dMAT Exam Pattern and Syllabus: Modules, Question Types, Timing and Rules
The dMAT has two parts. The Core Module has three subtests of 25 minutes and 20 tasks each: Figure Sequences, Mathematical Equations and Latin Squares. After a 30-minute break comes the General Academic Module, with about 60 single-choice questions in 90 minutes. You work on a computer at a test centre, in English, without notes or a calculator.
dMAT structure and timing
| Order | Part | Tasks | Time | Time per task |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Core Module: Figure Sequences | 20 | 25 minutes | 75 seconds |
| 2 | Core Module: Mathematical Equations | 20 | 25 minutes | 75 seconds |
| 3 | Core Module: Latin Squares | 20 | 25 minutes | 75 seconds |
| Break | 30 minutes | |||
| 4 | General Academic Module | about 60 | 90 minutes | about 90 seconds |
The three subtests are shown in the order used in the official preparation booklet. Each subtest has its own 25-minute limit, and g.a.s.t. schedules 90 minutes for the Core Module as a whole. With the break, the exam lasts three and a half hours.
For the APS process every candidate takes exactly these two modules and receives the same tasks. There is no separate paper for engineers or for commerce graduates.
Core Module
The Core Module measures general cognitive and analytical skills. You do not need any subject knowledge for it. All three task types are fixed, so you can learn them fully in advance.
Figure Sequences
You see a series of grids. From one grid to the next, the figures move, turn or change colour according to fixed rules. You work out the rules and choose the next two grids.
Which grid comes fifth?
Which grid comes sixth?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: grid 5 is option C, grid 6 is option B.
The purple diamond moves anticlockwise along the outer border, one field at a time.
Rules, method and six practice questions for Figure Sequences
Mathematical Equations
You get a small system of equations. Each letter stands for a whole number from 1 to 20, and there is exactly one solution. You find the number behind each letter, in your head.
B = C + 5
A = B + 4
Which numbers do A, B and C stand for?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A = 12, B = 8, C = 3
Write everything in terms of C: B = C + 5 and A = C + 9. The first equation becomes 3 × C + 14 = 23, so 3 × C = 9 and C = 3. Then B = 8 and A = 12.
Method and six practice questions for Mathematical Equations
Latin Squares
You see a 5×5 grid that is partly filled with letters. Each letter may appear only once in every row and every column. You find the letter that belongs in the field marked with a question mark.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | D | A | ||
| 2 | D | B | |||
| 3 | D | B | E | ||
| 4 | ? | A | |||
| 5 | A | D |
Which letter belongs in the field marked with a question mark?
Options: A, B, C, D, E
Show answer and explanation
Answer: E
- A is still missing in column 1. It cannot go in rows 1, 4, 5, because those rows already contain A. So A goes in row 2, column 1.
- E is still missing in row 2. It cannot go in column 2, because that column already contains E. So E goes in row 2, column 3.
- E is still missing in row 4. It cannot go in columns 2, 3, 5, because those columns already contain E. So E goes in the marked field.
Method and six practice questions for Latin Squares
General Academic Module
The General Academic Module tests whether you can apply reasoning to academic problems. Each task gives you a text, which may include figures, tables and formulas, followed by several questions. Every question has four options and one correct answer.
g.a.s.t. names the areas the texts can come from: mathematics, computational sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business administration, economics, social sciences and humanities. The questions ask you to use what the text explains. In the words of the official material, the module needs transfer and application skills rather than memorised facts.
Here is a short text in that style with two of its questions.
Radioactive decay
The nuclei of a radioactive isotope decay at random, but for a large number of nuclei the decay follows a simple rule. In each period of length T, called the half-life, half of the nuclei that are still present decay. The half-life is a fixed property of the isotope. It does not depend on how much of the substance there is or on how old the sample is.
If a sample starts with N₀ undecayed nuclei, the number remaining after the time t is:
N(t) = N₀ × (1/2)t ÷ T
After one half-life 1/2 of the nuclei remain, after two half-lives 1/4, after three half-lives 1/8, and so on.
This rule is used to date organic material. Living plants take up carbon from the air, so the share of the isotope carbon-14 in their tissue stays constant. When a plant dies, it takes up no more carbon, and the carbon-14 it contains decays with a half-life of about 5,730 years. The remaining share of carbon-14 in a sample therefore shows how long ago the plant died.
A sample contains 800 mg of an isotope with a half-life of 6 hours. How much of the isotope is left after 18 hours?
- A) 100 mg
- B) 200 mg
- C) 267 mg
- D) 400 mg
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
18 hours are three half-lives. 800 → 400 → 200 → 100 mg.
A piece of wood contains 25% of the carbon-14 found in living wood. About how long ago did the tree die?
- A) 2,865 years
- B) 5,730 years
- C) 11,460 years
- D) 22,920 years
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
25% is 1/4, which is reached after two half-lives. 2 × 5,730 = 11,460 years.
How to approach the General Academic Module, with three full practice passages
Is there a dMAT syllabus?
Not in the sense of a list of chapters. This is what you can and cannot prepare.
| Part | What is fixed | What varies |
|---|---|---|
| Core Module | The three task types and all their rules | The individual tasks and their difficulty |
| General Academic Module | The format: a text followed by four-option questions | The topics, which can come from eight broad areas |
For the Core Module, preparation means learning the rules and then building speed. For the General Academic Module, it means practising careful reading and mental arithmetic on texts from fields you did not study. An engineer should practise a business or social science text, and a commerce graduate a physics or computing one.
Rules during the exam
- No notes. You may not use notepaper or write anything down at any point.
- No calculator and no ruler.
- No electronic devices, including phones and smartwatches.
- Short instructions only. The exam shows brief reminders of how each task type works. The full instructions exist only in the preparation booklet, so read it beforehand.
- Guess if you are unsure. The official instructions say so for each task type.
Breaking a rule leads to immediate exclusion from the exam.
How the dMAT is scored
For each module you receive a dMAT score from 0 to 200, with 100 as the mean, and a percentile rank. The score is a conversion of your number of correct answers. The two module scores are added for the overall result. There is no pass mark.
How to read your dMAT score and percentile
Official preparation material
g.a.s.t. recommends that you use all of its material:
- The preparation booklet for the General Academic Module, which covers both modules, with exercises at low, medium and high difficulty and worked solutions
- Five videos on the official dMAT page for India: an introduction, one for each Core subtest, and one for the subject module
- A demo version of the test software in your participant portal, under "Exam Preparation"
Once you know the task types, test yourself against the clock with our dMAT sample test.
Other dMAT subject modules
The General Academic Module is the subject module used for APS in India. The dMAT also exists with other subject modules that individual universities use for particular programmes, for example chemistry, physics, computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering for a Master's at RWTH Aachen, and data science at the University of Göttingen. Those are separate from the APS requirement.
Which German universities use the dMAT
Learn every task type with a teacher
Yastudy's live course covers all three Core subtests and the General Academic Module, with timed practice in every class.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are there in the dMAT?
The Core Module has 60 tasks: 20 Figure Sequences, 20 Mathematical Equations and 20 Latin Squares. The General Academic Module has approximately 60 individual questions. g.a.s.t. says this is an average and the actual number may be higher or lower.
How long is the dMAT exam?
Each of the two modules takes 90 minutes, with a 30-minute break between them. g.a.s.t. gives the total as three and a half hours including the break.
Is there a syllabus for the dMAT?
There is no chapter-wise syllabus. The Core Module uses three fixed task types that need no subject knowledge. The General Academic Module draws its texts from mathematics, computational sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business administration, economics, social sciences and humanities, and tests whether you can apply what the text explains.
Is the dMAT the same for engineering and commerce students?
Yes. For the APS process, g.a.s.t. states that both modules are compulsory and that all participants receive the same tasks.
Are calculators allowed in the dMAT?
No. Calculators, rulers, notepaper and note-taking are prohibited, and so are all electronic devices.
Is there negative marking in the dMAT?
The dMAT score is a conversion of the number of correct answers, and the official instructions tell you to guess when you do not know an answer. So an unanswered question earns nothing, and you should mark an answer for every task.
In which language is the dMAT?
The modules used for the APS process are in English.
Are the official sample questions as hard as the real exam?
Not necessarily. g.a.s.t. says the sample questions show possible topics and question types, and that their difficulty may differ from the actual test.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against the official sources below on 10 October 2026.
- dMAT for graduate students in India (g.a.s.t., official dMAT website)
- FAQ: dMAT for graduate students in India (g.a.s.t.)
- Digital Master Test (dMAT) for selected Master's applicants in India (APS India)
- dMAT India: List of Affected Previous Degree Fields, Version 1.0 (APS India, PDF)
- dMAT Preparatory Materials for Test Takers, General Academic Module (g.a.s.t., PDF)
- Information for Exam Candidates on 26 September 2026 (g.a.s.t., PDF)
- dMAT overview, structure and certificate (g.a.s.t.)
