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Admission requirements

To be admitted to study at Osnabrück University, applicants must have a secondary school diploma equivalent to the German Abitur (Educational requirements). For direct admission, very good German language proficiency is also required. Applicants must have a high level of German language skills at the time of applying. Certain study programs may also require knowledge of other languages.

Applicants from Vietnam, China and Mongolia must comply with special regulations.

Educational requirements

Secondary school diploma

Basically, all students, both international and German, must prove they are qualified to attend university. International students applying within Germany must have a secondary school diploma that qualifies them to study at a university in their home country. If you are only qualified to study certain subjects in your home country, then you will only be permitted to study those subjects in Germany, too. In this case, your certificate is called a subject-restricted diploma (fachgebundene Hochschulreife). As a rule, if you have completed a university degree in your own country, you will be permitted to study any subject at Osnabrück University.

Some international secondary school diplomas are also recognized in Germany and are therefore considered equal to a German Abitur. Students from some countries require a combination of a secondary school diploma and transcripts proving they have completed one or two years of college-level education to enable them to be admitted to a German university. To find out whether your diploma is recognized in Germany, check the anabin website (in German).

Average grade

A limited number of places are available on some study programs. In this case, your average grade is a crucial factor for admission.

What if your secondary school diploma is not equivalent to a German Abitur?

Secondary school diplomas from many countries are not recognized in Germany. You can find out whether your diploma will be accepted by checking the INOBIS or anabin website (in German). Applicants from these countries can, under certain conditions, take an assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung). Once passed, this test will allow the student to study certain subjects only. Normally, applicants can take the assessment test after following a one-year preparatory course (Studienkolleg) in Germany. If you apply for a preparatory course (Studienkolleg) in Osnabrück, you will need an average point of at least 3.0, calculated according to the German grading system. Please note that no preparatory courses are held in Osnabrück. Applicants will be sent to preparatory courses in Hanover or Halle/Saxony-Anhalt.

Language requirements – German-language skills

To study at Osnabrück University, you will require very good German language skills. Language skills are proven in a DSH examination (Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang) or TestDaF (Deutsch als Fremdsprache). As a rule, the DSH examination can be taken in Germany and TestDaF can be sat in your home country. We advise you to take the TestDaF in your home country. There are various TestDaF centers all over the world.

The DSH examination is divided into three different levels: DSH 1, DSH 2 and DSH 3. To find out which DSH or TestDaF level you require to study your chosen program at Osnabrück University, please refer to the lists of undergraduate and graduate programs.

We regret that Osnabrück University does not offer any preparatory German language courses for prospective students.  This means that, to be admitted to Osnabrück University, applicants must enclose proof of the necessary language skills with their application.

If you have not taken the DSH examination or you do not have any other equivalent test results, you may still apply if you take the Goethe Certificate B2. We will also accept written confirmation that you have completed over 1200 hours of advanced-level German instruction. Your proof of language skills may not be older than around one year. If your application is successful, you will be admitted to the University – but only if you pass the DSH examination. In this case, we will tell you when the DSH examination must be sat. The examination is held just before the semester starts.

The following documents will exempt you from having to take the DSH examination or TestDaF:

• secondary school diploma (Abitur) from a German school
• passing an assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung) from a preparatory course taken in Germany (Studienkolleg)
• German language diploma: Kultusministerkonferenz Stufe II (with C1 in all parts of the diploma)
• Kleines deutsches Sprachdiplom (KDS), Großes deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS), the Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP) or the Goethe-Certificate C2 from the Goethe Institute
• A DSH examination from another German institution of higher education

In certain cases, you do not have to take the DSH or TestDaF examination if:

you have been accepted to a short-term program (Kurzzeitstudium)

you are a doctoral candidate in a School that allows you to complete your PhD in a foreign language.