Frequently Asked Questions

Which international Master of Science study programs are offered for electrical engineers?

There are two programs available: Communication and Information Technology (CIT) and Control, Microsystems, Microelectronics (CMM).

What is the duration of the CIT and CMM studies program?

The duration is 2 years: 3 semesters with lectures, tutorials and labs; in the 4th semester writing the Master thesis. See here for details about CIT and here for CMM.

When is the next intake?

The next intake you can apply for is in April 2026, the online application iopens in August 2025.

The deadline for the 2025 intake has already passed (15th October 2024, hard deadline, no extension possible!).

For MSc CIT and CMM, there are no intakes in the winter semester for beginners.

If you have sufficient German skills which are proven by a German A-level or a language certificate at C1 level, you can apply for M.Sc. studies in "Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik" in German language which start in the winter semester. Further information about the studies are available on this web page The remaining part of this FAQ refers to the international Master studies held in English.

Am I eligible to apply?

You are eligible to apply if you took Bachelor studies in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field, for example Electronics, Telecommunication or Instrumentation Engineering.

In general, you should have taken the following basic subjects to be eligible:

• Mathematics, in particular calculus and vector analysis;
• System theory;
• Digital signal processing;
• Electromagnetism/fields and waves (CIT only).

Note that the subjects might be termed in a different way in your certificate, however the content should match the subjects given above.

Can I apply both for the CIT and the CMM stream?

No, you must decide to apply either for CIT or for CMM.

Are English language tests required for admission?

If your medium of instruction was not English, an English language test (for example, IELTS or TOEFL) is needed. The TOEFL test has to be passed with at least 95 points, the IELTS test with at least band 7.0. See this link under the headline "Criteria for C1 certificate" for a complete overview of accepted language certificates,

If your medium of instruction was English, this has to be confirmed by a notice on your Bachelor certificate or transcript, or by a letter from your university. Note that the English language certificate does not have to be provided during the online application, it may be handed in later on.

Important: In some countries, German embassies require an English language certificate for the visa applicaton even in case that your studies were held in English. There may be also requirements for the minimum mark(s) obtained in the language certificate in order to get accepted for the visa application.

Are German skills required?

The medium of instruction is English, German skills are not required. There is however a compulsory German class in the first semester. Students who already have German skills and wish to take an advanced-level class need to prove their German skills, which can be done by a Goethe or telc certificate or by a placement test which takes place a few days before the studies start. Based on the German language credentials, they will be sent to a class at their current level.

If you wish to attend the placement test, personal attendance is required. Students who do not have German skills and take the beginner's class do not have to attend the test.

Are aptitude tests required?

Aptitude tests such as GRE or TestAS are not required. Submitting such test results in the application does not increase the chance of getting admitted.

Is working experience required?

Working experience is not compulsorily required; however, it may enhance your ranking in the admission process if the topic of your work is closely related to your studies (see the question "What are the evaluation criteria?")

Are recommendation letters required?

No, recommendation letters are not considered for the evaluation.

Is an APS certificate required?

No, an APS certificate is not required for the application. It is required by the German embassies in India or China to obtain a student visa.

Can I submit my application now?

The next intake which you can apply for is in April 2026. The application opens in August 2025. There are no intakes for beginning Master students in the winter semester.

Are there any scholarships or student jobs available?

Inside the framework of the CIT/CMM studying programme, scholarships are not provided. There is however a number of third-party institutions providing scholarships for foreign students in Germany, check here for further information and a list. In addition, some student jobs (e.g., programming or helping in setting up and running experiments) are available in the different departments of the Electrical Engineering faculty and also in some companies around the campus. There is however no guarantee that a job is available at a given time.

International students are permitted to work up to 120 full days per year or 240 half days per year according to the visa regulations.

In the German university system, there are no fixed Research Assistant (RA) or Teaching Assistant (TA) positions for holders of a Bachelor degree as they are known in some other countries.

Which documents do I have to provide? How do I have to submit them?

The submission is done online, please follow these instructions which also give an overview about the required documents. Do not send postal mail, it will be ignored. Only in case of admission, you would be asked later on to send documents by postal mail. Also, do not send application documents by e-mail, they will be ignored as well.

Do I have to submit my documents directly or via uni-assist?

You have to submit the documents directly to University of Bremen. See this link how to submit them.

Can I have my application documents checked by the reviewers in advance before uploading them to the application website?

This is not possible. Read all instructions given on this website carefully and then prepare your documents accordingly.

I cannot get all required documents until the submission deadline, can I send them later on?

Unfortunately, this is not possible. All documents must be submitted before the deadline. The only exception is the English language certificate (if required) which, in case of admission, has to be handed in at the latest two weeks after the lectures have started in April 2024.

Do the documents which are uploaded electronically have to be notarised?

For the electronic documents, notarisation is not required. In case of admission, the Admissions Office will ask you to hand in notarised copies of your documents.

I have technical problems while filling in the application form on the web site. How can I fix this?

Use a computer while filling in the form, not a mobile device. Mobile web browsers may have problems. Furthermore, disable all online translation services. They intercept the data exchange between you and the web server which again may result in problems. The application web site is natively available in English. If the problems persist, try using another web browser.

I have submitted my application. How can I check whether all details and documents are correctly registered in the database?

Please login to the application webpage by selecting “Continue application” with the login and password you specified when submitting your application. You can then view all information which you provided, however you can no longer edit any details.

By mistake, I gave some incorrect information during the online application which can no longer be edited. What should I do?

As long as the deadline has not expired yet, you can upload a new application with the correct details. The old application will then not be considered. Please note that it is not possible to ask the supervisors at the University of Bremen to edit application details on behalf of you.

What are the evaluation criteria?

Each applicant is evaluated according to:

• Grade point average or overall percentage,
• Relevance of the subjects attended during the bachelor studies and, if applicable, of professional trainings, internships, jobs, etc. for the selected field of studies.

For each of the two criteria, a mark according to the German ranking system is given, where 1.0 is the best mark and 4.0 is the worst pass mark. For each criterion, the mark must be 2.7 or better. The average mark calculated for the two criteria must be 2.0 or better.

Recommendation letters or a GRE test are not relevant for the ranking.

The number of admitted applicants may be limited by the number of available university places.

Based on my educational background, will my application be successful?

This cannot be said in advance, it is decided by the reviewers.

Is there a telephone interview during the application process?

No, the admission decision is taken solely based on the documents you have submitted.

Do I get notifications about application status upates?

No notification e-mails will be sent during the processing period of the application, you will be informed once the decision about your admission has been taken. In the application webpage, you will see the status entry “formally checked” once the Admissions Office has checked the application for formal correctness and has forwarded it to the faculty review committee. Please note: It may happen that you see a different application status than your friend at a given time. This does not mean that your application was missed, all applications will be checked.

When and how is the admission decision provided?

The admission decisions for the next intake in April 2025 are taken by December 2024 or January 2025. Admitted students are notified by e-mail once the admission decision is is taken. The letter of admission can then be downloaded as a softcopy from the application website. Rejected students are informed by e-mail.

What are the next formal steps after the admission?

The admissions office will provide an electronic letter with a written confirmation of the admission on the web portal where you applied, asking you to hand in your application documents as notarised copies. Furthermore, you need the letter to apply for a student's visa. Check with the German embassy in your country for the documents which you have to submit for a visa application. Find here (external link) a list with the web adresses of the German embassies and consulates.

Which regulations apply to the notarisation (certification) of the documents which I have to hand in for enrolment?

Please check the FAQ of the admissions office (SfS International) by following this link and then clicking on the item "Which credentials are accepted?". Notarised documents will be rejected if they do not comply with these regulations.

I want to apply for the visa quickly, can I get a notification e-mail directly from the reviewers?

Admitted students get an e-mail notification once the admission letter is available which can then be downloaded as a softcopy from the application portal. The letter is machine-generated and therefore valid without signature. It is accepted by the German visa departments.

How is my semester fee payment identified? Does the owner's name of the sender's bank accont have to match the name of the student for whom the money is paid?

Your payment is identified by the number in the field “Reason for transfer” in the table on the second page of your admission letter. This number is individual for each student. Hence, it does not matter who actually pays the money, as long as the details of the university bank account and the “Reason for payment” number are correctly given. If the original payment receipt document is not required for your visa application, you can even ask a friend who lives in Germany to pay the money on behalf of you in order to avoid the fees for the international money transfer and accelerate the payment process.

I have paid the semester fee, will I get a confirmation from the university that the money has been received?

You can download a receipt from your MOIN account which you used to register.

Where can I get accomodation in Bremen? Where can I get information about local facilities?

On this website, you can find a list of locations where you can ask for accomodation. An overview about services and facilities on the campus is given here. In addition, there are usually volunteer students from the previous batch who are ready to support the newly arriving students. Contact details of the volunteers are provided in due course after the admissions process is completed.

Please note that the CIT/CMM master office does not arrange accomodation for admitted students.

When do the lectures start? When do I have to be in Germany at the latest?

The lectures of the 2025 intake start on 7th April. You should be in Germany a few days earlier since there are some compulsory formal steps which must be taken after arrival in Bremen before the studies start, such as registering as an inhabitant of Bremen at the public registration office or registering with the health insurance. In case you have not submitted your notarized application documents from your home country by courier mail, you can hand them in at the Student Office before the deadline given on your admission letter.