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Master’s · Materials Science & Nanotechnology

Soft Matter and Materials M.Sc.

Technische Universität Darmstadt · Darmstadt · Official programme page

21 facts from 8 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
“Master of Science; language: English”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/studienangebot_studiengaenge/studiengang_330240.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

The programme page states "All teaching and learning content is in English." A cooperative programme with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz within the Rhine-Main Universities alliance.

Study mode
On campus
Source
“TU Darmstadt does not have its own student residences and will not provide you with a room. You will have to find your own accommodation.”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/internationale_studieninteressierte/organisation_des_aufenthalts_inbound/artikel_details_de_en_379840.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

TU Darmstadt publishes no online or hybrid degree programme. Teaching is on campus in Darmstadt: the study and examination plan in the programme's regulation marks courses with compulsory attendance (section 11 (6) APB), and the International Office tells every newly enrolled international degree-seeking student to find a room in or near Darmstadt.

Credits
120 ECTS
Source
“(1) Im Rahmen des Masterstudiengangs sind insgesamt mindestens 120 Leistungspunkte zu erreichen.”

www.intern.tu-darmstadt.de/media/dezernat_ii/satzungsbeilagen/SB_2025_I.pdf#page=4 · checked 9 November 2026

Intakes
Winter, Summer
Source
“Start of studies Winter semester, summer semester”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/studienangebot_studiengaenge/studiengang_330240.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

Non-EU deadline
1 Mar 2027 (summer 2027)
Source
“Soft Matter and Materials Applications only at Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz M.Sc. 01.12.26 – 01.03.27 WiSe / SoSe”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/bewerbung_zulassung_tu/bewerbungsfristen/bachelor_studiengaenge_2/index.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

TU Darmstadt's central page gives this date but also states that applications are made only at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, which runs the admission procedure, so JGU Mainz's own deadline governs. The winter 2027/28 date is not published on the TU Darmstadt page.

Non-EU tuition
None
Source
“There are no tuition fees at TU Darmstadt. However, students have to pay a semester fee each semester.”

www.etit.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/faq_etit/index.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

No programme fee: only the semester fee of 402.68 EUR for the winter semester 2026/27, which includes the Deutschland Semester Ticket.

Application fee
Not stated by the university
3 pages checked, 14 Nov 2026

TU Darmstadt publishes no application fee for its own portal TUCaN, and it is not a uni-assist member, so no uni-assist handling fee applies either. Because no page states that applying is free, no value is recorded.

Places
Selection procedure
Source
“Provided that the admission requirements (entrance examination) are met, there are no numerical admission restrictions.”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/studienangebot_studiengaenge/studiengang_330240.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

"No numerical admission restrictions" means there is no numerus clausus and no fixed number of places, but admission is not automatic: every applicant must pass the department's entrance requirements verification (Eingangsprüfung), which can include a written or oral examination.

Admission

What you need to apply

3-year bachelor’s
Case by case
Source
“(1) Zugangsvoraussetzungen für den Masterstudiengang Soft Matter and Materials sind: 1. Nachweis eines Bachelorabschlusses im Fach Chemie, Chemical Engineering, Physik oder Materialwissenschaft, an einer Hochschule in Deutschland oder eines Studienabschlusses an einer Hochschule in Deutschland oder im Ausland, der sich davon nicht wesentlich unterscheidet.”

www.intern.tu-darmstadt.de/media/dezernat_ii/satzungsbeilagen/SB_2025_I.pdf#page=4 · checked 9 November 2026

The regulation sets no minimum number of credits for the first degree, so a three-year, 180-ECTS bachelor's is not excluded; what counts is that the degree does not differ significantly from a German bachelor's in chemistry, chemical engineering, physics or materials science. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz runs the admission procedure and decides.

Subject background
A bachelor's degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, physics or materials science from TU Darmstadt or an equivalent degree, plus at least 18 CP of laboratory practicals, 3 CP in atomic and molecular sciences, 3 CP in thermodynamics and English at B2.
Source
“1.. A bachelor's degree in Chemistry , Chemical Engineering, Physics oder Materials Science from TU Darmstadt, or an equivalent degree. 2. lab practicals, min. 18 CP. 3. study achievements in atomic and molecular sciences, min. 3 CP.”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/studienangebot_studiengaenge/studiengang_330240.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

Minimum grade
Not stated by the university
3 pages checked, 14 Nov 2026

Neither the programme page nor the programme's regulation sets a minimum grade; admission turns on the entrance requirements verification, not on a grade threshold.

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

TU Darmstadt publishes no conversion formula for foreign grades. Applicants submit a transcript and a completed equivalence table (Äquivalenztabelle), which compares course content, not grades.

English
Level B2
Source
“5. English . at least at the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages is a condition for admission.”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/studienangebot_studiengaenge/studiengang_330240.en.jsp · checked 14 November 2026

B2 is the stated condition; no score is given. Admission is run by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, so JGU's list of accepted certificates applies rather than TU Darmstadt's. TU Darmstadt's own equivalence list puts B2 at IELTS 5.5-6.5, TOEFL iBT 72-94 (Home Edition included) or band 4-4.5 on the new scale, and does not list the Duolingo English Test.

German
Not needed when applying
Source
“You must pass the “Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang” (DSH-2) as evidence that your spoken and written command of the German language is adequate for Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes for which the language of instruction is German … Language Requirements for Degree Programmes taught in English”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/internationale_studieninteressierte/bewerbung_und_zulassung_international/index.en.jsp · checked 14 November 2026

TU Darmstadt asks for the DSH-2 only for programmes whose language of instruction is German; for an English-taught master's it asks for English instead, at application and later. The regulation still warns that academic literature may have to be read in German, and the German embassy's visa section may ask for a language certificate of its own.

Selection
Admission is applied for and run at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz; TU Darmstadt's page states that there are no numerical admission restrictions once the specific entrance requirements are met, while the regulation provides that any admission restriction would be handled under JGU's selection statute.
Source
“Please apply at Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz”
“(6) Die Zulassung zum Masterstudiengang „Soft Matter and Materials“ ist an der JGU zu beantragen.” page

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/studienangebot_studiengaenge/studiengang_330240.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

How to apply
Directly to the university
Source
“Application via Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/studienangebot_studiengaenge/studiengang_330240.en.jsp · checked 9 November 2026

Not TU Darmstadt's own portal and not uni-assist: the application goes directly to the partner university, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, which runs admission and enrolment (see applyAt). TU Darmstadt only decides on admission and student status.

Where to apply
Applications go to Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, not to this university
Source
“Application via Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz”

www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/studienangebot_studiengaenge/studiengang_330240.en.jsp · checked 10 November 2026

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

Admission for this programme is applied for and decided at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and neither TU Darmstadt's programme page nor the joint regulation says whether a degree taught in English replaces a test, so no value is recorded. TU Darmstadt's central rule (a confirmation that English was the language of instruction) is written for the programmes it admits to itself.

Rules that name these countries
  • India: Applicants with an Indian school or university degree must submit the certificate of the Academic Evaluation Centre (APS) with their application, for bachelor's and master's programmes alike.
    Source
    “All applicants, who wish to apply for a degree program at a German university with a Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian school or university degree. This applies to both bachelor's and master's degree programs, as well as to preparatory programs like the Studienkolleg and German course.”

    www.tu-darmstadt.de/studieren/studieninteressierte/internationale_studieninteressierte/bewerbung_und_zulassung_international/index.en.jsp · checked 14 November 2026

    Only doctoral applicants and applicants who passed the Feststellungsprüfung at a German Studienkolleg are exempt. No comparable rule names Nigeria or Pakistan.

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.