APS for Bachelor vs Master Applicants: Same Gate, Different Second Gate

Both Bachelor and Master applicants with an Indian academic record clear the same APS gate: same fee, same portal, same non-refundable rule. What differs is everything stacked behind it, where your file starts, which extra test applies, and which level-specific gate you also have to clear. This page lays the two tracks side by side.

The part that is identical for both

Before the differences, it helps to see how much is shared. APS is mandatory for any applicant with an Indian school or degree record, whichever level you are heading to. Both levels pay the same single fee of INR 18,000, register on the same aps-india.de portal, and face the same non-refundable rule. Both submit Class X and Class XII as the foundation of the file, both receive the same digital certificate (the DigZert) that is valid indefinitely, and both must courier the package rather than drop it off. The documents checklist is where the two lists then split.

Where each track starts

A Bachelor applicant starts from Class XII. The academic core of the file is the Class XII marksheet and certificate, plus any entrance-exam proof, and for those still in an Indian Bachelor's programme, the marksheets of the semesters completed so far.

A Master applicant starts from a completed Indian Bachelor's degree. The file carries every semester marksheet and the consolidated transcript, plus the degree certificate. If the final degree has not been issued yet, a provisional certificate is accepted as long as it is less than one year old, and applicants who have not finished the degree at APS time are advised to apply with certified 5th or 7th semester grades and supply the degree later at university enrolment.

The extra test: TestAS versus dMAT

This is the cleanest dividing line between the two levels, and it runs in opposite directions.

TestAS sits on the Bachelor side. Indian applicants heading into an undergraduate programme who do not yet hold an Indian Bachelor's degree are generally required to submit a TestAS score. The one important carve-out: clearing JEE Main and JEE Advanced waives TestAS. Note carefully that JEE waives only TestAS, not APS itself, which is a common and costly misreading.

The dMAT sits on the Master side. From Summer Semester 2027, Master's applicants whose previous degree falls in Engineering, in Commerce, Accounting, Finance or Economics, or in Business or Management must add this digital test to the APS documentation. It carries its own fee of EUR 150 paid to g.a.s.t., and it does not replace the anabin recognition check. Bachelor applicants, PhD applicants, and Master applicants outside those three fields are not affected.

The level-specific gate

Behind APS, each level has its own eligibility gate, and they test completely different things.

For Bachelor applicants the gate is the Class XII score. From Winter Semester 2026/27, admission pathways require a minimum of 70% in Class XII, regardless of board. That opens either the Studienkolleg route, or direct subject-restricted admission when it is paired with one successfully completed academic year of a recognised Bachelor's programme.

For Master applicants the gate is recognition of the Bachelor's degree itself. The degree and the awarding institution have to be recognised in the anabin database, and graduates of private universities specifically need their institution to hold H+ status, because APS cannot certify a degree from a university rated H+/- or H-. If you are unsure how APS, anabin, and university recognition fit together, the three-gates explainer separates them cleanly.

The interview mostly hits one side

APS may call an applicant for a short verification interview, but this is not spread evenly. It falls most often on undergraduate applicants who are still pursuing their Bachelor's in India at the time of applying. The interview is at APS India's discretion, runs about 20 minutes, is conducted in English or German at your stated preference, and you are notified 10 to 14 days in advance. Master applicants who already hold a completed degree are called far less often. If the interview applies to you, the certificate is issued only after you clear it.