BACHELOR AND STATE EXAMINATION Starting the first academic semester of your degree programme

The exact nature of the application and admission process for your first academic degree programme will depend, among other things, on your chosen subject and your university entrance qualification. 

All applicants, regardless of nationality and intended degree programme, must apply online via the heiCO portal of Heidelberg University. There is an exception for Germans, EU/EEA citizens and nationals in education for the nationally restricted degree programmes (at Heidelberg University currently Human Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy). For subjects with DOSV procedures, registration at hochschulstart.de is required in advance.

Before beginning the application process, please use our Study Programme Finder to find out what the application and admission process will entail for your chosen subject. The Study Programme Finder also enables you to tailor the information provided about the admissions process to your personal applicant profile and chosen subject.  


Study Programme Finder

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

A Bachelor’s degree is the first academic degree which students might gain. It is also considered a professional qualification. Having completed a Bachelor’s degree, students might go on to complete further, higher level programmes of study. Bachelor’s degree programmes equip students with fundamental understanding and methodological knowledge in their chosen subject of study. 

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Subjects with University-Internal Selection Procedures

The University conducts an internal selection procedure for subjects with a limited number of university places.

Subjects with an Entrance Examination Procedure

Places for study of subjects which are considered particularly challenging, or for which specific skills or aptitudes are considered necessary, are allocated by the University exclusively on the basis of an entrance examination procedure.

Subjects with Dialogue-Oriented Service Procedures

Allocation of university places in a number of admission-restricted subjects is coordinated throughout Germany in the dialogue-oriented service procedure (DoSV).

Subjects Without Admission Restrictions or an Entrance Examination

Some subjects do not have admission restrictions, nor require that students complete an entrance examination.

Becoming a Teacher (Bachelor’s Degree Level)

If you are looking to become a teacher in a German high school (Gymnasium) or vocational school, you will study two subjects at Bachelor’s level as part of a polyvalent two-subject Bachelor's degree programme with a teaching degree option. Both of these subjects must be relevant to teaching, and will have a 50% weighting.

STATE EXAMINATION

In subjects with nationwide admission restrictions - in Heidelberg these are medicine, pharmacy and dentistry - 30% of places are allocated to applicants with the best grades in their school leaving certificates (i.e. university entrance qualification, such as ‘A’ levels, high school diploma, German ‘Abitur’, etc.) by the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (Foundation for University Admission).  

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Subjects with Nationwide Admission Restrictions

In subjects with nationwide admission restrictions - in Heidelberg these are medicine, pharmacy and dentistry - 30% of places are allocated to applicants with the best grades in their school leaving certificates (i.e. university entrance qualification, such as ‘A’ levels, high school diploma, German ‘Abitur’, etc.) by the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (Foundation for University Admission). 

Subjects with dialogue-oriented service procedures (DoSV)

Allocation of university places in a number of admission-restricted subjects is coordinated throughout Germany in the dialogue-oriented service procedure (DoSV).