RWTH Aachen University

RWTH Aachen University was founded in 1870 and describes itself as one of the leading technical universities in Europe, measured by research excellence, the quality of its graduates and its third-party funding. It is funded as a University of Excellence under Germany's Excellence Strategy. RWTH has 260 institutes across nine faculties and, in the winter semester 2024/25, nearly 45,000 students, including more than 15,000 international students.

The university's scientific education is firmly rooted in real-world applications, and its research is strongly oriented towards the needs of industry, commerce and the professions. Through the Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA), RWTH works closely with Forschungszentrum Jülich, one of Europe's largest research centres, which opens additional laboratory and doctoral opportunities to its students.

Aachen is a historic student city in the far west of Germany, directly on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands — Maastricht and Liège are under an hour away. For South Asian students, RWTH offers a rare combination: a top-tier engineering and science education with no tuition fees, a very large international community to settle into, and living costs that are moderate by German standards. The university advises budgeting at least €1,100 per month, and its International Office runs an Incoming Student Services team that helps new arrivals with admission, housing and settling in.

RWTH is also a founding member of the IDEA League, an alliance of five leading European universities of technology, which runs joint research fellowships and grants for its master's students and doctoral candidates — one more route for RWTH students to gain research experience abroad during their degree.

No tuition fees. RWTH's official policy is that it does not charge additional tuition fees to international students from non-EU countries either; all students, regardless of citizenship, pay only the semester fee each semester (student body contribution, mobility contribution including the semester ticket, and a social contribution to Studierendenwerk Aachen). RWTH advises budgeting at least €1,100 per month for living expenses. Exception: fee-based programmes run by RWTH International Academy and RWTH Business School charge their own tuition.

Degree applications are submitted through RWTH's own portal, RWTHonline. RWTH checks foreign qualifications against the anabin recognition database; applicants from India, China and Vietnam also need an APS certificate. Deadlines differ between open-admission and restricted-admission (NC) programmes and between the winter and summer intakes, and late or incomplete applications are not considered, so apply early and upload every document in time.

For English-taught programmes, RWTH's general examination regulations accept TOEFL iBT of at least 90 or IELTS of at least 6.0 (PTE Academic 60 and Cambridge certificates are also accepted). German-taught programmes require German proof such as DSH-2 or TestDaF at level 4 in all sections. Some master's programmes additionally ask non-EU applicants for GRE scores — check your programme's page.

RWTH's nine faculties cover mathematics, computer science and natural sciences; architecture; civil engineering; mechanical engineering; georesources and materials engineering; electrical engineering and information technology; arts and humanities; business and economics; and medicine.

Bachelor's programmes are taught mainly in German. At master's level, RWTH offers a wide range of English-taught programmes, especially in engineering and computer science — including computer science, data science, automotive engineering and electrical engineering — alongside fee-based international master's programmes run by the RWTH International Academy, such as its management-and-engineering and textile engineering degrees, which charge tuition per semester. Doctoral candidates can join structured research groups and research training groups across the institutes.

RWTH maintains a large scholarship database of more than 50 funding programmes. The best-known route for enrolled students is the Education Fund, RWTH's vehicle for the Deutschlandstipendium, which supports talented students of all nationalities with €300 per month, funded jointly by the federal government and private sponsors.

International students can also apply for RWTH's degree completion scholarships and a scholarship for particularly committed international students in the final phase of their studies. Incoming master's and doctoral researchers from South Asia may be eligible for the RWTH Aachen – India Junior Research Fellowships. The DAAD database remains the main external funding source.