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Guidance on Submitting an Online Application for a Higher Academic Semester

We’re delighted that you’re interested in studying at Heidelberg University. The following will provide some background information as you complete your online application for a higher academic semester.

In order to apply to Heidelberg University, you must follow the formal procedure of submitting an online application. 

Carefully respond to each question in the application form while bearing the following guidance in mind. If you’re unsure of anything, take a look at the advice offered in the Service Portal. Make sure to resolve any issues or uncertainties well in advance of the application deadline.

Address field

Provide an address where we’ll be able to reach you during the period in which course places are allocated. If your address should change, even if temporarily, ensure that any messages from the University can reach you as quickly as possible. In the interests of progressing the application procedure we tend to set short deadlines. It is absolutely crucial that you provide an email address. This is because any invitations to selection tests or interviews will be sent via email. Such invitations will be sent approximately five days before the date of the test or interview. On our homepage you will find information about the interview and test dates.

Applications

Please note that where multiple applications are received, the final three applications to have arrived with the University will be considered as part of the selection procedure. Exceptions to this are made only for subjects for which admission is managed via the centralised “hochschulstart” system.

Applying as a Transfer Student or after an Interruption to your Studies

You may apply for continuation of your studies in the same subject and in the semester subsequent to that in which you are currently enrolled. 

Please also note that degree programmes for subjects including medicine, pharmacy, psychology and dentistry are structured according to academic years and so follow the so-called “Studienjahrregelung”. Applicants looking to take up a programme in an odd numbered semester (e.g. third, fifth etc.) can apply to begin their studies in the winter semester only. Applicants looking to take up a programme in an even numbered semester (e.g. second, fourth etc.) can apply to begin their studies in the summer semester only.

If you are applying for medicine, please note that Heidelberg University has two locations for study - Heidelberg and Mannheim. Applicants admitted to study medicine (Mannheim faculty) will complete their entire course of study in Mannheim. If you are applying for your first clinical semester in the winter semester, please supply a copy of your results from the first state examination or preliminary examination by 25th September (winter semester 2023/24: until September 30th.  
It is not possible for applicants to begin their first clinical semester in the summer semester.
You will also be considered a transfer student if, for example, you have studied at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary and wish to transfer to Heidelberg University. In such cases, please submit an application as a transfer student.

Students of psychology (studying at Bachelor’s level) who are looking to transfer to Heidelberg University and who have attended their current university in the capacity of an auditor only, must enclose a certificate of equivalence issued by the Institute of Psychology at Heidelberg University as part of their application. This should be three pages in length and must be submitted via the heiCO application portal by 15th February and 15th August respectively. Your application will be considered in the admissions process on the basis of the number of credits listed on the certificate of equivalence.
If you are applying for the fifth, or a higher academic semester in pharmacy you must provide evidence of completion of the first state examination.

You will find further information on submitting an application for special consideration for a change of institution on the relevant information sheet. If you live within the University’s catchment area, are looking to transfer to Heidelberg University, and would like to submit an application for special consideration for a change of institution, you will find further information in our information sheet. The required proof of residence can be downloaded.

The immediate catchment area of Heidelberg University for medicine studied in Heidelberg, for pharmacy, and for dentistry includes the town districts of Heidelberg and Mannheim, as well as the Rhine-Neckar region. The wider catchment area for these subjects extends to the town districts of Heilbronn and Karlsruhe, as well as the administrative districts of Bergstraße, Heilbronn, Hohenlohe, Karlsruhe, Main-Tauber-Kreis, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Rastatt and Schwäbisch-Hall.

The immediate catchment area of Heidelberg University for medicine studied in Mannheim includes the town districts of Heidelberg and Mannheim, as well as the Rhine-Neckar region. The wider catchment area for medicine studied in Mannheim extends to the following towns and administrative districts: Bergstraße, Frankenthal, Karlsruhe (town and administrative district), Rastatt and the Rhine-Palatinate region.

Transfer student

If you are applying as a transfer student at Heidelberg University, you can submit the certificate of transferable credits (Anrechnungsbescheid) issued by the responsible examinations office up to one month after the application deadline (15.08. for the winter semester; 15.02. for the summer semester) via the application portal heiCO as a document upload. Unfortunately, certificates of transferable credits arriving after this date cannot be considered. 
Anyone applying to the degree programme in medicine with a partial admission, e.g. admission to the pre-clinical part of the programme only, is regarded as a transfer student.
If you have studied at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary and wish to transfer to Heidelberg University, please submit an application as a transfer student.

Data protection

Information on data processing and data protection can be found on this information sheet:

University Entrance Qualification (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung - HZB)

Please ensure that your uploaded university entrance qualification (HZB) clearly indicates the nature of your qualification (e.g. general higher education entrance qualification), the date of conferment, the average grade achieved, as well as your name and date of birth. Incomplete documents (e.g. only one page of the certificate) or school certificates cannot be accepted. You will require an additional copy of your university entrance qualification at the point of enrolment. Application documents cannot be accessed following submission.

Should certification of your university entrance qualification be unavailable before the end of the application period, German applicants may submit a provisional certificate in support of their application. The provisional certificate must be based on examinations which have already been taken in order to attain the university entrance qualification, and must include a provisional grade. It must be produced by a body authorised to assign grades or distribute certificates (generally the Regional Council State Examination Office - “Regierungspräsidium Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle”). If admission to the University is offered on the basis of a provisional certificate, this will be conditional on provision of the final university entrance qualification at the point of enrolment at the latest. If the final university entrance qualification cannot be supplied by this time, the offer of admission will be revoked.