Dual Master Degree Programm University of Rhode Island - USA

The application should be submitted in the last year of the Bachelor's programme / 1st Master's semester (15-18 months before the planned stay at URI). If selected, applicants will be conditionally admitted to the Dual Degree Programme, but must have been accepted for a Master's programme at TU Darmstadt before beginning their stay in the USA. Students who were not previously enrolled at TU Darmstadt can apply for the Master's program after enrolment.

The application must be received by the Office for Student Affairs of the department by November 30th of the respective year.

After TUDa/URI has reviewed the submitted application documents, a personal interview with the student will take place in December.

More information about the organization here:

Application documents (deadline ends on Nov. 30th)

If students are selected, their study plan for their stays at TU Darmstadt and URI must be approved by the respective department.

Selected students must then apply to the URI Graduate School by January 31st. The following documents must be submitted with the online application: Online application form, overview of academic achievements including grades, letter of intent, two letters of recommendation, and proof of English language skills. Upon successful acceptance at the URI, a copy of the passport and proof of funding must be sent to the Office of International Students & Scholars, who will then prepare the required DS- 2019 form needed to apply for a J-1 visa.

Curriculum and thesis

Module Recognition List (opens in new tab) Dual Master Degree University of Rhode Island (URI).

Students of TU Darmstadt who spend their second year of the Master's program at URI have to discuss the topic of the Master's thesis with their supervisor at the TU Darmstadt and the supervisor at URI. The thesis should be written at URI from the beginning of the semester in early September until the end of August of the following year.

All students of the TU Darmstadt should

  • have a professor from URI and a professor from TU Darmstadt as supervisor of the Master’s thesis.
  • decide which courses to attend and find a suitable topic for the Master's thesis.
  • begin research work for the Master's thesis already alongside attending the selected courses.
  • be aware that the American university system provides for homework, inquiries, and intermediate and final exams.
  • plan that 2-3 additional hours per week must be spent on each course, as well as research for the Master's thesis.
  • The thesis must be written in a suitable form and defended orally.
  • Students must register for their Master's thesis at their home university.

More information here: A member of TU Darmstadt may be a member of the examination board. The other members of the board of examiners should be selected according to the rules of the URI “graduate manual”. The oral defence can be conducted in person or via video conference.

TU Darmstadt students have to follow the regulations of the URI application procedure. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that proof of academic achievements at URI is forwarded to TU Darmstadt at the end of each semester.

Students should submit an official TOEFL certificate of English language proficiency. This test must not be more than two years old. (Scores must fall within the required minimum scores on the Internet-based (iBT) and/or paper-based TOEFL.)

Students can also submit equivalent certificates from the TUDa Language Centre, which show that the level B2 and/or level C1 corresponding to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF) has been achieved in the tests concerning reading and writing skills, or other equivalent test results accepted by the URI.

Students of TU Darmstadt spend the first year of their Master's degree at TU Darmstadt and the second year at URI.

1. Students of TU Darmstadt should participate in the orientation events of the respective department and the “Office of International Students & Scholars”. In consultation with their thesis supervisor at the URI, they should create a study programme by listing the planned courses. Students should also register for research events (9 CP). The students should also sign up for a total of nine research credits for the year they will be at URI.

2. According to the regulations of the federal law for immigration to the USA, students must take at least 9 CPs per semester. If this is not possible for any reason, the student must contact the “Office of International Students & Scholars” before enrolling.

Module Recognition List (opens in new tab) Dual Master Degree University of Rhode Island (URI).

Students of TU Darmstadt who spend their second year of the Master's program at URI have to discuss the topic of the Master's thesis with their supervisor at the TU Darmstadt and the supervisor at URI. The thesis should be written at URI from the beginning of the semester in early September until the end of August of the following year.

All students of the TU Darmstadt should

  • have a professor from URI and a professor from TU Darmstadt as supervisor of the Master’s thesis.
  • decide which courses to attend and find a suitable topic for the Master's thesis.
  • begin research work for the Master's thesis already alongside attending the selected courses.
  • be aware that the American university system provides for homework, inquiries, and intermediate and final exams.
  • plan that 2-3 additional hours per week must be spent on each course, as well as research for the Master's thesis.
  • The thesis must be written in a suitable form and defended orally.
  • Students must register for their Master's thesis at their home university.

More information here: A member of TU Darmstadt may be a member of the examination board. The other members of the board of examiners should be selected according to the rules of the URI “graduate manual”. The oral defence can be conducted in person or via video conference.

TU Darmstadt students have to follow the regulations of the URI application procedure. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that proof of academic achievements at URI is forwarded to TU Darmstadt at the end of each semester.

There should always be the same number of Dual Degree students at URI and TU Darmstadt, which is why the number of students to be admitted for the coming year is determined each year.

The students are counted as exchange students at the respective partner university.

The tuition fee at URI is waived for students of TU Darmstadt for two semesters, but during the spring and winter semester they must pay an “in-state” tuition fee. (Required to pay in-state tuition during the spring and fall semesters). During the summer semester, students of TU Darmstadt are required to “register at least for one research credit at the in-state rate”.

Students who are dependent on financial support can apply for an assistant position with the principal professor at URI. This can already be done after they have received the notification of admission from URI, or informally after they have been selected by TU Darmstadt to apply to URI. Students should also look for financial support from other sources.