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Master’s · Manufacturing & Production

Smart Production Engineering (SPE) M.Sc.

RWTH Aachen University · Aachen · Official programme page

23 facts from 6 official pages · last checked 14 November 2026

Reviewed by Dennis Maaß, admission and immigration expert
Published 8 November 2026 · Last reviewed 8 November 2026

Key facts

Length, deadlines and costs

Language
English
Source
“Courses are taught entirely in English”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3813 · checked 7 November 2026

Study mode
On campus
Source
“Course location Aachen”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3813 · checked 7 November 2026

The DAAD entry names Aachen as the course location and gives no online or hybrid mode of study for this programme.

Attendance
Full-time
Source
“full-time Programme duration 4 semesters”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3813 · checked 7 November 2026

Length
4 semesters
Source
“Programme duration 4 semesters”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3813 · checked 7 November 2026

Intakes
Winter
Source
“Beginning Winter semester”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3813 · checked 7 November 2026

Non-EU deadline
1 Mar 2027 (winter 2027)RWTHonline opens 2 December. Applying by 15 January earns a 10 percent early-bird discount on the tuition fee. No documents can be added after 1 March.
Source
“The following is valid for applicants from: non-EU countries 2 December - 1 March The following is valid for applicants from: EU countries 2 December - 15 July”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3813 · checked 14 November 2026

A standing annual deadline; no page prints the literal 2027 dates.

Non-EU tuition
€6,000 per semester 24,000 EUR over the four-semester standard period; 10 percent early-bird discount for applications by 15 January (non-EU).
Source
“The following tuition fees apply for applicants from: all countries 6,000 EUR”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3813 · checked 14 November 2026

RWTH International Academy charges tuition on top of the semester contribution. The Academy page states the total as 24,000 EUR for four semesters.

Application fee
None
Source
“with no application fee”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

RWTH International Academy charges no application fee; tuition is charged after admission.

Places
Selection procedure
Source
“All our applicants are evaluated on a competitive basis, considering the overall impression as well as the academic grades … Moreover, it depends on the number of applicants for that particular year”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

RWTH International Academy runs a competitive selection on the whole application — grades, home university, work experience, extra-curricular activities, references and statement of purpose — and says the outcome also depends on how many people apply that year. No fixed number of places and no grade cut-off is published, so this is recorded as a selection procedure rather than as restricted places. RWTH's own key-info block records the programme as "Admission to First Semester Open (No NC)", i.e. there is no numerus clausus and no fixed number of places — which is why this is a selection procedure rather than restricted places.

Admission

What you need to apply

3-year bachelor’s
Case by case
Source
“According to the General Examination Regulations and the Master's Examination Regulations conditional admission can be granted. All additional academic requirements, listed in your admission offer must then be passed by the time of registration for the master's thesis”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

No page states a minimum credit volume or a minimum length for the first degree, so a 180-ECTS three-year bachelor's is neither required nor excluded: the faculty checks the subject content and may grant a conditional admission with extra modules to be passed before the master's thesis is registered.

Subject background
A bachelor of engineering, technology or science in mechanical engineering or a related discipline, with fundamental knowledge in engineering, plus at least six months of relevant work experience by the time of application (twelve months by enrolment).
Source
“mechanical engineering or a related discipline”

www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/detail/3813 · checked 14 November 2026

Minimum grade
No minimum GPA; applications are ranked on the overall picture
Source
“There is no minimum GPA to get admission. All our applicants are evaluated on a competitive basis, considering the overall impression as well as the academic grades”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

The page adds that selection also depends on the home university, work experience, extra-curricular activities, letters of recommendation and the statement of purpose.

How your grade is converted
Not stated by the university
2 pages checked, 14 Nov 2026

No admission grade-conversion formula is published on any page that could be fetched; RWTH does not use uni-assist, which would otherwise convert the grade.

English
Level B2. IELTS 6 · TOEFL iBT 90 · TOEFL band 4.5 · PTE 60. Cambridge: B2 First completed with a B, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency. UNIcert II or higher; for current RWTH students the RWTH Language Center B2.2.1 placement test. TOEFL test takers must select DI code 8504 when booking so RWTH can verify the score; IELTS results are verified through the Test Report Form Number on the certificate, so the eTRF need not be shared with RWTH.. Exemption: A school-leaving qualification or first degree in English issued by an institution in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the US. Citizenship of an English-speaking country alone is not an exemption.
Source
“TOEFL Test (Test of English as Foreign Language) "Internet-based" Test (IBT), minimum of 90 pts or total score of 4.5 … Test takers must select the DI Code 8504 for RWTH Aachen University when booking the test … IELTS Test (International Englisch Language Testing Systems), minimum of 6.0 … RWTH will be able to verify test results at any time via the unique Test Report Form Number on every IELTS certificate … All applicants who have a school leaving qualification or first degree in English that was issued by an institution in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or the US are exempt from the English language certificate requirement”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

The certificate is required by enrolment at the latest, not with the application. Neither the TOEFL iBT Home Edition nor the Duolingo English Test appears in the Academy's accepted list, so both are left undefined rather than recorded as refused. 'englisch' is a typo on the page.

German
Not needed when applying
Source
“No German language skills are required for admission and enrollment. However, you will have the chance to take German language courses as part of your curriculum at RWTH Aachen University Language Center”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

German is not an admission or enrolment requirement for the English-taught master's programmes; German courses are available through the RWTH Language Center.

GRE / GMAT / GATE
Required
Source
“Please upload your GRE Score Card indicating the following minimum results in the GRE General Test: Verbal Reasoning: 145 points Quantitative Reasoning: 160 points Analytical Writing: 3 points … GATE cannot be accepted as a substitute for the GRE”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

Mandatory for every Academy M.Sc. except Resilient Civil Engineering and the MPA; without it the application is not forwarded and not even a conditional admission is possible. India's GATE is explicitly not accepted. Graduates of RWTH's German Engineering College are exempt.

Other required tests
APS certificate (applicants from India, China and Vietnam)
Source
“Attention: Starting with the winter semester 2027/28 international applicants from China, India and Vietnam must include an APS certificate with their master's applications!”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

The APS certificate must be in the application, i.e. obtained before 1 March, and is also needed for the student visa.

Selection
Transcript of records, module catalogue, CV, final bachelor's certificate, proof of at least six months of relevant work experience, motivation letter and two letters of recommendation. No interview. At most ten master's applications per applicant.
Source
“Applicants must provide proof of at least 6 months work experience at the time of application, the full 12 months will be required for enrollment … You may apply for a maximum of 10 Master's degree programs”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

Documents may not be added after 1 March (non-EU); an incomplete application is not processed further. The Academy does not pre-check documents, except through its offices in India, China and Latin America.

How to apply
Directly to the university
Source
“Our application process runs completely digital via the portal RWTHonline , with no application fee”

www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

Applications go directly to RWTH through the RWTHonline portal; uni-assist is not used.

India, Pakistan, Nigeria

Rules for applicants from India, Pakistan and Nigeria

English test waiver
Not stated by the university
3 pages checked, 14 Nov 2026

RWTH International Academy answers the question itself: exemptions cover only a school-leaving qualification or first degree in English issued by an institution in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the US, and it stresses that citizenship of an English-speaking country does not exempt, so no applicant from India, Nigeria or Pakistan is exempt on those grounds. The central § 3 Abs. 9 ÜPO list also names a certificate from the school education required by law, but the binding Übergreifende Prüfungsordnung (Amtliche Bekanntmachung 2026/172, § 3 Abs. 9 h) accepts it only where it was acquired in a country that is a member of the Council of Europe and expressly certifies English at B2, which rules out school certificates from India, Nigeria and Pakistan; and this programme is not one of those the central table marks with footnote 3 (bachelor's thesis in English). § 3 Abs. 9 Satz 4 ÜPO still lets a programme's own examination regulations add that thesis route, so without the programme-specific PDF the position stays not stated rather than "none".

Rules that name these countries
  • India: Applicants from India must include an APS certificate with their master's application, which RWTH International Academy makes mandatory from the 2027/28 winter semester.
    Source
    “Attention: Starting with the winter semester 2027/28 international applicants from China, India and Vietnam must include an APS certificate with their master's applications! … The APS certificate is a mandatory application requirement for students from India, China, and Vietnam who want to pursue higher education in Germany”

    www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

    RWTH's central master's application page for international applicants lists the required documents without mentioning the APS, so this requirement is published by the Academy for its own master's programmes; the DAAD entries of some Academy programmes repeat it, those of Applied Health Informatics and Periodontology do not.

  • India: An Indian applicant cannot submit the GATE instead of the GRE, and without the GRE the application is incomplete.
    Source
    “The GRE certificate is a mandatory application document without which your application is not complete … GATE cannot be accepted as a substitute for the GRE”

    www.academy.rwth-aachen.de/en/programs/masters-degree-programs/your-way-to-us · checked 14 November 2026

    The page names the test, not the country: GATE is India's Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, so the sentence is aimed at Indian applicants. The GRE itself is required of every applicant to this programme, not only Indian ones.

The rules for your country across all universities, and the visa rules on English tests, are on the India, Pakistan and Nigeria pages.

More on this programme

Every value was read on an official page and is stored with a verbatim quote; open “Source” to see it. “Not stated by the university” means none of the pages we checked says, and lists those pages. Rules change: confirm with the university before you apply or pay.