Application with a vocational qualification

• technician or engineer
• business economist / manager / administrator (IHK) (recognised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
• business administrator / manager (VWA) (from an academy of business administration)
• specialist nurse (advanced nursing training in accordance with § 19 of the federal state nursing law (Landespflegegesetz))

You can apply for any degree course if you have advanced professional qualifications.

For your application you simply need a final certificate for your apprenticeship instead of the university entrance qualification obtained at a conventional school and proof you have attended an advisory meeting with the appropriate faculty.

The course-related consultation is intended to show you what to expect in the degree course, what prior knowledge you need (e.g. in mathematics, physics, etc.) and what possibilities there are to prepare yourself. You can also ask your own questions.

The consultation will not be evaluated in any way and will not influence your future possible admission to the degree course. 

Please remember that the documentary evidence for your course-related consultation must be submitted before the application deadline.

If possible, please contact Student Services/Applications and Admissions by 1 December if you wish to apply for the summer semester, and by 1 June if you wish to apply for the winter semester.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

If you fulfil all the requirements to apply for a Bachelor’s degree course, the application procedure for candidates with school-leaving university entrance qualifications applies to you.

If you have completed any advanced professional training over a longer period of time, it may be possible for you to enter a degree course (see situation 1). The question needs to be answered whether your advanced professional training can be accredited as equivalent to a master’s professional qualification.

If you let us know which kind of training you have completed, we will investigate this for you. The best option is to send Student Services/Applications and Admissions a copy of your final certificate or the link to a website where we can find further information.

For the decision as to whether your advanced professional training can be accredited as equivalent to a master’s certificate, the following points are important:

• Does the advanced training build on vocational training of at least two years in length?

• Is the qualification formally regulated in some way (e.g. through the vocational training act - Berufsbildungsgesetz, board of trade regulations - Handwerksordnung or education act -  Schulgesetz)?
• Was the duration of the training at least 400 taught hours?

Course-related consultation on the subject of the degree course

For your application you simply need a final certificate for your apprenticeship instead of the university entrance qualification obtained at a conventional school and proof you have attended an advisory meeting with the appropriate faculty.

The course-related consultation is intended to show you what to expect in the degree course, what prior knowledge you need (e.g. in mathematics, physics, etc.) and what possibilities there are to prepare yourself. You can also ask your own questions. The consultation will not be evaluated in any way and will not influence your future possible admission to the degree course. 

Application procedures

If you fulfil all the requirements to apply for a Bachelor’s degree course, the application procedure for candidates with school-leaving university entrance qualifications applies to you.

• educator/preschool teacher
• teacher for children with special needs
• vocational educator
• carer / nurse for the elderly
• nurse
• children’s nurse
• social care worker
• midwife

You can apply for a degree course that is related to your vocational training if you pass an aptitude test.

Specifically, this means:

• If you have completed state-recognised vocational training as an educator/preschool teacher, teacher for children with special needs, vocational educator, or educator / social care worker for youth welfare / children’s homes, and have successfully completed the aptitude test, you can apply for the degree course Social Work.

• Additionally, state-recognised educators / preschool teachers can apply for the degree course   Early Childhood Education.

• With state-recognised vocational qualifications as a nurse/carer for the elderly, nurse, children’s nurse or midwife, and a successfully completed aptitude test, you can apply for the degree courses Nursing/Nursing Management or Nursing Teacher Education.

Aptitude Test

If you have a basic vocational qualification without advanced training, you may be able to take an aptitude test. After passing the aptitude test and participating in a course-related consultation, you can apply for degree courses that are related to the subjects in which you are qualified (see below).

Requirements for the aptitude test:

• successfully completed vocational training, at least two years in duration

• in general, three years of work experience in the field

Contents / level of the aptitude test

The aptitude test takes place once per year at the University of Constance and comprises the following parts:

• German examination (essay)

• English examination (text comprehension and text production in the English language); you may be able to be exempted from this part if you can provide documentary evidence that you have achieved level B2 in English in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. 
• An examination in the subject of the intended degree course
• Oral examination on general knowledge of cultural, political, social and economic topics.

Taking the test costs 80 euros.

The test is intended for people who do not wish to acquire their university entrance qualifications at school. You can still pass if you obtain your knowledge elsewhere. You can find out if you do not possess certain important qualifications, from the University of Constance.
Experience has shown that most candidates pass the test. However, only a few candidates achieve either very good or very poor results.

Subject-related requirements

You fulfil the subject-related requirements if the contents of your advanced vocational training essentially match the subjects studied in the intended degree course.

Examples:

• Automotive mechatronics engineer – Automotive Engineering: the subjects match.

• Doctor’s assistant – Social Work: the subjects do not match.

Course-related consultation

The course-related consultation is intended to show you what to expect in the degree course, which requirements you should fulfil (e.g. knowledge of mathematics, physics, etc.), and what options you have to prepare for the course. You can also ask your own questions.

The consultation will not be evaluated in any way and does not influence your future possible admission to the degree course.

Deadlines and application procedures

Please fill in the application and submit it to us before 1^st March.
We will process your application and pass it on to the relevant degree course director to organise a course-related consultation. As soon as we receive documentary evidence of the consultation from the degree course director, you will receive a notification of admission to the aptitude test and we will enrol you for the test in Constance.
We receive the certification for the aptitude test directly from the University of Constance. If you successfully passed the test, we will send you a certificate of university entrance qualification.
With this certificate you can apply for a degree course.

By the way: If you apply to another university for the same or a similar degree course, other universities in Baden-Wuerttemberg will also accept the certificate of university entrance qualification issued by us.

Did you complete your secondary education at a technical college and your final certificate states that your qualification meets the requirements of the Rahmenvereinbarung über Fachschulen der Kultusministerkonferenz of November 7, 2002?

If you did, you are eligible to apply for all our degree programmes.

Advisory meeting with your prospective faculty

For your application you simply need a final certificate for your apprenticeship instead of the university entrance qualification obtained at a conventional school and proof you have attended an advisory meeting with the appropriate faculty.

During the advisory meeting you will learn what you can expect during your studies, which requirements you have to fulfil (e.g. knowledge of mathematics, physics etc.) and the options available to help you prepare for your studies. You will also have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. The discussion is not assessed in any way and has no effect on whether you are ultimately admitted to a degree programme.

request for a counselling interview

Application procedure

When you meet all the requirements to apply for a Bachelor programme, your application will be subject to the same application procedure as conventional school leavers with a university entrance qualification.

If none of the above-mentioned vocational situations applies to you, you are welcome to contact Student Services/Applications and Admissions.

Information about other options for obtaining school-leaving university entrance qualifications can be found on the portal Kursnet of the Employment Agency (Arbeitsagentur).

You can find general information about the aptitude test under the  University of Constance.

There are no special materials to prepare for the aptitude test. You can pass the test if you have obtained the necessary knowledge elsewhere. Generally, if your knowledge of mathematics or English does not go beyond the 10^th class, you should not attempt to take the aptitude test.

Experience has shown that a large number of candidates pass the test. However, very few candidates achieve either very good or very poor results. This makes it accordingly difficult to obtain a student place.

21 candidates took the aptitude test in May 2011; they were enrolled by 12 universities. Five did not pass the test. The examination in mathematics especially revealed large knowledge deficits. These also included topics that are normally taught before ending the 10th class (e.g. working with fractions). A few candidates had attempted to cover the mathematics curriculum for the upper classes in a short time – this was only rarely successful. Only one candidate achieved a grade of 1 in maths. In the German exam, it was clear that many candidates had problems in writing German. The English part showed that many candidates were out of practice, although they still knew quite a lot of vocabulary and idioms.

One option is to compete advanced vocational training to master’s level or equivalent. With this advanced qualification and a course-related consultation at a university or university of applied sciences in Baden-Wuerttemberg, you can apply directly for a student place.
If you have any questions about obtaining your university entrance qualifications via advanced vocational training at master’s level or equivalent, you are welcome to contact the Admissions Office.

Another possibility is to obtain a general or subject-specific university entrance qualification (Abitur or Hochschulreife) through adult education classes. You have the following options:
 

1. Abendgymnasium (Abitur evening classes)

The Abendgymnasium provides academically able, young, working people with a chance to achieve a university entrance qualification part-time. You can obtain information about the various starting points from the Abendgymnasium school itself.

Abendgymnasium courses generally last four years. Classes are usually held in the evenings, in some cases also at weekends. 

The aim of the courses is to achieve the general university entrance qualification (Abitur). The exams are taken at the Abendgymnasium.
 

2. Kolleg (College)

The Kolleg (Institute for obtaining university entrance qualifications) leads to the general university entrance qualification in a course that lasts three school years.

In contrast to Abendgymnasium courses, Kolleg courses are taught during the day. It is therefore not possible to work at the same time. Students can receive BAföG (student grants) that are not dependent on their parents’ income and do not have to be repaid.

Kolleg course are divided into a one-year introductory phase and a subsequent course phase of four school years.
 

3. Oberstufe der Berufsoberschule (Upper School of a Higher Vocational School)
(Technical Oberschule, Oberschule for Economics, Oberschule for Social Professions)
 

Berufsoberschulen (Higher Vocational Schools) offer advanced general and subject-specific education that enables students to undertake a degree course at a university or university of applied sciences.

Courses are full-time and last two years. Successful completion leads to a subject-specific university entrance qualification or – with a second foreign language – to the general university entrance qualification.

The average grade /final grade on the certificate of your advanced vocational training at master’s level or equivalent counts the same as the final grade on a university entrance qualification or Abitur certificate.
If you successfully complete a training course that is recognized as preparing students to undertake a degree course, your final grade can be improved by 0.1 – 0.2 points.

If your university entrance qualifications were obtained through a vocational training course together with an aptitude test, the final grade of your aptitude test is the grade that counts in your application for a student pace.

If you have any more questions about how the grade for your university entrance qualification is calculated, please contact the Admissions Office.

Experience has shown that students who have taken this path to start a degree course face certain challenges. On the one hand, having to stop work results in financial difficulties for many. On the other, some students have children who need child care.

As a student with vocationally acquired qualifications, you should be aware that you will have missed a lot of the course contents that are covered in school and, as such, you will have to invest a lot of time and energy to catch up and to be able to follow the lectures.

The following list shows the most common financing options for students with vocationally acquired qualifications:

• Aufsstiegsstipendium (state grant/loan for improving educational qualifications)

• BAföG – state student loan
• KfW Banking Group student loan
• German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) grant

Yes: Child care options and studying with a child.