TU9 Universities: Guide for Nepali Engineering Students

TU9 is an alliance of nine German universities of technology. Their presidents started meeting as an informal group in 2003 and set up a registered association in 2006 (TU9, About us). For a Nepali engineering student the label matters less than the details behind it: TU9 is not an admission system, there is no joint application, and the nine members differ sharply on tuition, entrance tests and language. This guide covers those differences.

The nine members, side by side

All nine are public universities. Tuition is where they split: two sit in Baden-Wuerttemberg, which charges non-EU students, and TUM in Bavaria sets its own fees. The semester fee in the last column is the contribution every student pays for student services and, in most cases, a transport ticket.

The Baden-Wuerttemberg fee applies to bachelor, master, Diplom and state examination programmes (DAAD). TUM's fees have applied to new non-EU students since winter 2024/25 and rise from winter 2027/28 to EUR 2,300 or 3,400 for bachelor's and EUR 4,600 or 6,800 for master's programmes (TUM). Over a two-year master's, that is EUR 16,000 or more at TUM against EUR 6,000 at KIT or Stuttgart and nothing at the other six. The wider rules on who pays what are in our free tuition guide.

Does a Nepali BE get you into a TU9 master's?

Usually, on paper. anabin, the database German universities use to assess foreign degrees, puts four-year Nepali bachelor's degrees, the BE among them, in class A4, which it treats as equal to a German bachelor's. The three-year Nepali bachelor is rated only conditionally comparable because it ends three years after Class 12 (anabin). That matters if you hold a BSc rather than a BE: each programme decides whether three years are enough, and some will say no. Our anabin guide shows how to look up your own university.

Equivalence only gets you to the starting line. The admission committee still checks whether your coursework matches its programme, module by module.

Hurdles that are specific to TU9 programmes

Entrance tests

Some TU9 master's programmes add an entrance test. RWTH's master's in Computer Science requires a GRE certificate from applicants whose first degree is from outside the EU, with quantitative reasoning above the 75th percentile, verbal above the 15th and at least 3.5 in analytical writing; without it the application is rejected (RWTH Computer Science). Other RWTH departments set their own rules, so read each programme page.

TUM runs a two-stage aptitude assessment. Your grades and written documents earn points; high scorers are admitted, low scorers rejected, and the middle group is invited to a 20-minute interview. For some programmes, applicants whose bachelor's comes from outside the Lisbon Recognition Convention area take an online test in stage one (TUM admission procedures). Nepal is not a party to that convention, so expect the test where a programme uses it.

Language of instruction

Many engineering programmes at these universities are taught in German, and DAAD says German-taught programmes usually expect at least B2 (DAAD). English-taught master's exist too, so check the language line on each programme page before you fall for a course. Start with our list of English-taught programmes and filter by university in the programme finder.

Application portals

Some members route international applications through uni-assist, others use their own portals, and it can vary by programme within one university. The programme page says which. If uni-assist is involved, budget its processing time; our uni-assist guide has the current figures.

Coming straight after +2

A Class 12 certificate from Nepal does not give direct entry to a German bachelor's. It qualifies you for a Studienkolleg in the subjects you studied in your last two school years, and you then sit the assessment exam (Feststellungspruefung). Students who have also passed a first year at university skip that step and can enter a related bachelor's directly (DAAD admission database). For engineering, that usually means the technical track at a Studienkolleg. The full route is in our Studienkolleg guide.

How to choose between the nine

Rankings are the least useful filter here. All nine are serious engineering schools, and German employers read the degree, not the alliance logo. Three questions sort the list faster:

• Can you carry tuition? If not, KIT, Stuttgart and TUM drop out and six options remain.
• Is your programme taught in English at that university? A strong German-taught programme does not help if your German is at A2.
• Do you meet the extra test? A GRE requirement or an online test is a real cost in time and money from Kathmandu. Decide early whether you will sit it.

Then apply widely. TU9 universities sit alongside many other strong technical faculties and universities of applied sciences, which our engineering degrees guide covers.