Official Study Guide for Germany
If there is a (local) admission restriction for the degree programme of your choice, you must apply to the relevant university or via the DoSV application portal of the Foundation for University Admission (www.hochschulstart.de) by the deadline.
The application deadlines are often 15 July (for a course starting in the winter semester) and 15 January (for the summer semester). However, please note that individual universities may have different deadlines.
Many universities offer the option of applying online via their own application portals. If this is not possible, the application documents can usually be downloaded from the universities' websites.
The selection procedures vary depending on the federal state and university. As a rule, a proportion of study places, around 20%, are reserved for certain applicant groups (e.g. hardship cases, second degree applicants). 10 to 25% of places are allocated according to waiting time, and the remaining places are allocated in the university's selection procedure.
In addition to the Abitur grade, individual subject-specific aptitudes are becoming increasingly important. This can take the form of selection interviews, subject-specific aptitude tests or the consideration of relevant report marks. Some universities also require students to take part in a self-test for study orientation (more on this in the ‘Decision-making aids’ section).
The details of the procedure and the deadlines are best obtained directly from the respective university. It may also be necessary to register in advance at hochschulstart.de (see the information on the dialogue-oriented service procedure).