The parts of the test
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Core Module | 3 subtests with 25 minutes and 20 tasks each. About 90 minutes including the instructions at the start. |
| Subject Module | 90 minutes, 10 to 15 testlets with 4 to 8 questions each |
| Breaks | In the Core Module twice 2 minutes at your seat. After the Core Module a 30-minute break outside the exam room. |
| Total duration | About 3 hours of testing, about 3.5 hours with the break |
| Answers | Mostly single choice: usually 4 options, exactly one is correct. In Mathematical Equations you enter numbers with the numeric keypad. |
| Notes | Not allowed in the digital TestAS (the paper-based test comes with scratch paper) |
| Guessing | Wrong answers do not lose points. In Mathematical Equations, guessing is “unlikely” to succeed according to g.a.s.t. |
Sources: testas.de: structure of the digital TestAS, FAQ test day, testas.de: preparing for the digital TestAS. As of 25 October 2026.
The three subtests in the Core Module
In detail, with examples: Core Module.
g.a.s.t. describes the rules publicly. We summarise them here in our own words. We do not take over example tasks.
Figure Sequences. You see a series of matrices. Figures change by fixed rules: position, colour or orientation. You have to work out the next two matrices. The preparation PDF (as of April 2022) names, for example: colour change, rotation of the figure, movement vertically, horizontally or diagonally, and a step size that can grow by 1 with each step. Figures do not disappear and do not overlap. At the edge they bounce back or run along the edge.
Mathematical Equations. You get a system of several equations. Each letter stands for exactly one number between 1 and 20. All equations must hold. You enter the answer as a number.
Latin Squares. You see a grid of 5 by 5 squares with the letters A to E. Each letter appears exactly once in every row and in every column. You look for the letter at the question mark. Sometimes you first have to fill other squares in your head.
The Subject Module
All modules with their topics: Subject Modules.
A testlet describes a situation, for example with text, a graphic, a table or a formula. The questions test whether you understand something, apply it and transfer it to new material. Technical terms are not assumed.
Digitally there are six Subject Modules:
- Humanities, Cultural Studies and Social Sciences
- Life Sciences
- Engineering
- Mathematics, Computer Science, Natural Sciences (MINT)
- Economics
- Medicine
The paper-based test has only four Subject Modules. Life Sciences and Medicine are missing (testas.de: with the TestAS to a German university).
Subject Module Medicine: The topics are anatomy, physiology, biology, (bio)chemistry, psychology and sociology for medical students, and physics. For many medicine applications, however, the MINT module counts. You can see this in the medicine overview.
Open: what we do not yet know for sure
- Latin Squares: The g.a.s.t. PDF (as of April 2022) says “20 minutes for 16 tasks”. The current website says 25 minutes and 20 tasks. We follow the website. We want to ask g.a.s.t. whether the format has changed in between. Until then this detail counts as open.
- Subject Module Medicine: The exact number of questions is open. From 10 to 15 testlets with 4 to 8 questions each, the range works out at 40 to 120 questions.