RWTH Aachen University

General information

• Location: Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The university is spread across several areas of the city – around Templergraben, Melaten and the extended RWTH Aachen Campus.
• Founded: 1870. Teaching began on 10 October 1870 under the name Königliche Rheinisch-Westphälische Polytechnische Schule zu Aachen.
• Language of instruction: mainly German for bachelor's degrees. RWTH currently has no fully English-taught bachelor's programmes, although individual modules are in English. At master's level there are significantly more English-taught programmes.
• Main fields: RWTH is especially known for mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, civil engineering, materials science, chemical engineering, natural sciences, mathematics and technology. Economics, humanities, medicine and teacher-training programmes are also offered – around 190 courses across 9 faculties in total.

Deadlines

Undergraduate – winter semester 2026/27

• Courses with restricted admission (NC): 2 May – 15 July 2026
• Unrestricted courses: 2 May – 20 October 2026
• Higher semester with NC: by 15 September 2026

With a Bulgarian diploma, no VPD from uni-assist is required. You apply directly through RWTHonline, and RWTH itself checks the diploma and your eligibility for admission.

Semesters

• Winter semester 2026/27: 1 October 2026 – 31 March 2027 (lectures 12 October 2026 – 5 February 2027)
• Summer semester 2027: 1 April – 30 September 2027 (lectures 5 April – 16 July 2027)

Courses

Medicine

• Duration: 13 semesters (6.5 years). RWTH offers a model programme (Modellstudiengang) – the course is more integrated, and clinical and practical elements start earlier than in the standard programme.
• Start: first semester in the winter semester
• Application: through Hochschulstart. For the 2026/27 winter semester the deadline was 31 May 2026 for applicants with a diploma obtained before 16 January 2026, and 15 July 2026 for those graduating that same year.
• Places: 284 students were enrolled in the first semester for the 2025/26 winter semester

Admission: nationally restricted. After the preliminary quotas, places are allocated mainly through:

• 30% Abiturbestenquote
• 10% additional quota (ZEQ)
• 60% university selection (AdH)

The TMS is very important for Aachen.

Architecture

• Duration: 6 semesters (3 years), full-time
• Completion: Bachelor of Science Architektur; this can then be followed by a Master of Science Architektur (a further 4 semesters)
• Start: winter semester only
• Deadline: usually by 15 July
• Language: mainly German; some elective modules may be in English
• Application: through RWTHonline

Admission: locally restricted (NC). In addition to the diploma, proof of participation in RWTH's course-specific SelfAssessment is required.

Placement: during the bachelor's degree an 8-week construction placement (Baupraktikum) is required. RWTH recommends completing at least part of it before the course starts.

Important for the profession: a bachelor's degree alone is usually not sufficient for registration as an architect. The professional standards are met after a bachelor's and a master's degree, and after that professional practice is usually also required, in line with the requirements of the relevant Architektenkammer.

Mechanical Engineering

• Duration: 7 semesters (3.5 years)
• Location: Fakultät für Maschinenwesen – mechanical engineering is one of RWTH's best-known courses
• Start: winter semester only
• Deadline: for unrestricted courses – indicatively by mid-October, but it is better to submit documents earlier
• Admission: open, no NC – there is no minimum grade. If you meet the formal and language requirements, you can enrol.

SelfAssessment: before enrolling you complete the SelfAssessment Maschinenbau, with tasks in maths, logic, technical reasoning and motivation. The result does not determine admission – only proof of participation is required.

Preliminary internship: before enrolling you must complete a 6-week preliminary internship (Vorpraktikum). In it, students gain hands-on experience of production and materials processing, testing of finished parts, assembly of machines and equipment, and design and production planning. For enrolment, proof of the internship is enough (without a report); the full documents (certificate and report) must be submitted to the Praktikantenamt by the end of the first semester. The faculty's Praktikantenamt decides on recognition.

Computer Science

• Duration: 6 semesters (3 years)
• Start: winter semester only. For the 2026/27 winter semester, enrolment was possible from 1 August to 15 October 2026.
• Admission: no NC for 2026 – if you meet the general requirements, you have a guaranteed place. RWTH explicitly notes that this can change from year to year.

SelfAssessment: mandatory before enrolling – for computer science within the Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik field. The result does not affect admission, only proof of participation is required.

Content: not just programming – there is a strong theoretical and mathematical foundation:

• programming and algorithms
• mathematics and discrete structures
• theoretical computer science
• technical computer science
• software engineering
• operating systems and systems programming
• databases
• later, elective areas such as AI, Machine Learning, Computer Graphics and Security

Psychology

• Duration: 6 semesters (3 years); the programme is Psychologie (polyvalent), B.Sc.
• Start: winter semester only
• Deadline: 15 July
• Application: through RWTHonline
• Admission: restricted (NC), but from the 2026/27 winter semester the diploma average is not the only factor

Ranking:

• 51% – diploma average
• 49% – BaPsy (aptitude test)

Without a test result you get 0 points for this part. BaPsy is very important – almost half of the final result comes from it, so an applicant with a slightly weaker diploma can make up for it with a very good test result.

Content: general, biological, developmental and social psychology, differential psychology and personality psychology, methodology and statistics, as well as applied modules. RWTH places emphasis on biological foundations, information processing in the brain, and mathematical-statistical methods. The focus is on psychological research (cognitive and neuroscience; work and organisational psychology). If you want to go into clinical psychology, RWTH does not have a suitable master's programme.

Placement: during the bachelor's degree there are several practical components – Institutspraktikum, Orientierungspraktikum and a professional qualifying placement.