Requirements for studying

You may study at a German university or college if your qualifications entitle you to enter higher education. Different regulations apply to German citizens and foreign nationals with German university entrance qualifications, EU citizens, and applicants from countries outside the EU. You should establish which of these groups you belong to before addressing the entry requirements.

You must fulfil a number of requirements to be able to study at a higher education institution. The most important requirement is that you possess a valid higher education entrance qualification. The type of higher education entrance qualification affects which subject you can study and at which higher education institution you can study. The German school-leaving qualifications that allow entry to higher education are the allgemeine Hochschulreife (general higher education entrance qualification), also known as the Abitur; the fachgebundene Hochschulreife (subject-specific higher education entrance qualification), and the Fachhochschulreife (entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences). There is also an option of studying without a formal higher education entrance qualification. All of the German federal states have adopted provisions allowing skilled employees to study without higher education entrance qualifications (Studying without the Abitur).