Information for international applicants
Here is some general information for international students about studying at the Trossingen University of Music:
Tips for Your Application, Studies, and Stay
Please note: The following information only applies to applicants of 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 Programs
The conditions for admission to the Trossingen University of Music are the same for everyone. International applicants are also required to provide following documentation:
- Knowledge of the German language (see below)
- Proof that you can finance your studies (Declaration of Financial Stability)
- Certified German translation of foreign certificates (diplomas, etc.)
To find out the specific regulations for your nationality, contact the German consulate in your country. Please learn about the valid regulations before you come to Germany.
To enter Germany, you may need to have a valid Applicants' Visa. To get this, present your entrance audition invitation letter at the German consulate in your home country. Please do not enter with a tourist visa! These can’t be extended or changed without 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 current 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 by 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 in the office of registrar (Studierendensekretariat) in Room 244.
International, non-EU 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 you have 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 § 4 of our enrollment statutes, applicants from non-German-speaking countries must prove their knowledge of the German language by means of a language certificate. This language certificate must be a B2 level certificate from an independent institution (e.g. language school, Goethe Institute, etc.).
Applicants for Bachelor degree programmes
If you are applying for a Bachelor's degree programme, it is mandatory that a language certificate of at least level B1 accompanies your application. If you are attending an appropriate language course at the time of application, you can alternatively enclose a confirmation from the language school stating when exactly you will take the exam and receive the B1 certificate. This confirmation does not replace the submission of the actual language certificate! We would like to point out that according to § 4a of our enrollment statutes, no invitation to the entrance examination can be sent to you if this proof is not submitted on time.
If a place is allocated to you, you will be admitted for two semesters on the condition that you submit the B2 language certificate by the end of the second semester at the latest. If you are unable to do so, your provisional admission will expire and you will automatically be disenrolled.
Further Information for Bachelor Students
Applicants for Master degree programmes
If you apply for a Master's degree programme and are unable to present a language certificate level B2, we will still invite you to take the entrance examination. If you are awarded a place in the program, you will be admitted for two semesters on the condition that you present the B2 language certificate by the end of your second semester at the latest. If you are unable to do so, your provisional admission will expire and you will automatically be disenrolled.
Further Information for Masters Students
Excerpt from the Enrollment Statutes:
§ 4 Application for Admission
(2) Together with the completed application form, you must submit:
(...)
h) proof of sufficient German language skills (at least language test level B1) from foreign applicants (except for those who have already acquired a German degree) as well as a declaration that the financing of studies is secured (...)
§ 4 A Proof of German language skills
(1) Applicants from non-German-speaking countries must prove sufficient knowledge of the German language in accordance with § 60 Paragraph. 3 No. 1 LHG. Unless otherwise required in the appendix to these Statutes, proof must be provided by submitting a certificate corresponding to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Admission to the entrance examination can only be granted to applicants for Bachelor's degree programs if a certificate of German language proficiency with at least level B1 is presented before the entrance examination.
(2) The certificate shall be enclosed with the application for admission.
(3) In exceptional cases, if German language skills are insufficient (lack of a language certificate with at least level B2), admission may be granted on the condition that the applicant has acquired the language skills after the end of the second semester of study and proves them by means of an examination at an independent institution, e.g. a language school. The examination board decides on these cases. If this examination cannot be proven, the conditional admission expires.
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.
- Write a text in the German language
- Write with easily readable 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 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.