Studienkolleg and Feststellungsprüfung (assessment test)
Not all school-leaving certificates from countries outside Germany that entitle their holders – sometimes in combination with a university admission exam – to a place at university in their home country are recognized as university admission qualifications in Germany. Minimum grades are often required in individual subjects, an average grade or range of subjects may be specified, or evidence of additional periods of successfully completed university study in the home country may be required.
Information on the evaluation of non-German school-leaving certificates and university degrees, classified by country, can be found on the Internet at
www.anabin.kmk.org.
If, as an alternative to providing evidence of periods of study outside Germany, your certificates entitle you to take the ‘Assessment Test’ for university admission in Germany, you may apply for a place at a “Studienkolleg” (preparatory institute) in order to prepare for this test.
‘Feststellungsprüfung” is the short version of ‘Examination to Determine the Fitness of University Applicants with Non-German Educational Qualifications for Admission to a University in the Federal Republic of Germany’. The assessment test can be taken in various subject areas. However, this is not the same as a German higher education entrance qualification. In combination with your educational qualifications from your home country it will provide you with an international subject-defined qualification to enter higher education in the Federal Republic of Germany. The application for studies at the University of Wuppertal must therefore also be made via uni-assist.
General information on “Studienkollegs” in Germany and on the “Feststellungsprüfung” can be found on the Internet at
Information on “Studienkollegs” and “Feststellungsprüfung” in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) can be found (in German only) at
The State of NRW no longer runs any “Studienkollegs” of its own. Preparation for the “Feststellungsprüfung” in NRW is now only available free of charge from the Studienkolleg of the Ökumenisches Studienwerk (Ecumenical Student Services) in Bochum (course area T – see below and www.studienkolleg-bochum.de) and the Luso-Brazilian Studienkolleg in Mettingen (course areas T, W, G and M – see below and www.studienkolleg-mettingen.de). Places at the “Studienkolleg” in Mettingen are reserved primarily for students from Portuguese-speaking countries and Latin America. Applicants from other continents are also accepted, but the reserved group is given priority in the allocation of places.
Taking the “Feststellungsprüfung” without attending a “Studienkolleg”
It is still possible to take an External “Feststellungsprüfung” in NRW in all subject areas without prior attendance at a “Studienkolleg”. The External “Feststellungsprüfung” is held two times a year. Two subjects are examined in writing and one subject orally. Examination subjects fall into the areas listed below. A condition for admission to the External “Feststellungsprüfung” is evidence of adequate command of German (at least level B2). The External “Feststellungsprüfung” is conducted centrally by the “Bezirksregierung Köln” (Cologne Regional Administration), with formal control by the Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf. Your application for admission should be submitted to the following address:
Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf, Dezernat 48, Postfach 30 08 65, 40408 Düsseldorf
Applicants from China, Vietnam and Mogolia need, apart from the usual documentation, a certificate from the Akademische Prüfstelle (APS – Academic Qualifications Control Office).
Institutions offering paid preparation for the External “Feststellungsprüfung” and it is important that you find out whether the private Studienkolleg you wish to study at even offers a certificate which is vallid in all of Germany!
Course areas for the “Feststellungsprüfung”
- Subject area T (technological, mathematical, scientific- and engineering programs – other than biological disciplines)
- Subject area M (medical and biological programs)
- Subject area W (economics and social science programs)
- Subject area S (language programs)
- Subject area G (humanities, art, and social science programs)
An overview of the allocation of the Bachelor programs at Bergische Universität Wuppertal to the respective core courses of the preparatory colleges (Studienkollegs) can be found here.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the student admission and registration for international students!
Address & Contact
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Abt. 3.3 - Internationales Studierendensekretariat (student admission and registration)
Gaußstraße 20
42119 Wuppertal
Germany
Personal consultation hours in the Student Service Center (SSC) right at the main entrance (building G, room G.08.16):
Tuesday 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
For organisational reasons, office hours may change sometimes. You can always find the latest information about office hours on the Student Service Center page under "News".
Telephone consultation and advice:
Wednesday 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
