Coming to TUM: Physics

You want to spend up to two semesters as an exchange student in physics at the TUM? On this page, you can find information to prepare your stay. This includes requirements, drafting your study plan, registering for courses and other practical details. We look forward to meeting you here!

Welcome event for new exchange students in physics (w24)

In this event you will get to know each other, receive an introduction to our School and studies in physics, and have lunch together :-)

Please register to participate in our welcome event for physics exchange students!

International students from a partner university coming to TUM through one of our exchange programs or bilateral agreements are called exchange students. These students benefit from a simplified application and enrollment process, and in general they can attend lectures from all TUM schools and departments. Our School has a number of partner universities in Europe through the Erasmus+ and SEMP programs and elsewhere in the world through TUMexchange.

Double degree candidates from selected partner universities benefit from a simplified application and enrollment process as degree-seeking students, being able to spend at least 1,5 years at TUM and fully immerse in the local environment. Our School has only few double degree programs in physics.

International students enrolled at a non-partner university abroad can come during their studies to work on a research project at TUM and register as practical project students.

The information below is only for exchange students from partner universities.

Before your stay

  • To study at one of our partner universities and apply there for an exchange program. Your home university selects students for the exchange program and e-nominates them for a stay at TUM. After an acknowledgement email from TUM, you can apply directly at TUM within our application deadlines. Deadlines are May 15 for the winter semester or the whole academic year, and October 31 for the summer semester. More details can be found on the website of TUM Global & Alumni Office.
  • To be enrolled in our exchange program in physics, you need to take at least 60% of your workload in physics. Thereof, consider well your choice of modules and field of study before applying to TUM. Due to the structure of their program, DTU-TUM 1:1 students are exempted from this rule.
  • Please consider that our Bachelor program is mostly taught in German and that most of our Master modules are taught in English. Depending on your selected modules, you have to provide with your application proof of sufficient language skills in the respective languages of instruction. We require a German and/or English certificate of at least CEFR level B1 at the time of the application. A confirmation issued by the Language Center of your Home University is enough. CEFR level B2 is recommended by the time your exchange period begins. CERF refers to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
  • The maximal length of your exchange studies at TUM is two semesters.
  • Around beginning of July for the winter semester or beginning of December for the summer semester, you will be notified about your admission and you should then start preparing your stay abroad. TUM Global & Alumni Office provides extensive information on preparing for your stay at the TUM.
  • To enroll succesfully at TUM, you have to pay the semester fee (student union plus basic semester ticket) and show proof of your health insurance to our Welcome Office. Deadlines are August 15 for the winter semester and February 15 for the summer semester. Only students that have submitted all their documents on time are able to register for language courses (places fill up very quickly!) and obtain their student card early enough to gain access to all student services (basic transportation, cafeteria, library, internet, sports etc.).

To enroll in our Exchange Program in Physics, you need to choose at least 60% of your workload in physics*. On your preliminary study plan for the application, you should list modules and not courses. This also applies to later versions of your study plan or, in the case of Erasmus+ students, Learning Agreement. Each module has a module ID or "Kennung", which you need to indicate in your study plan or Learning Agreement (e.g. PH0001 for Experimental Physics 1 or NAT3002 for Advanced Statistical Physics).

Your academic advisor and departmental Erasmus+ coordinator at TUM in physics is Maria Eckholt.

Our study offer for a given semester is normally published before the previous lecture period ends. However, few courses may still be announced later on. Our physics modules are listed in our catalog for exchange students in physics.

(*) Due to the structure of their program, DTU-TUM 1:1 students are exempted from this rule.

    During your stay

    Registration for courses can be done when the corresponding semester begins. For more details on the different kinds of course registration (for lectures, exercises, student seminars and lab courses), please have a look at our page on course registration. Please consider that course and exam registration are independent from each other. To participate in the examination of a module, exam registration is mandatory in all cases.

    Students finishing their degree at their home university can arrange directly with our research groups to work on a research project as a Bachelor's or Master's thesis during their stay. We can offer research projects with different workload sizes – check with your home university for the required workload size and discuss with your TUM supervisor which project size is suitable for the topic:

    • Exchange Program Physics (Bachelor’s level, 12 CP + 3 CP colloquium)
    • Exchange Program Physics (Bachelor’s level, 27 CP + 3 CP colloquium)
    • Exchange Program Physics (Master’s level, one year research phase, 55 CP + 5 CP colloquium)
    • Exchange Program Physics (Master’s level, nine months thesis, 45 CP + 5 CP colloquium)
    • Exchange Program Physics (Master’s level, half year thesis, 30 CP + 5 CP colloquium)
    • Exchange Program Physics (Master’s level, five months thesis, 30 CP including colloquium)

    After finding a supervisor and a research topic in one of our reseach groups, you have to register your thesis. For ongoing research projects, you can find more information on the status page.

    Our first examination period is normally during the three weeks following the lecture period. If you have any time constrains given by the schedule of your home university, please discuss this directly with the lecturers during the first weeks of lectures.

    Registering for examinations is compulsory and missing the registration period means that you will not be able to take the exams. Besides that, it is not allowed to repeat exams that have been already passed (i.e. improving your grade through a retake is not possible).

    In the following links you will find more details on our examination dates and our academic calendar:

    • Exam periods: registration deadlines, late registration, examination periods, individual dates for oral exams, etc.
    • TUM dates and deadlines: lecture periods, lecture-free days and holidays, semester fees deadlines, etc.

    When registering examinations and to allocate them correctly in your degree program, you should avoid the option "free registration". Whenever you are only given that option, please register that way and let Maria Eckholt know. That may happen sometimes for new physics modules or modules from other departments, which we would then have to include in the curriculum for exchange students.

    Our grading system applies for most modules. However, student seminars and lab courses are only marked as passed or failed. If to transfer the credits at your home university you need to have grades, please talk at the beginning of the semester with the corresponding lecturers and discuss with them the possibility of getting a numerical grade.

    Enrollment for exchange students only applies for one semester. Should you stay longer than one semester, you need to re-register before the respective deadline:

    • August 15 for the following winter semester,
    • February 15 for the following summer semester.

    However, you can only re-register you were nominated by your home university for more than one semester. Re-registration means payment of the semester fee for continued enrollment.

    If you forget to re-register on time, you may be exmatriculated.

    If you would like to stay longer at TUM than you were nominated by your home university, please consider the following conditions:

    • A change of school/department is not possible.
    • TUM Global & Alumni needs the approval of your home university and our School to adjust your dates of stay in MoveON, a simple email suffices. Requests with all approvals need to reach TUM Global & Alumni before August 15 for extensions in the following winter semester and February 15 for extensions in the following summer semester. Please consider that after receiving confirmation from TUM Global & Alumni, you will need to make the payment of the semester fee for continued enrollment.
    • If you received a housing offer from TUM Global & Alumni, this contract cannot be extended. You will need to look for accommodation on the private housing market for the time after your contract expires.
    • You can be enrolled at TUM as an exchange semester for up to three semesters.

    If you would like to take a student job to support yourself during your studies or experience the job market through an internship, there are several possibilities on Campus Garching and in/around Munich.

    In terms of research, you could take a student job e.g. either in a group of our school or another research institution on campus. Please either have a look at the TUM black board or contact directly the professors in each institution (most of them do not publish their student job oppportunities!).

    For advice on an internship in the industry sector, please do refer to the carefully selected information and contacts from the TUM Career Service.

    How much are you allowed to work?

    International students can find this and further details on the subject on TUM Global's site on finding a part-time job.

    After your stay

    Please clarify with your home university if you need a confirmation of your stay signed by TUM. If so, your home university will provide you with a form, please fill it out and send it to Maria Eckholt.

    A transcript or grade report is an official document containing the modules you have visited during your stay at TUM, including the respective amount of ECTS credits and grade you have achieved. You will only obtain a complete transcript of academic records at the end of your stay, if you registered for all your exams on time. Registering outside the registration period is not possible.

    Transcripts can be easily printed out from your TUMonline account, as soon as all examinations are completed and the grades validated in TUMonline. Log in and select "transcripts" in the "studies" column on your visit card. Select the option "print certificate" to generate an transcript of your academic records. It is an automatically generated document, valid without a signature.

    If you do need a signed copy of the document, you can request it to our examinations office. Given the different final examination dates of all students, these documents are not sent without your request. Please make sure that all your grades have been introduced into the system and that they have been validated (i.e. further changes of the grades are not possible). Then and only then, you can request the document by:

    Natalia Hutanu / Carina Fritzsche
    Examinations Office, TUM Excellence Center, Boltzmannstraße 17 (Research Campus Garching)
    Opening Hours: Mon, Tue and Thu 8:30 – 12:00, Wed 13:00 – 16.30, closed on Friday
    Tel. +49 89 289 14775, Fax +49 89 289 14779

    If you are not in Germany anymore, you may contact her per e-mail and provide her with a postal address – electronic versions of the document are not available. Please consider that it may take some time for the post to arrive to you or your home institution.