# Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie)

KIT is the only German university that is simultaneously a state university and a national research centre of the Helmholtz Association — a dual mandate no other TU9 institution has, giving students unusually direct access to large-scale research infrastructure and paid research roles in energy, mobility, information technology and the natural sciences. It operates across two main sites: Campus South, in central Karlsruhe, where teaching is concentrated, and Campus North, the former nuclear research centre outside the city, which houses the Helmholtz research programmes — check which campus your programme uses before choosing where to live. Formed in 2009 by merging Universität Karlsruhe (founded 1825; older materials and review sites may still use that name) with Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe; one of Germany's 11 Universities of Excellence, and at roughly 23,000 students markedly smaller than RWTH or TUM. Note: KIT is a Baden-Württemberg state university. Non-EU/EEA students pay an additional tuition fee of €1,500/semester on top of the standard €201.50 semester contribution. One honest caveat from recent student reviews: several KIT programmes have recently been converted from German to English tuition, and reviewers report the switch can make lectures harder to follow — 'taught in English' and 'designed for international students' are not yet the same thing everywhere at KIT.

City: Karlsruhe (https://studygermany.dev/cities/karlsruhe.md)
HTML page: https://studygermany.dev/universities/kit/

- Official website: https://www.kit.edu/english/
- International Office: https://www.intl.kit.edu/istudent/

## Master's programmes covered

- Biomedical Engineering (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-biomedical-engineering.md
- Computational and Data Science (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-computational-and-data-science.md
- Computational Modeling in Engineering (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-computational-modeling-in-engineering.md
- Computer Science (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-computer-science.md
- Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-electrical-engineering-and-information-technology.md
- Geophysics (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-geophysics.md
- Industrial Engineering and Management (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-industrial-engineering-and-management.md
- Maschinenbau (Mechanical Engineering) (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-maschinenbau.md
- Mechatronics and Information Technology (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-mechatronics-and-information-technology.md
- Meteorology and Climate Physics (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-meteorology-and-climate-physics.md
- Optics and Photonics (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-optics-and-photonics.md
- Photon Science and Technology (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-photon-science-and-technology.md
- Physics (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-physics.md
- Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-remote-sensing-and-geoinformatics.md
- Water Science and Engineering (MSc): https://studygermany.dev/programmes/kit-msc-water-science-and-engineering.md

## Services for international students

- International Students Office (IStO): First stop for international degree-seeking students: admission, enrolment, and the tuition-fee desk (Zulassung: Studiengebühren, Adenauerring 2, studiengebuehren@intl.kit.edu) that administers the €1,500/semester non-EU fee and its exemptions. (https://www.intl.kit.edu/istudent/)
- Zentrale Studienberatung (ZSB): Central study advising for programme choice, switching and study problems. Engelbert-Arnold-Str. 2, 76131 Karlsruhe · +49 721 608-44930 · info@zsb.kit.edu. (https://www.sle.kit.edu/vorstudium/zsb.php)
- Studierendenservice: Enrolment, re-registration and student-records administration. Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe · +49 721 608-82222. (https://www.sle.kit.edu)
- Psychotherapeutic counselling (Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe): Included in your €109.50 Studierendenwerk contribution — as is personal liability insurance. Both are little-known and genuinely useful. (https://www.sw-ka.de)

## Scholarships

- Deutschlandstipendium at KIT: €300/month (half federal, half private sponsors), initially for 2 semesters and renewable by reapplying. Criteria: excellent results plus civic/social engagement, with personal and family circumstances considered. Paid regardless of income or parental support, and not counted toward BAföG. Online form + PDF uploads. (https://www.kit.edu/studieren/deutschlandstipendium.php)
- §7 LHGebG tuition remission (hardship): Honest framing: a hardship backstop, NOT a scholarship. Full or partial remission of the €1,500 non-EU tuition only where an unforeseen, unfaulted financial emergency arose AFTER starting a fully-financed course — requires a written account, Finanzierungsplan, 6 months of statements for every account in your name, and proof of four financing attempts. It does not help someone who cannot afford the fee from the outset. (https://www.intl.kit.edu/istudent/12606.php)
- VM-Stipendium: Up to €1,000 from the Verfahrenstechnische Maschinen research association, awarded twice yearly. (https://www.kit.edu)
- Karlsruher Kreis e.V.: Local association offering scholarships for master's students. (https://www.karlsruher-kreis.de)
- DAAD scholarship database: The definitive searchable database for international-student funding in Germany — the standard external route alongside the 12 Begabtenförderungswerke (Stipendium Plus). Note: the Baden-Württemberg-Stipendium and Helmholtz-specific scholarships are still being verified for KIT and are deliberately not listed yet. (https://www.daad.de/en/studying-in-germany/scholarships/)

## Campus systems

- Campus Management Portal: Re-registration (Rückmeldung), exam registration and de-registration, certificates (Studienbescheinigung, Notenspiegel), address changes — and where the semester fee and the €1,500 non-EU tuition are paid each semester. Three traps confirmed for internationals: (1) exam-registration video tutorials are German-only (the English/German pair exists only for ERASMUS students); (2) fee payment by wire transfer counts on the date it ARRIVES at KIT (§13(1) of the enrolment regulations), transfers can take a week, and weekend deadlines do not roll forward — a SEPA direct-debit mandate avoids this; (3) admission decisions typically issue 3-4 weeks after the deadline, i.e. AFTER the re-registration deadline — current KIT bachelor students should re-register in the bachelor's to preserve status. Late re-registration costs €18; continued non-payment leads to de-registration ex officio. (https://campus.studium.kit.edu)
- ILIAS: The learning platform: course materials, assignments, online courses. KIT runs an onboarding course, 'The first steps with KIT-ILIAS'. Same product name as TU Dortmund's ILIAS but a completely separate installation — your TU Dortmund research does not transfer. (https://ilias.studium.kit.edu)
- Studierendenportal (studium.kit.edu): The umbrella over Campus Management, ILIAS and the SCC self-services; the old portal still hosts the course catalogue (Vorlesungsverzeichnis). Honest note: KIT's systems are mid-migration — expect to use more than one portal until Campus Management absorbs the rest. (https://studium.kit.edu)
- SCC Self-Services: KIT account and 2FA token management (Steinbuch Centre for Computing). 2FA covers ILIAS and Campus Management via Shibboleth. Lose your 2FA token and you cannot log in — KIT recommends printing a backup TAN list. Do it in week one. (https://www.scc.kit.edu)

## Provenance

Last checked: 2026-07-17

- KIT — Beitrags- und Gebührenübersicht (fees, page-dated 16.04.2026): https://www.sle.kit.edu/imstudium/gebuehren.php
- KIT International Students Office — tuition fees: https://www.intl.kit.edu/istudent/12606.php
- KIT — Studiengänge am KIT (official programme table, page-dated 17.06.2026): https://www.sle.kit.edu/vorstudium/studiengaenge.php