Frequently Asked Questions

The application process is organized centrally by the International Admission of TU Darmstadt. It provides in-depth information about

• requirements
• necessary documents
• language certificates
• online application

You can find the latest Internship Regulations for M.Sc. Architecture and B.Sc. Architecture here (opens in new tab) .

There are some information on portfolio format, content, and the assessment criteria to guide applicants of Master of Architecture at TU Darmstadt. Visit this link. (opens in new tab)

If you are looking for a short term solution we propose you to reserve a room in one of the “Jugendherbergen” (Youth hostels) or Hotels in Darmstadt, but make sure to reserve on time as many other students will be coming at the same time.Another option would be to try Couchsurfing or airbnb, if you are on a tighter budget.

It can be difficult to find housing in Darmstadt, so be sure to try different offers.

- Studierendenwerk | Homeshare
- Studierendenwerk | comeTOgether

TU Darmstadt does have a large availability of student housing residences, however there is high demand. Visit the Studierendenwerk website and contact the accommodation service. Also make use of private housing search engines such as wg-gesucht.de. If you are having trouble finding accommodation in Darmstadt it is also possible to live slightly outside the city in areas such as Eberstadt or Griesheim etc. These neighboring cities/villages still have relatively good public transport connections to the campus. This may also give you a chance to find accommodation at a slightly better price. Once you receive your Semester Card/Ticket your will have free use of buses, trains (except long distance), trams and subway trains of the Rhine-Main Transport Association (RMV) within the Hessen.

WG (Wohngemeinschaft) – Shared flat
Zi (Zimmer) – Room(s)
NR (Nichtraucher) – Non-smokers
K (Kaution) – Deposit
Qm (Quadratmeter) – Square meter
EG (Erdgeschoss) – Ground floor

When you move into a new place, your landlord may ask you to sign a “Übergabeprotokoll”. This documents sums up all the damages of the room and the furniture caused by previous tenants. Make sure that all existing damages are listed. Otherwise you’ll have to pay for these damages when you move out again.

Your semester ticket is valid as a transport ticket within the following region. For more information on the use of the semester card as transport ticket consult the following website.
Caution: You cannot use it to travel via IC or high speed trains!

Information concerning the placement tests and start dates for the German intensive language course at Language Resource Center (Sprachenzentrum).
The language placement tests take place on our city centre (Stadtmitte) campus. The Intensive German course will usually take place Monday to Friday between 08:55 and 13:20.

The Language resource center offers a range of language courses. For more information see the following link.

1) Getting to Darmstadt from Frankfurt airport

The shuttle bus “HEAG Airliner” travels from Frankfurt Airport directly to Darmstadt Main Station (last stop). The ride takes approx. 30 min. and costs 7,50 EUR. (half price if you can you show your TUD-student card). Take the bus from platform 14 opposite arrival area C, Terminal 1 or from directly in front of Terminal 2.For more information see www.heagmobibus.de, where you can download a current schedule.

2) Getting from Darmstadt Main Station to campus “Lichtwiese”

From Darmstadt Main station, take bus “K” or “KU” direction “TU Lichtwiese” to the last stop. The ride takes about 20 mins.

3) Alternative routes

From Luisenplatz (in the city centre) you can also take Tram number 2 or 9 towards Böllenfalltor and alight at Hochschulstadion. From this station it is approximately a 7 mins walk to the campus.

4) Finding the architecture building on the campus “Lichtwiese”

The architecture building is called L3/01. It is composed of two complexes that are arranged around a small courtyard.

Maps of the University Campus can be found here.

This link provides you with the floor plans of the faculty building.

The Faculty provides a number of student studios within the faculty building. Bachelor students in the first two years have share common workspaces which are scattered throughout the building. Students in higher semesters may be able to get a personal workspace in one of the student-organized studios on 3rd to 5th floors. For this you need attend the studio meetings at the beginning of each semester. The dates of these meetings vary from studio to studio but generally take place during the orientation week. In order to find out the exact time for the meetings you will need to go to the studios in person and ask their representatives. We recommend you to attend several meetings to increase your chances. Please bear in mind that due to the large amount of students, you may not get a space.

A few weeks before the start of each semester the so-called Semester Booklet is published online. You can download it in the Download section of the “Studienbüro” of the Faculty. The booklet compiles compact information about all courses, study programs, timetables and events of the upcoming semester.
Link to download section

“Seminarbazaar” is an event at which the mandatory course enrolment procedure for courses offered by the faculty is held. It always takes place on Wednesday afternoon during the orientation week on the first floor of the faculty building.
Do not miss the event!
Students should go through the “Semester booklet” of courses before hand. (It can be downloaded here one week before the bazaar) On the event itself students may also find out more about each course from the posters and/or with their respective representatives. Students should hand in application for all the courses that they would like to follow in that semester.
The IO(A) team will have a Help Desk set up with English course registration forms. The results of the course selection are available on the Friday after the “seminar bazaar”. Once you have been accepted, you must register for each course on TUCaN.

If you arrive after the orientation week, you’ll miss some very important events like the presentation of the design courses, the seminar bazaar and the welcome event for international students. In case you miss these events please contact the IO(A)-staff as soon as possible. We’ll help you with selecting your courses from afar.

Elective courses: If you are accepted in a course or not (at the faculty of Architecture), you will have to look at the lists hung outside of each department, by which the courses you selected are offered. Note – some departments have their noticeboards inside their offices close to the entrance; some have them close to the elevators. If in doubt ask the respective secretary.

Design Courses: The lists with the results of the design course selection will be posted in front of the “Studienbüro” (Room 66) and posted online.

Courses at other faculties: For courses registered in alternative faculty’s go to the respective classes to view the lists.

You are expected to show up during the first class of each course (at best on time). Otherwise, you may lose your placement permanently!

Make sure to attend the first meeting of the course you want to take part in and ask the teaching staff if there are still places available. There is also the possibility to switch courses with other students. If you do this, be sure to inform the teaching staff.

TUCaN is the TU Campus Network (https://www.tucan.tu-darmstadt.de). On TUCaN you must first register for the module, and then for the subjects. When you are sure you want to do an examination in the course, you also have to register for your examinations. Without registration you won’t get a grade and no ECTS. If you don't know how to do it, or if you're not sure if it's done correctly, feel free to come by the “Studienbüro” (Room 66/67).

If you have registered for your courses via TUCaN you will automatically have an updated timetable and the respective venue the classes will be held. Should you not be able to do so, you should contact the department(s) promptly to find out.Note that some design courses start with an excursion at the beginning of the semester.

There are generally 3 ways different professors might share files or communicate with their students. Usually, the professor will also explain this to the students in the class. Professors may or may not give you their presentation slides.

• 1. Website: http://www.architektur.tu-darmstadt.de/architektur_studieren/aktuelles_studierende/index.en.jsp⇨ Under the tab “Aktuelles für Studierende”, you can periodically update yourselves with different news that concern the students.⇨ Under the tab “Fachgebiete” on the top, you can browse through different departments. Once you arrive at a department-specific page, you can click on the tab “Semesterprogramm” on the left. There you can find a list of all the courses that the department offers in that semester. Clicking on the small “>>” button will lead you to more information on that course.
• 2. TUCaN: once you've registered on TUCaN for each course that you are attending, you not only get a timetable generated, but will also be in the department's mailing list. If they make any announcement via TUCaN, you'll be able to read it under “Nachrichten”. It will be wise to direct any announcement you receive on TUCaN to a mailbox you frequently check.
• 3. ZEUS-2: just in case you hear this magic word during your class, it means that some files will be made available for you on our server or you have to submit your work by uploading it onto the server. Just connect yourself onto our network and search for the server. You may need to enter your pc-pool ID and password.If you have any course-specific question, you should actively approach the professors, their assistants or their secretaries.

The easiest would be to look at the ASTA-shop situated on the ground floor of the library building of the Lichtwiese Campus. Basic accessories can also be found at the copyshop in the faculty building (ground floor). If both of these don’t have what you want, or they are closed, you can also try the “Format.

The copyshop/printing room (R45) in the faculty building is located on the ground floor. Opening hours are Monday 10 am till 5 pm, Tuesday – Wednesday – Thursday 9 am till 5 pm, Friday 10 am till 2 pm. Opening hours may be changed. Please refer to the notice in front of the copyshop. Additionally, there are numerous other facilities on Lichtwiese campus where you can do A4 printings such as the library within the media centre (L4|02) and the PC pool in the building L1|01. Refer to map.

When you arrive, on the international welcome event of FB 15 you will receive a form that will provide you with username and password. Forms can also be found at the FB15 computer lad (Rechnerpool, Room 45) on the ground floor.

The Athene Karte will give you access to university services such as eating facilities, washing facilitates in university residences, printing services, library lockers and computer rooms. You will need to provide a photo for the card however, it is advisable to take the photo at

Stadtmitte: Thursdays, 11 am – 3 pm, S1|02 room 030a, the door at the back of PC-Pool
Lichtwiese: Tuesdays, 10-12 am, L1|01 room 62, Service-Center Lichtwiese in the building of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

For more information see the following website.

As living cost can be expensive in Darmstadt there are various opportunities for International student to access scholarships. However, the best thing is to apply for financial support by an institution in your home country. For more information regarding scholarship opportunities and eligibility, see the following link. >> (opens in new tab)

You also can check out the website of the International Office of TU Darmstadt >>

• 1. Welcome Event
  The bi-annual FB15 International Welcome event is held at the being of the Winter and Summer semester. This is a great must-go event to receive introductory information regarding your program structure, useful information about the university and guided tours of the Architecture Faculty in both English and German. Every guest will receive a welcome bag with informative material and goodies! A lunch will be provided, with the opportunity to ask questions and meet other international students.
• 2. International Evenings
  Share food, share culture and make friends!
  Who is the target group?
  The International Evening Events are organized for both local and international students and give students from the Architecture Faculty a change to connect.
  What are they about?
  Students from each continent are given the chance to give a 5-10 minute presentation about their home universities, previous work experience and cities. This is particularly interesting for student considering a semester abroad. The events typically end with snacks and drinks in a pleasant social atmosphere.
  When do they take place?
  These evenings take place three to four times every semester. The presentations are hosted at the Kuhle (central cafeteria space in the Architecture Faculty building).

For more information about the event schedules refer to our homepage, posters and visit our Facebook page.

Alongside the official FB15 facebook page, there are various groups on Facebook that may be interesting for students of this faculty.

• Official FB15 facebook page:
  Fachbereich Architektur TU Darmstadt
  

Here you find a small selection of other groups:

• For recent and former students, employees, …
  FB 15
• For all students of the Faculty:
  Alle Semester Architektur TUD
• For all chinese students at the faculty of Architecture
• For all international students at the faculty of Architecture
• For the Mundus Urbano students