Top Architecture Colleges in Germany: Courses, Fees, Eligibility, Scholarships and Jobs

With 6 universities among the top 100 global universities, Germany is one of the most desired study abroad destinations among international students. According to QS world subject ranking for architectural studies, Technical University of Berlin (#22) and Technical University of Munich (#23) comes under top 25 universities in the world. Architecture colleges in Germany offer courses at all degree levels: Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral.

• To be a certified architect in Germany, there is no professional exam, a student has to complete undergraduate degree, followed by masters, and take employment with a certified architect.
• Students with a bachelor's degree in architecture, can earn around 6000 EUR per month in Germany. This amount increases to 12000 EUR per month with a master's degree.
• Berlin is one of the highest paying cities in Germany for architects with an average monthly salary of 12,000 EUR.

Most of the German Institutes charge less or no tuition fees. Adding to that, the cost of living in Germany is easily manageable as students are allowed to work for 90 full days or 180 half days in a year. Hence the cost of studying in Germany is rather less than the other contemporary countries. 

Best Architecture Colleges in Germany

As a hub of top universities in the world, Germany has copious advantages. Most of the universities of this country are public and sponsored by the state. So students are only required to pay the semester fee which is around 200-300 Euros. 

Below given are few of the top universities in Germany , offering courses of different disciplines in architecture.

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Degrees and Specializations Offered 

Architecture defines the physical and unifying aspects of buildings and other physical structures. There are various branches of architecture taught in different disciplines in the universities of Germany e.g. landscape architecture, urban planning, restoration, research architecture, lighting architecture, etc. 

• Undergraduate Courses: 3 years full time bachelor degree as BA, BSc
• Graduate Courses: 2 Year full time master degree as MA, MSc
• Doctoral Courses: 3-5 Year full time doctoral degree as Doctor of Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy.

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Undergraduate Programs

• Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts are the disciplines in which undergraduate courses in Architecture are delivered in Germany. The duration of most of these courses are 3-4 years. 
• You can apply directly through the college website by visiting the international student section. There is also a common admission portal maintained by the German Academic Exchange Services known as uni-assist but that doesn’t include all the universities. 
• One can apply to German universities twice a year; summer semester and winter semester. The application for the summer semester can be submitted by 15th October and for the winter semester the applications can be made by 15th July.

Below given are a list of courses offered by the architecture colleges in Germany are: 

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Eligibility for Bachelors 

• General Qualifications: Completed 12 years of high school education with minimum average marks of 60% and above.
• Admission Tests: Students have to clear the entrance test Hochschulzugangsberechtigung (HZB) or other subject-specific entrance exams of the university.
• English Language Proficiency: Minimum scores for TOEFL (internet-based)-550, TOEFL (paper-based)-83 or IELTS-7.
• German Language Proficiency: International students are required to show language proficiency in German as most of the courses in undergraduate level are delivered in it.
  • DSH 2 or DSH 3
  • TastDAF with TDN 4 for all sub examinations
  • German Language Diploma: Second Level(DSD-II)
  • Goethe Certificate-C2 Level

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Documents Required for Bachelors 

International students need to submit the following documents along with application: 

• High school-leaving certificate
• Academic transcripts
• Letter of recommendation 
• Statement of purpose 

Additionally, students who have passed entrance exams in their home country have added advantages as well.

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Fees for Bachelors

Most of the universities of Germany do not charge any tuition fees except for a few. The range of fees for pursuing an undergraduate in architecture is around 0-3,300 Euro. 

For financial aids students can look for scholarships available for bachelor's students in Germany.

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Postgraduate Programs

Graduate courses in architecture are delivered in Germany as master of arts and master of science discipline in different specializations. Few of the popular specializations are Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Art History etc.

Applications can be made through the official website of the university or via a common admission portal as uni-assist.

Universities of Germany have two intake seasons for summer semester and winter semester. To take admission in the summer semester you have to apply before 15th October and for winter semester before 15th July.

Having a masters in architecture in Germany increases the expected salary range by almost 93% compared to someone with a bachelor's degree in the same field. Given below are the masters program offered by different universities of Germany.

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Eligibility for Masters 

• Qualifications: Bachelor degree in architecture with min GPA of 7.0 or 70%.
• English Language Proficiency: Average scores for IELTS- 6.5, TOEFL iBT-88.
• German Language Proficiency: Few postgraduate courses in architecture are taught in German language for which international students are required to show proficiency in German. TestDAF with TDN 16, The Goethe Certificate C2 and other German language proficiency certificates are accepted.

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Documents Required for Masters 

Applicants has to provide the following documents at the time of application-

• Statement of Purpose for MS in Germany
• Letter of recommendation
• Completed resume
• Bachelor’s degree certificate
• Academic transcripts with clear explanation of applied grading system
• Evidence of English and German language proficiency

Though not required a good GRE score will help you with your candidature.

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Fee for Masters

• Tuition fee for pursuing masters in architecture in Germany ranges from 0-3,500 Euros. Most of the universities of Germany do not charge any tuition fees.
• You can apply for a scholarship for masters students in Germany for your graduate studies in architecture

Architecture Colleges in Germany: Doctoral Courses

Doctoral degree in architecture is delivered as doctor of engineering or doctor of philosophy in the universities of Germany. The duration is generally 3-5 years and it changes depending on the time it takes to complete the coursework. 

Below given are few of the doctoral degrees in architecture offered by the top universities of Germany.

Tuition Fee and Scholarships for Doctoral Studies in Germany

Public universities in Germany do not charge any tuition fee for completing a PhD program but private universities do. However, students have to pay a minimum enrolment fee of about 275 to 350 euros as semester fee for each term.

Aside from this, universities also provide full funding facilities for completing the research programs. There’s also scholarships in Germany for international students in doctoral degrees , research assistantships, stipends, teaching assistantships etc available.

Admission Process for PhD in Architecture in Germany

Application to the doctoral programs in various universities of Germany can be made via the official website of the university.

Eligibility for PhD in Architecture in Germany Admission

Eligibility criteria may vary depending of universities however, the basic requirements are as follows:

• Academic requirements: Masters degree in Architecture with any specialization.
• German language proficiency: TDN5 level of TestDaf.
• English language requirements: TOEFL (internet-based)-102, PBT-575.

Documents Required for PhD in Architecture in Germany Admission

Applicants for PhD programs need to submit:

• Bachelor’s and master’s degree transcripts
• Official invitation letter
• Scores of tests required for studying in Germany
• Application letter for doctoral program
• Original certificates of German and English language proficiency

Scholarship Available for Architectural Colleges in Germany

The universities in Germany have a lot of scholarship programs in different categories. Average monthly stipend provided through the scholarship is around 800-1300 EUR. International students can also avail educational loans at ‘zero interest’ and the loan repayment can be delayed by 5 years from the date of completing the degree.

Given below are some of the scholarships for international students in Germany.

Future Scope and Job Prospect of Architecture in Germany

A person working as an Architect in Germany typically earns around 10,400 EUR per month. Salaries range from 4,770 EUR (lowest) to 16,500 EUR (highest). Individuals with Bachelor’s degree in Architecture earn 6,290 EUR per month. 

While someone with a Master's Degree gets a salary of 12,000 EUR per month, 93% more than someone having a bachelor's degree which is almost 5 times as compared to the salaries of architects in India. 

Below given are some job positions and average expected salary in the field of Architecture.

The mere fact that globally ranked universities don't charge tuition fees makes Germany a quintessential choice among the international students. Around 20,000 Indian students are studying in Germany. The visa acceptance rate is more than 92% and the resident permit after completing the degree can be obtained without major hindrances. Coupled with the above mentioned facts the standard of education, low cost of living and increasing demand of individuals with skills in the field of architecture makes Germany an ideal destination for architectural studies.