Saarland University

Saarland University at a glance

Saarland University (Universität des Saarlandes) is a public university in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland, close to the French border. Indian students mostly look at its English-taught Master's programs in computer science, run on the Saarland Informatics Campus.

Four things Indian applicants should know first:

• No tuition fee. You pay a semester fee of €412.30 (winter 2026/27), which includes the Deutschland-Semesterticket for local and regional trains and buses across Germany.
• A GRE or GATE score is compulsory for Indian degrees in Computer Science. There is no minimum score, but you must send one.
• High bar for grades: the department lists a minimum of 75% (or 3.0 out of 4) and a place in the top 10% of your class.
• IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 95, and no MOI letter. A letter from your college saying you were taught in English is not accepted.

What it really costs

Tuition: none. Saarland University lists tuition as "not applicable" for the MSc Computer Science.

Semester fee. For winter semester 2026/27 the semester fee is €412.30, paid before you enrol and again each semester:

Living costs and the blocked account. For the German student visa you must show €11,904 a year in a blocked account, released at €992 a month. Saarland University's own fact sheet estimates living costs at about €950 a month, including accommodation and health insurance, so the blocked account amount roughly matches a modest student budget in Saarbrücken. See our blocked account guide and total cost guide.

Health insurance is compulsory once you enrol. The university's fact sheet says it can be arranged on campus after arrival for about €120 a month. See our health insurance guide.

Can you reduce the cost?

• Working while you study. Students from outside the EU can work 140 full days or 280 half days a year. See our guides to part-time work rules and Werkstudent jobs.
• Scholarships. Plan to fund yourself. See our DAAD scholarships guide for national options.

Getting in: what Saarland looks at

For the English-taught MSc Computer Science, from the department's application guide:

1. Degree: a Bachelor's degree or equivalent from a German or foreign university, with the required knowledge in mathematics, theoretical computer science and practical computer science. If you have a 3-year degree, ask the department before you apply. See our guides to ECTS mapping and 3-year degrees in Germany.
2. Grades: the stated minimums are a CGPA of at least 75% or 3.0 on a 4-point scale, and a top 10% ranking in your class. Meeting them does not guarantee admission.
3. GRE or GATE: required if your degree is from outside Europe's higher education area, Switzerland or the UK, which includes India. There is no minimum score, and home editions are accepted. Subject tests and practice tests don't count. See our GRE guide for Germany.
4. English: IELTS Academic 7.0, TOEFL iBT 95 (5 on the new 2026 scale), PTE Academic 76, or Cambridge C1 Advanced / C2 Proficiency. Home editions are accepted. A medium of instruction (MOI) letter is not accepted. See our English tests guide.
5. APS certificate: applicants with degrees from India must upload the original, digitally signed APS certificate with the application. See our APS guide.
6. Two recommendations: you name two recommenders in the application system, and they fill in a review form online. Letters sent by post or email are not accepted.

How to apply

1. Apply online in the department's own application system (apply.cs.uni-saarland.de), not through uni-assist. Register only once.
2. Upload PDFs of your school-leaving certificate, your three most recent degrees (with certified translations if they aren't in English, German or French), a certified list of all courses with grades and an explanation of the grading system, a CV, your English and GRE/GATE results, and the APS certificate.
3. Deadlines: 15 May for the winter semester (lectures start mid-October; decisions by mid-July) and 15 November for the summer semester (decisions by mid-January). Complete applications that arrive late are moved to the next round.
4. Wait for the email. You are notified by email when a decision is made; the department asks applicants not to email about their status.

Popular Master's programs for Indian students

• MSc Computer Science: taught in English, 120 credits over four semesters (part-time study possible), including the Master's thesis.
• The Saarland Informatics Campus also runs Master's programs including Cybersecurity, Visual Computing, and Mathematics and Computer Science. Check each program's page for its own rules.

Compare Saarland with other German universities in our MS Computer Science in Germany comparison.

After you graduate

International graduates of a German university can get a residence permit of up to 18 months to look for a job, and may take any job during that time. Once you find qualified work you switch to a work permit or EU Blue Card. See our guides to the job seeker permit and the EU Blue Card.

Who Saarland is a good fit for

• A strong choice if you are near the top of your class (top 10%, 75%+), have a strong computer science and maths background, IELTS 7.0 or more, and a GRE or GATE score.
• Think carefully if your grades are below 75% or you are not in the top 10% of your class, your English score is below IELTS 7.0, or you were planning to use an MOI letter instead of a test.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from these official pages, checked on 22 October 2026:

• Saarland University: semester fee
• Saarland University: MSc Computer Science
• Saarland Informatics Campus: Master's application guide
• Saarland University: fact sheet 2025/26 (living costs, health insurance)
• Make it in Germany: prospects after graduation

Fees and rules change. Always confirm on Saarland University's own pages before you pay or apply.