Application and Admission
You can apply for the master's programme Lasers and Photonics online via our online portal: https://lap-application.ei.rub.de/
Application Deadlines for International Applicants:
Application for a start in Winter Term (October): April 1st – May 15th
Application for a start in Summer Term (April): October 1st – November 15th
Application Deadlines for EU Applicants (EU citizen):
Application for a start in Winter Term (October): April 1st – July 15th
Application for a start in Summer Term (April): October 1st – January 15th
Previous studies
- Qualified are students who have completed at least 6 semesters (three years) of university studies and obtained a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics or similar.
- An application is only possible if you have finished your bachelor’s degree within the time the application portal is open.
Language requirements
- Please be aware that only IELTS academic (min 6.0), TOEFL iBT (min 85) or UNIcertII are approved for the admission process.
- If you do not manage to upload the required language certificate while the application portal is open, your application will be considered incomplete and excluded from the application process. This also includes language certificates with a score that was too low.
Application Process
Important!
Once you have submitted your application, you will receive important information on the status of the application via email. Be sure to check your spam filter regularly during the application process in order to make sure you don't miss any important information.
Submission, Document Check and Missing Documents
After you submit your application, the admission committee will check all documents for completeness. If any of the required documents are missing, you must to submit them until the application portal closes. The submission of missing documents is only possible once. If you do not upload the required documents, your application will be excluded from the selection process.
Mandatory documents
(if one or more of the mandatory documents are missing, your application will be rejected):
- Your transcript of records
- Proof that you have finished your bachelor’s studies (e.g. bachelor’s degree certificate)
- A proof of English language proficiency (IELTS academic (min 6.0), TOEFL iBT (min 85) or UNIcertII)
- APS certificate (only for applicants from China, Vietnam and India)
Optional documents
(in order for us to get a complete impression of you, we would appreciate it if you also submit additional documents):
- CV
- Letters of Recommendation
- Motivation letter
- Rank Certificate
- Confirmation of scholarship
All documents have to be submitted in one PDF file with a maximum size of 10 MB.
Equivalence Check
If your application is complete, it will be forwarded to the Admission Committee. It thoroughly reviews all documents of every individual application and carries out an equivalence check. This means the committee checks your modules taken in the bachelor's degree for equivalence, i.e. whether admission to the master's programme can be granted on the basis of the subjects in the bachelor's degree.
Passing the Equivalence Check
Passing the equivalence check does not automatically mean admission. We regularly have far more applicants than study places (around 10 per semester). Therefore, the admission committee ranks all participants on basis of their qualification. Only the top candidates are granted admission.
All other applicants who fit our requirements but were unable to obtain a study place will be placed on the waiting list.
After the application portal closes, we will usually need between two or three weeks to issue admissions and allocate applicants to the waiting list.
Waiting List
Being on the waiting list means that although you meet the admission criteria, other applicants have better qualifications. Subsequent admission depends on how many people, who have already been offered a place, withdraw from it.
Usually, few admitted applicants withdraw, so the probability of being admitted from the waiting list is unfortunately rather low.
If all places have been allocated or you are too far down in the rankings to get a place, we will reject your application and notify you by email.
Admission
After admission, you have two weeks to confirm your place at the university. After confirmation, you will be contacted by our LAP Support Team and receive close support in organisational and study-related matters. A tutor will supervise you and help you with these first steps.
For international students this will be:
- Application for a VISA. This should be done as soon as you have confirmed your place as it may take a while for the embassy to process your VISA application.
- Finding Accommodation. We will help you to rent a room in one of our student residences. Please do not travel to Germany until you have signed a rental contract and also only at a date when the contract is valid. It is crucial that you have accommodation before you arrive in Germany. As a rule, it is not possible to organise rooms spontaneously. If you come to Germany without having a (permanent) place to stay, you will have to make your own arrangements about where you will live. We will not be able to help you with this.
- Study counselling for the selection of modules
If we do not receive confirmation, the place will be passed on to the next person on the waiting list. A place on the waiting list also becomes available if you decide to withdraw from your study place later.
Transfer of admission
Because of legal reasons, it is not possible to transfer the admission to the next semester.
The only way to be admitted in a later semester is to reapply for that semester via the Application Portal and be admitted again. Please be aware that a reapplication does not automatically lead to an admission again. Please use the same e-mail address for all applications.