At a glance

Language: English-taught
Duration: 4 sem 120 ECTS
Intake: Winter semester
Tuition: €1,500 per semester; see fee notes
Semester fee: €201.50

● Open: apply now All applicants · Winter semester 1 Dec 2026

KIT's second photonics master, linked to Helmholtz accelerator and light-source research — together with Optics and Photonics it forms a photonics cluster unique on this platform. Based at KIT Campus South for teaching, with research links to the Helmholtz programmes at Campus North. The entire programme is conducted in English and delivered jointly within the Max Planck School of Photonics. Based at KIT Campus South in central Karlsruhe.

Admission requirements

Prior degree

Bachelor in Physics or a relevant engineering discipline

Minimum grade

Selection via the Max Planck School of Photonics

English

CEFR B2 in an internationally recognised test.

German

not required — no DSH is needed

Prerequisite credits

Physics or engineering background per the curriculum

Also required

No GRE. Joint Max Planck School of Photonics programme run by KIT with FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg and others; enrolment spans multiple partner universities. MPSP offers a five-year master-to-PhD track with Max Planck Society stipends from a minimum of €1,365 gross per month. Non-EU students still pay KIT’s €1,500/semester Baden-Württemberg tuition. EU and non-EU applicants alike apply directly through the KIT Online-Portal of the International Students Office; KIT performs its own foreign-degree equivalence check. No uni-assist, no VPD, no application fee. APS certificate required for applicants from China, Vietnam and India.

Deadlines & timeline

Deadlines differ by where your degree is from. Dates change every cycle, so always confirm on the official page before planning. Where no fixed calendar date exists or none is confirmed yet, the Details column explains each case.
Who	Intake	Deadline	Details
All applicants	Winter semester	1 December 2026	Same 1 December deadline for EU and non-EU applicants — much later in the year than KIT’s other masters. Selection runs through the Max Planck School of Photonics.

Fees & funding

Tuition: €1,500 per semester
Semester contribution: €201.50
Semester ticket: not included

KIT is a Baden-Württemberg state university. Non-EU/EEA students pay tuition of €1,500/semester IN ADDITION to the semester contribution of €201.50/semester (total €1,701.50/semester for non-EU students). EU/EEA students pay only the semester contribution. The contribution breaks down as €80.00 administrative charge + €109.50 Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe (including student liability insurance) + €12.00 Students Union. The semester ticket is NOT included — only about €17.50 of the Studierendenwerk charge funds a limited off-peak KVV base ticket (weekdays 18:00–06:00, all day at weekends and on public holidays); budget separately for a KVV Studikarte or Deutschlandticket. A second degree costs €650/semester. Source: https://www.sle.kit.edu/english/imstudium/703.php Confirmed exemptions from the Baden-Württemberg €1,500 non-EU tuition: EU/EEA citizens, holders of a German Abitur, Erasmus Mundus / double-degree / EUCOR / cooperation-programme students, doctoral students, Baden-Württemberg-Stiftung scholarship holders, and students grandfathered from before WS 2017/18.

Scholarships are listed per university: see KIT scholarships.

How to apply

uni-assist: not required
Application portal: www.intl.kit.edu
Official page: www.sle.kit.edu

EU applicants and holders of German degrees usually apply directly via the university's Campusportal instead of uni-assist; the deadline table above says which route applies to you.

What students say

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Where graduates go

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External resources

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