RWTH Aachen
Rhein-Westfälische Technische Hochschule
The Rhein-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH for short) is one of the largest and most traditional technical universities in Europe. The university has a very good international reputation in technical, engineering and medical subjects. It has been awarded the prestigious ‘University of Excellence’ award in Germany and has more than 45,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
RWTH Technical University has a wide range of international partnerships with many universities and research centers in science and engineering (more than 250 technology companies support its research and education activities). This makes it a very attractive choice for students from all over the world. On its over 800,000 m² campus there are 9 faculties, 9 collaborative research centers and 260 institutes. It is also said to be the largest employer in the region with more than 10,000 employees. Of course, with so many engineering students, the proportion of girls studying is relatively low. It is only around 34 percent for the whole university. (This must be the reason why our son doesn’t want engineering 🙂 )
Although the campus extends far beyond the city center to Hörn and Melaten, everything in Aachen is within easy reach. In fact, when we traveled around the city, we witnessed that almost every building was a university institute. You can find my impressions of the city here. The city center is within walking distance to the school (we witnessed many students walking alone or in groups on the road and we walked from the train station to the campus) and the rest of the city is easily accessible by bike or public transportation with the semester ticket. The NRW ticket (which allows you to use most public transportation within the state for free) is included in the tuition fee of around 285 euros.
RWTH is considered one of the leading German engineering schools worldwide. The university is ranked 25th in the world in THE ranking of employers’ preferences. They place so much emphasis on technical and engineering subjects that they have built the gravity-defying “SuperC” building you see in the picture in the header as an info center. Student Affairs and the international office are also located in this building. They know how to show off in every way.
In the winter semester 2019/2020, a total of 45,600 students are enrolled at the University of Aachen, 24 percent of whom come from abroad. It is such a big university that one in every five people living in the city is a student.
RWTH IN NUMBERS
| Date of foundation | 1870 |
| Total Number of Students | 45.514 |
| Semester Fee (includes public transportation ticket) | 285,02 € |
| Tuition Fee | Free |
RWTH Applications
To apply to RTWH, you need proof of your HZB and (see What is HZB?) Language Proficiency. For enrollment in the Bachelor’s program, you must have a language diploma at level C1. Since RWTH does not offer any preparatory courses, you will have to solve your language problem yourself if you want to apply to this school. Take into account that you will have to go through a rigorous course program of at least 1 year for a C1 level diploma. In addition, RWTH requires that the TestAS exam (See: What is TestAS?) be given in German and that you score at least in the 30th percentile for all bachelor’s degrees.
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