Faculty of Medicine, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen

The University of Tübingen was founded in 1477; the Faculty of Medicine has been part of it since the beginning and is therefore among the oldest in Germany. Training follows the standard programme with pre-clinical phase, clinical phase, and Praktisches Jahr; 357 Humanmedizin places are available per cohort. Around 3,400 students are enrolled in Humanmedizin and dentistry. Alongside the Staatsexamen programme, there are nine further degree programmes in the life sciences and health research, including molecular medicine and biomedical technologies.

In research, Tübingen participates in three Excellence Clusters and five German national health research centres; priorities are immunology and oncology, neurosciences, infectious disease research, and vascular medicine. Tübingen University Hospital serves a catchment area from the Stuttgart region to Lake Constance with 1,658 beds and around 11,600 employees. This location suits you if you want to study in a research-intensive environment and are attracted by a small university town with short distances between hospitals, institutes, and accommodation. Those requiring large-city infrastructure and a broad range of part-time work opportunities will find both in limited supply in Tübingen.

Study places are allocated nationally via hochschulstart.de, distributed through the top-grade quota, the additional aptitude quota, and the university's own selection procedure. In Tübingen's selection procedure, Abitur grade and TMS result are combined; both carry approximately equal weight, with further aptitude criteria such as relevant vocational training also considered. In the additional aptitude quota, the Abitur grade does not count — school-grade-independent criteria, above all the TMS result, are decisive.

No tuition fees are charged by the state faculty. The semester contribution and the administrative fees standard in Baden-Württemberg are due; non-EU students are subject to a separate fee arrangement in the state.

Six Centuries of Teaching on the Neckar

Eberhard Karls University was founded in 1477 and is one of the oldest universities in Europe; its motto Attempto — I dare — comes from the founder Count Eberhard im Bart. The university hospital traces its roots to Johann Heinrich Ferdinand Autenrieth, who began with 15 beds in twelve rooms in 1805. Today nearly 5,000 people study at the Faculty of Medicine across more than a dozen degree programmes. Humanmedizin takes 13 semesters, i.e. six years and three months, and begins in both the winter and summer semesters.

Programme Structure and Teaching Profile

Semesters one to four form the pre-clinical phase with physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy, and biochemistry, flanked by medical psychology and an early introduction to clinical thinking. Semesters five to ten cover 21 clinical subjects and 14 cross-disciplinary areas in lectures, seminars, and bedside teaching. Tübingen describes its teaching concept with the acronym SPIRIT: student-oriented, practice-based, international, research-related, and interprofessional. A characteristic feature is a longitudinal curriculum that connects pre-clinical and clinical content across the years, complemented by structured skills training in the DocLab simulation centre. The faculty maintains cooperations with more than 50 universities worldwide, making an exchange semester well supported.

Semesters eleven and twelve form the Praktisches Jahr with blocks in internal medicine, surgery, and an elective, completed at the university hospital, at academic teaching hospitals, or in teaching practices. Examination is in three stages: first section after the pre-clinical phase, second section before the Praktisches Jahr, third section afterwards in oral-practical form. The programme concludes with the Staatsexamen and Approbation.

A City That Lives from Its University

Tübingen lies around 30 kilometres south of Stuttgart, has one of the best-preserved old towns in south-western Germany, and a ratio you rarely encounter: roughly one third of its inhabitants are students. This shapes everything, from the bars on Neckargasse to the Stocherkahn race on the river. The university has no enclosed campus. The humanities are in the old town, the natural sciences on the Morgenstelle, and medicine is spread across the classical Talkliniken north of the city centre and the more modern buildings on the Schnarrenberg, which have grown since the 1960s.

In practice, this means a lot of uphill travel. The bicycle is more of a sporting implement than a means of transport in Tübingen; the bus lines between valley and hill are correspondingly busy. The housing market is the weak point. For a city this size, rents are high, shared flats are scarce, and fiercely contested in late summer; the Studierendenwerk halls cover only part of demand, and an early search pays off. Regional trains reach Stuttgart in just over an hour; the airport is accessible without a detour.

How is the Humanmedizin programme in Tübingen structured?

Four pre-clinical semesters are followed by six clinical semesters with 21 subjects and 14 cross-disciplinary areas, then the Praktisches Jahr in semesters eleven and twelve. The standard study duration is 13 semesters. Study begins in both the winter and summer semesters.

What does the acronym SPIRIT stand for?

SPIRIT is the label Tübingen uses to describe its teaching philosophy: student-oriented, practice-based, international, research-related, and interprofessional. In concrete terms, this is reflected in a longitudinal curriculum that connects pre-clinical and clinical content, and in skills training in the DocLab simulation centre.

How research-intensive is the faculty?

Tübingen is an Excellence University, and the hospital researches primarily in neurosciences, oncology, immunology, and vascular medicine. Around 1,800 researchers work in approximately 980 laboratories. Those wishing to complete a doctorate or enter a laboratory early will find many opportunities here.

Where is the hospital, and do I need to commute?

The university hospital is split between the historic Talkliniken north of the old town and the more modern departments on the Schnarrenberg. During the clinical phase you will regularly move between the two, usually by bus. Overall, the hospital treats several hundred thousand patients annually and offers correspondingly broad clinical experience.

How do I obtain a study place?

For the first semester, allocation runs exclusively through the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (hochschulstart); higher semesters apply directly to the university. Cut-off grades change each year, so no specific figure is given here. Medschool Experts does not place students at state German faculties but advises on NC-free pathways into medicine.