English taught Master (ETM) - From application to enrolment

As of the application period for the winter semester 2023/24 all applications for our English Taught Master courses (ETMs) are handled online only via our application portal PORTA.

If you receive admission, then you will need to send in your notarised documents by post in order to enrol.

NEW: Admission will be granted for 2 semesters! We strongly recommend to start the ETM in the winter semester. There are long Visa procedures in your country? Then apply during December/January for a start in October!

1. Digital application process ETM:

Register in PORTA

PORTA opens for applications in Mid December (application for summer semester) and beginning of May (application for winter semester).

In this first step you create an account in PORTA. You will choose your own password (remember your password!). 

The system will send you an email in order to confirm your account. After you confirmed your email, you can move on to the next step: Choose the program you want to apply for.

 

Upload your application documents

Chose the ETM you want to apply to and follow the steps in PORTA. You will need to upload the following documents (pdf only) – therefore keep them prepared (Checklist Application ETMs):

  • University Entrance Qualification (HZB) – in most cases the diploma of your secondary school
  • Master entrance qualification in most cases your bachelor certificate including subject and grade overview (diploma supplement including overall GPA). If you have not yet concluded your bachelor:
  • Transcript of records including overall GPA
  • If your diploma supplement or transcript of records does not include an overall GPA: Other official document stating your overall cumulative GPA 
  • Proof of payment of the evaluation fee
  • Scan or photo of your identity card or passport
  • Proof of English language proficiency
  • Statement concerning studies at previously attended universities, abroad or in Germany
  • Tabular resume (gap free)
  • APS Certificate for applicants from China, Vietnam and India
  • Applicants to Master of Data Science and Applied Statistics: Motivation letter

More information for applicants who completed their Bachelor in India.

Finish the online application

The online application is finished by hitting the "submit" button. 

If desired, you may add another application on the account, by choosing a new program. The evaluation fee only applies once.

Keep in mind the deadline!

Deadlines ETM startNon-EU nationalsEU nationals
Winter Semester and Summer SemesterMay 1st - May 31stMay 1st - Jul 15th
Summer Semester and Winter SemesterDec 15th - Jan 15thDec 15th - Jan 15th

PORTA will guide you through all necessary steps. During the application process it is possible to save the current status and proceed with the application later on.

After the deadline no additional documents can be uploaded to the system! If your application is incomplete we cannot process it!

2. Evaluation & Enrolment Process:

Check of formal requirements

After uploading and finishing the online application, the Admissions Office checks the following formal requirements:

  1. Master Entrance Qualification
  2. Proof of English language proficiency
  3. APS for applicants from China, Vietnam and India

If the general requirements for admission to Trier University have been met, the application also must meet the admission requirements for the specific Master program applied for. For this reason, the application in most cases in forwarded to the examination board of the specific Master program.

For the check of the formal entrance requirements an evaluation fee applies. If the fee applies to you and has not been paid the admissions office will not evaluate your application.

→ An automated message is sent via PORTA to applicant that application has been received.

Admission granted (or not) – admission letter for 2 semesters!

The admissions office, in collaboration with the examination board of the different faculties finalized their evaluation:

  • In case of refusal of admission: Admissions Office informs applicant via PORTA & official letter will follow
  • In case of acceptance: Admissions Office will send email and/or letter to inform applicant about admission. Letter will allow student to apply for visa and also list documents needed to enrol. 

NEW: The admission will be granted for 2 semesters: Therefore, in case of long visa procedures the applicant can enrol one semester later, if needed. Keep the admission letter in a safe place, as you will need to upload it again, in case you decide to enrol in the later of the 2 admission semesters!

As the curriculum is designed for a start in the winter semester, we strongly recommend to start the ETM in the winter semester. 

Enrolment – fix deadline!

For enrolment, applicants who received admission need to complete 2 steps (deadline September 15th for enrolment in winter semester/ March 15th for enrolment in summer semester):

A) complete Online Enrolment in the application portal PORTA

  • Fill in you educational background
  • Upload photo for the student ID card
  • Provide details to the mandatory health insurance (sent by the health insurance as EDI message to Trier University)

B) Send by post the legally attested hard copies of the documents (certificates, diplomas, transcript of records, language certificate) that were previously uploaded in the online portal and the Proof of payment of the enrolment fee to

Universität Trier
Studierendensekretariat
54286 Trier  
Germany

Always remember to include a note with your last name, name, date of birth and application number, so we can connect the documents to the correct file.

Your student ID card and login credentials to the student system can then be sent to a German address - or you may collect it until mid November in the admissions office. 

Should you realize, that you will not be able to meet the deadline, you cannot enrol and should plan to enrol in the next semester!

How to enrol in the next semester?

Take care of your admission letter and login details to the application portal:

⇒ within the following application period you will need to log into the application portal PORTA again

⇒ then you need to "activate" your application from the previous semester by uploading the .pdf of your admission letter

⇒ the Admission Office is informed of your request to enrol and you will be able to proceed with the enrolment according the steps listed above

Physical Presence

We strongly recommend to arrive in Trier before the start of our Introduction program "Quickstart".

Further, if you cannot arrive to Quickstart, we recommend to arrive at the very latest 2 weeks after the start of the lecture period of the respective semester (roughly: end of October for winter semester/ end of April for summer semester) - otherwise, if you arrive later, you will have missed out on too many lectures and it is most likely that you will not be able to earn any credits for this semester!

Note: You will also already incurr costs even if you are not physically present (like a monthly health insurance) as of the date of enrolment (April 1st or October 1st) - one more reason to arrive in Trier in time, or to plan the enrolment for the next semester.

 

Good to know!

Is it better to start the Master course in the summer or in the winter semester?

We strongly recommend to start in the winter semester. In the winter semester most introductory courses are offered as the Master courses are designed to start in the winter, which leads to the fact that they are most likely to be finished within 4 semesters.

A start in the summer semester is possible, however only few introductory courses are offered and students will most likely need more than 4 semesters to finish the Master course.

I submitted the application, but forgot to include an important document, what can I do?

If the Admissions Office has not started the evaluation you can still upload documents in PORTA.

If this is not possible you may contact the Admissions Office. Be sure to include your application ID (340xxxxxx) and your date of birth, so the Admission Officers can alocate your application in the system. Otherwise your email will be processed with delay.

I completed my Bachelor course in India - are there any special requirements?

Yes there are. Please take a look at our website for applicants with a Bachelor from India.

The original documents are not in German?

Any documents in original language other than German or English must be officially translated into German or English.

English is my native language/ I received my education in a country where English is the official language - do I still need to provide an English Certificate?

In most cases - yes! Check out the list.

Will I need to hand in legally attested / notarised / certified copies of documents?

When uploading to the system for application purposes, we recommend to upload scans (.pdf) of the original or legally attested copies of the originals.

IMPORTANT: Once you receive admission and want to enrol, all certificates (from school, Universities, language tests), diplomas and transcript of records must be legally attested and sent in by post to Trier University. So it is good to get started early!

Do I need to hand in an official assessment (nostrification) of my international education degree?

No. We evaluate your documents at Trier University. All documents will be evaluated for internal purposes only.

For your interest, if your school or university degree qualifies you to study at a German University can be checked in the KMK Datapool anabin (German only).

Should I apply via Uni-Assist?

No. We do not cooperate with Uni-Assist, therefore the evaluations of Uni-Assist do not exempt you from paying the evaluation fee, nor will it add any value to hand in documents from Uni-Assist.

What does studying at Trier University cost? Are there scholarships available?

Trier University does not charge any tuition fees. Only an enrolment fee (once you received admission and want to enrol) and a semester fee (for each subsequent semester) applies. If you have previously completed a degree at the same level to which you now apply, studying the degree at the same level might be subject to a second degree fee.

Trier University does not offer any scholarships for non German speaking international students. You may take a look at the DAAD webpage for scholarships.