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) at the Studienkolleg in accordance with the evaluation framework of the Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen, ZAB) before taking up an undergraduate course of study.
At the Studienkolleg, students are prepared for the assessment test. The Studienkolleg at Heidelberg University offers two-semester, subject-specific courses to prepare students for the assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung ) for university studies.
In the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, which is where Heidelberg is located, an application for the preparatory course for the assessment test is not made at the Studienkolleg itself, but at the university in Baden-Württemberg at which the subsequent specialized studies are to be carried out.
Applicants who have been admitted to the Studienkolleg Heidelberg must take an entrance examination (German test). The result decides on admission to the Studienkolleg. It is not possible to be exempted from the entrance examination for the Studienkolleg at Heidelberg University.
The information on the application procedure presented below is intended for prospective students who wish to apply for admission to the Studienkolleg and to pursue their subsequent specialized studies at Heidelberg University after passing the assessment test.
Application for the courses at the Studienkolleg
An overview of the undergraduate subjects offered at Heidelberg University leading to a Bachelor's degree or state examination can be found on the website "All subjects". Applicants for the Studienkolleg apply for admission to the Studienkolleg course that is assigned to the desired field of study. Please refer to the corresponding overview for the assignment of the Studienkolleg courses to the respective fields of study. Further information can be found in the information sheet "Application to the Studienkolleg".
The application for the desired Studienkolleg course is made via the online portal heiCO within the following application periods:
- June 1st to August 31th for the following winter semester.
- December 1st to February 28/29th for the following summer semester.
The application requires registration on the online platform and the upload of all necessary documents. 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 a course of study in a degree programme for which the assessment test they have already passed does not entitle them to do so, may 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 at which the previous assessment examination was taken. A failed supplementary examination may be repeated once.
The supplementary examination 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 at the Studienkolleg 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.
The application for a study place in the desired subjects must be made separately online after successful completion of the supplementary examination.
Applications for participation in the supplementary examination can be accepted during the following application periods:
- For the winter semester: Mid-May - June 1st.
- For the summer semester: Mid-November - December 1st