Bachelor's programs / Staatsexamen: international prospective students

Make sure you inform yourself about the subject (e.g. German literature, mathematics, education, etc.) and degree (e.g. bachelor's, Staatsexamen) you want to apply for before submitting your application. You can find more information about subjects and degrees in the guide to academic programs.

Universität Hamburg and the Studienkolleg Hamburg offer a pre-semester preparatory program every summer semester for international first-year students to help them prepare for their program.

The Center for Academic Advising offers academic advising on individual programs.

See application dates for application periods and deadlines.

Generally, you need to have your foreign education certificates recognized in order to apply to Universität Hamburg. You can apply to have your certificates recognized for free in the Universität Hamburg application portal. 

Students with a nationality other than German have two different procedures for applying for a university place at Universität Hamburg. Which process you need to use depends on the applicant group to which you belong.

Applicant group for international students with German equivalent status.
This group includes all applicants who:
1. are citizens of another Member State of the European Union or another state that is party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA);
2. have a family member who is a citizen of a Member State of the European Union or another state that is party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA);
3. are Stateless persons as defined by the Gesetz über die Rechtstellung heimatloser Ausländer im Bundesgebiet (law on the legal status of foreign citizens in the federal territory);
4. have a German higher education entrance eligibility, who are thus foreign nationals with German higher education entrance qualification. You also have a German higher education entrance eligibility if you have taken the German Abitur at a German school abroad.

The selection procedure for this group is governed by the grades obtained in the secondary school leaving certificate, the NC value. More information on NC values is available here.

When applying for medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy please note that other conditions apply to determining German equivalent status. More detailed information is available at https://www.hochschulstart.de/informieren-planen/internationale-bewerbende.

* Family members are defined herein as spouses or civil partners, direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependents, or relatives in ascending line who provide support.

Applicant group for international applicants.
This group includes all applicants to whom the above does not apply.

The selection procedure for this group is governed by a bonus point system; for more information see below under “Tips for applications from non-EU countries”.

If you are admitted to study at Universität Hamburg, you must prove sufficient knowledge of the German language within the enrollment deadline. It is not possible to submit the proof of German language proficiency later after the end of the enrollment deadline.

Proof of German language proficiency is an admission requirement. Please make sure that you prepare in good time for requisite German language exams.

For more information about this topic, see: German language proficiency.

Applicants do not need to submit proof of German language proficiency if they:

• have already acquired a first academic degree at a German university.
• have acquired their higher education entry qualification in Germany.
• have already studied for a minimum of one year in the same or comparable program at another German university.

At the start of the application period, please set up an applicant account at the Application Portal of Universität Hamburg. Read the information about applying online, put in your data and send your application electronically. 

Pleas find detailed information about the documents to be submitted here.

In the admission procedure for applicants from non-EU countries, the grade on your higher education entrance eligibility (HZB-Note) is converted in line with the German grading system and assigned a point value. For an HZB grade of 1.0, you receive 30 points. The lower the grade, the fewer points you receive.

In addition, you can earn bonus points for especially good language skills or especially intensive preparation in a given subject for the purpose of study at Universität Hamburg. This will improve your chances of admission to popular degree programs. See the PDF on the bonus point system for more detailed information.

You can find out about the progress of your application on fixed dates by checking your online applicant account under "Dokumente" (documents).

For further details, please read our information about admission and enrollment.