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Fachhochschulen / HAW

Hochschule Darmstadt

Darmstadt,  Hessen, Germany

Founded
1971
Students
13,500
International
23%
Programmes
80
Taught in English
13

Admissions & fees

What it costs

Hochschule Darmstadt does not charge tuition fees beyond the statutory semester contribution. The semester contribution for Winter Semester 2025/2026 is €401, which includes: administration fee (€50), student union fee (€103), nationwide semester ticket for public transport (€226.80), student body fee (€15.51), culture ticket (€2.71), and rental bike system membership (€2.98). Exchange students are exempt from this contribution. No additional non-EU tuition surcharge is reported on the official website; Hessen state law does not currently impose a general non-EU tuition fee.

Admission requirements

International applicants with foreign school-leaving certificates or degrees must apply through uni-assist e.V., which conducts initial document verification before forwarding applications to h_da. Applicants with qualifications equivalent to the German Abitur may apply for Bachelor's programmes; those whose qualification does not meet this standard must complete a Studienkolleg (preparatory college) first. Master's applicants need a first academic degree equivalent to a German Bachelor's degree. For German-taught programmes, a recognised German language certificate is required (typically DSH or TestDaF TDN 4). For English-taught programmes, an English proficiency certificate is required. Specific levels are stated in individual programme profiles. Applicants from India, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), and Vietnam are required to obtain an APS (Akademische Prüfstelle) certificate before applying. The APS certificate must be presented as part of the application. Contact for international admissions: [email protected].

Application deadlines

Bachelor's (restricted admission / NC): 2 June - 15 July for Winter Semester; December - 15 January for Summer Semester. Bachelor's (open admission): 2 June - 1 September for Winter Semester; December - 1 March for Summer Semester. Master's (restricted admission): 2 June - 1 June (effectively by 1 July) for Winter Semester; December - 15 January for Summer Semester. Master's (individual admission requirements): 2 June - 1 September for Winter Semester; December - 1 March for Summer Semester. Selected Master's programmes (Animation and Game, Expanded Media, Media Technology and Society) accept applications until 1 August (Winter Semester) or 1 February (Summer Semester). All applications via uni-assist for foreign certificate holders.

How international applicants apply

Full uni-assist application (forwarding model) - external applicants with a foreign Hochschulzugangsberechtigung apply via uni-assist e.V. for bachelor, diploma AND master programmes; on positive assessment uni-assist forwards the application to the faculty. h_da explicitly does NOT accept a VPD (Vorprüfungsdokumentation) as university entrance qualification. Restricted (NC) bachelor programmes additionally require prior registration at hochschulstart (BID/BAN entered in the uni-assist application). Deadlines e.g. unrestricted bachelor WiSe May - 1 Aug, NC 15 Jul, masters up to 1 Aug.

Languages of instruction

The majority of programmes are taught in German. A growing number of Master's programmes are offered in English or bilingually (German/English), including: Animation and Game (M.A.), Expanded Media (M.A.), International Media Cultural Work (M.A.), Electrical Engineering and Information Technology - International (M.Sc.), Mechatronics (M.Sc., German/English), Media Technology and Society (M.Sc.), and the MBA. At Bachelor's level, Augmented and Virtual Reality Design (B.A.) and Motion Pictures (B.A.) are available in English. A Language Centre is available on campus.

Entry requirements, intake dates and language levels differ for every degree.

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