INTERNATIONAL PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS Studienkolleg courses and Assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung)
If in the recognition process, a foreign academic qualification is considered to be only partially comparable to the German university entrance requirements, it is possible to apply for participation in an assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung) in accordance with the evaluation framework of the Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen, ZAB). The assessment test can be taken at a Studienkolleg.
A Studienkolleg helps students prepare for the assessment test. At the Studienkolleg of Heidelberg University students are provided with subject-field specific preparatory courses. The preparatory courses run for two semesters.
In the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, which is where Heidelberg is located, an application for a Studienkolleg preparatory course is not made at the Studienkolleg itself but instead at the university in Baden-Württemberg at which the applicant would like to study after the Studienkolleg.
Students who are assigned to a preparatory course at the Studienkolleg of Heidelberg University must take an entrance examination (German language proficiency test). The result determines whether the applicant will be admitted to the preparatory course or not. Exemptions from the entrance examination for the Studienkolleg courses at Heidelberg University are not possible.
The following application information is intended for prospective students who are applying for the Studienkolleg courses and would like to take up their study course at Heidelberg University after passing the assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung).
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS FROM NON-EU/EEA COUNTRIES
International applicants from non-EU/EEA countries must use the online portal to apply for their desired degree programme. Further information on the application for the desired degree programme can be found on the information sheet "Application Procedure Studienkolleg".
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS FROM EU/EEA COUNTRIES
Applicants from EU/EEA countries submit the written application for admission exclusively for admission to the preparatory course at the Student Affairs and Teaching Department (Dezernat Studium und Lehre). Applications for degree programmes can be made after passing the assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung) at the end of the preparatory course (Studienkolleg).
Applications for the desired specialisation course at the preparatory course can be accepted during the following application periods:
- until 30 September for the following winter semester
- until 31 March for the following summer semester
The application deadlines are legally binding. Application documents received by Heidelberg University after the application deadline cannot be considered in the selection and admission process.
Supplementary examination at the Studienkolleg
International applicants who, after passing the assessment test, would like to take up studies in a degree programme for which the assessment test they have already passed does not entitle them to do so, may under certain circumstances be admitted to a so-called supplementary examination (Ergänzungsprüfung). Applicants must first have the university in question check whether their foreign educational certificate entitles them to take such a supplementary examination.
As a rule, the supplementary examination is taken at the same Studienkolleg where the previous assessment examination was taken. A failed supplementary examination may be repeated once.
The supplementary exam at the Studienkolleg of Heidelberg University is usually taken as an external examination. Applicants first contact the Studienkolleg Heidelberg for a counselling interview in order to obtain detailed information about the examination requirements and to prove that they have subject-specific qualifications and knowledge that justify participation in the supplementary examination. If the examination chair gives approval for participation in the examination, applicants submit a written application for admission to the desired degree programme and participation in the supplementary examination, including all required application documents, to the Dezernat Studium und Lehre, Zulassungsstelle (Admissions Office) by the deadline.
Non-EU/EEA nationals can only apply for participation in the supplementary examination in combination with a degree programme application for subjects with open admission. It is not possible to apply for participation in a supplementary examination in combination with a degree programme application for subjects with restricted admission (with numerus clausus / NC) or subjects with an entrance examination procedure (AP).
EU/EEA nationals who wish to apply for subjects with open admission must also apply to take the supplementary examination in combination with a degree programme application for the degree programme with open admission.
EU/EEA citizens who wish to apply for subjects with restricted admission (with numerus clausus / NC) or subjects with an entrance examination only submit an application for participation in the supplementary examination. The application for a study place in the desired subjects must be made separately.
Applications for participation in the supplementary examination can be accepted during the following application periods:
- For the winter semester: Mid-May - 1 June.
- For the summer semester: Mid-November - 1 December