Master

The APS is a German institution and part of the German embassy in India. APS stands for Academic Evaluation Centre and this is literally what they do - they evaluate your degrees and certify to the German university that your degrees are authentic. The APS requires you to pay a fee of 18,000 INR to process your application. This fee is NOT refundable. So even if you don't get admission from any university program you will be left with this cost. However, as an Indian you can't apply for any program without the APS certificate and the processing time can take several months. So if you've decided to study in Germany, you should usually start with this step. 

For any Master program you need a Bachelor degree that is recognized by the German university. If you did your Bachelor in India you have to check if your Bachelor qualifies. It is advised to do this before you pay the fees for your APS certificate. You can do this on www.anabin.kmk.org. Unfortunately, this website is in German, so if you struggle with this, feel free to reach out to us. Even programs without admission restrictions usually require marks above 65 percent. Top universities and admission restricted programs require even better marks. In general your Bachelor degree must fit to your desired Master program. If you studied Mechanical Engineering in your Bachelor you can not apply for a Master in Chemistry and vice versa. 

At most universities you can choose between German and English programs. If you choose to study in German you will need to provide a German language certificate and if you want to study in English you will need an English language proof. Common accepted German certificates are DSH-2 or Goethe C1 and common English ones are IELTS (>6.5) or TOEFL iBT (> 80). It would be best to have your language certificates ready before you start the application since you will need to send them to APS as well. 

Later in the process, after you successfully got admission, you will need to apply for a visa. A major requirement will be a blocked bank account. This account is required by German authorities as a proof that you can cover your monthly costs while living in Germany. The mandatory amount increases every year and is currently about 11,90,000 INR. Every month (while in Germany) you will be able to withdraw 99,000 INR to cover your expenses. But to apply for your visa you will need the whole amount in advance. So if you don't have this kind of money it does not make sense to start the application!

Uni Assist is an association of about 170 German universities that manages the application process for international applicants to these institutions. You can find out if your university is using uni assist here or on your university's website. Please be aware that uni assist charges usually around 7,500 INR for the first university and another 3,000 INR for any other university you want to apply for. 

Many universities accept English certificates and some might only accept German certificates. If your degrees and transcripts are written in any other language you will need to provide a translation with an sworn translation certificate. You should check in advance if your university expects a hardcopy or if a digital signed docuement is sufficient.