TUD Dresden University of Technology
Technische Universität Dresden
A German University of Excellence with five Clusters of Excellence and no tuition fees, founded in 1828.
- Students
- 29,000
- International
- 21%
- of students
- Student–faculty
- 21:1
- ratio
- Tuition
- Free
- 2026-27
- Founded
- 1828
About TU Dresden
TU Dresden traces its roots to the Technische Bildungsanstalt, a technical institute founded in 1828 to train specialists for Saxony's early industry. Johann Andreas Schubert, who built the first working German steam locomotive, the Saxonia, taught there. It became the Royal Saxon Polytechnic in 1890 and a full university in 1961, and it grew rapidly after German reunification by absorbing other institutions. It has been a German University of Excellence since 2012.
Today TUD has about 29,000 students, 21 percent of them international, in 17 faculties organised into five Schools: Science; Humanities and Social Sciences; Engineering Sciences; Civil and Environmental Engineering; and Medicine. It offers 121 degree programmes, 28 of them taught in English, and 26 double-degree programmes. With five Clusters of Excellence, TUD reports it is first among German technical universities, and it tops Germany in patent registrations.
Bachelor's programmes are taught in German, so international undergraduates need DSH-2 or TestDaF 4 level German, or can reach it through TUD's preparatory German course or Studienkolleg. There are no tuition fees, only a semester contribution of €361. TUD suits students who want a research-heavy engineering, science or medicine degree in an affordable, historic city.
Why students choose TU Dresden
No tuition fees: the semester contribution is €361.00 (from winter semester 2026/27), including the Deutschlandsemesterticket for public transport.
Five Clusters of Excellence, including CeTI (Tactile Internet), Physics of Life and ctd.qmat (quantum matter), give undergraduates access to top-level research.
In the DFG Funding Atlas 2025, TUD ranked 1st in Germany in Electrical Engineering and (Neuro)Psychology and 2nd in Civil Engineering.
A strong transfer culture: 100 patent registrations in 2025, and TUD|excite supports around 20 spin-offs a year.
Admissions
Winter semester 2027/28 entry (deadlines follow TUD's standing pattern)
Selectivity
Many bachelor's programmes (for example Computer Science) are open admission: any applicant with a recognised university entrance qualification and sufficient German is admitted. Programmes with restricted admission (NC) rank applicants; for non-EU applicants TUD also weighs German proficiency, a TestAS result and country-specific criteria, so no single cut-off grade is published for them.
Typical entry requirements
| German Abitur / Hochschulzugangsberechtigung | Direct access; NC programmes rank by Abitur grade (TUD publishes past allocation results for German and EU applicants). Apply via the TUD portal (selma), or via hochschulstart for Medicine and Dentistry |
|---|---|
| International school-leaving certificate | Must be comparable to the Abitur under the KMK rules; otherwise the Studienkolleg (e.g. T-course for Computer Science) is required before the bachelor's degree. Apply via uni-assist |
| Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian certificates | APS certificate required with the application |
| English language | Bachelor's programmes are taught in German. To start directly you need DSH-2, TestDaF with 4 in all sections, DSD II, Goethe C2, telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule, or the German exam of the assessment test. With C1-level German you can instead apply to take TUD's DSH exam, and with B2 you can apply for the preparatory German course. International Relations, Medicine, Dentistry and Midwifery require full German proficiency at the time of application. |
Deadlines
- Studienkolleg / preparatory German course (summer semester 2027) Non-binding Next deadline · In ~3 months15 January 2027
Application period 1 October to 15 January. Most bachelor's programmes can only be started in the winter semester.
- Bachelor's programmes: non-EU applicants (winter semester) Non-binding In ~9 months15 July 2027
Application period 1 April to 15 July. Submit to uni-assist at least a month before the deadline. The same window applies to the Studienkolleg and the preparatory German course.
- Bachelor's programmes: EU applicants with German proof (open admission) Non-binding In ~11 months15 September 2027
For open-admission programmes such as Computer Science, EU applicants who already have proof of German for the degree can apply until 15 September; without that proof the deadline is 15 July.
TUD publishes standing, undated application windows in its Study Information System (SINS): 1 April to 15 July for non-EU bachelor's applicants (winter semester), and for EU applicants 1 April to 15 September with proof of German or 15 July without. The 2027 dates above apply these standing windows to winter semester 2027/28; some programmes differ, so check SINS. Enrolment formalities must be completed by 30 September.
How to apply
Applicants with a foreign school certificate apply through uni-assist (€75 for the first application, €30 for each additional one; checking takes 4 to 5 weeks). Applicants with a German Abitur apply in TUD's selma portal. EU applicants for Medicine and Dentistry apply via hochschulstart; non-EU applicants for those programmes apply via uni-assist.
What admissions looks for
- A university entrance qualification comparable to the German Abitur, or a Studienkolleg assessment test.
- German proficiency at DSH-2 or TestDaF 4 level for German-taught degrees.
- For NC programmes, the average grade; for non-EU applicants also German level, TestAS and country-specific criteria.
- A complete uni-assist application, since documents may not be accepted after submission.
Tips for applying to TU Dresden
- 1 Look up your programme in SINS: it shows the deadline, language of instruction, NC status and the matching Studienkolleg course.
- 2 Apply to uni-assist at least a month before 15 July; checking takes 4 to 5 weeks.
- 3 If your German is at B2 or C1 level, apply for TUD's preparatory German course or DSH exam through your degree application, but note that Medicine and International Relations require full proficiency up front.
- 4 Apply for a Studentenwerk Dresden dorm as soon as you receive your admission letter.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in EUR
Saxony charges no general tuition fees; TUD charges only the semester contribution, plus fees for second degrees, long-term study (€500 per semester after exceeding the standard period by four semesters) and distance learning. TUD does not generally award full scholarships to international students; it points to the DAAD and other providers, and offers a limited number of short-term scholarships, for example in the final phase of study.
- €361.00 (Studentenwerk €112.73, student body €14.09, semester ticket and bike rental €234.18)
- Semester contribution from winter 2026/27
- €75 for the first application, €30 for each additional
- uni-assist processing fee
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters (winter and summer)
Electrical Engineering
Ranked 1st in Germany in the DFG Funding Atlas 2025, and home to the REC² Cluster of Excellence on responsible electronics.
Computer Science (Bachelor)
An open-admission, German-taught BSc, with ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzig, one of seven national AI competence centres, on the doorstep.
Civil Engineering
2nd in Germany in the DFG Funding Atlas 2025; the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is TUD's largest (26.6% of students) and shares the CARE Cluster of Excellence with RWTH Aachen.
Psychology
(Neuro)Psychology ranked 1st in Germany in the DFG Funding Atlas 2025.
Physics
Condensed matter physics ranked 3rd in Germany (DFG 2025), backed by the ctd.qmat and Physics of Life Clusters of Excellence.
Medicine
Taught in the School of Medicine; EU applicants apply via hochschulstart and non-EU applicants via uni-assist, with full German proficiency required.
Research
- Five Clusters of Excellence: CeTI (Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop), ctd.qmat (with Würzburg), Physics of Life, CARE (with RWTH Aachen) and REC².
- NHR@TUD is one of nine national high-performance computing centres, and ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzig is one of seven national AI competence centres.
- €371 million in third-party funding in 2025; TUD reports being 3rd in Germany for third-party funding (Destatis) and 1st for patent registrations.
- TUD leads or co-applies for 15 DFG Collaborative Research Centres and Transregios.
Schools & faculties
- School of Science
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Engineering Sciences
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- School of Medicine
Student life
TUD's main campus lies south of Dresden's city centre around Zellscher Weg and Mommsenstraße, with its buildings named after notable researchers. Students live in Studentenwerk Dresden halls or in shared flats in the city. The Dresden University Sports Center offers 1,478 courses in over 200 sports, and TUD has five botanical gardens, including the Forest Park Tharandt arboretum, and more than 40 scientific and technical collections. The semester contribution includes a semester ticket and use of the city bike rental system.
- 1,478 sports courses in over 200 disciplines at the Dresden University Sports Center.
- Five botanical gardens, including the Saxon State Arboretum at Forest Park Tharandt.
- The Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) has more than 90 million sources in its catalogue.
- 25,000 members in the TUD Alumni Network.
Housing. Students apply for dorm rooms through Studentenwerk Dresden, ideally as soon as they receive their admission letter, or rent shared flats in the city.
Location
Dresden, capital of Saxony, sits on the Elbe and is known for its baroque old town and museums, and it hosts a large cluster of research institutes linked to TUD. The main campus is just south of the city centre, and the semester contribution covers public transport and the city bike rental system.
Nearest airport: Dresden Airport (DRS)
Notable alumni
- EL Ernst Ludwig KirchnerExpressionist painter and co-founder of Die Brücke; studied architecture at the Royal Saxon Polytechnic in Dresden
- FB Fritz BleylCo-founder of Die Brücke; studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule Dresden
- EP Evgeny PatonEngineer and pioneer of welding research; graduated from Dresden Technical University in 1894
- HS Herbert SeifertMathematician known for work in topology; entered TU Dresden in 1926
- RN Reimund NeugebauerMechanical engineer and former President of the Fraunhofer Society; graduated from TU Dresden in 1979
- ST Stanislaw TillichFormer Minister-President of Saxony; studied engineering at TU Dresden
- KK Katja KippingPolitician and former co-leader of The Left; MA in Slavic studies from TU Dresden
Frequently asked questions
Does TU Dresden charge tuition fees?
No. Saxony has no general tuition fees. All students pay a semester contribution of €361.00 (from winter semester 2026/27), which includes a semester ticket.
What is the TU Dresden application deadline for international students?
For bachelor's programmes starting in the winter semester, international applicants apply via uni-assist between 1 April and 15 July. EU applicants to open-admission programmes who already have proof of German can apply until 15 September.
Can I study a bachelor's degree in English at TU Dresden?
TUD's bachelor's, Diplom and Staatsexamen programmes are taught in German, so you need C1-level German (DSH-2 or TestDaF 4 in all sections) to enrol, or you can prepare through TUD's preparatory German course. TUD's 28 English-taught programmes are listed in SINS, where each programme shows its language of instruction.
Do I apply to TU Dresden through uni-assist?
Yes, if your school certificate is from outside Germany. uni-assist charges €75 for the first application and takes 4 to 5 weeks to check documents. German Abitur holders apply directly through TUD's selma portal.
What if my school certificate is not enough for direct admission?
You apply for the Studienkolleg via the same uni-assist application and pass the assessment test in the course that matches your degree, such as the T-course for Computer Science.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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