Medicine, Model Course of Study, State Examination
When first studying medicine, students are often frustrated: they find themselves in lecture halls instead of having contact with patients and they wrestle with dry theory rather than experience medicine in practice!
With anatomy, biochemistry and physiology being the typical subjects of the first semesters, the joy of studying medicine and the initial enthusiasm for the medical profession can easily fall by the wayside.
RWTH Aachen has been taking a different track. Since 2003, this innovative approach to medical studies combines preclinic and clinic from the very first semester. Besides students reaching top grades in their exams, there is another nice effect: This type of course work is just more fun - not only for the students, but for the lecturer as well!
Programme facts
| Degree | State Examination |
|---|---|
| Duration | 12 semesters |
| Language of instruction | German |
| Study mode | Full-Time |
| Start | Winter semester |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 15.07 |
| Admission | Admission restriction (NC): a competition of school grades |
| Tuition fee | €0 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €375.19 per semester |
| Campus | Klinikum der RWTH |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
The programme has an admission restriction: the average grade of your certificate, converted to the German scale, decides. The cut-off changes every year — last year's value shows the order of magnitude, not a promise.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →About the programme
Early Patient Contact
Studying medicine in Aachen means "Patient contact from day one" – even if it is first fellow students or the patient "dummies" in the skills lab. The introductory course in first aid, emergency medicine, and hygiene set the tone at the beginning of studies for a study strategy that creates more passion for learning. In the next stages of course work, the combination of preclinic and clinic offers daily opportunities for students to experience medical practices. They accompany and observe their instructors "at sickbeds" and thus are able to implement learned material early on. Students learn to look at facts in a holistic context - a way of thinking that will guide the future doctors in later diagnoses and therapy!
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Organ-Centered Teaching Approach
Instead of traditional subject-centered lessons the model course of study in medicine offers an interdisciplinary teaching approach that logically looks at each topic from different subject perspectives. Instead of learning individual facts, students learn about the structure, function, and pathogenetic principles of organs and organ systems. This "multi-perspectivity" trains our students for later problem solving skills in diagnosis and therapy.
Combining Scientific Research and Medical Practice
The medical program creates the prerequisites for working as a doctor by teaching basic scientific principles as well as practical abilities from the very first semester. Moreover, in addition to learning proven facts, students are familiarized with scientific research structures, concepts and methods, which leads to new insights and furthers progress in medical scientific research. Students develop their ability to assess not only chances but also problems and sources of errors in the scientific method of approach. They will then be able to put acquired theoretical knowledge into practice.
What you study
Program Structure
The combination of preclinical and clinical subjects is further supported by new forms of teaching and learning. An essential component of medical studies at RWTH are the "problem-oriented learning groups", which are imbedded in the systematicically created courses along with introductory lectures as well as conventional practical training. The Aixtra Skills Lab offers the possibility to practice all practical skills before they applied to patients.
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
The professional medical field is very diversified. Primarily doctors are thought of as working in hospitals or in private practice.
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However, for those who would rather do less patient-centered work, there are also employment opportunities in the fields of scientific research or teaching, for example with universities or other educational institutions. The pharmaceutical industry also offers related positions, in departments such as drug development or pharmaceutical sales. Finally, there is the option of administrative work with health insurance companies or in public health care as an alternative for doctors who do not want to work in the therapeutic field.
Cost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (North Rhine-Westphalia), international students | €0 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €375.19 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | A good natural sciences background in biology, chemistry and physics will make for an easier start in the medical school program. |
|---|---|
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 15.07 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 3Application directly to the university until 15.07Send the documents well before the deadline — an incomplete application cannot be completed after it.
- 4Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
If your level is not enough yet
The two most common stoppers are a language level below the requirement and a certificate without direct admission. Both can be solved, but they take months — plan them now, not after a rejection.
Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 15.07.2027 (274 days left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.