Degree Programme

The Academic Evaluation Center (Akademische Prüfstelle; APS) generally checks the documents of applicants who want to apply to study in Germany with a Chinese, Indian or Vietnamese school or university qualification. What is decisive for the examination is that the educational certificate was acquired in the respective APS country, not the applicant's citizenship.

Certificates or proof of achievements from non-APS countries are generally not checked by the APS.

After successful examination, applicants receive a certificate confirming that they qualify to study at a German university.

An APS certificate is not required for

• Applicants who receive a scholarship financed by European or public funds from Germany (e.g. Erasmus, DAAD), provided that the scholarship providers do not insist on a review by the APS.
• Applicants with degrees from international schools or international universities in the APS country.
• Applicants for master's programs who have not acquired their master's entrance qualification (usually a bachelor's degree) in China, India or Vietnam. However, this only applies upon completion of the course of study that qualifies for a master's degree, i.e. the final documents must be available. Otherwise, an APS certificate must be submitted.
• Applicants with proof of achievements from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan do not need an APS certificate.
• Applicants with an Indian educational qualification who already live in Germany and are no longer going through the visa process do currently not need an APS certificate (yet).
• Applicants with Indian school certificates, if there is proof that they have already passed an assessment test/preparatory course.
• Applicants who are studying distance learning at a German university from India.

In the current KMK resolution of March 17, 2006 version from December 10, 2015 states: “[...]The universities will ask applicants from countries with an academic review center for inquiries and direct applications (...) to submit their application documents to the academic review center before they are sent to a German university (…) to submit.”

The APS certificate is part of proof of university entrance qualifications and is therefore a formal entry requirement for studying at German universities. The APS certificate must be available at the time of application to a German university.

When applying for a student visa in the respective APS country, the APS certificate must also be presented. By rule, no visa will be issued without the certificate!

If you have acquired a Chinese educational certificate, you must have it checked at the Academic Testing Center (APS) at the German Embassy. After successful testing, an APS certificate will be issued.

In addition to the document check, APS China also carries out a plausibility interview with the applicants. For Chinese students who, according to the assessment recommendations of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK), have a direct university entrance qualification but are not yet in the final year of their studies in China, the interview is replaced by taking a TestAS.

Applicants from China and Vietnam who have a valid residence status in Germany as part of family reunification require an APS certificate, but in principle do not have to return to their home country for the APS procedure, but can go through the "document verification procedure", which only includes checking the written evidence. This also applies if applicants with Chinese or Vietnamese certificates have German or EU citizenship.

APS China

If you have acquired an Indian educational certificate, you must have it checked at the Academic Testing Center (APS) at the German Embassy. After successful testing, an APS certificate will be issued.

Exception for applicants with Indian educational qualifications:

For the winter semester 23/24, the universities were allowed to “conditionally” admit applicants with Indian educational qualifications even without an APS certificate and to only have the APS certificate presented in the admission letter at the time of matriculation.

This exception rule has been extended for the summer semester of 2024.

In principle, students who are enrolled in a bachelor's degree programme at an Indian university but have not yet completed their degree programme can also be invited to an interview. APS India reserves the right to invite any applicant for an interview if necessary.

Students who are applying for a master's programme and have already completed a bachelor's degree in India are exempt from the TestAS requirement (document verification procedure).

APS India

If you have acquired a Vietnamese educational certificate, you must have it checked at the Academic Testing Center (APS) at the German Embassy. After successful testing, an APS certificate will be issued.

Applicants with Vietnamese university degrees who would like to pursue further studies (second bachelor's degree, master's degree, postgraduate degree, etc.) must take part in an interview.

Applicants from China and Vietnam who have a valid residence status in Germany as part of family reunification require an APS certificate, but in principle do not have to return to their home country for the APS procedure, but can go through the "document verification procedure", which only includes checking the written evidence. This also applies if applicants with Chinese or Vietnamese certificates have German or EU citizenship.

APS Vietnam