TUM Master’s: Does English-Medium Study Count?

TUM Master’s: Does English-Medium Study Count?

TUM can accept an English-medium degree as English-language proof when the required conditions and documentation are met. Your nationality or an English transcript alone does not establish the teaching language. Check the degree-wide rule and any program-specific module or thesis alternative.

What counts as evidence of English-medium study?

TUM’s language-certificate instructions accept prior academic study taught at least 50% in English, evidenced by the transcript or degree certificate. If the teaching language is absent, an official university confirmation can document it.

Some master’s programs also accept a specified number of English-taught credits or a completed, graded English-language bachelor’s thesis. These are program-dependent alternatives. An exchange semester or internship alone is insufficient under this route.

The TUM motivation-letter guide concerns a different document. Writing an excellent English statement does not establish that you have uploaded recognized language evidence.

Choose the proof route before requesting a letter

Use this document check:

Our recommendation: make the registrar request factual. Ask the institution to confirm the teaching language and applicable proportion of your program. Do not ask for a blanket statement that you satisfy every TUM program’s language requirements; that is TUM’s decision.

The central guidance normally requires proof before the application period closes. Record the issue date you can realistically obtain and the upload deadline. If a thesis-based route is uncertain, investigate another accepted option early rather than relying on an expected future grade.

Worked example: an English title and an unfinished thesis

Illustrative case created by GradPilot: An applicant’s transcript is printed in English, but it does not state the language of instruction. Their bachelor’s thesis has an English title and has been submitted, but has not been graded.

Printing the transcript in English does not show how the courses were taught. The applicant requests official confirmation of the degree’s teaching language. They also check whether their intended master’s accepts the thesis route; the ungraded thesis does not yet meet TUM’s stated condition for that alternative.

If the confirmation establishes the degree-wide route, that is the evidence to submit under the applicable instructions. If it does not, the applicant must resolve an accepted alternative before assuming the language requirement is complete.

Will another university accept the same proof?

Check separately. Our ETH English-medium evidence guide illustrates why a proof route recognized at one university should not become a rule for your entire shortlist.

Ask for facts the university can actually confirm

A useful medium-of-instruction request identifies the degree, dates of study and the information missing from the academic record. Ask the university to state the teaching language and relevant proportion accurately. Include the official TUM instruction so the issuing office understands why a general proficiency testimonial would not answer the question.

Do not write a declaration for an official to sign that overstates the record. If some modules were taught in another language, the confirmation should not describe the degree as entirely English-taught. TUM's published degree-wide route does not require you to turn an accurate partial-English record into an inaccurate English-only one.

Check the finished document before uploading it. Does it identify the right student and degree? Does it describe teaching language rather than the language in which the certificate is printed? Does it cover the programme rather than a single project? Is it the official confirmation the instruction calls for?

Those are document checks, not a personal assessment of fluency. Strong spoken English, English-language employment and an elegant statement may be relevant elsewhere, but they do not establish the facts this proof route requires.

Constructed case: a mixed-language degree meets the stated proportion

Consider a fictional applicant whose degree included substantial teaching in both English and another language. Their transcript lists courses and grades but no language information. The university can officially confirm that more than half of the programme was taught in English.

The applicant should compare that accurate confirmation with TUM's degree-wide instruction and the specific programme requirements. They should not request an English-only certificate merely because a friend used one for a different university.

This case also explains why destination comparison matters. The same document may be insufficient for an institution requiring the entire degree to have been taught only in English. The applicant should keep the original facts consistent across all applications while checking each institution's evidence standard separately.

For Sweden, consult the India-specific English-proof routes. A TUM-compatible university confirmation does not automatically create a Swedish exemption.

Constructed case: the thesis route is the only apparent option

Now imagine another fictional applicant whose degree-wide teaching language does not establish the central route. They find that their intended TUM programme permits an English-language bachelor's thesis as an alternative. Their thesis has been submitted in English, but the grade has not yet appeared.

The important question is not whether the thesis will probably pass. The published alternative concerns a completed, graded thesis with appropriate evidence of its language. The applicant needs to check when that record can be issued and whether it can meet the actual application deadline.

If the timing does not work, they should investigate another accepted proof option while it is still practical. They should not claim that a submission receipt proves a grade, or that an English title demonstrates the language of the whole thesis.

If the thesis has been graded but the transcript does not show its language, the central instructions describe university confirmation as part of documenting that fact. Follow the programme's specified route and form rather than assembling a substitute based on another applicant's experience.

A module route needs a programme-specific calculation

Some programmes recognize a defined amount of English-taught coursework. The central language page directs applicants to the relevant programme regulations and, where applicable, the required form. There is no single credit threshold to copy across every TUM master's.

Identify the eligible modules using the actual record. Note which were taught in English, whether they are completed and what evidence the programme requests. Do not convert home-university credits into an assumed number of ECTS or count a course twice to reach a threshold.

A module title in English is not sufficient evidence of teaching language. If the programme requires confirmation, obtain it from the appropriate institutional source. Our missing module-description guide addresses the separate problem of documenting course content; content and teaching language are different facts.

Before deciding to skip a test, you should be able to name the accepted route, point to the evidence and identify the submission deadline. If one of those remains uncertain, the language-proof item is still open even if every other part of the application is ready.

Keep the statement and certificates separate

Track TUM’s GRE/GATE requirements and pending VPD documents independently.

For writing, follow the program’s policy: TUM Informatics says to “write it without any assistance.” GradPilot’s German motivation-letter rubric and graduate statement review describe writing feedback; they do not certify English proficiency or override that restriction. Browse the graduate application hub for other preparation decisions.

Official TUM sources and quoted policy checked September 14, 2026.