomatic mission abroad only after approval by the competent foreigners authority in Germany.

As a rule, the deadlines are set independently by the universities and technical colleges in Germany and can be found on their respective websites. In recent years, however, a general application deadline has been established. Applicants who want to start their studies in the winter semester should submit their application by July 15 of the same year. For the summer semester, the application phase ends on January 15th. The application deadlines may vary for non-admission courses and for students from abroad. Other deadlines also usually apply to master’s courses or attending a preparatory college. You should therefore inform yourself on the website of the respective institution.

The required documents with the fully completed application must be submitted to the relevant university by the last day of the application deadline at the latest. If this deadline is not met, the application cannot be considered in the admission procedure. To be on the safe side, we recommend that you submit your application at least eight weeks before the deadline so that you can submit any missing documents on time.

The following overview presents the deadlines for our partner universities in Dresden and Zwickau.

Technische Universität Dresden

• Winter semester: September 15th (grace period: until December 15th)
• Summer semester: March 15th (grace period: until June 15th)

FH Zwickau

• Winter semester: August 31st (admission-free courses), July 17th (courses with restricted admissions)
• Summer semester: February 28th (admission-free courses), January 15th (courses with restricted admissions)

DIU and FHD

Since the application deadlines for the individual courses vary depending on the type of program, we recommend that prospective students seek personal course advice.

In order to start studying in Germany, all foreign students must have successfully completed the so-called DSH (German language test for university entrance). In an oral and a written part, the required language skills (C1 level) of foreign applicants are tested in reading, listening, writing, and speaking. The DSH usually takes place at a German university or a preparatory college, although the relevant deadlines vary depending on the institution. An overview of the deadlines as well as the examination requirements and costs of the DSH at the TU Dresden can be found here.

Important: If you miss the deadline, the DSH can only be completed in the following semester. However, proof of language proficiency must be presented at the time of enrollment. For optimal preparation for exams, TUDIAS offers intensive training courses for the DSH. Further information can be found on our website.

Alternatively, applicants can present certificates from the examination “telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule” or the examination “Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache” (TestDaF) with level 4, which are generally recognized by all German universities. The TestDaF is offered in 96 countries, which means that applicants can take the language test in their home country. Here, too, the relevant deadlines for submission to the respective university must be observed. TUDIAS offers training courses for preparation as well as the TestDaF exam itself at our location. You can read more about this here.