Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

International applicants must hold a foreign higher education entrance qualification recognised as equivalent to the German Abitur (for bachelor's entry) or a completed bachelor's degree (for master's entry). Applicants from India, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), and Vietnam are required to obtain an APS (Akademische Prüfstelle) certificate before applying; the visa will not be issued without it. German-taught programmes require proof of German language proficiency, typically TestDaF or DSH; a one-semester intensive preparatory German course (leading to the DSH examination) is offered at KIT for eligible applicants. English-taught master's programmes require proof of English proficiency. Applications are submitted via the KIT online portal. For preparatory German courses, the application deadline is 15 July for the winter semester and 15 January for the summer semester; master's programme deadlines vary by programme. First-semester bachelor's applicants are admitted for the winter semester only.

Winter semester (Wintersemester, starts October): preparatory German course - 15 July; master's programmes - varies by programme (check individual programme page). Summer semester (Sommersemester, starts April): preparatory German course - 15 January; master's programmes - varies by programme; first-semester bachelor's intake is not available in the summer semester. KIT advises applying as early as possible as obtaining a German student visa typically takes at least six to eight weeks.

Direct application - no uni-assist. KIT does not appear on the uni-assist member list (checked 2026-08-25). All applications run through KIT's own Bewerbungsportal (bewerbung.studium.kit.edu); documents are uploaded as PDFs. Evaluation of foreign certificates is done by KIT itself: non-EU applicants are handled by the International Students Office (IStO), which assesses the HZB during the application procedure; German citizens with a foreign school certificate submit it to the Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart for Zeugnisanerkennung and upload the notice. No uni-assist or VPD step appears in any Bachelor or Master admission page (APS required instead for China/Vietnam/India applicants).

Most bachelor's programmes are taught in German. A growing number of master's programmes are fully English-taught, including Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Mechatronics and Information Technology, Physics, Geophysics, Meteorology and Climate Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Optics and Photonics, Water Science and Engineering, and Industrial Engineering and Management, among others. One bachelor's programme (Mechanical Engineering International) is offered in English. Several master's programmes offer English-language specialisation tracks. The KIT Language Center provides German courses for international students.