Campus-Center Forum

Dear Team,

Reaching out to you as I am looking for guidance for medicine admission for my daughter at Hamburg University.

Let me explain our family background

We hold Indian passports. We are residing and and working in Berlin from June 2017 onward. Both of us (My husband and I are taxpayers in Germany from 2017). Our daughter, Neha attends an international bilingual school in Berlin from 8th grade. Now she is studying International Baccalaureate (Abitur equivalency, and meets the conditions of the German KMK) there. She will complete the IB course in May 2022. So, she is studying in Germany from 2017.

She is born on 03 Nov. 2004.

Really appreciate if you can let me know the admission criteria and process to apply for medicine, like:
- When are your application deadlines?
- What are your admission requirements?
- What language skills are required?
- What documents are important?

Thank you and a wonderful New Year!

Regards,
Jisha

Dear Jisha,

- When are your application deadlines?

The application deadline for a winter semester is 1 June to 15 July and the application for St.Ex. Medizin is only possible for a winter semester.

- What are your admission requirements?

There are two different application procedures, depending on whether an applicant is formally considered equal to German applicants with regard to the application process or not. Based on the information in your post, I assume that your daughter is not considered equal to a German applicant in terms of the application process and must apply directly to the University of Hamburg and not use the hochschulstart.de platform.
Please check the relevant criteria on hochschulstart.de again yourself and verify if my assumption is correct: https://hochschulstart.de/informieren-p ... bewerbende.

Applicants who are not considered equal apply directly to Universität Hamburg via our application platform STiNE. The selection process is based on our bonus point system: https://www.uni-hamburg.de/bonus-points.

The IB-Diploma is not considered a German higher education entrance eligibility but applicants with a IB-Diploma qualify in the most cases for direct entrance to our degree programs. Nevertheless, the usual process of recognition of foreign educational qualifications via the platform uni-assist is necessary (see https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/campuscen ... ldung.html). We offer a detailed leaflet regarding the topic "Information on Recognition of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diplom": https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/campuscen ... iploma.pdf.

- What language skills are required?

Like all first degree programs at Univeristät Hamburg the degree program St.Ex. Medizin is taught in German language only.
A prerequisite for the study of a degree program taught in German at Universität Hamburg is a proficiency in German at level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Detailed information about the possible proofs of German language skills with a list of all accepted certificates can be found on our website: https://www.uni-hamburg.de/german-language#2907400.

- What documents are important?

There are no documents necessary for the application itself (with a few exceptions, see https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/campuscen ... lagen.html), but documents have to be uploaded at the time of enrollment in case the application was successful.
At enrollment the following documents have to be submitted:

• preliminary documentation from uni-assist (VPD) (it takes several weeks for uni-assist to issue this document, it is advisable to take care of it as early as possible).
• proof of German language proficiency
• all addition documents for the bonus points claimed in the online application

You can read all this information in much more detail on our website: https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/campuscen ... hluss.html. I would advise you to check our website again, as your daughter plans to apply in more than a year and it is possible that some regulations will have changed.

Best wishes,
Thomas Walter

Dear Thomas,

Thank you so much for the response, really appreciate it! I have gone through the links you kindly provided and prepared some notes/questions based on the information in the links.

1. As the first step, we need to contact uni-assist to verify that Neha's IB certificate meets the requirements for studying medicine at Hamburg University.
2. Once uni-assist verifies the certificate, we need to apply directly to the University using the link.
3. Additionally, Neha needs to have German proficiency at C1. We need to submit the proof of this.

Please confirm whether the above points are correct.

I have some more questions . Please see below:
1. While going through the link : https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/campuscen ... iploma.pdf, I have noticed direct general higher education entrance qualification & Direct subject-specific higher entrance qualification. What is the difference between these two?
The University counsellor at Neha's school has confirmed that the subjects Neha has taken for IB, meet the German KMK requirements for studying medicine in Germany. So, in which of the above categories will Neha come?
2. Does Neha need to attend the Studienkolleg? Will it help her to prepare well and increase her chance of getting the admission?
3. What is the minimum age requirement for application (if there is)?
4. What are your recommendations or guidance for us? So that we can prepare well!

My apologies for asking too many questions! I am new to German education system and trying to do as much research as possible to support my daughter

Regards,
Jisha

Dear Jisha,

I) Please confirm whether the above points are correct.

Yes, you summarized the steps correctly.

II)
1.
a) While going through the link : https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/campuscen ... iploma.pdf, I have noticed direct general higher education entrance qualification & Direct subject-specific higher entrance qualification. What is the difference between these two?

A general higher education entrance qualification allows applying for all first degree programs (i.e. bachelor's and state examination programs) at Universität Hamburg. A subject-specific higher entrance qualification allows applying only for a certain degree program or for a specific set of degree programs.

b) The University counsellor at Neha's school has confirmed that the subjects Neha has taken for IB, meet the German KMK requirements for studying medicine in Germany. So, in which of the above categories will Neha come?

Universität Hamburg itself does not examine foreign educational qualifications (including the IB-Diploma). This is done by uni-assist. We require our applicant to submit the preliminary review documentation (VPD) at the time of enrollment after they have received an admission based on their information in the online application.

Therefore, uni-assist, not the University of Hamburg, will determine the type of qualification based on the documents submitted. Since uni-assist works on the basis of the same regulation for the recognition of educational qualifications that the counselor at your daughter's school most likely uses for his/her assessment, they should come to the same conclusion.

2. Does Neha need to attend the Studienkolleg? Will it help her to prepare well and increase her chance of getting the admission?

a) The verification results through uni-assist can vary. There is a difference between

• 1) direct admission to university for all subjects,
• 2) direct admission to university for specific subjects and
• 3) indirect admission to university by passing the assessment at a Studienkolleg.

If the result is 1 or 2 it isn't necessary to attend a Studienkolleg because the required level of qualification is already proven by the VPD. An attendance of the Studienkolleg is only necessary if the qualification are insufficient for a direct admission.

Correction - January 12, 2021
b) However, even if it is not necessary, bonus points will be awarded for an FSP Assessment Test at a state-accredited Studienkolleg in Germany (see "Degree program preparation" - www.uni-hamburg.de/bonus-points).
b) It is not possible to apply for the Studienkolleg Hamburg if you have a form of direct access to the university (i.e. direct admission to the university for all subjects or direct admission to the university for specific subjects).

3. What is the minimum age requirement for application (if there is)?

There is no minimum age requirement.

4. What are your recommendations or guidance for us? So that we can prepare well!

As you can imagine, the medical program has a high number of applicants each year and there is a limited number of places available. I would advise you to check our Selection criteria for applicants from non-EU countries ("bonus point system") to see what additional qualifications are relevant.
Another helpful piece of information is that the number of bonus points for medicine in the last admissions process (winter semester 2020/21) of the last applicant to gain admission was 51 (see https://www.uni-hamburg.de/campuscenter ... cht-eu.pdf). The number varies a bit each year as different people apply and the best applicants receive admission. The number of the last admission procedure is therefore only a rough indicator.

Best wishes,
Thomas Walter

Dear Thomas,

Thank you so much for the details, really appreciate your effort in replying.

And I am back with further questions!

I went through the bonus point system. Hypothetically, if an applicant gets grade 1.0 in IB (30 bonus points), German language proficieny (assuming getting 15 bonus points), TestAS scores between 118-130 (total 6 bonus points). All these points make 51. But, if the applicant attends a state accredited StudienKolleg and pass the FSP test with 'Very Good' grade, he/she can gain an additional 6 bonus points. So, overall possibility of 57. I totally understand that the situation is extremely competitive.

So, preparing well for both TestAS and Studienkolleg increases the bonus points. We should not focus on only one, right?

By 'state accredited Studienkolleg', do you mean public Studienkollegs in Germany? Or Hamburg university accepts the FSP assessment from some selected Studienkollegs only?

Does the TestAS need to be taken in German? Or English is also accepted?

Regards,
Jisha

Dear Jisha,

1) So, preparing well for both TestAS and Studienkolleg increases the bonus points. We should not focus on only one, right?

I have to partially correct one of my previous statements regarding the Studienkolleg Hamburg, after talking to my colleagues.

It is not possible, as I previously suggested, to apply for the Studienkolleg Hamburg if you have a form of direct access to the university (i.e. direct admission to the university for all subjects or direct admission to the university for specific subjects).
If uni-assist concludes that it is not necessary for your daughter to take the courses at the Studienkolleg to gain access to a university, then it is not possible to apply for Studienkolleg Hamburg voluntarily.
Since I assume that uni-assist's assessment of the IB diploma will result in some form of direct access, the FSP placement test is not an option for bonus points.

This regulation applies to the Studienkolleg Hamburg in particular. I assume that there are similar regulations in the other states ("Bundesländer"), but I cannot say that with absolute certainty, because as you probably know, education in Germany is not a federal matter and each state has its own regulations.

3) By 'state accredited Studienkolleg', do you mean public Studienkollegs in Germany? Or Hamburg university accepts the FSP assessment from some selected Studienkollegs only?

'State accredited Studienkolleg' can be a public or a private Studienkolleg in Germany. A public Studienkolleg will be automatically be "accredited" by the state. In case of a private Studienkolleg you have to inquire yourself if the specific Studienkolleg is state accredited ("staatlich anerkannt").

We at Universität Hamburg accept all FSP Assessment Test from state-accredited Studienkollegs in Germany.

4) Does the TestAS need to be taken in German? Or English is also accepted?

The TestAS is accepted in both languages (English and German) (see https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/campuscen ... stest.html).

Best wishes,
Thomas Walter

Dear Thomas,

Thanks again for your response!

So, if Neha's IB course meets the criteria for direct access to the university, shes should not apply for Studienkolleg. So,to get at least 51 bonus points, she needs to have:

1. IB grade of 1.0
2. German Language proficieny (Very high score)
3. Very high score in TestAS

If she is not able to get 51 bonus points from above 3, what are the other options we need to look into? Trial Studies at Universität Hamburg or Preparatory Pre-Semester at Universität Hamburg?

Appreciate your response! Have a nice weekend.

Regards,
Jisha