Preliminary review documentation from uni-assist

uni-assist checks the documents of international applicants who did not acquire their higher education entrance qualification in Germany for an application to the first semester. Applicants include those seeking admission to a university degree programme and those who first need to take a preparatory German language course. Once your application documents have been reviewed, uni-assist will issue preliminary review documentation that you must submit when applying to Saarland University to study a particular degree programme or when applying for a place on a preparatory German language course. Admission decisions are taken by Saarland University itself (not by uni-assist).

The process in detail

  1. The first step is to submit a request for preliminary review documentation from uni-assist. The online application involves telling uni-assist what you want to study and uploading all of the required documents. If you want to apply for a place on the preparatory German language course at Saarland University, you should not specify the German language course, but rather the degree programme that you intend to study after successfully completing the German course.
  2. uni-assist will review your academic credentials and determine whether you meet the requirements for direct access to an undergraduate degree programme at a German university. Note: In some cases direct access may be restricted to certain subjects or academic disciplines. If uni-assist concludes that you meet the requirements for direct admission to your chosen programme of study, it will issue a certificate to this effect, known as preliminary review documentation. This completes the first stage of the admission application process.
  3. Once you have received your preliminary review documentation from uni-assist, you must then apply to Saarland University for a place on a degree programme or a preparatory German language course via the university's SIM portal.

After reviewing your academic credentials, uni-assist may conclude that you do not meet the criteria for direct access to an undergraduate degree programme and it may recommend that you attend a higher education preparatory programme, such as those offered by the higher education preparatory institutes (Studienkollegs) associated with certain German universities (indirect access to higher education). In the latter case, you will not usually receive preliminary review documentation from uni-assist and you will not be able to apply to Saarland University for a place on an undergraduate degree programme.

Deadlines

Applications for admission to a preparatory German language course or to a restricted-entry degree programme must have been received by Saarland University by the following deadlines:

  • 15 July if you plan to start studying in the winter semester
  • 15 January if you plan to start studying in the summer semester.

To ensure that your application to Saarland University will be received on time, your request for preliminary review documentation must be sent to uni-assist early enough to allow your request to be processed. According to uni-assist, requests take about four to six weeks to process. We therefore recommend that you submit your academic credentials to uni-assist at the earliest possible opportunity so that any missing documents can be received and processed by uni-assist before the Saarland University application deadlines expire.

Fees

You will need to pay a fee to uni-assist for the preliminary review documentation. Fee details are published on the uni-assist website.

Required documentation

Requests to uni-assist for preliminary review documentation are submitted online. Original documents or officially certified copies can be scanned and uploaded on the uni-assist platform. All of your academic credentials must be submitted in their original form together with an officially certified translation (in German or English). You will need to upload the following supporting documents:

  • School leaving certificate (higher education entrance qualification) with grades attained and, if relevant, the results of any university entrance exam taken in your home country
  • If applicable, evidence of previous periods of academic study (academic transcripts) and any university qualifications (including the grade attained)
  • Proof of German language proficiency
  • CV / resume, covering the period from the start of your school education up to the date of your application
  • Copy of your passport

Applying to uni-assist