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Master's Degree in Germany for African Students

Reviewed by World Study Team Updated

A consecutive master's at a German public university costs free in tuition, runs 1–2 years for 120 ECTS, and accepts a three-year African bachelor's. You still pay a semester contribution of €100–400 per semester and must block €11,904 per year before the visa. The catch is timing: many programmes close months before the national dates of 15 July / 15 January (many earlier).

What a master’s degree in Germany looks like

The award is a Master (M.A., M.Sc., M.Eng., LL.M., M.F.A., M.Mus., M.Ed.), depending on the faculty. It runs 1–2 years and carries 120 ECTS, so the standard German master’s is four semesters. Teaching starts in October, April, matching the Winter (October), Summer (April) intakes. October is the larger one.

German rules split master’s degrees in two, and the split decides your fee. A consecutive master’s continues the subject of your bachelor’s and is free at public universities. A non-consecutive or continuing-education master’s — a subject change, or a programme built for working professionals — charges, and as a rule asks for qualified professional experience as well.

English-taught choice at this level is wide. FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg lists 40 English-taught master’s programmes, the University of Tübingen 35, the Free University of Berlin 25 and TU Darmstadt 22. Germany has 422 recognised higher education institutions, and a master’s from any of them is a state-recognised European degree that needs no further validation inside the EU.

Is an African bachelor’s accepted?

Yes. A three-year bachelor’s worth 180 ECTS is accepted. The statutory requirement is a first professionally-qualifying degree, recognised by the ZAB and listed in Anabin. A 180-ECTS bachelor’s pairs with a 120-ECTS master’s. The DAAD EPOS scholarship is the exception: it expects a first degree that was usually a four-year course, so a three-year bachelor’s can admit you and still fall short of that award.

There is no national minimum grade. Each programme sets its own threshold, and your marks are converted to the German scale — 1.0 best, 4.0 the lowest pass — by the KMK’s modified Bavarian formula, which uni-assist applies. Selection is normally a ranking of applicants rather than a fixed floor, so no German equivalent of a 2:1 or a GPA of 3.0 is published.

The universities read it the same way. TU Darmstadt states a minimum three-year full-time bachelor’s from a recognised institution for Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The University of Hamburg asks for a recognised degree of at least three years, with uni-assist and the ZAB judging equivalence case by case. TUM analyses your modules instead of applying a fixed cut-off. You submit apostilled certificates — an apostille is needed: yes — with transcripts; the evaluation runs through uni-assist + Anabin; WAEC scratch card for Nigeria/Ghana, and Germany asks for no APS certificate from any of our nine countries. Per-university rules: German universities.

How much a master’s costs in Germany

Tuition for a consecutive master’s at a public university is free. What you pay each term is the semester contribution of €100–400 per semester, which in many cities includes a public-transport pass.

Three exceptions matter. Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU students: €1,500 per semester at Tübingen, and €3,000 per year at Heidelberg, Freiburg and KIT. TUM charges €4,000–6,000 per semester, set by programme. FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg begins charging €2,000–6,000 per semester in 2027/28. Private universities are a separate market at €8,000–25,000 per year; IU prices its on-campus master’s at €16,600 per programme.

Living costs move the budget more than tuition. The national range is €850–1,200 per month, and the city decides it: €600–1,000 per month in Dresden, €950–1,350 per month in Berlin, €1,300–1,700 per month in Munich. Statutory student health insurance costs €1,700–1,760 per year and you cannot enrol without it.

Build year one as the blocked account of €11,904 per year, two semester contributions, insurance, the uni-assist evaluation fee of €75 and the visa fee of €75, plus flights — the blocked money is released back to you monthly once you arrive. Full figures: cost of studying in Germany.

English requirements for a master’s

The national floor is IELTS 6.5. RWTH Aachen and the University of Freiburg ask IELTS 6. Heidelberg, KIT, TUM, TU Berlin, TU Dresden and the University of Hamburg ask 6.5. Humboldt, TU Darmstadt and Tübingen ask 7. TOEFL iBT is accepted alongside IELTS — TUM at 88, TU Dresden at 90, Tübingen at 100.

A medium-of-instruction letter replaces the test at some universities, not others. The Free University of Berlin, KIT, TU Darmstadt and the University of Bonn accept one. TU Dresden, Tübingen and FAU do not. LMU, TUM, Humboldt, Heidelberg, TU Berlin and Hamburg decide case by case. The visa office runs no language test of its own: it checks that you hold a valid admission letter, and where the university already tested your English at admission it does not retest you. Exemptions: studying in Germany without IELTS.

Universities to look at for a master’s

The Free University of Berlin (#98 (QS 2027)) runs 25 English-taught master’s programmes at free tuition, with a semester contribution of €376.80 per semester; Berlin costs €950–1,350 per month to live in. TU Berlin (#158 (QS 2027)) is the engineering side of the same city, also free, at IELTS 6.5. RWTH Aachen (#104 (QS 2027)) has 16 English master’s, free, and the lowest English bar among the large technical universities at IELTS 6.

LMU Munich (#61 (QS 2027)) is broad and still free, but Munich costs €1,300–1,700 per month, which cancels much of the saving. TUM (#25 (QS 2026)) is the highest-ranked German university here and charges €4,000–6,000 per semester. Heidelberg (#86 (QS 2027)) lists 21 English master’s at €3,000 per year; Tübingen (#230 (QS 2027)) lists 35 at €1,500 per semester, though it asks IELTS 7.

Three more belong on a shortlist. TU Darmstadt (#250 (QS 2027)) has 22 English master’s at free tuition, in a city costing €750–950 per month. TU Dresden (#185 (QS 2027)) is free at IELTS 6.5, and Dresden at €600–1,000 per month is the lowest-cost city in our dataset — the cheapest credible combination on this page. FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (#218 (QS 2027)) has the longest English list at 40, but from 2027/28 it charges €2,000–6,000 per semester.

Scholarships for a master’s

Two national schemes fund master’s study, and applicants from all nine of our countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Morocco — are eligible for both.

DAAD Scholarships pay a stipend of €992–1,400 per month with travel and insurance on top. EPOS awards also expect professional experience after the first degree and select from the top performance third of your cohort. Note the calendar: the 2027/28 DAAD round opened 1 June 2026 and closed 31 July 2026, with results December 2026 to January 2027, so you are planning for the next round.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters cover tuition in full and pay €1,400 per month, with no nationality restriction; you cannot hold a second one. There is no tuition waiver to chase at a public university, because tuition there is already free; where fees exist, reductions are decided programme by programme. More: Germany scholarships and the DAAD guide.

How to apply for a master’s in Germany

For an October 2027 start, work backwards from the programme’s own deadline, not the national one.

  1. Check recognition. Look up your university and qualification in Anabin, and order a uni-assist preliminary review where one is asked for.
  2. Shortlist programmes and write down each deadline. The national dates are 15 July / 15 January (many earlier). Treat the programme page, not the national date, as your deadline.
  3. Sit your English test. The floor is IELTS 6.5; check whether your university takes a medium-of-instruction letter instead.
  4. Legalise your documents. Apostille your certificates, order WAEC verification for Nigeria and Ghana, and prepare transcripts, a CV and a motivation letter. Germany asks for no APS.
  5. Apply. Most files go through uni-assist, where the evaluation fee is €75. Some programmes select their own applicants and take files directly.
  6. Accept the admission letter and enrol. Pay the semester contribution of €100–400 per semester and arrange statutory health insurance at €141–146 per month.
  7. Fund the blocked account. Transfer €11,904 per year, which is €992 per month × 12 (2026) — or lodge a bank guarantee or a sponsor’s obligation letter.
  8. Apply for the visa. The National (Type D) student visa costs €75 and takes 4–12 weeks after submission — see Germany student visa requirements.

After the master’s

A master’s graduate gets the §20 job-seeker residence permit for 18 months, at a fee of €98–104, applied for inside Germany. With a matching offer you move to a work permit or an EU Blue Card. During the degree you may already work 140 full days or 280 half days per year (≈20 h/week) with no separate permit. Be honest about German: research institutes, IT and international firms hire in English, but most German employers and every public-sector post expect German at working level, and 18 months pass quickly without it. The other route is a doctorate: 3–6 years, tuition free, supervision in English widely available, and a paid research post paying €2,380–3,570 per month — see our PhD in Germany page.

Germany at a glance — key figures

Degree Master (M.A., M.Sc., M.Eng., LL.M., M.F.A., M.Mus., M.Ed.)
Length 1–2 years · 120 ECTS
Starts October, April
How to apply uni-assist (most universities) or directly to the university; some programmes run their own selection procedure
Typical deadline 15 July for the winter (October) intake, 15 January for the summer (April) intake; uni-assist states universities set earlier deadlines for many master's programmes
African bachelor's accepted Three-year (180 ECTS) bachelors are accepted. The only statutory requirement is a first professionally-qualifying higher education degree (KMK Musterrechtsverordnung § 5(1)), recognised as equivalent by ZAB/anabin; because 300 ECTS must be reached across both cycles, a 180-ECTS degree pairs with a 120-ECTS master. Note that the DAAD EPOS scholarship, by contrast, expects 'a Bachelor degree (usually a four-year course)'.
Typical grade asked No national minimum grade — each programme sets its own threshold in its admission regulations. Foreign grades are converted to the German scale (1.0 best, 4.0 lowest pass) using the KMK's modified Bavarian formula, applied by uni-assist and the universities. Selection is normally by ranking rather than a fixed floor; DAAD EPOS selects from the 'top performance third' of the first degree. No published national equivalent of a 2:1 or GPA 3.0: checked kmk.org, uni-assist.de, tum.de.
Public tuition (non-EU) Free — Consecutive master's free; non-consecutive/executive programmes charge
Private tuition (typical) €8,000–25,000 per year
English floor (IELTS) 6.50
Stay after graduating 18 months (§20 job-seeker residence permit)
Note Regelstudienzeit two, three or four semesters; 300 ECTS across bachelor and master, so a 90-ECTS master presupposes 210 ECTS of prior study (KMK Musterrechtsverordnung 21.11.2024, §§ 4-5). Consecutive masters at public universities are tuition-free.

Last verified 2026-09-10 against official sources (daad.de · uni-heidelberg.de · make-it-in-germany.com · tk.de · auswaertiges-amt.de).

  • A consecutive master’s at a public university is free; the recurring charge is the semester contribution of €100–400 per semester.
  • Your three-year 180-ECTS bachelor’s is accepted, and Germany asks for no APS certificate from any of our nine countries.
  • English-taught choice is real at this level: 40 programmes at FAU, 35 at Tübingen, 25 at the Free University of Berlin.
  • You may work 140 full days or 280 half days per year (≈20 h/week) with no separate work permit.
  • Every graduate gets 18 months on the §20 job-seeker residence permit for €98–104.
  • Free tuition is not a free year. You must block €11,904 per year before the visa and live on €850–1,200 per month after it.
  • Fees are spreading. Baden-Württemberg already charges €3,000 per year, TUM charges €4,000–6,000 per semester, and FAU joins them in 2027/28.
  • Deadlines are set programme by programme and many close well before 15 July / 15 January (many earlier). A missed window costs a full year.
  • Selection is by ranking rather than a published pass mark, so you cannot know in advance whether your grade is competitive.
  • Germany does not publish student-visa refusal rates for African applicants (not published), and processing runs 4–12 weeks on top of the appointment queue.
World Study

Our core guidance is free, funded by commission from the universities we place students with. We match your bachelor's, your grades and your subject against programmes that accept a three-year degree, and flag the ones whose deadline closes early. We vet every document — apostille, translation, WAEC verification, blocked-account evidence — before it reaches uni-assist or the mission. Premium Placement, where we run the whole application, is a paid option. We never sell guaranteed admission or a guaranteed visa.

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How to apply for a master's degree in Germany from Africa

  1. Check that your degree is recognised

    Look up your university and qualification in Anabin and order a uni-assist preliminary review where the university asks for one. A three-year, 180-ECTS bachelor's is accepted.

  2. Shortlist programmes and record each deadline

    National master's deadlines are 15 July for the October intake and 15 January for April, but many programmes close earlier. Treat the programme page, not the national date, as your deadline.

  3. Sit your English test

    The national floor is IELTS 6.5, with universities ranging from 6.0 to 7.0. Check first whether your chosen university accepts a medium-of-instruction letter instead of a test.

  4. Legalise your documents

    Apostille your certificates, order WAEC verification if you studied in Nigeria or Ghana, and prepare transcripts, a CV and a motivation letter. No APS certificate is required.

  5. Submit the application

    Most master's files go through uni-assist, which charges an evaluation fee of 75 euro. Some programmes run their own selection procedure and accept applications directly.

  6. Accept the admission letter and enrol

    Pay the semester contribution of 100 to 400 euro and arrange statutory student health insurance at 141 to 146 euro a month. You cannot enrol without the insurance.

  7. Fund the blocked account

    Transfer 11,904 euro for the year, calculated as 992 euro a month over twelve months, or lodge a renewable bank guarantee or a sponsor's obligation letter instead.

  8. Apply for the student visa

    Apply for the national Type D student visa at the mission or visa centre in your country. The fee is 75 euro and processing takes four to twelve weeks after submission.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. A three-year bachelor's worth 180 ECTS is accepted, provided the ZAB recognises your institution and qualification through Anabin. A German master's carries 120 ECTS, so the two fit together. Each programme still applies its own subject requirements, and TU Darmstadt states this three-year rule explicitly for Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

At most public universities, yes, for a consecutive master's — but not everywhere, and that is the myth worth correcting. Tübingen charges €1,500 per semester, Heidelberg, Freiburg and KIT €3,000 per year, TUM €4,000–6,000 per semester. Everyone pays the semester contribution of €100–400 per semester.

There is no national minimum. Each programme sets its own threshold, and your marks are converted to the German scale of 1.0 to 4.0 by the KMK's modified Bavarian formula, applied by uni-assist. Selection is usually a ranking of applicants, not a fixed pass mark, so no published German equivalent of a 2:1 exists. Strong grades still decide competitive programmes.

1 to 2 years, carrying 120 ECTS, which in practice means four semesters for most programmes. Teaching begins in October, April, with October the larger intake. Shorter one-year master's exist, but they assume more prior study, so check the credit count on the programme page before you assume you qualify.

At a public university the tuition line is free. Budget the semester contribution of €100–400 per semester, health insurance of €1,700–1,760 per year, living costs of €850–1,200 per month, the uni-assist fee of €75 and the visa fee of €75. Before the visa you block €11,904 per year.

Yes, at master's level the choice is wide: 40 English-taught master's at FAU, 35 at Tübingen, 25 at the Free University of Berlin. The national floor is IELTS 6.5. RWTH Aachen accepts 6; Humboldt, TU Darmstadt and Tübingen want 7.

DAAD and Erasmus Mundus, and applicants from all nine of our countries are eligible for both. DAAD pays €992–1,400 per month plus travel and insurance; the development-oriented awards want professional experience and a first degree in the top performance third. Erasmus Mundus covers tuition in full and pays €1,400 per month.

FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg introduces non-EU tuition from 2027/28: €2,000–6,000 per semester for a master's, tiered by subject, with medicine, dentistry and pharmacy exempt. Only newly enrolling non-EU students without a German entrance qualification are affected; those already enrolled are not. FAU is the second Bavarian university to charge, after TUM.

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