Admission Requirements for the Vocationally Qualified

 

The ordinance for university admission for individuals with vocational training was issued on March 8, 2010. The ordinance ensures that masters that is Meisterinnen and Meister as well as individuals with an equivalent qualification, all have access to courses of study at all universities without taking an exam.

 

Vocationally Qualified Individuals – University Admission Without the Abitur

Even without the Abitur you can study with a vocational qualification under certain prerequisites.

Depending on your vocational qualification and professional background, there are different options avaiable for you to be admitted to university studies. We differentiate between the following three groups:

a) Masters and Comparable Qualified Individuals – Vocational Advanced Further Training

At RWTH 2 percent of all study placements in a course of study among those courses of study with a local NC process are reserved for applicants who are master or individuals with vocational advanced further training in accordance with Section 2 of the Vocational Education University Entrance Regulation or BBHZVO.

Applicants in this group are – without taking an admissions exam – entitled to admission in any course of study, with the exception of medicine and dentistry.

If you are a master or have a comparable qualification and would like to study at RWTH Aachen, please apply via RWTHonline. In RWTHonline you will be able to see which documents must be uploaded or submitted afterwards. Please note that you can only apply during the application period.

b) Individuals with vocational qualification, for whom both the vocation and the intended course of study correspond to the vocational training

A total of two percent of all study places in the relevant degree program are available at RWTH Aachen University in degree programs with a local NC procedure for applicants who have at least two years of vocational training in the relevant field and at least three years of subsequent professional activity in the profession. This activity must have taken place as is defined in § 3 BBHZVO or in a profession corresponding to the training. It is the responsibility of the respective faculty to check whether the vocational training and the subsequent professional activity correspond to the intended degree program.

Applicants in this group are – without taking an admissions exam – entitled to admission in a course of study that corresponds to their vocational training and profession.

Applicants can choose to review their aptitude for studies by participating in trial studies – only applicable for open admission courses of study – or by taking an admissions exam; the result of the admissions exam has no influence on the university entrance qualification.

If you belong to this group of individuals and would like to study at RWTH Aachen, please fill out the application for admission to studies for applicants without the Abitur or similar and submit the application together with the necessary documents to the Registrar's Office or send them via email to zulassung@zhv.rwth-aachen.de. We will review your documents and then forward them to the responsible faculty, which will then determine whether you will be placed in the desired course of study or subject as a specialist or non-specialist. Once we have received the decision from the faculty, we will inform you of the next steps.

If the faculty determines you to be a specialist, please apply via RWTHonline. In RWTHonline you will be able to see which documents must be uploaded or submitted afterwards. Please note that you can only apply during the application period.

We recommend submitting the application for admission to studies for applicants without the Abitur or similar and the necessary documents to the Registrar's Office as early as possible, as it can take the faculty and Registrar's Office many weeks to review your application.

Please note that you are only part of this applicant pool if the respective faculty determines you are a specialist.

c) Individuals who are otherwise vocationally qualified, in accordance with Section 4 of the Ordinance (Admissions Exam or Trial Studies)

Applicants with at least two years of vocational training and at least three years of work experience in the profession, which do not correspond the desired course of study, are required to take the admissions exam at RWTH Aachen for restricted admission courses of study or complete trial studies for open admission courses of study in accordance with Section 4 BBHZVO.

Primary responsibility and independent management of a family household and caring for a minor in accordance with Section 25 Paragraph 5 of the Federal Training Promotion Act or care for a relative in accordance with Section 16 Paragraph 5 of Social Code are recognized as equal to professional experience. These must be proved with the submission of the child's birth certificate and registration certificate or a certificate from the relative's insurance confirming their care needs.

The following are also recognized as professional experience:

• Volunteer Military Service in accordance with Compulsory Military Service Act from August 15, 2011 (BGBl. I p. 1730)
• Federal Volunteeer Service in accordance with the Federal Volunteer Service Act from April 28, 2011 (BGBl. I p. 687)
• Voluntary Social Year (FSJ)
• Voluntary Ecological Year (FÖJ),
• Experience as an aid worker in accordance with the Development Aid Workers Act from June 18, 1969 (BGBl. I p. 549)
• Completion of another at least two-year vocational qualification
• Part-time employment of at least 50 percent can be partially counted as professional experience

We have compiled all the necessary information about the admissions exam.

If you belong to this group of individuals and would like to study at RWTH Aachen, please fill out the application for admission to studies for applicants without the Abitur or similar and submit the application together with the necessary documents to the Registrar's Office or send them via email to zulassung@zhv.rwth-aachen.de. We will review your documents and then forward them to the responsible faculty, which will then determine whether you will be placed in the desired course of study or subject as a specialist or non-specialist. Once we have received the decision from the faculty, we will inform you of the next steps.

We recommend submitting the application for admission to studies for applicants without the Abitur or similar and the necessary documents to the Registrar's Office as early as possible, as the registration deadline for the admissions exam, needed in some cases, is April 1 for the winter semester and October 1 for the summer semester and it can take the faculty and Registrar's Office many weeks to review your application.

Please note that you are only part of this applicant pool if the respective faculty determines you are a specialist.

Particulars for Medicine and Dentistry Courses of Study

University placements for medicine and dentistry are centrally allocated by the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung.

If you have a vocational qualification and would like to apply for a placement in either medicine or dentistry, you must take an admissions exam.

If you would like to take the admissions exam, you must first submit the application for admission to the admissions exam along with the necessary documents listed in the application to the Registrar's Office. You can submit the documents in person or via mail.

We recommend submitting the application and necessary documents as early as possible, as the application deadline to take the admissions exam ends April 1 for the winter semester and October 1 for the summer semester. After you submit the documents they must be reviewed by the Registrar's Office and the faculty, which can take many weeks.

Your documents will be reviewed, however, within six weeks after the deadline. For information about the admissions exam, please contact the responsible departmental advisor. For Faculty 7 courses of study, please do not contact the faculty advisor, but instead contact the following email address.

You can use the grade from your admissions exam to apply through Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung. Please note you must apply within the deadlines.

If you do not take the admissions exam, you will be ranked with an average grade of 4.0 among the other applicants.