Entrance Exam
for English-taught Master's Programs

The Entrance Exam is required only for applicants to the English-taught Master’s programmes whose entrance competencies cannot be verified from their submitted documents.

In this step, your subject-specific competencies required for admission (quality, level, learning outcomes, workload and profile of the reference study program described in the appendix of the regulations for the study programs) are evaluated. It is conducted in two sub-steps:

Your submitted application documents are reviewed to assess whether the required competencies have been demonstrated. Based on this review, one of the following outcomes is possible:

  • you meet all subject-specific entrance requirements
  • you do not meet the subject-specific entrance requirements
  • the required competencies cannot be conclusively assessed through your documents alone → In this case you will be invited to take the entrance exam (see Step 1.b).

If your submitted documents do not conclusively demonstrate the required entrance competencies, you will be invited to a 90-minute written Entrance Exam held on campus at TU Darmstadt. Should you be required to take the exam, you will receive an invitation with the exact time and room approximately four weeks after the application deadline.

Based on the results of your Entrance Exam, the examination board of the department will decide whether your competencies are deemed sufficient for admission.

Important Notes:

  • Due to the high volume of applications, we cannot provide individual feedback on why or why not you were invited to the Entrance Exam.
  • Submitting additional documents after the initial evaluation will not lead to a re-evaluation of your application.
  • The Entrance Exam is a unique opportunity to demonstrate your qualifications and cannot be repeated within the same application cycle. If you fail the entrance exam, you can reapply in a subsequent semester and the entrance exam can be retaken as part of the new application process.

Once you have demonstrated sufficient competencies during the document-based entrance examination (Step 1.a) or the substantive entrance examination (Step 1.b), your application will proceed to the formal prerequisite check conducted by the Student Service (for applicants with German university entrance eligibility) or the Office of International Admission (for applicants with international university entrance eligibility). For a complete overview of the criteria and conditions evaluated during this step, please refer to the website of the Student Service or the website of the Office of International Admission.

Only if both Step 1 and Step 2 are fulfilled, you will be admitted to the program.

Required for:
  • Only applicants to our English-taught Master’s programmes
  • Only when required entrance competencies cannot be confirmed from the submitted documents
Venue: On campus at TU Darmstadt
When: On September 2nd 2025 (for the winter semester 2025/26)
Format: Computer-based (in Moodle)
Duration: 90 minutes
Language: English
Entrance Exam Fee: None
Subjects Covered:
  • Core courses of our Bachelor’s programme B.Sc. Informatik that define the required entrance competencies
  • Identical for all English-taught Master’s programmes
Recommended Preparation:
Submitting sufficient valid GRE or GATE scores provides an option to be exempted from the Entrance Exam by offering an alternative means of demonstrating your qualifications.
Test Required scores How to submit
GRE
  • Verbal ≥ 155
  • Quant ≥ 165
  • AWA ≥ 3.5
 Via ETS — Institution Code 2249, Department Code 0402 (Computer Science)

GRE Home accepted only if submitted through ETS
GATE Overall ≥ 750 Send via e-mail to
The required minimum scores are binding – there are no exceptions. Missing points in one category cannot be compensated by higher scores in another.
Submission Deadline: The scores have to reach us no later than 14 days before the exam – i.e. last week of August (winter semester) or last week of February (summer semester). Scores received after these dates cannot be considered.

We strongly recommend submitting your scores as early as possible.

Entrance Exam - Attendance Policy

  • No rescheduling: Missed exams cannot be made up within the same admission cycle
  • No remote option: The exam is conducted exclusively in person; off-site sittings are not available
  • Unable to attend? Either
    • 1. reapply in a future cycle, or
    • 2. qualify for an exemption by submitting a GRE or GATE that meets our stated thresholds

These rules ensure identical conditions for all applicants; individual exceptions are not possible.