Kultusministerkonferenz
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Access to Higher Education and Admission to Higher Education

Access to higher education and admission to higher education regulate the entry of students into the higher education system. While access to higher education describes the basic requirements that must be met in order to study at a university at all, admission to higher education refers to the specific conditions and procedures required for enrollment in a particular degree program.

If you intend to begin studying at a German university, the Hochschulkompass of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) provides good guidance.

Bücher in Bibliothek - Lesesaal

Rate of new entrants to higher education

The common goal of the federal government and the states is to ensure that everyone who is able and willing to study has the opportunity to do so. The federal government and the states have agreed on a target to increase the first-year student ratio to 40% of an age cohort. Supported by a wide range of measures, this goal was achieved: in 2014, more than 50% of an age cohort began studying. According to projections by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK), the number of first-year students will account for around half of an age cohort by 2035, ensuring that this goal can be maintained in the long term.

This development is accompanied by ongoing improvements in the quality and structure of the tertiary sector. The demand-driven expansion and safeguarding of study capacities was implemented through the ‘Higher Education Pact 2020’ and continued with the  'Future Contract for Strengthening Study and Teaching'  as well as the agreement on ‘Innovation in Higher Education Teaching.' In addition, the Länder are committed to better utilization of existing study places through an efficient admissions management system.

Distribution of Study Places

The procedures for allocating study places to applicants depend on the field of study and the location of the university. This process is particularly relevant for degree programs with admission restrictions, where demand exceeds the available number of study places.

Studentin liest Buch vor Bücherregal in der Bibliothek
Student studiert in Bibliothek

Reform of the Allocation of Study Places

The system for allocating study places was fundamentally reformed with the  „State Treaty on Higher Education Admissions", which came into force on December 1, 2019. The reason for this was the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court of December 19, 2017 (1 BvL 3/14). The Court declared the federal and state regulations governing the procedure for allocating study places at public universities, insofar as they concern admission to medical studies, to be partially incompatible with the Basic Law.

The draft of the State Treaty, including its explanatory memorandum, was prepared within the committees of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs.

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