As an EU citizen you pay no tuition: studies at RWTH Aachen are free, exactly as for a German student. The only mandatory fee is the Semesterbeitrag of about €300 per semester (so ~€600 per year), which includes your transport ticket (Deutschlandticket plus the extension into South Limburg, the Netherlands) and the student services fee.

Plus a one-off uni-assist fee of about €75 at application. Your real cost comes down to accommodation and living: about €850 to €1,100 per month in Aachen, so roughly €10,000 to €13,000 per year, drastically below the UK or the USA.

It depends on the level. Many Bachelor's programmes are taught in German, so you need a C1 level, proven through TestDaF (TDN 4 in all sections) or DSH-2. At Master's level the offering in English is much broader, especially in international technical programmes (engineering, Data Science, Robotic Systems Engineering), where you prove your English through IELTS 6.5+ or TOEFL iBT 90+.

Recommendation: even if you choose a Master's in English, learn basic German for everyday life, for industry internships and to stay and work in Germany after graduation.

uni-assist is the central service that reviews international diplomas for most German universities, including RWTH Aachen. In practice, you do not send your Baccalaureate diploma directly to the university, but to uni-assist, which confirms whether you have direct access to studies (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung) or whether you need a preparatory year (Studienkolleg).

You upload your Baccalaureate diploma, transcript and certified translations. The fee is around €75 for the first application and less for additional applications. The typical deadline for the winter semester is 15 July, but start the process earlier, because the review takes a few weeks.

RWTH Aachen is ranked QS World 2026 number 105 (its best result ever) and number 6 in Germany. By subject area it is number 1 in Germany in mechanical engineering and materials science, with very strong positions in electrical engineering, computer science and automotive engineering too.

It is the largest technical university in Germany and a founding member of TU9, the alliance of the nine strongest German technical universities, alongside TU München, KIT and TU Berlin. It has 10 faculties and around 290 institutes.

Yes, the Romanian Baccalaureate is recognised, but the review is done through uni-assist, not directly by the university. uni-assist confirms whether your average and your profile give you direct access to the programme you are targeting or whether you need a year of Studienkolleg (rare for students with a strong Baccalaureate on a science track).

For programmes with Numerus Clausus (restricted admission, for example some engineering or computer science specialisations), your Baccalaureate average counts directly towards ranking. Recommendation for Romanians: an overall average of 9 plus at the Baccalaureate and good grades in mathematics and physics place you competitively for technical programmes.

RWTH Aachen is recognised first and foremost for engineering. Strengths: mechanical engineering (number 1 in Germany), electrical engineering, computer science, automotive engineering and materials science. Plus strong programmes in civil engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics and industrial engineering (Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen, a combination of engineering plus business).

The university has close partnerships with German industry (Volkswagen, Ford, Siemens, Bosch) and the Jülich research centre, so internships and projects with companies are accessible. For Romanian students passionate about engineering or tech, RWTH is one of the best choices in Europe, especially free as an EU citizen.

Aachen is a classic student town: roughly a quarter of its residents are students, so the atmosphere is young and friendly. The city is in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, right on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, so you can easily reach Cologne, Brussels or Maastricht.

The cost of living is below Munich or Frankfurt: about €850 to €1,100 per month. Accommodation can be found in halls of residence (Studierendenwerk) or in shared flats (WG), and transport is included in the Semesterbeitrag (Deutschlandticket valid throughout Germany). The international community is huge, more than 15,000 international students from 141 countries.

Yes, as an EU citizen! Unlike in the UK or the USA where you have to apply for a work visa, as a Romanian (EU) citizen you have the automatic right to work in Germany without a visa. Germany is the largest economy in Europe and has huge demand for engineers.

A degree from RWTH Aachen, number 1 in Germany in mechanical engineering, opens doors at Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, Bosch, SAP and countless companies in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's industrial region. Starting salaries for engineers in Germany are generally between €45,000 and €60,000 per year. Plus, with an EU degree, you can work anywhere in the EU without a visa.