Studying Dentistry at Germany's Private Universities

Germany has three private universities that train dentists. All of them admit students without a grade cut-off, all of them lead to the same state examination that state universities award – and all of them teach in German. That last point decides whether the rest of this article is relevant to you at all, so it comes first: there is no English-taught dentistry degree at a private university in Germany. If you are prepared to study in German, the private route is a genuine option, and this article explains how admission, costs, recognition and the licence to practise actually work.

Which private universities offer dentistry in Germany?

Three institutions currently run a full dentistry programme outside the state system: Witten/Herdecke University in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane in Brandenburg an der Havel and HMU Health and Medical University Erfurt in Thuringia. All three are state-recognised, and all three select their students without a numerus clausus.

All three programmes are taught in German

This is not a formality. Dentistry involves patient treatment from the clinical phase onwards, and patients in Witten, Brandenburg and Erfurt speak German. The state examination is written and taken in German. There is no partial English track and no English-language parallel group at any of the three universities.

In practice you need certified German at university entrance level before you apply, not afterwards. The standard proofs are DSH or TestDaF; the level required is high, and medical subjects rarely accept the minimum. Check the exact requirement with each university, because they differ and they change.

If your German is not there yet, the realistic sequence is a language year first, then the application. Building that year into your plan is cheaper than applying too early and losing the application fee – at HMU Erfurt alone that is 500 euros per attempt.

The three universities in detail

Clinical training takes place in the universities' own teaching clinics and at partner practices.

Witten/Herdecke University

Witten/Herdecke University was founded in 1983 and is by some margin the oldest of the three. Around 3,100 students are enrolled across medicine, dentistry, nursing science, psychology, economics and society. The campus sits in the Ruhr area, a ten-minute train ride from Bochum and within easy reach of Dortmund – useful, because housing in Witten itself is limited and many students commute.

The programme runs under the German title Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferheilkunde, literally dentistry, oral and maxillofacial medicine. It ends with the state examination and takes around five and a half years. The university is state-recognised by the North Rhine-Westphalia science ministry and accredited both as an institution and programme by programme, including by AHPGS, AQAS and FIBAA – worth noting if your home authority later asks for evidence of accreditation.

Financing works differently here. Witten/Herdecke charges no fixed tuition fee but operates an Income Share Agreement, letting you choose between direct payment, income-related repayment after graduation, or half of each. It is administered by the StudierendenGesellschaft, an independent association founded by students in 1995.

Worth a closer look if you cannot transfer six figures up front, or if you want an established university with a long-standing dental faculty rather than a programme still building its first cohorts.

Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane

Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane was founded in 2014 and, with roughly 970 students, is the smallest of the three. Its head office is in Neuruppin; the dentistry campus is in Brandenburg an der Havel, about an hour from Berlin.

The Brandenburg model dentistry programme launched in the summer semester of 2024, the first in the federal state. It offers 48 places per semester and admits only once a year, in the summer semester – a detail that matters when you are coordinating a visa appointment. Tuition is stated at around 132,000 euros in total.

The school is in municipal and non-profit ownership and states that it operates without profit intent; fees cover the cost of the programme rather than generating a return. That also explains an unusual funding route: several municipalities in Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt offer scholarships in exchange for a commitment to work in the region after graduating.

Selection is three-stage and explicitly tests manual dexterity and spatial reasoning. And unlike the others, this university can admit applicants without a general higher education entrance qualification: Brandenburg state law allows access to dentistry with suitable vocational training. If you hold a dental qualification from your home country but no recognised secondary certificate, this is the route to investigate.

Worth a closer look if you already work in a dental profession, or if working outside a major city after graduation is acceptable to you and a municipal scholarship becomes realistic.

HMU Health and Medical University Erfurt

HMU Erfurt is the newest of the three. The Thuringian ministry granted state recognition in May 2025 and teaching began in the winter semester of 2025/26. The university is based in central Erfurt, in the Villa Marienhaus near the old town and at the Anger campus.

The dentistry programme runs for 11 semesters in three study phases, with the eleventh semester reserved for examination preparation. Fees are charged monthly: 2,190 euros during the first three phases and 500 euros during the examination semester, plus 100 euros to enrol and 500 euros for the application procedure. From 2026 there are two intakes a year, on 1 April and 1 October.

The curriculum links dentistry closely with human medicine and psychology. Selection is two-stage: an internal written test followed by an individual interview with an integrated case simulation. HMU Erfurt requires the general higher education entrance qualification.

With a programme this young, one question matters more than any brochure claim: the teaching clinic is still being built up. Ask during the interview where and from which semester you will treat patients, and which partner practices are involved.

Worth a closer look if two intakes a year fit your timeline better than one, or if living costs in Erfurt make your overall budget work where a larger city would not.

What does a private dentistry degree cost?

Tuition runs into six figures. Brandenburg Medical School states around 132,000 euros for the full programme. At HMU Erfurt, 2,190 euros a month across ten semesters plus 500 euros a month in the examination semester adds up to roughly 134,400 euros. Witten/Herdecke uses a model with no single total.

Budget for more than tuition. All three universities levy semester contributions, and dental instruments and consumables add a four-figure sum over the course of the programme. Application and enrolment fees come on top, and they are payable before you know whether you have a place.

Under Witten/Herdecke's income-related option you pay nothing while studying and repay a fixed percentage of your income over ten contribution years afterwards. In any year your gross income falls below a threshold – currently around 30,000 euros – you repay nothing for that year. Two further details are genuinely valuable: only the standard period of study is subject to fees, so additional semesters are free, and if you take a second degree programme in parallel, the cheaper of the two costs nothing.

How admission works without a grade cut-off

No numerus clausus does not mean no competition. All three universities run their own multi-stage selection and assess motivation, personality, manual dexterity and relevant work experience rather than school grades. Brandenburg Medical School notes openly that applications substantially outnumber places.

For international applicants this shift is usually an advantage. A selection interview gives you room to present clinical work experience, a dental assistant background or a clear professional motivation – none of which a grade-point conversion captures. Apply early and to more than one university: the procedures run independently and the intakes fall at different points in the year.

Entry requirements for applicants from abroad

Beyond language, two things decide whether you can apply at all.

Your school-leaving qualification must count as a German university entrance qualification. Certificates from EU member states are generally accepted directly. Many non-EU certificates are not considered equivalent on their own; depending on your country and grades, you may need one or two semesters at a Studienkolleg followed by an assessment examination before you can apply to a degree programme. Have your certificate assessed before you plan anything else – this step determines your timeline more than any other.

The universities differ on this point. HMU Erfurt requires the general higher education entrance qualification. Brandenburg Medical School can admit applicants without it, on the basis of suitable vocational training and qualifications under Brandenburg state law.

Does the degree lead to a licence to practise?

Yes. All three programmes end with the state examination and qualify you to apply for the Approbation, the German licence to practise dentistry. Examinations follow the federal Dental Licensing Regulations, and the certificate is issued by the state examination office, not by the university.

This matters more than it may appear. A private university here does not award its own degree – it prepares you for a state examination. The resulting qualification is legally identical to one from a state university, which means no equivalence assessment, no adaptation period and no separate professional language test. For practice ownership and statutory health insurance accreditation, where you studied makes no difference.

Because dentistry is a sectoral profession under EU law, a German dental qualification is recognised automatically across the European Union. Your licence is not confined to Germany. Note that the licence and your right to reside and work in Germany are separate matters: non-EU graduates need an appropriate residence title regardless of the Approbation.

Dentistry, dental hygiene and postgraduate masters

Three quite different programme types appear under the heading of dentistry at German private universities. They serve different people and differ in price by roughly a factor of ten. Confusing them is an expensive mistake.

A dental hygiene bachelor is not a shortened dentistry degree and not a step towards one. Switching later means starting over.

You can compare all medical programmes at private universities on our medicine overview. For questions about applying, visas and recognition, see our questions section.