What Students Say
Likes
- The main reason would be that my Bachelor's was a great match for this program. Moreover, the research going on in the institute was very good with a lot of competent researchers. The program was in English and there were students from all over the world.
- It has a great international community, with a lot of support towards research. There is a lot of associated institutes with specialised/interdisciplinary research going on that is accessible to the students. The living expenses are less compared to other German cities, but the amenities are great and accommodation is relatively easier to find if applied promptly.
Dislikes
- Masters courses that are in the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (Molecular bioengineering, physics of life and regeneration biology) are in another part of the city and doesn't really possess the student atmosphere seen in the main campus. Moreover, recently there has been a great increase in number of students, causing some issues in organisation of lectures and all.
Required Exams for Admission
Overall, TU Dresden is a wonderful university with a truly international student population, providing affordable education to aspiring researchers and engineers, while not compromising on the quality.
Course Curriculum
It's updated every semester with most of the lectures following research going on instead of a particular text book or fixed study materials. We are able to directly participate in research work especially from third semester when we have a mini thesis to work on. There is a lot of effort going on to make the curriculum interdisciplinary as the research is also mostly done in collaboration between different research institutes.
Faculty
I don't know the exact numbers but there are a lot of lecturers as most of the courses include multiple lecturers who are proficient in a particular subject. Prof. Simon Alberti would be a great example of a good lecturer and researcher. He is one of the most cited researchers in the world and delivers great lectures.
Campus Life
There are a lot of parties and events organised by the student union every semester, and there is great support of sports and other extracurricular activities. Wifi is free everywhere in the campus and the central library is the largest in the state with a vast collection of books.
Placement
I am not sure about the placement of students in companies and their salary as many of them prefer phD after studies. But there is a great number of labs that are taking in students for phD (which is also considered a job in Germany). The average salary is around 4000 euros per month (before tax). While they do provide help in finding a job and all, unlike India they don't have specialised placement cells or placement drives.
Accommodation
The student dormitories are maintained by studentenwerk Dresden, which are spread all around the city. The facilities varies from one dorm to another. The rent can range between 200 euros (shared) to 450 euros (apartments). For private apartments it can be more expensive or in the same range depending on availability.
Exams
My score: IELTS 8.0; Class minimum score: IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 92 points. They mostly checked the qualifications from the bachelors degree. SOP, LORs and CV had to be submitted. For SOP I went through my background first, what I did for my bachelor's and what were my achievements and all. Then I noted down why I chose Germany and then more specifically why this university and why this course. Finally I mentioned how I can contribute to the research community. For CV I just used the europass format and noted down my education, experience as interns, achievements. LOR just included a statement by my Professor during my Bachelor studies. No, I had no such interview and was directly given admission. But from my classmates I've heard some of them had an interview as their background differed from the requirements. As long as you can convince them that you can handle the curriculum and possess some basic knowledge it should be fine.
Fees
There are no tuition fees but there is a semester contribution fee of 304.50 euros to be paid every semester. But that gives us access to student discount in canteens and free access to public transport in the state of Saxony.
