IT Universities in Germany for African Students
Computer science at most German public universities is tuition-free — you pay a semester contribution of €100–400 per semester and nothing more. RWTH Aachen, TU Berlin, TU Dresden and TU Darmstadt all charge nothing. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are the exceptions, and TUM bills €4,000–6,000 per semester for a master's. English-taught computing is almost entirely a master's option.
Why study IT in Germany?
Germany runs 422 recognised higher-education institutions, and at most of them a bachelor’s costs free and a consecutive master’s free. You pay the Semesterbeitrag of €100–400 per semester, which in many cities includes a public-transport ticket. The fee you should check is not tuition but the state you are applying to: Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU students statewide, TUM charges in Bavaria, and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg starts charging in 2027/28.
The scale is real. 402,000 international students were enrolled in 2024/25, of whom 20,416 came from sub-Saharan Africa — 5.4% of the international total, with North Africa counted separately.
After graduation you can apply for a §20 job-seeker residence permit, valid for 18 months after a bachelor’s, master’s or PhD, at a cost of €98–104. Computing is one of the fields that route leads somewhere.
The trade-off is language. English-taught computing sits at master’s level; German bachelor’s programmes in Informatik are taught in German, so a school-leaver from Lagos or Nairobi is choosing between German at B2–C1, a foundation year, or a private university’s fees. Our study in Germany hub covers the wider picture.
Top IT and computer-science universities in Germany
Technical University of Munich ranks #25 (QS 2026), the highest here, and teaches computer science, data science and engineering to 51,954 students. It is also the most expensive public option: €2,000–3,000 per semester for a bachelor’s and €4,000–6,000 per semester for a master’s, set programme by programme.
RWTH Aachen University ranks #104 (QS 2027) and is built on engineering and computer science. Tuition is free; the semester fee is €375.19 per semester. It lists 16 English-taught master’s, and 35.6% of students are international.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ranks #110 (QS 2027) and covers computer science, engineering, physics and mathematics. As a Baden-Württemberg university it charges non-EU students €3,000 per year at both bachelor’s and master’s level, plus €184 per semester.
TU Berlin ranks #158 (QS 2027), charges free tuition and €360.49 per semester, and runs computer science, data science and engineering with many English-taught master’s.
TU Dresden ranks #185 (QS 2027) with computer science, data science and AI, tuition free and a semester fee of €361 per semester. Dresden is the cheapest city on this page.
TU Darmstadt ranks #250 (QS 2027) and lists 22 English master’s against 0 English bachelor’s — the pattern in one line. Tuition is free.
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg ranks #218 (QS 2027) and has the largest English portfolio here, 40 master’s. From 2027/28 it charges non-EU newcomers €1,000–3,000 per semester and €2,000–6,000 per semester, tiered by subject.
University of Bonn ranks #209 (QS 2027) for mathematics, economics and computer science, tuition free.
CODE University of Applied Sciences in Berlin is private, teaches software engineering and computer science entirely in English across 3 bachelor’s and 2 master’s, and bills €650–1,250 per month. The full set is in universities in Germany.
What an IT degree in Germany really costs
At a tuition-free public university your fixed costs are the semester contribution and your living expenses. Semester fees are set locally: €402.68 per semester at TU Darmstadt, €97 per semester at TUM, €184 per semester at KIT.
Living costs decide the budget. Nationally they run €850–1,200 per month, but the spread between cities is wide: €600–1,000 per month in Dresden against €1,300–1,700 per month in Munich, with Berlin at €950–1,350 per month and Aachen at €800–1,300 per month. Statutory student health insurance is €141–146 per month.
The number that decides your visa is the blocked account: €11,904 per year, calculated as €992 per month × 12 (2026). Private universities are a separate market at €6,000–20,000 per year and €8,000–25,000 per year. Full figures are on our cost of studying in Germany page.
Can you study IT in Germany in English?
At master’s level, widely. FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg lists 40 English-taught master’s, the University of Tübingen 35, the Free University of Berlin 25, TU Darmstadt 22 and RWTH Aachen 16. Computing and data science are among the better-served subjects, because the research groups already work in English.
At bachelor’s level it barely exists in the public system. TU Darmstadt lists 0 English bachelor’s, the Free University of Berlin 1, FAU 5 and Tübingen 3 across all subjects, not computing alone.
If you want a computing bachelor’s taught in English, the realistic routes are a private university or a German-taught degree after a foundation year. CODE University teaches all its programmes in English at €650–1,250 per month; IU International charges €20,910 per programme for an on-campus bachelor’s. The German-taught route runs through a foundation year.
How Africans apply: recognition and admission
Most universities outsource the checking of foreign certificates to uni-assist. Credentials are assessed through uni-assist + Anabin; WAEC scratch card for Nigeria/Ghana, and the evaluation costs €75. Apply through uni-assist.
No APS certificate is required for applicants from any of the nine countries we work with — APS required: no, because there is no APS office in Africa. Agency blogs that sell you an APS step for Nigeria or Ghana are selling something that does not exist. Note that South Africa’s own “APS” is the domestic Admission Point Score, a different thing.
Documents must be apostilled — apostille needed: yes — and Nigerian and Ghanaian applicants submit WASSCE or NECO results with the WAEC scratch card for online verification. Ghana’s embassy document verification runs for months as of September 2026, so start it a full year before you intend to travel.
There are two intakes, Winter (October), Summer (April). Bachelor’s deadlines are 15 July (winter) / 15 January (summer); master’s are 15 July / 15 January (many earlier). Visa steps are in our Germany student visa guide.
Do you need IELTS for IT in Germany?
For an English-taught programme, yes, in practice. The national floor is IELTS 6 for a bachelor’s and 6.5 for a master’s, and computing programmes sit around it: RWTH Aachen asks IELTS 6, TUM 6.5, KIT 6.5, TU Dresden 6.5 and TU Darmstadt 7.
The visa office does not test your language separately — it checks that you hold a valid admission letter, and where the university has already verified your English at admission, the requirement is treated as met. Medium-of-instruction letters from a previous English-taught degree are accepted by some universities and refused by others, and several exclude African countries from their automatic waiver lists, so plan to sit a test rather than assume one. For a German-taught programme the bar is different: TestDaF or DSH at roughly C1. Alternatives are set out in studying in Germany without IELTS.
Working while you study — and after
Non-EU students may work 140 full days or 280 half days per year (≈20 h/week), and no separate work permit is needed — permit needed: no. During holidays you can work full time inside the same annual quota. Working student roles in software and IT support are the usual way computing students cover part of their costs.
After you graduate, the §20 job-seeker residence permit gives you 18 months to find work related to your degree, at a fee of €98–104. You apply for it inside Germany, at the local Ausländerbehörde, before your study permit expires. Once you have a contract you switch to a work permit or an EU Blue Card.
Scholarships for IT students
Tuition-free study already removes the largest cost, so scholarships in Germany mostly cover living expenses rather than fees. Two national schemes are open to students from all nine of our origin countries: DAAD, Germany’s academic exchange service, and Erasmus Mundus joint master’s, several of which are in computing and data science.
Both are competitive and both close early — usually months before the university deadlines of 15 July / 15 January (many earlier). Treat a scholarship as a second application track, not a fallback: you build the funding case in parallel with the admission file, not after it. Current calls and eligibility are on our Germany scholarships page.
What works in your favour
- Master’s computing at the large technical universities charges no tuition: Free at RWTH Aachen, free at TU Berlin, free at TU Darmstadt.
- English-taught master’s programmes exist in numbers: 16 at RWTH Aachen, 22 at TU Darmstadt, 40 at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg.
- These are not unknown departments to employers: TUM sits at #25 (QS 2026), RWTH Aachen at #104 (QS 2027), KIT at #110 (QS 2027).
- Free tuition and a cheap city can be combined: Dresden runs €600–1,000 per month and Aachen €800–1,300 per month, against the national €850–1,200 per month.
- Graduating opens the §20 job-seeker residence permit: 18 months to find IT work, at a fee of €98–104.
The honest downsides
- Free is shrinking. FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg introduces non-EU fees of €1,000–3,000 per semester and €2,000–6,000 per semester for 2027/28, the second Bavarian university after TUM. LMU Munich and the state of Thuringia are reported to be discussing the same, with no amount or date set.
- An English-taught computing bachelor’s is rare. TU Darmstadt lists 0. The alternatives cost money or a year of German.
- The money is needed before the visa. €11,904 per year must sit in a blocked account, plus insurance at €141–146 per month.
- Paperwork is slow. Visa processing runs 4–12 weeks after Ghana’s months-long document verification, and Germany does not publish refusal rates by nationality.
- Housing is the real constraint. Munich runs €1,300–1,700 per month, and dormitory places are allocated long before term starts.
Our core guidance is free, funded by commission from the universities we work with. We check whether your certificate is likely to be recognised through Anabin, shortlist computing programmes that match your marks, your budget and your language level, and vet every document — apostilles, WAEC verification, blocked-account evidence — before it goes to uni-assist. If you would rather have the whole file handled, our optional paid Premium Placement does that. We never sell admission or visa outcomes.
Frequently asked questions
At most public universities, yes. Tuition is free for a bachelor's and free for a consecutive master's, and you pay a semester contribution of €100–400 per semester. The exceptions are Baden-Württemberg, TUM, and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg from 2027/28. Living costs of €850–1,200 per month are the real expense.
The Technical University of Munich at #25 (QS 2026) leads, followed by RWTH Aachen at #104 (QS 2027) and KIT at #110 (QS 2027). TU Berlin, TU Dresden, TU Darmstadt, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and the University of Bonn all run strong computing faculties, and all but FAU and TUM charge no tuition.
At master's level, widely: FAU lists 40 English-taught master's, Tübingen 35 and TU Darmstadt 22. At bachelor's level it is rare — TU Darmstadt lists 0 English bachelor's. For an English computing bachelor's, expect a private university.
Recognition runs through uni-assist + Anabin; WAEC scratch card for Nigeria/Ghana, which decides whether your certificate gives direct entry or a foundation year first. Documents need an apostille, and the uni-assist evaluation costs €75. No APS certificate is required from any African country.
There is no national entrance test for computer science. Selection is made on your school or degree marks, with mathematics weighted heavily, and any additional test is set by the individual programme rather than published centrally. Apply by 15 July (winter) / 15 January (summer) for a bachelor's and check each master's page, as many close earlier.
Yes, 140 full days or 280 half days per year (≈20 h/week), with no separate work permit needed. Holidays count inside the same annual quota rather than being unlimited. Working-student contracts in software development and IT support are common near the technical universities, and many are advertised in English.
Yes. The §20 job-seeker residence permit gives you 18 months after a bachelor's, master's or PhD to find work related to your degree, and costs €98–104. You apply inside Germany before your study permit expires, then switch to a work permit or an EU Blue Card once you sign a contract.
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg introduces non-EU tuition from 2027/28: €1,000–3,000 per semester for bachelor's and €2,000–6,000 per semester for master's, tiered by subject, with medicine, dentistry and pharmacy exempt. Only newly enrolling non-EU students without a German school-leaving qualification pay; students already enrolled are exempt.