Information for international applicants
The following information only applies to applicants for a full-time course of study (including contact studies). Exchange students (e.g. Erasmus, California programme) or scholars who merely stay for a limited time in Trossingen should get their information here: Hochschule - International Exchange Programmes
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Tips for Your Application, Studies, and Stay
The conditions for admission to the Trossingen University of Music are the same for everyone. However, international applicants are required to provide additional proof of the following:
- Knowledge of the German language (see below)
- Proof that you can finance your studies (Declaration of Financial Stability)
- Certified German or English translation of foreign certificates (diplomas, etc.)
To find out the specific regulations for your nationality, contact the German consulate in your home country. Please learn about the valid regulations before coming to Germany.
To enter Germany, you may need to have a valid Applicants' Visa. To get this visa, present your entrance audition invitation letter at the German consulate in your home country. Please do not enter with a tourist visa! This can’t be extended or changed without you returning to your home country!
Residents of EU member states and the following countries do not need a visa to enter Germany:
Andorra, Australia, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, Honduras, and the USA.
If you have received a study place, you have to submit an official proof of a residence permit. Otherwise, registration is not possible. The competent agency for issuance of residence permits is the Foreigner's Agency in Tuttlingen:
Landratsamt Tuttlingen Ausländeramt
Bahnhofstraße 100
78532 Tuttlingen
Telephone: 07461 / 926-5202
Fax: 07461 / 926-99-5202
h.staringer@landkreis-tuttlingen.de
www.landkreis-tuttlingen.de
Information sheet for foreign students
For the residence permit, you will need the following documents:
- Passport
- A recent biometric photograph (not older than six months)
- Health insurance certificate (You must present proof of sufficient health insurance, as it is also a prerequisite to enrollment. You can be insured with any German statutory health insurance company, known as Krankenkassen, or "sickness funds." The usual charge for students is currently between €50 and €60 per month.) In countries that are part of the EU and some other European countries you may already have the “European Health Insurance Card” (EHIC), which is also accepted as a valid insurance. We ask that you check with the health insurance companies in your home country.
- Enrollment certificate
- A declaration/affidavit in which you describe how you are going to finance your studies (Typically, using financial statements from the parents and/or an account statement of your bank with about €800/month, a scholarship, or a loan). You can also deposit money in a blocked account, which deposits the €800 in your bank account each month for you to use. If you have any questions, please contact the Foreigner's Agency in Tuttlingen. Throughout your studies, you will have to submit proof of financial status regularly, i.e. each time you renew the residence permit.
The residence permit is valid for one year and then needs to be renewed with updated documents. You can get the necessary form upon request at the registrar's office (Studierendensekretariat) in Room 244.
International students are allowed to stay for up to one year in Germany to seek employment. If they find work that corresponds to their degree, they will get another residence permit.
The money that is available to you each month should be enough to cover your rent, food and other things such as sheet music, books, travel expenses and so on.
Please check to see if you qualify for a scholarship in your home country. You can get additional information at the German consulate or at DAAD www.daad.de, www.funding-guide.de
The Trossingen University of Music cannot provide financial support. Small grants, for example to cover travel expenses that may occur in case of a competition, can be granted upon application by the Förderverein.
You are only eligible to apply for German scholarships (issued by the Ministry of Science or the DAAD) after you have successfully finished some semesters (for example, to support your final exam preparations). These scholarships are granted to very few students.
International, non-EU students get a limited work permit with the issuance of their residence permit: Currently, it is possible to either work 120 full days or 240 half days in a part-time job.
The University has an affiliated student dormitory that is located about 20 minutes away by foot. In the "university town" of Trossingen there are numerous additional residential communities and student apartments that are announced in the newspapers, the notice board in the University or on the internet.
Further information on hotels can be found here: www.trossingen.de
www.auswaertiges-amt.de (Welcome to Germany) contains a list of German embassies and consulates as well as further information about Germany.
Language Certificate Level B2
According to § 5 of our enrolment regulations, applicants from non-German-speaking countries must have sufficient knowledge of the German language. This must be proven by a language certificate at level B2 from an independent institution (e.g. language school, Goethe Institute, etc.). The certificate must be submitted by the end of the second semester at the latest.
Excerpt from the Enrollment Statutes:
§ 5 Nachweise deutscher Sprachkenntnisse
(1) Ausländische Studienbewerber (Bildungsinländer ausgenommen) haben gemäß § 60 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 LHG ausreichende Kenntnisse der deutschen Sprache nachzuweisen. Soweit in der Anlage zu dieser Satzung nicht anders gefordert, hat der Nachweis durch Vorlage eines Zertifikats entsprechend der Niveaustufe B2 des Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmens für Sprachen bis spätestens Ende des zweiten Fachsemesters zu erfolgen. Eine Rückmeldung ins dritte Fachsemester ist nur nach Vorlage eines entsprechenden Nachweises möglich.
(2) Die Zulassung zur Aufnahmeprüfung kann bei Bewerbern für die Bachelorstudiengänge Gymnasiallehramt und Musik und Bewegung sowie für den Masterstudiengang Musikwissenschaft nur erfolgen, wenn vor der Aufnahmeprüfung ein Zeugnis über deutsche Sprachkenntnisse mindestens der Niveaustufe B2 vorgelegt wird.
(3) In Ausnahmefällen kann bei nicht ausreichenden deutschen Sprachkenntnissen (Fehlen eines Sprachzeugnisses mindestens der Niveaustufe B2) die Zulassung unter der Auflage erteilt werden, dass der Bewerber nach Ablauf des zweiten Studiensemesters die Sprachkenntnisse durch Vorlage eines entsprechenden Sprachzeugnisses nachweist. Über diese Fälle entscheidet der Prüfungsausschuss. Kann der geforderte Nachweis nicht fristgerecht erbracht werden, erlischt die vorbehaltliche Zulassung. Eine Rückmeldung ins dritte Fachsemester ist nur nach Vorlage eines B2-Zeugnisses möglich.
Aptitude Test
You can study at our University even if you do not have a German Abitur or equivalent. In that case, you will have to take an aptitude test. Please note that test will be conducted in German.
- You will write a text in the German language
- Write with legible handwriting
- The test is two hours long
- Choose between three given topics. Example: A composer writes a piece of music. What task does the musician have, if they want to play this piece?
- Justify your position. For example, something like this: The musician plays exactly what is written on the page, because... or: The musician plays according to their own ideas, because...
- Speak in comprehensible German
- Know something about the job of a musician
- Demonstrate an interest in music and culture in Germany
- Answer our questions verbally. Here are some examples:
- Why do you want to study music?
- Why did you apply to the Trossingen University of Music?
- What career goal do you want to reach by studying music?
- Who is your favorite composer? Why?
- The oral examination lasts approximately 10-15 minutes.