RWTH Aachen University

RWTH Aachen University was founded in 1870 and is the largest technical university in Germany by enrolment. It sits in Aachen in the far west of the country, close to both the Belgian and Dutch borders.

Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, materials science, automotive engineering and computer science are its best-known fields, supported by an extensive campus of research institutes operated jointly with industry.

Bachelor's programmes are taught largely in German. English-taught master's programmes exist in several engineering and science fields, and the university runs a substantial international programme portfolio alongside its German-language provision.

Requirements follow the German framework and are technical in emphasis.

• Recognition of your secondary qualification for direct entry, or a Studienkolleg preparatory year where it is not recognised — RWTH operates its own preparatory college.
• Strong mathematics and physics results for engineering entry.
• Language evidence appropriate to the programme: German certification for German-taught courses, IELTS or TOEFL for English-taught ones.
• An APS certificate where required for your country of qualification.
• A bachelor's degree with closely matching module content for master's entry, assessed by the faculty.

A public technical university in North Rhine-Westphalia, with the standard German no-tuition position and living costs well below Munich.

• No tuition fee for most first degrees, including for international students.
• A semester contribution covering student services and a transport ticket valid across the region.
• Some non-consecutive and executive master's programmes charge fees.
• Blocked account proof of funds for the visa.
• Aachen is markedly cheaper than Munich, which makes a real difference over a full degree.
• Mandatory health insurance.

This is the structural difference that surprises applicants most: at German public universities the cost of a first degree is largely the cost of living in Germany, not the cost of tuition. Work from RWTH's semester contribution and programme fee pages for your specific programme and year of entry — it is the only figure that will be correct for you, and it is republished every year. We will confirm the current cost and what it includes before you commit to an application.

RWTH Aachen charges a semester contribution rather than tuition on most first degrees, and its funding is oriented towards engineering and the sciences. Doctoral candidates are typically employed on research contracts within an institute.

• National exchange programmes — postgraduate awards applied for directly.
• Deutschlandstipendium — a monthly award administered by the university.
• Institute funding — research employment within an engineering or science institute.
• Industry-partnered awards — jointly funded with employers, a genuine route in Aachen.

With no tuition fee to cover on most first degrees, funding here is aimed at living costs. Plan the visa's proof-of-funds requirement alongside any award rather than after it.

A large engineering university dominating a small city at the point where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet.

• Campus spread through and around Aachen, with substantial institute and laboratory facilities.
• A dominant engineering identity — the university is the city's largest institution and shapes it accordingly.
• Strong industry connections, with institutes working directly with manufacturers.
• A very international student body, particularly at master's level and in engineering.
• Belgium and the Netherlands within a short train ride, and Cologne under an hour.
• Affordable student housing by German standards, administered externally, still worth applying for early.

Aachen is a small city with a very large student population, which makes it sociable and cheap. The trade-off is that it is quieter than Munich or Berlin, and the border location means travel is easy but the city itself is compact.