Goethe University Frankfurt am Main International Study Center/Preparatory College — Frankfurt am Main
The Goethe University Frankfurt am Main preparatory college works at the University of Frankfurt am Main. Goethe and offers foreign applicants the opportunity to take the necessary German courses and subjects corresponding to the chosen course of study for further education at universities in Hesse and other German federal states.
Facts about the college
| Type | State |
|---|---|
| At which university | Goethe University Frankfurt |
| Language of instruction | German |
| Duration | 2 semesters |
| Courses | T-Kurs · M-Kurs · W-Kurs · G-Kurs |
| Entrance exam | German B1 |
| How the FSP is taken | At the college, by its own board |
| Application method | Via partner universities, for your future programme of study |
| Cost and fees | Tuition is free — only the semester contribution |
| Nearest intake | Summer semester 2027 · apply by 01.11.2026 · entrance exam ~20.12 |
Data from the college's official pages
* Exam dates are approximate — based on the previous intake.
About the college
Whether you are admitted to a German Studienkolleg or not depends on your previous education. In order to attend a Studienkolleg, you must have a higher education entrance qualification from your home country or any other country that is not part of the EU treaty system. In addition, for some countries further years of study at a university are required.
After the application procedure you will be informed about how your school leaving certificate is evaluated in Germany. Depending on this evaluation, you will either be able to directly start studying at a university, or you will need to first take a 1-year specialised course at a Studienkolleg for taking the university assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung).
Since there are more applicants than places available at the Studienkolleg, the available places are awarded via ranking in an entrance exam which tests you in German language. If you are ranked high enough you will be admitted to a one-year specialised course at the Studienkolleg. This course will prepare you well for the demands of a course of studies in Germany. The Studienkolleg Frankfurt offers the following specialised courses as preparation for studying:
- M-course: for medical, biological and pharmaceutical degrees
- T-course: for mathematical, science or technical degrees
- W-course: for business, economics and social science degrees
- G-course: for degrees in the humanities.
The university assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung) can be taken two times a year. Each specific course has 4 to 5 subjects:
- G-Kurs: German/ History/ German Literature / Soziology or Geography
- M-Kurs: German/ Mathematics / Biology / Chemistry / Physics
- T-Kurs: German/ Mathematics / Informatics/ Chemistry / Physics
- W-Kurs: German/ Mathematics / Economics / Soziology or Geography
Courses of the college
The course is chosen for your future field of study: it cannot be changed after enrolment.
Exams
* Exam dates are approximate — based on the previous intake.
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What kind of test is this?
The entrance test consists of an electronic C-test, which you take personally on site.
The entrance test will determine whether you have sufficient knowledge of German to be able to follow the courses in the core courses. The people who are accepted into the ISZ are selected selectively and competitively. This means that those people are accepted who do best in the entrance test for their course type. If the number of participants exceeds the number of places available on the course, the places will be allocated in the order of the total number of points achieved in the entrance test.
If someone does not take part in the entrance test or does not pass it, the acceptance from the university automatically expires. It is possible to apply to the university again and take the entrance test again. The entrance test can only be repeated twice, at the earliest after the end of a semester.
If you have already been admitted to another preparatory college or have even taken an assessment test before, you may no longer be admitted to the preparatory college in Frankfurt.
Exemption from the admission test
You can not be exempted from taking the entrance test, even if you have already passed level DSH 2 or similar tests!
Preparing for the test
People often ask how best to prepare for the entrance test: The best preparation is to attend language courses that improve your general language skills. The test examines global competencies such as text comprehension and understanding textual contexts, but a good command of grammar rules and spelling is also necessary in order to achieve a good result.
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The subject of the written exam in focus course G is:
- a) German,
- b) history
- c) German literature or social studies/sociology or geography;
The subject of the oral examination can be all subjects taught in the respective specialization course, including the additional subjects
Applicants can apply to be exempted from the assessment test in German if they have the certificate of the German language test for university admission for foreign applicants (DSH) with the result DSH-2 or DSH-3 or a corresponding equivalent.
Linked universities
Universities the college works with. At a home university the college is part of the university or admits its applicants.
How to apply
- 1Check that you need a StudienkollegYour certificate's status in the recognition database decides — direct admission may be possible after one or two years at a university at home.
- 2German B1Confirmed by a certificate at the time of application.
- 3Apply via a universityYou apply to a bachelor's programme of a linked university; the university admits you conditionally and sends you to the college.
- 4Entrance examGerman and the main subject of the course; places go to the best results.
The application goes to a partner university of the college, for the bachelor's programme you want to study later; the university sends it on to the college.
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.
- ✓We check the certificate and the translations
- ✓We fill in and submit the application
- ✓We keep track of the deadline and the invitation to the entrance exam
Each additional college: €197
To apply with us, order at least 2 weeks before the application deadline — for the nearest intake by 18.10.2026. What matters is the order itself — documents can follow later: these two weeks are exactly the time for checking and preparing them. The earlier you order, even if something is still missing, the calmer and more reliably we prepare everything together for the strongest application.
Apply with our help · €297StudyInFocus does not represent the college and does not influence the admission decision.
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All Studienkollegs →Questions about Goethe University Frankfurt am Main International Study Center/Preparatory College
Which courses does Goethe University Frankfurt am Main International Study Center/Preparatory College offer?
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First check whether you need a college
Many applicants could do without a Studienkolleg — it depends on the country and the year of the certificate. The check is free.