Studying without the Abitur – entering higher education with professional qualifications

If you do not have an academic higher education entrance qualification – i.e. you do not have the Abitur, the Fachabitur, or the entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences – but you have completed vocational training and have relevant professional experience, you may still be able to go to university or college.

Studying without the Abitur – i.e. without the academic higher education entrance qualification – is possible according to one of three routes: subject-specific admission to higher education for people with professional qualifications, the general higher education entrance qualification for people who have completed professional advanced training, and access for other professionally qualified individuals.

Subject-specific admission to higher education for people with professional qualifications

If you have successfully completed vocational training and have several years’ professional experience or are engaged in activity equivalent to employment, such as independently managing a household, you can enter higher education even without an Abitur. Your programme should be related to your previous professional skills. That means the programme you have chosen must match the profession in which you have previous training. The higher education institution offering the programme will check and decide whether your professional skills correspond to the programme you want to study.

If you fulfil the higher education entrance requirements, this does not necessarily mean that you will be admitted directly onto the programme. Admission to the higher education institution may depend on further assessment, such as a successful academic aptitude test, an interview, or a trial period of study. You can obtain detailed information about admission requirements directly from each higher education institution.

General higher education entrance qualification for people who have completed advanced professional training

If you have successfully completed advanced professional training, you may have also attained the general higher education entrance qualification at the same time. Professional advanced training includes the levels of master craftsman (Meister), qualified technician (Techniker), and certified specialist (Fachwirt). In this case, the same entry requirements apply to you as to applicants with the Abitur.

Other professionally qualified individuals

Professionally qualified individuals who have not completed advanced training and who do not want to pursue a subject-specific programme can also study without the Abitur. Many higher education institutions give people with professional qualifications the chance to take admissions examinations, which allow entry to higher education programmes. However, please be aware that you will also be required to show evidence of vocational training and related professional activity.

Studying without the Abitur – information for each German federal state

The provisions that apply to admission to higher education for people with professional qualifications are laid down in the Higher Education Acts and statutory regulations in each federal state. You can find further information on the following internet sites: