Gesellschaft für Akademische Studienvorbereitung und Testentwicklung e.V. (g.a.s.t.)

Members of the public service company g.a.s.t. are the Counsel of University Deans, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Goethe Institute, the Bochum, Leipzig, and Münich universities, as well as the Association “German as a foreign and second language” and the Work Group of the Language Centers in the universities.

g.a.s.t., that is, the TestDaF Institute, participates in the following scientific associations and institutions: Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE), European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA), European Association for Quality Language Services (EAQUALS), Gesellschaft für Medien in der Wissenschaft (GMW) = Society for Media in Science, Guide to Academic Training and Education (GATE), International Language Testing Association (ILTA), International Test Commission (ITC).

g.a.s.t. is responsible for:

• The German-as-a-foreign-language test – TestDaF: recognized by all universities, because it serves as proof of the student having the necessary knowledge of the language, in order to do the studying;
• The test for foreign students – TestAS – Aptitude test for entering the university and for choosing students.
• The language proficiency test – onSET: checking on competence for determining language courses or for own knowledge;
• DUO – Deutsch-Uni Online: Language platform for German and French as foreign languages.

g.a.s.t. is represented in over 100 countries via testing centers and partner institutions. The g.a.s.t. tests are also made available to Brazilian universities, as well as the Goethe Institute. With Deutsch-Uni Online, g.a.s.t. is a partner of DAAD and of the Brazilian Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in the Languages Without Borders Program – German.

Who are we?

Gesellschaft für Akademische Studienvorbereitung und Testentwicklung e.V. (g.a.s.t.) is a public service organization that has approximately 100 employees and 750 partnerships in 100 countries. We provide test materials that are recognized, worldwide, for students who need to prove their knowledge and proficiency in the German language, like the TestDaF and onSET, and they are developed to serve as proof of competence to study (TestAS). Furthermore, we are active in the field of research and we operate a multimedia learning platform, the Deutsch-Uni Online (DUO). The maintainers of the Society are the Goethe Institute, the HRK, the DAAD, the FaDaF, and the AKS, as well as the Universities of Bochum, Hagen, Leipzig and Munich.