Studienkolleg

There are three main requirements for attending a Studienkolleg in Germany:

1.Your school leaving certificate would not suffice for a direct entry to German universities in your desired field of study, but it would allow you to bridge the gap by attending a preparatory Studienkolleg year and passing the final FSP exam. This has been explained above.

2.German language proficiency of B1-B2 level.  Some of the universities/Studienkollegs in Germany offer German preparatory courses prior to admission to the entrance exam of the Studienkollegs. Such language courses usually incur an extra fee.

3. passing the entrance exam

Sample Entry Test questions

If you have finished your high school studies outside Germany, you might have a university entrance qualification (HZB) which entitles you to obtain direct admission to German universities. However, the school-leaving certificates from some of the countries are not considered equal to the German high school diploma (Hochschulreife/Fachhochschulreife) and thus, international students sometimes need to attend a preparatory course at a department (called Studienkolleg) prior to entering their desired higher education studies in Germany. This is known as the indirect university entrance.

The German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD) in cooperation with uni-assist offers a page that can give you an initial guideline:

1.To access this page please click here.

2.Select the country from which you have received your school-leaving-certificates or your higher education degree

3.select the degree type, grades, etc.

Scenario 1: direct and general university entrance qualification

With your educational background, you qualify for direct general admission. This allows you to apply directly to a German higher education institution for academic studies in any subject area. In this case, you should not attend a Studienkolleg. Please continue to the bachelor program’s guide here.

Scenario 2: direct but subject-oriented university entrance qualification

With your educational background, you qualify for direct subject-restricted admission. This allows you to apply directly to a German higher education institution for academic studies in the subject area of your previous academic studies or a related subject. In this case, you should not attend a Studienkolleg if you want to study at a study program related to your high school field of studies. In this case, please continue to the bachelor program’s guide here.

But if you like to switch your field of studies, then you need to attend Studienkolleg. In this case, please keep on reading.

Scenario 3: indirect but general university entrance qualification

With your educational background, you qualify for general admission to a preparatory course/the assessment examination for all higher education institutions including free choice of the key area. This means you have the freedom to enter any field of study in a university in Germany, but you first need to attend a Studienkolleg (optional) and pass the final test – FSP (mandatory).

Scenario 4: indirect and subject-oriented university entrance qualification

With your educational background, you qualify for subject-restricted admission to a preparatory course/the assessment examination for the key areas corresponding to the previous education (key areas in your secondary school final degree and the pre-university course). This means you can only enter study fields related to your previous studies and for that, you first need to attend a Studienkolleg (optional) and pass the final test – FSP (mandatory).

Your educational background entitles you to one of the following three categories:

1. Direct entrance qualification to German Higher Education Institutes, also known as Direkte HZB. In this case, you are directly accepted to a university without the need to attend Studienkolleg.

2. Indirect entrance qualification, which requires attending the Studienkolleg prior to entering the Universities in Germany, also known as Indirekte HZB. Admission to Studienkollegs implies an indirect admission to the university.

3. No entrance qualification, known as Keine HZB. In this case, you can neither enter a university in Germany nor attend a Studienkolleg. This is the case when your previous academic degree is significantly different from the school leaving certificate in Germany (Abitur).

There are 5 general study directions in Germany:

T-Kurse: Technical studies (Technik)

M-Kurse: Medical studies (Medicine)

W-Kurs: Managerial/economic studies (Wirtschaft)

G-Kurs: Humanities sciences (Geisteswissenschaften)

S-Kurs: Linguistics or (Sprachwissenschaften)

Your non-German academic degree either allows you to select any field of study in any of the above study directions, in which case you have a general university entrance qualification or it only allows you to select one or a few of the above-mentioned study directions, in which case you have a subject-restricted university entrance qualification.

Public Studienkollegs are usually free of charge. However, a small contribution fee is to be paid at the beginning of each semester. This fee is usually the same as the semester fee, paid by regular students who are enrolled at the university. While most of the Studienkollegs in Germany are publicly funded, there are also a growing number of private Studienkollegs in Germany. Private Studienkollegs cost between 3.000€ to 10.000€ for the whole study program with various features.

The evaluation of your application usually takes between 1 to 3 months. Please note that most Studienkollegs follow the application deadlines set by the cooperating universities. Thus, you must first check if you need to send your application documents to the selected Studienkolleg, to the uni-assist, or directly to a cooperating university. In each of these cases, the application deadline may vary.

Provided that you need a visa for studying in Germany, you might need to obtain a study applicant visa at your country of residence prior to moving to Germany. In some countries, the waiting time for receiving an appointment at the German embassy can be very long. In such cases, it is very important that you consider the required amount of time from the moment you request an appointment until the date of handing in your documents at the German embassy and until the date of receiving your visa.

1. by finishing a Studieenkolleg and passing the FSP test you are allowed to start your higher education at a university in Germany within the same study field of your FSP. For example, if you have completed a T-course, you can start a degree in engineering or if you study the M-course, you can enter medical and experimental fields. If you need to switch to another field of study after receiving an FSP, then you need to attend a supplementary exam called “Ergänzungsprüfung“

2. Under some conditions, candidates are also allowed to take the FSP exam without attending the Studienkolleg. This is known as Extern-FSP and many private Studienkollegs prepare you for such an FSP.

3. There are usually a few public Studienkollegs in each state in Germany. These Studienkollegs are usually at the campus of a public university.

4. There are a few Studienkollegs within public universities that require a tuition fee (Such as TUDIAS, Freshman, and Studienkolleg Paderborn). In this case, you usually need to pay a higher tuition fee as compared to the public Studienkollegs.

5. aim for a B2 German certificate to be able to get an invitation letter to almost any Studienkolleg that you opt for. Furthermore, knowledge of the German language at the level of B2 is usually required for succeeding at the entry exam of almost any Studienkolleg and also for your successful start of studies.