MS in Computer Science in Germany for Nepali Students: How TUM, TU Berlin and Saarland Select

A BSc CSIT from Tribhuvan University or a BE in Computer Engineering can take you to a computer science master's in Germany, but German universities filter applicants in very different ways. One wants a GRE or GATE score and a class rank. Another ignores rank and counts your credits in theory and maths. A third runs its own aptitude assessment and charges non-EU students EUR 6,000 a semester. Three real programmes show those filters below, followed by what they mean for a Nepali transcript.

First check: how Germany rates your Nepali degree

Germany's recognition database anabin rates four-year Nepali bachelor's degrees (class A4, for example the Bachelor of Engineering) as equivalent to a German bachelor's. Three-year degrees are only "bedingt vergleichbar", conditionally comparable, because they end three years after Class 12. Tribhuvan University describes the BSc CSIT as a four-year, eight-semester programme. Look up your exact degree and university in anabin rather than relying on the name, and read our anabin guide if your degree is a three-year one.

Three programmes, three different filters

Sources: TUM programme page, TU Berlin programme page, Saarland Informatics Campus application guide, all checked on 9 October 2026.

These are three types you will meet again and again. TUM selects on your whole profile and charges non-EU students EUR 6,000 per semester for this programme; its published increase moves the higher master's fee band to EUR 6,800 for students starting from winter semester 2027/28. TU Berlin takes everyone who meets its credit rules, so your effort goes into mapping your transcript. Saarland adds a test and a rank condition but tells you exactly what it wants.

Mapping your Nepali transcript to German credit rules

A requirement like TU Berlin's does not ask whether your degree was called computer science. It asks how much of each area you studied. Do this before you pay any application fee:

1. List every course on your transcript and sort it into four groups: theoretical computer science (for example automata, algorithms, complexity), computer engineering (for example computer architecture, digital logic), practical computer science (for example programming, software engineering, databases) and mathematics.
2. Write down the credit hours your university gave each course. The university or uni-assist converts them, so do not invent your own ECTS figures.
3. Keep official course descriptions ready. A course with a vague title can land in a different group depending on what the syllabus shows.
4. Mark gaps against each programme's minimums. If a programme needs 18 maths credits, total your maths column before anything else.

Many programmes also want a VPD from uni-assist before you apply, which takes 4 to 6 weeks; our uni-assist guide shows where it fits in your calendar.

GRE, GATE and English tests

Saarland's GRE or GATE rule applies to every applicant whose degree comes from outside the European Higher Education Area, Switzerland or the UK, which includes all Nepali degrees. There is no minimum score and the home edition is accepted, but the result has to be uploaded with your application, so book the test months ahead of the 15 May or 15 November deadline.

English requirements range widely across CS programmes: TU Berlin asks for B2, while Saarland wants C1, which it defines as IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 95. If you are sitting IELTS anyway, aim for the higher bar so one certificate covers your whole shortlist.

Your motivation letter matters more than you think

At programmes with an aptitude assessment, such as TUM's, the written application is part of the score. A generic letter that could be sent to any university wastes that chance. Our guide to writing an SOP for German universities explains what reviewers look for.

Costs and working alongside your studies

DAAD says most master's programmes at state universities are tuition-free. Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavarian universities such as TUM are the exceptions to check; our free tuition guide lists them. If you take a Werkstudent job in software or IT during your studies, social insurance rules generally cap it at 20 hours a week. Pay and the job market after graduation are covered in our guide to IT jobs for Nepali graduates, and you can compare CS programmes by city and language in our programme finder.