Compare · Medicine in German at private universities
Medicine without a grade cut-off: private medical schools in Austria and Germany compared (fees, admission tests 2027)
Four private universities teach medicine in German and choose their students with their own tests and interviews, not the school-leaving grade (the German Numerus clausus) or Austria's MedAT: Sigmund Freud University (SFU) in Vienna, Paracelsus Medical University (PMU) in Salzburg and Nuremberg, Danube Private University (DPU) in Krems, and Medical School Berlin (MSB). Here they are side by side on cost, the selection procedure, dates, places and the degree, as each publishes them; everything was read on their own pages on 29 October 2026.
Private medicine in Austria & Germany
The short answer
- Lowest tuition per semester
- MSB: €9,000 a semester (€1,500 a month) in the first two sections
- Highest total tuition
- SFU: €170,148 for 12 semesters; DPU €170,100
- Shortest degree
- PMU: five years (Bachelor + Master to Dr. med. univ.)
- Grade counts?
- PMU 20% of the pre-interview ranking; DPU one factor among four; SFU and MSB name none
- Next fixed test dates
- MSB 3–4 Dec 2026 and 4–5 Feb 2027; PMU 14–15 Apr (Nuremberg) and 20–22 Apr 2027 (Salzburg)
- Interview
- All four interview; at MSB the interview is 75% of the decision
Side by side
SFU, PMU, DPU and MSB, point by point
All four teach in German and none takes part in a national test: each runs its own selection. The table puts what each publishes on the same rows.
| SFU Vienna | PMU Salzburg / Nuremberg | DPU Krems | MSB Berlin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degree | Bachelor (BScMed) + Master (Dr. med. univ.), 6 + 6 semesters | Bachelor (BScMed) + Master (Dr. med. univ.), 6 + 4 semesters | Bachelor (BSc) + Master (Dr. med. univ.), 6 + 6 semesters | German state examination, 12 semesters and 3 months |
| Where | Vienna | Salzburg or Nuremberg | Krems (Bachelor), Wiener Neustadt (Master) | Berlin (preclinical), Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch (clinical) |
| Written test | Cognitive abilities test and a Biology check, on one day at SFU | About 3.5 hours on laptops: sciences and English 40%, cognitive abilities 40%, work style 20% | Written test online over Zoom; must be passed before the interview | 90 minutes, mainly Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics: 25% |
| Interview | Over Zoom, for those who passed the cognitive test | Top 405 of the ranking (80% test, 20% school grades) | In German, up to one hour: an MMI task, then the basics of medicine | 20-minute video interview with a case simulation: 75% |
| Dates | 2026: three testing blocks, March to August; 2027 not yet published | Applications 1 Nov 2026 to 31 Mar 2027; tests 14–15 Apr (Nuremberg), 20–22 Apr 2027 (Salzburg); interviews 7–18 Jun 2027 | Year-round; dates set individually, last listed 15 Sep 2026 | No deadline; selection days 3–4 Dec 2026 and 4–5 Feb 2027 |
| Places | 2026: 220 in Human Medicine (155 + 50 + 15 after the three blocks) | 80 Salzburg, 55 Nuremberg | Not published; 150 started in winter 2025/26 | Not published |
Costs
What each costs, per semester and in total
Tuition is the same for EU and non-EU students at all four. The totals are tuition only, at today's published rates, before living costs; where the sum is IvyTest's arithmetic it says so.
| Per semester | Tuition in total | One-off fees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SFU Vienna | €14,179 (Bachelor and Master) | €170,148 for 12 semesters (IvyTest's sum) | €700 admission procedure fee |
| PMU Salzburg / Nuremberg | €11,150 (€22,300 a year halved; same on both campuses) | About €113,100 for 5 years: Bachelor €68,519 incl. fees, Master €44,600 | €330 application fee, €25 lab coat, USMLE Step 1 €1,264 in year 3 |
| DPU Krems | €14,175 (Bachelor and Master) | €170,100 for 12 semesters (DPU: €85,050 per stage) | €850 admission procedure fee |
| MSB Berlin | €9,000 (€1,500 a month); €1,800 in the practical year (€300 a month) | €94,500 (€90,000 for the first two sections + €4,500 for the practical year) | €500 application fee, €100 enrolment fee |
Funding: SFU funds 10 Human Medicine places in full with the Vienna Healthcare Group (WIGEV) in return for a 12-year commitment (study in minimum time, specialist training and five years' work there); DPU's foundation covered about half the tuition and Lower Austria offered scholarships tied to working there (2026/27 calls); MSB names an income-share fund (Brain Capital) for semesters 5 to 10 and BAföG; PMU points to state, university and private grants and loans.
Selection
What each school weighs instead of the grade or the MedAT
No grade cut-off does not mean no selection: each school replaces the grade with its own procedure, and they weigh different things.
MSB says even an Abitur of 1.0 does not guarantee a place; its 90-minute science test counts 25% and the interview 75%. PMU ranks 80% on its test and 20% on school grades, then interviews the top 405. DPU calls its procedure 'Matura plus': the written test is a gate, and the board then weighs the school-leaving grade, CV and motivation, science knowledge and the MMI. SFU's cognitive test is the gate to its Zoom interview, and the Biology check is the part you can revise from a set textbook.
Degree
Austrian Dr. med. univ. or German state examination
SFU, PMU and DPU teach a Bachelor followed by a Master ending in the Austrian Dr. med. univ.; at all three, a Bachelor in their Human Medicine track leads on to their Master. MSB teaches the German Staatsexamen course: the medical examinations after each section are sat at Berlin's state office, the same exams as at a public university. PMU is the shortest at five years and adds USMLE Step 1, a US exam, to its Bachelor.
Sources, read on 29 October 2026: SFU: Studiengang Bachelor Humanmedizin · SFU: Studiengang Master Humanmedizin · PMU: Anmeldung & Aufnahme, Bachelorstudium Humanmedizin · PMU: Aufnahmetest · PMU: Studiengebühr, Stipendien & Finanzierung (Bachelor) · PMU: Studiengebühr (Master) · DPU: Studiengebühren, Humanmedizin · DPU: Bewerbung, Humanmedizin · DPU: Studium (Termine für Aufnahmetests) · MSB: Humanmedizin (Staatsexamen) · MSB: Zulassungsverfahren · MSB: Finanzierung