TUM Does Not Permit AI in Application Documents

TUM Does Not Permit AI in Application Documents

The Technical University of Munich publishes this rule in its application style guide: AI tools such as ChatGPT may not be used to create application documents, and all self-created documents are checked for plagiarism. Read TUM's own wording before you write your letter.

What TUM's style guide says, word for word

From TUM's style guide for application documents, retrieved 12 September 2026:

The use of AI tools such as ChatGPT to create documents for an application at TUM is not permitted.

Please refrain from using AI when creating your documents. Self-created application documents are thoroughly checked for the use of AI.

Your personal suitability for admission will be checked during the application process. If the use of AI applications for the creation of your application documents is detected, you will be excluded from the application process, i.e. your application will be rejected for deception.

On plagiarism, the same page states:

All self-created documents are checked for plagiarism by TUM.

Please note: If an uploaded application document is recognized as plagiarism, you will be excluded from the application process, i.e. your application will be rejected for fraud.

That is the published rule. It covers the documents you create for a TUM application, including the statement of purpose.

Copied samples carry the same exposure

Sample letters are everywhere in search results, and pasting from one is the habit this rule reaches. TUM's citation requirement names the letter explicitly:

Please ensure that all ideas and thoughts from other sources are correctly indicated as quotations in your work. This applies to essays, but also to statements of purpose (letters of motivation) if you refer to third-party content.

Incorrect or missing citation of third-party content can lead to the document being rejected as plagiarism.

A sample paragraph you found online is third-party content. Lifted text is either quoted and cited, which no admissions letter benefits from, or it is not — which is what the plagiarism sentence describes.

Write to the limits TUM publishes instead

The same style guide tells you exactly what the document must do, which is more useful than any sample:

• "A statement of purpose should generally be no longer than one page."
• It must answer three questions: "Why did you choose this degree program and TUM?", "How are you suited for this degree program?", "Are you particularly motivated to successfully complete this degree program?"
• "A generic letter of motivation is not sufficient. Please specifically address your desired degree program and TUM and make clear why you have chosen this specific degree program."
• Format: A4 PDF, Times New Roman or Arial, 12 point, 1.5 line spacing, 2 cm margins; a generic salutation such as "Dear Sir or Madam" is sufficient.

One page and three questions is a tight brief. If you hold an Indian B.Tech and are applying to a TUM MSc, that space goes to the coursework and project work connecting your degree to this programme — named modules, the thesis problem, what you did with it — not to a template opening about lifelong passion, which none of the three questions asks for.

Check your own draft

Read TUM's own style-guide wording first, and treat it — not this page — as the rule your upload is judged against. Then work through your draft in that order: is every sentence yours; is every idea taken from somewhere else marked as a quotation with its source; and does the page answer TUM's three questions rather than a template's.

GradPilot publishes a German master's motivation-letter rubric describing what a reader looks for, and offers a graduate statement review of writing you did yourself. Neither changes what TUM permits: TUM's published wording governs what you upload, and the availability of a review does not establish permission to use assistance on a TUM submission. The longer German motivation letter guide covers the rest of the letter, TUM's MSc application guide covers the TUMonline process, and more guides sit on the graduate application hub.

Frequently asked questions

Does this rule apply to every German university?

No — it is TUM's rule, published by TUM. Other universities publish their own application-document requirements, and some say nothing about AI tools. Check each university on your shortlist and follow what it states.

Is the embassy visa letter covered by this?

That is a separate document with a separate authority. The university letter goes to TUM; the visa letter goes to the German mission, and its own rules are covered in our guide to AI-generated visa letters and rejection.

Official TUM sources and quoted wording checked September 12, 2026.