Organizing your studies

Generally speaking, your child or children's illnesses and periods where childcare is unavailable are equivalent to periods of your own illness and are accepted as reasons for non-attendance or delays in completing courses or examinations. You must be able to document these periods with a medical certificate from your pediatrician or letter from your school or childcare center.

Moreover, the Recommendations for Balancing Studies and Family Life published by Universität Hamburg (PDF), which is not legally binding, calls upon all parties to deal flexibly with attendance requirements for students who can provide adequate reasons for missing classes. Students should be able to make up, complete and prove elements of the courses they have missed in an alternative manner.

If you notice that you are experiencing problems with attendance requirements, you should speak to your lecturer about the problem as soon as possible. Should you encounter problems, please contact your academic office in order to solve the problem.

In several departments, students with family are given preference when registering for certain courses, for example, so that they might attend courses that take place during the times for which they have childcare.

Please consult the academic office in your department to find out if you can participate in such a scheme.

The University of Hamburg promotes equality between women and men and is a family-friendly university. This means that combining study or work with family life is an integral aspect of the culture at our University, which recognizes the special needs of men and women who care for either children or relatives.

The University has developed standards aimed at improving the compatibility of study and bringing up children. These recommendations relate to admission, enrollment, semester re-enrollment, academic leave, part-time study, examinations, as well as organizing your studies and course schedules, and offer supporting measures that students can draw upon, if necessary.

• Recommendations for Balancing Studies and Family Life (PDF)

In addition to taking several semesters of leave or continuing your studies part-time, students who are pregnant or have to care for a child may also withdraw from their program for up to six semesters.

Students may withdraw from their studies at any time, at the end of a semester, or at a desired date in the future. Students cannot withdraw retroactively. Re-enrollment at a later date does not require readmission.

Please note: Withdrawing from studies generally has major financial consequences. What does it entail?

• Loss of student status, which may have consequences on your ability to carry out a student job.
• Loss of student status with regard to social security payments in your job.
• Not eligible for the semester ticket.
• Ex-student no longer eligible for child benefit (Kindergeld).
• Parents of former student no longer eligible for tax exemptions.
• Not eligible for BAFöG.
• Changes to hours of childcare and childcare subsidy.

There may also be implications for the way you organize your studies. When you re-enroll, you are subject to the current regulations governing degree programs. These may diverge substantially from those at the time you commenced your studies and may mean that the structure of the degree and/or the examination requirements have changed.

Therefore, please inform yourself about the implications of withdrawing from studies before you do so. The academic offices and the Campus Center's Student Affairs Team can help you here.

Hardship application:

Applicants for bachelor's degree programs may apply for admission within the hardship quota (7.5% of places) if they are provide care to elderly or sick relatives and are thus required to live Hamburg.

Your hardship application must document the "particular hardship" of your situation. The following documents are required:

• Written explanation of particular hardship (e.g., when you took on care of relative or siblings, the extent of support or care you provide, and the amount of time you spend providing care)
• Medical certificate documenting the type of illness or disability afflicting your relative or sibling as well as the level of care required on a daily basis

When you submit your application for admission to a bachelor's program, you also submit a hardship application on the basis of looking after or caring for a child pursuant to § 25 (5) of BAföG.

Submit these documents together with the printout of your hardship application, which you submitted electronically. If you are offered admission, you must submit these documents either as originals or as certified copies at enrollment!

• Information on hardship applications coming soon.

Preferential admission:

Periods of providing care are taken into account when calculating the waiting period for admission to a degree program. This is because applicants should not be disadvantaged if they have taken on voluntary or military service, or cared or looked after a child under the age of eighteen, or cared for a relative for a period of up to three years. Thus it is possible to apply for preferential admission in order to compensate for any potential disadvantages.

• Information on applying for preferential admission coming soon.

Should you be offered admission but not be able to enroll because you are caring for an elderly or sick relative, you can enroll at a later semester without having to reapply. This way you are guaranteed a place at university.

• Get the right advice! The Campus Center can answer all your questions regarding hardship applications, preferential admission, and guaranteed university places.

Students who withdraw from their studies to raise a child can re-enroll without applying for readmission within six semesters from the point of withdrawal. Re-enrollment must occur at the latest two semesters after the reason for withdrawal no longer exists.

Problems that occur due to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare may be taken into account as reasons for late re-enrollment at the beginning of a semester (Rückmeldung). The fees charged for late re-enrollment are detailed in the current fee table.

Students with family can apply to study part-time. Generally speaking, deadlines specified in the examinations regulations are extended in a part-time degree so that one subject semester is equivalent to two semesters. For this reason, applications to convert to part-time study must be for at least two sequential semesters.

• The University Examinations Regulations specify the details, and please also consult the University of Hamburg's information on studying part-time (german only, PDF).

Applications for part-time study must be submitted together with either your application for admission or your semester re-enrollment. You may submit a repeat application. Should your circumstances change such that there are no longer grounds for part-time study, for example, due to a separation you no longer look after a child, you must inform the University immediately.

The application for part-time study can be submitted over STiNE or in writing in the Campus Center, together with semester re-enrollment. Documentation supporting your application to study part-time, e.g., child's birth certificate, must be submitted.

IMPORTANT: Part-time students are not eligible for BAföG!

IMPORTANT: Part-time students must pay the full semester contribution.

• The Campus Center can provide advice on studying part-time.
• Please seek advice e.g. from BeSI–Beratungszentrum Soziales & Internationales des Studierendenwerks Hamburg (german only)

Periods of maternity leave and parental leave for up to six semesters are accepted as reasons for taking leave from your studies. Further semesters of leave are possible for students who can prove sufficient grounds for leave, for example, chronic illness of a child. Semesters of leave do not count towards your subject semesters (Fachsemester), which determine whether or not you have completed your degree in the regular period of time, or other deadlines.

You must continue to pay your semester contribution while on leave from your studies.

IMPORTANT: Taking leave from your studies entails a change to your status and you must inform all the relevant authorities of this change immediately (e.g., BAföG Office, Immigration Authorities, Child Benefit Agency). A change to your status may lead to you losing your entitlement to certain benefits or services: Changes in student status

Applications for leave from studies must be submitted by 1 April for the summer semester 2021. Starting from winter semester 2021/22, applications for leave from studies must be submitted by 30 June for winter semesters and by 31 January for summer semesters. Students may apply for leave retroactively regardless of these deadlines.

You will find the electronic application form in your STiNE accound unter the section "Studium/Anträge." Please fill out the form electronically and submit a printout together with the requisite documentation supporting your application for leave from your studies, for example, a copy of your child's birth certificate, to the Service for Students (Team Student Affairs).

While on leave from studies, you are not permitted to take examinations or accrue credit points pursuant to § 6 (5) of the University of Hamburg Enrollment Regulations. The exceptions to this rule are: re-taking examinations failed in the last semester, completing graded work and examinations commenced in the previous semester, the completion of examinations for which the student registered before leave status took effect, taking examinations relating to periods of study abroad or at German universities, and final examinations.

• Further information on applying for leave from studies and the application process is available from the Service for Students (Team Student Affairs).
• Please seek advice e.g. from BeSI–Beratungszentrum Soziales & Internationales des Studierendenwerks Hamburg (german only)