Applying for your Degree Programme at a University in Lower Saxony
The application process varies significantly depending on the university and the study programme you wish to study. Therefore, it may be helpful to choose a study progamme with our Study Programme Search before you continue to read the following information. Then you can return to this page to find the information concerning your specific application process. But of course you will also find information on the application process in general.
In any case: Good luck with your application!
In a Nutshell: How to Apply
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When does my Study Programme start?
In most study programmes at Lower Saxony's universities, courses start each winter semester (= fall term). Additionally, many programmes - especially Master programmes - will start each summer semester as well. A few study programmes can only be taken up in the summer semester. Make sure that your desired study programme is offered in the semester for which you intend to apply.
More detailed information about the academic calendar and the organisation of your studies in Lower Saxony can be found here.
Admission Restrictions
It is important to find out whether your study programme is admission-restricted or not. If there is a "Numerus Clausus" (NC), it means that only a limited number of study places is available. Therefore, not all qualified applicants will receive a place in the study programme. As a rule, five percent of all admission restricted study places will be given to applicants from non-EU countries.
Applicants are often selected on the basis of the grade point average (GPA) of their higher education entrance qualification (HZB). Because of this, "NC" is colloquially used to refer to the lowest GPA that was still sufficient to gain admission to that study programme in the last round of applications. In other words, the NC is determined at the end of a selection process by the average grade of the last admitted applicant.
N.B.! For admission-restricted study programmes, the application deadline ends much earlier than for programmes without admission restrictions. Check the homepage of your university of choice whether your study programme is restricted or not, when the deadline for sending in your application documents ends, and whether there are any further prerequisites (e. g. subject-specific entrance examinations, pre-study internships etc.).
Application Procedures
Next, you should find out whether your university of choice cooperates with uni-assist or not. The answer determines exactly how you will have to send in your application.
If your university of choice cooperates with uni-assist, you have to register at www.uni-assist.de to upload your application documents. Once you have paid the processing fee, your certificates and other documents will be evaluated, and your grades will be converted into the German grading system.
This will take some time. Therefore, you should send your documents to uni-assist at least eight weeks before the application deadline. If you handed in your application documents in full and on time, uni-assist will forward your application to the university, or they will send you a preliminary review documentation ("Vorprüfungsdokumentation" or "VPD"), which you can then use to apply to the university directly.
For the first evaluation of your documents per application semester, there is a 75 Euro processing fee. If you want to apply to more than one university or for several study programmes, each additional application in the same application semester costs another 30 Euro.
If your university of choice does not cooperate with uni-assist, you have to send your application documents directly to the university. Most universities will provide online application portals on their website. Most of these portals will be available only during the application period.
Use the web portal to fill in the application forms and to upload your application documents (e. g. certificates). In addition, you may be asked to mail certified copies of your documents to the university. Make sure to mail your documents sufficiently in advance of the deadline, since only complete applications that were submitted on time can be considered by the universities.
Sometimes you will also have to pay a processing fee before the evaluation of your documents can begin.
Admission/Rejection
Most universities will send you a confirmation of receipt via email if your application documents have reached the university in time. Also check your spam folder just in case.
After receiving your application, the university will evaluate your documents and start the selection procedure. If your application was successful, you will receive a letter of admission a few weeks later by mail. You may need this letter for various formalities, e. g. applying for a visa. Along with your letter of admission, you will receive additional information about the university and the enrolment procedure, i. e. the acceptance of your place at university. If your application was not successful, you will receive a rejection letter.
Important Periods and Deadlines
Please be aware that there are no universal application periods! Instead, they may vary from university to university, or even from study programme to study programme. Therefore, the following deadlines provide only a rough orientation for your first information. Please make sure to check ahead of time which specific application deadlines apply to your desired study programme!
If you would like to begin your studies in the winter semester:
- the application period often ends on 15 July. N.B.: The deadline can also be much earlier! Make sure to check the university's website for details ahead of time.
- letters of admission will be sent out approximately in August/September.
- letters of rejection will be sent out approximately in September/October.
If you would like to begin your studies in the summer semester:
- the application period often ends on 15 January. N.B.: The deadline can also be much earlier! Make sure to check the university's website for details ahead of time.
- letters of admission will be sent out approximately in February/March.
- letters of rejection will be sent out approximately in March/April.