The dMAT is a computer-based test taken at an authorised centre, delivered in English, running about three and a half hours including a 30-minute break. Every question is single-choice with four options and exactly one correct answer.
| Component | Task type | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Module — Subtest 1 | Figure Sequences | 20 | 25 min |
| Core Module — Subtest 2 | Mathematical Equations | 20 | 25 min |
| Core Module — Subtest 3 | Latin Squares | 16 | 20 min |
| Break | — | — | 30 min |
| Subject Module | Input text + single-choice questions | Varies | 90 min |
Do the arithmetic and a pattern appears: 25 minutes for 20 figure sequences, 25 minutes for 20 equation systems, 20 minutes for 16 Latin squares. That is 75 seconds per item across all three core subtests, consistently.
Timing is enforced per subtest, not per sitting. You cannot finish Latin Squares early and spend the saved minutes on Figure Sequences. When a subtest's clock expires, that subtest closes.
The practical consequence is that pacing discipline matters as much as ability. The most valuable skill the format allows you to train is recognising within about twenty seconds whether an item is a solve-now or a guess-and-move.
Practise the real thing, free. Mock 1 is a full 56-question dMAT Core Module test with enforced timers and a worked solution for every question. Free account, no card. Attempt the free mock test.
There is no negative marking. This single fact should change your behaviour in the room. An unanswered item earns nothing; a random guess among four options has a 25% expected return; eliminating even one option pushes that to 33%. The official instruction for every subtest says the same thing — if you do not know an answer, guess.
Leaving items blank is the most common avoidable mistake on a no-negative-marking test. Our mocks explicitly count your blanks and flag them before you submit, for exactly this reason.
Results are reported on a 0–200 scale with a mean of 100. Your core score and subject score combine into a total result. Evaluation is central, at the TestDaF Institute in Bochum, so there is no local examiner discretion and no re-marking negotiation.
Because the scaling model is not published, no preparation provider can honestly convert a mock score into a predicted official band. Anyone offering a guaranteed dMAT score is selling something they cannot deliver. What a mock score can tell you reliably is your accuracy per subtest and your pacing — which is what you actually act on.
Together these are the strongest argument against preparing from printed PDF question papers: a PDF trains you to solve with a pencil in hand, which is precisely the habit the exam forbids. Practising in a browser under enforced timers is not a gimmick — it is the only way to rehearse the actual constraints.
The Subject Module gives you 90 minutes for the whole test rather than tight per-subtest windows. You read an input text that may include figures, tables and formulas, then answer single-choice questions on it. The item count varies by module. Content is aligned to your bachelor's field group and is application-oriented rather than recall-based.
No. There is no negative marking, so you should never leave a question blank.
About 75 seconds per item across all three Core Module subtests: 25 minutes for 20 figure sequences, 25 minutes for 20 equation systems and 20 minutes for 16 Latin squares.
No. Timing is enforced per subtest. Once a subtest's time expires it closes.
Scores are reported on a 0-200 scale with a mean of 100, so 100 is average by construction. Universities weigh the score differently and no official cutoffs have been published for the first cycle.
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