Studienkolleg – Foundation Course

Are you a student from abroad wishing to complete your entire studies in Germany? If so, the Studienkolleg may be for you. In this Foundation Course, you can gain the subject-related knowledge and skills required to study in Germany. At the end of the course, which normally lasts two terms, you will take an assessment examination. Your entitlement to embark upon a course of study in Germany. 

This applies to all foreign applicants for a degree course for whom direct admission to an institute of higher education in Germany is not possible in accordance with the assessment proposals.*

* Assessment proposals: Foreign education certificates and their assessment in the Federal Republic of Germany, issued by the office of the Kultusministerkonferenz (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany), central agency for education systems abroad.

Studienkolleg – what for?

The purpose of the Foundation Course is to prepare prospective students wishing to embark upon a degree course for the so-called assessment test, which serves as verification that the foreign applicant meets the language and specialist requirements for his or her chosen course of study. It is assumed that students from abroad applying for a place on a degree course who pass this assessment test will have a level of knowledge comparable to that of German first-year students. Students passing this test are eligible to take up a course of study at an institute of higher education in Germany.

Of course, it is possible to sit the assessment test without attending the Foundation Course beforehand (external examination). This requires verification of a sufficient command of the German language, such as the Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP) of Goethe-Institut, which corresponds to level C2 of the Common European Framework (CEF) with 750-900 hours of lessons.

The training takes place in specialisation courses corresponding to the desired course of study of the student.

How long does it take?

Students normally attend the specialsation courses of the Studienkolleg for a period of two terms. In justified exceptional cases, the training period can be shortened to one term or extended by a maximum of two terms. Each term can only be repeated once.

The training in the Foundation Course is concluded by the assessment test, providing verification that the foreign applicants for a place of study meet the language and specialist requirements for their desired course of study, and that they have the aptitude to take up a degree course at an institute of higher education in the Federal Republic of Germany.  

When to apply

Closing dates for applications:

  • 30.06. of each year for the winter term
  • 30.11. of each year for the summer term

Only applicants currently residing in the Federal Republic of Germany and who are in possession of a valid visa entitling them to stay in Germany, can also be admitted after the above-mentioned closing dates for applications.