Anyone looking forward to studying in a German university needs to follow certain rules.
How and where you have to register to study at a German university depends on three factors:
- What subject you want to study?
- Where you completed your secondary / high school qualification?
- What degree are you aiming for (Bachelor or postgraduate degree)?
Even if you have met the general admission requirements and found your course of choice, you will often not be able to enrol directly. There are many courses that have greater demands than supply. This means that only a certain number of places are available for a course. In this case, applicants first have to pass through an admission procedure. The courses subjected to this kind of admission procedure either have local or national admission restrictions. Direct enrolment is possible for all other courses that are not subject to admission restrictions.
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National admission restriction
Medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine and dentistry are so popular that admission restrictions are applied in all universities in Germany, i.e. a Numerus Clausus (NC, Latin for "closed number"). The application and admission procedures for places for these courses are run centrally by the Foundation for university admissions.
However, in some cases, international applicants have to apply directly to the universities or via the Application Services for International University Applications (uni-assist).
The application generally needs to be submitted by 15 January for the summer semester and 15 July for the winter semester. However, the application deadline for international students may differ for each individual university.
Local admission restriction
Some courses may only have admission restrictions at certain universities. Courses with local admission restrictions are generally also identified as NC courses. The NC is not specified by an individual, rather it changes every semester based on the demand and supply of university places for a course. The applications currently available are used to calculate an average grade that must be met for admission. The level of the NC in the semester the application is submitted is unknown, but the values from previous semesters are useful starting points. In some cases, certain grades are weighted more heavily than others – such as maths and physics for an engineering course.
Apart from the average grade, universities may also define additional criteria that are relevant for selection, such as letters of motivation, tests or selection interviews. The criteria differ for each university and course. So it is important that you approach the university's Student Advice Centre before submitting your application.
General RequirementAnyone with an international university degree/higher education qualification is generally permitted to study in Germany. However, the recognition of the qualification is linked to certain requirements. Anyone who wants to study in a university in Germany needs the so-called "University Admission Qualification" (HZB), or higher education entrance qualification. This lets applicants show that their educational background or professional qualification allows them to study in Germany, i.e. they have the necessary higher education entrance qualification to register for a course. An international higher education entrance qualification lets you study at a German university, provided that the international certificate of education is recognised as higher education entrance qualification in Germany.
Five tips for the NC
- send numerous applications: sending more applications to different universities and for different courses improves your chances of success.
- choose less popular locations: most students want to study in major cities or in the traditional university cities. So it might help if you apply to university locations that are not as popular.
- compile additional points: while the grade point average is the most important factor, it is never the only criterion used by universities to award places. Sometimes individual grades are weighted more heavily than others or aptitude tests are held.
- hope for the luck of the draw: universities randomly allocate some spaces, if those selected withdraw their applications. That's why it pays to find out about dates and conditions at the universities so that you can send your application on time.
- start in the summer semester: if the winter semester doesn't work, about a quarter of all Bachelor courses also let you apply in the summer semester. The NC values may also change in the new selection round.
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