Assessment and recognition of academic credentials

Foreign secondary school leaving certificates are generally not treated as being equal to the German Abitur. If you are unsure whether your school leaving certificate permits you to study at a German university, please refer to the assessment and equivalence information provided on the anabin website. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) also hosts an English-language version of the anabin database: Database on admission requirements.

The assessment may yield one of the following results:

• Direct access (all subjects)
  Your school leaving certificate is deemed equivalent to a German higher education entrance qualification. You can apply for a place on any degree programme.
• Direct access (subject-specific)
  Your school leaving certificate is deemed equivalent to a German higher education entrance qualification. You can only apply for degree programmes in certain subject areas.
• Higher education assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung) at a Studienkolleg (for all preparatory courses) [Learn more]