Frequently Asked Questions: Application

German applicants and foreign students can apply from 1 June to 15 July of the respective year. For applications from other EU countries the application period is 1 April to 15 July, for applications from non-EU countries 1 April to 31 May (see also the Study Information System).

See here under the heading Application.

• Application form "Application for aptitude assessment" (German version "Antrag auf Eignungsfeststellung"; version dated 27 March 2018)
• copy of the degree certificate for the required first university degree, e.g. Bachelor's degree (a simple copy is sufficient for applicants within the TU Dresden) or copy of a certificate from the Examination Office certifying at least 80% of performance; a current average grade must be indicated
• Relevant attachments and supporting documents (copies of additional certificates and performance records proving special aptitude; copy of proof of sufficient language skills; other documents required for matriculation at the TU Dresden)

Notes: Registration in the online applicant portal of the TU Dresden is mandatory; here you will also receive your applicant number, which you must enter in the application form "Application for aptitude assessment". A letter of motivation is not required.

The application must be submitted in paper form. Certificates must be submitted in an officially certified copy. In the case of foreign documents, an officially certified translation of certificates and application-relevant supporting documents must be submitted, unless they are written in German or English.

First, general eligibility is determined according to the fit of the applicants' academic achievements to the eight thematic core areas. Based on the number of credits obtained in the respective module and the Bachelor degree (also see next QnA), a ranking list of all suitable applicants is drawn up. By 15 August latest, this list sent to the matriculation offfice who issues a notice of admission to applicants at the top of this list by end of August/start of September.

First, we sum all credits obtained in modules related to our eight thematic core areas. Then, we divide this sum by the Bachelor degree or the current average grade. This determines the rank position, i.e., the higher this ratio, the higher is the position on the ranking list.  

Yes, because it increases their recognizable credit points for our eight thematic core areas. 

No, simple copies are sufficient.

Yes, provided you can prove 80% of the attainable credit points in your degree programme at the time of application. Please submit all proofs of academic achievements and the courses in which you are currently enrolled. We also need a confirmation from your university regarding your expected graduation date. 

The 80% certificate must contain a calculated average grade. Anyone who is unable to submit the calculated average grade will automatically fall at the end of the ranking list. It is not possible for the TU Dresden to calculate average grades at a later date. In such an exceptional case, pelase contact your student council.

By the end of the first semester.

Yes.

In principle, a semester of leave is also possible in the 1st semester. This must be applied for and justified. We do not recommend this because there may be no suitable offers in the summer semester and time is lost.

You will receive a notification of your general elegibility by 15.8. of the current year. You will receive the notification of your admission to the degree programme by the end of August; in the case of applicants who have moved up, the dispatch of the notification of admission may be delayed until September.

Yes.

No.

Yes; the waiting time is defined as the interval between obtaining your admission qualification (normally BA) until the time of application. However, this does not apply if you are still enrolled at a higher education institution during this period. 10 percent of the places in the program are dedicated for applicants with qualifying periods. For these places applies a ranking according to the qualifying periods.

All students of the programme can freely choose from the compulsory electives, there are no restrictions.

They hav to apply via the applicant portal of the International Office.

For the application for registration in a higher semester in the MA Sc. HPSTS, you first need a positive assessment of your general eligibility. The respective application form can be found on the application page. It must be sent with the necessary attachments to the study office CAN. For the summer semester, applications are accepted until January 15 (period of grace for if you have completed an online application in time: January 23, 2014). After examination of your application, you will receive notification about your eligibility from the access committee of the faculty via postal mail. In case of a positive assessment, the matriculation office of TU Dresden will subsequently examine whether capacities for a placement in the program are available. You will then receive a notification of approval or rejection for placement in the program. In case of approval, you will then be officially enrolled. 

It is sufficient to just enclose the evidence of positive assessment of your general elegibility with your application. However, it your application score could improve, you should now of course include current documents (e.g., the now available Bachelor diploma or newer credits you have earned in other modules).

Academic achievements will be recognised if they clearly cover the core areas or the basic psychological subjects of the CAN programme. In order to assess the recognition of your academic achievements, you must therefore enclose meaningful module descriptions with your application, from which in particular the contents of the module and the qualifications acquired with it emerge. The module descriptions will be checked during the application process with regard to content coverage with the requirements of the CAN course of study.

If your Bachelor thesis can be assigned to one or more of the eight thematic core areas, you can also apply for recognition for these. For this purpose, the title and summary of the thesis must be attached to the application form for the module descriptions. If the work falls into two or more of the thematic core areas, you can also distribute the credits to several core areas. Example: The title of the thesis is "Anxiety and Cognitive Control: An Experimental Test of the Attentional Control Theory". In this case, the paper would be divided equally between Personality Psychology and General Psychology, i.e. you would enter 8 credits for Personality Psychology and 7 credits for General Psychology in the table in Annex 1 of the application form (see picture below).

© Alexander Strobel

Please try to allocate your course credits appropriately and include meaningful module descriptions. In any case, you should ensure that you prove the minimum number of credit points in the thematic core areas. In addition, however, it is not necessary to strategically allocate credits to individual subjects, because all credit points are added up anyway in order to determine the ranking. If, for example, you have completed a module in General and Biological Psychology and thus earned 10 credit points, then simply divide the points 5:5 between the core areas of General Psychology and Biological Psychology. However, it should be added that this division must also be covered by the module contents. If, for example, only one course on Biological Psychology appears there, then a crediting with 5 credit points is probably not justified. Then it is best to contact your academic advisor!

The module descriptions have to be paper-based and comprehensible. A general rule of thumb is: the more meaningful the descriptions in terms of contents and acquired qualifications, the better. For foreign module descriptions, please note: If the module description is not already in German or English, you need to enclose a legally attested translation in the German or English language. We cannot accept a translation that you have made yourself.

Yes, in these cases we 30 work hours count as one ECTS credit point.

No, the core areas are basic psychological subjects that meet the usual requirements of a Bachelor's programme in psychology.

In the present case, one could probably assign both modules to General Psychology, the second to Biopsychology. This depends on the content of the modules (which is why it is also important here that you enclose meaningful module descriptions with your application), but it is important that these modules correspond to one of the core areas at all in terms of content.

This decision is up to you. You can also have academic achievements from several degrees taken into account (see also the next question).

Yes.

Yes, if they are shown on the grade overview incl. credits and if they are research internships. Please enclose an internship certificate with your application, stating the location of the internship and the type of activity.

Yes, as long as you can demonstrate fundamental knowledge (i.e., at least 6 credits) in the core thematic areas at the time of application. However, the chances of admission in such a case should be low. However, the chances of an admission in such a case are likely to be low, since even with a positive determination of eligibility, a lower number of credit credits will have a negative effect on the ranking.

No, currently this is not possible.

Currently the language of instruction is usually German, only individual courses are offered in English according to the module descriptions. In future, the module descriptions will be adapted so that it will be easier for lecturers to offer English-language teaching.

Status: 6 February 2019

As a rule, German language skills are required for all study courses at the TU Dresden (see § 7 of the Matriculation Regulations of the TU Dresden). For the CAN study course, German language skills at the level DSH 2 or TestDaF 4 are currently required.

No. At the time of application, proof of sufficient language skills must already be available. Applications that do not contain proof of language skills will be excluded from the further procedure.

Accepted language certificates comprise:

• UNIcert II
• telc B2
• CAE B2
• Stay abroad (at least 3 months), verifiable with English as "language of communication
• Advanced English Course in Grammar School
• Five years of English in grammar school
• TUDIAS certificates
• Language courses of the Psychology Bachelor at the TU Dresden (WP S1 & S2)

In order to determine the B2 equivalence of other established language proficiency tests (e.g. TOEFL, IETLS) in advance, you can use this overviewas a guide.

Please note: Due to the large number of different language placement tests available, some submitted language certificates may require individual decisions on their B2 equivalence. In unclear cases, we recommend that you take a clear placement test for level B2 according to the European Framework of Reference (in Dresden, for example, via the Language Centre at the TU Dresden).

Whether this is sufficient depends on whether the language test is recognised as adequate proof of the required B2 language skills. The International Office at the TU Dresden can advise you.

As a stay abroad is, for example, studies, an internship, or job employment abroad – with at least 3 months duration and English as the primary "language of communication" (this has to be documented). With your application, please hand in documents detailing your stay abroad and be as specific as possible regarding content and activities.

There are no tuition fees. You only have to pay a semester fee of currently 276.40 euros per semester. This includes the student union fee and a semester ticket for local transport in and around Dresden (for further information see here).

Statuts: 18 January 2019

The main field of activity of CAN graduates is probably research and teaching at universities or other research institutions, but research and development or consulting in the private sector are also potential occupational fields, for example in data science, cognitive ergonomics, therapy research, etc. Clinical work is only a perspective, if the requirements for a given position do not include an approbation as psychotherapist.

Nein, der CAN-Master eröffnet seit dem Wintersemester 2023/24 keine Chancen mehr auf eine Approbation.

Stand: 28.08.2023

For CAN, a research internship is a good option. Since CAN students get to know research in the field of psychology during their studies anyway, an external research internship should be sought; internal research internships are nevertheless possible.

Yes, as with other study programmes, this requires leave of absence from studies and application for recognition / prior confirmation of the recognition of academic achievements abroad by the head of the examination board