Applying for Admission to an Advanced Semester

You apply for your chosen degree program online. Your documents need to be uploaded in the online application portal. You can view the status of your application online at any time.

Admission to an advanced semester is selective for most of our degree programs. We can only admit applicants to an advanced semester if the selective degree program in question is not full. If the number of applicants is higher than the number of study places, both the progress made in your previous program and your performance are considered in the selection process.

You need to hold a university entrance qualification issued by an institution in Germany or abroad.

We have to be aware of all periods of study that you have completed in Germany. Please provide the relevant documents of proof as part of your application. For example:

• Enrollment Certificate
• Confirmation of disenrollment
• Transcript of records
• Enrollment verification certificate

If you have been enrolled in a degree program with similar content before in Germany, you must confirm that you are still eligible to take exams. For the application, this documents is only required if you have already studied at a German higher education institution in Germany.

In order to account for any time you have spent studying abroad, you must provide official proof issued by the higher education institution which confirms your enrollment there. You must submit this proof in the native language of the issuing institution and a German or English translation.

If you are applying for admission to the second semester or a subsequent semester of a program (i.e. an advanced semester), you must submit proof from your current German higher education institution which confirms that you are still eligible to take the exams in the degree program. You also need to provide this confirmation if you have previously been enrolled at a higher education institution in Germany and are applying for a study place in the first semester of a similar degree program.

There is no standardized procedure for proving your eligibility. Some German institutions include a statement on the transcript of records which confirms that the student is eligible to take exams, whereas others issue a letter to confirm the student’s eligibility. We have created a document, provided below, which you can also use to confirm your eligibility.

Please upload a current CV in the online application portal.

If you are applying for a German taught program, please submit a proof that your proficiency in German is equivalent to at least level C1 (Goethe Zertifikat C2) of the common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Please note that you need German language proof for all bachelor's programs applications.

For an application at the University of Mannheim the following certificates can be
accepted to prove German language proficiency of level C1:

• an all-German university entrance qualification (Abitur) with German as the main language of instruction acquired in a state or region with German as official language
• an all-German university degree acquired in a state or a region with German as official language
• a university entrance qualification according to the “Ordnung der Prüfung zur Erlangung eines Zeugnisses der deutschen Hochschulreife an deutschen Schulen im Ausland, die zum Sekundarabschluss nach den Landesbestimmungen führen”
• TestDaF passed with a level 4 or better in each of the four test parts
• Deutsche Sprachprüfung zum Hochschulzugang (DSH) passed with a final grade of at least 2 (DSH 2)
• Deutsches Sprachdiplom der Kultusministerkonferenz – Stufe II (DSD II)
• telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule
• Assessment Test “Feststellungsprüfung” from Studienkolleg certifying the eligibility of a foreign applicant to attend a German university or a university of applied sciences 

Applicants do not need to produce proof of one of the aforementioned certificates if they fulfill at least one of the following requirements:

• “Goethe-Zertifikat” C2
• German as Language A in the IB Diploma with a grade 6 or better (subject to the University Committee's approval)
• “Österreichisches Sprachdiplom (ÖSD)“ C1 or higher
• passed “Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP)” taken at a Goethe-Institute in Germany or abroad before 1 January 2012
• Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom” or “Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom” awarded by the Goethe-Institute on behalf of the Ludwig Maximilians Universität München and taken before 1 January 2012

Further certificates that may be recognized as proof of German language proficiency:

• the proof of German proficiency in the Diplôme du Baccalauréat acquired after attending a German-French bilingual program at a secondary school
• the French Diplôme du Baccalauréat following the International Option Baccalaureate (OIB) of the German departments
• the European Baccalaureate as long as an examination with German as the first or the second language has been successfully completed
• US Advanced Placement Exam (AP Exam) in German
• the university entrance qualification of the secondary school education of the German-speaking community of the Kingdom of Belgium
• the certificate of secondary education of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
• the university entrance qualification of the schools with German as language of instruction in South Tyrol (Italy)
• the university entrance qualification of the international German section at the Liceo Gimnasiale “Luigi Galvani” in Bologna
• the university entrance qualification of the international German department at the Liceo Gimnasio Statale “M. Gioia” in Piacenza, Italy
• the university entrance qualification of the international German department at the “Educandato Statale Collegio Uccelis” in Udine, Italy
• the university entrance qualification of a German-Irish bilingual secondary education (bilingual Leaving Certificate) at St. Kilian’s German School, Dublin, Ireland
• the university entrance qualification of the bilingual department at the Liceo Gimnasio Statale “Romagnosi” in Parma and at the Liceo Classico Statale Socrate in Bari, Italy
• the university entrance qualification of the international German department at the Scuola Internazionale Europea “A. Spinelli” in Turin, Italy
• the university entrance qualification of the international German department at the Liceo Classico “Guiseppe Garibaldi” in Naples, Italy
• the university entrance qualification of the international German department at the Liceo Classico Statale “Umberto I” in Palermo, Italy
• the Polish Matura exams in German at lyceums for general education with a bilingual education with German as the second language of instruction
• The certificate of the foreign schools with German lessons leading to the Mixed Language International Baccalaureate (“Gemischtsprachiges International Baccalaureate GIB an ausländischen Schulen mit Deutschunterricht”, decision of the KMK of 26.04.2002 as amended
  on 26.09.2019)

Depending on the master's program you are applying for, you may need to submit proof of language proficiency, a letter of motivation, or tests like the GMAT as part of your application. Further details are provided in the selection statutes for the degree program you are interested in.

A module catalog is used to evaluate the coursework and examinations you have completed, and verify the specialized knowledge that you have acquired. That’s why you are asked to either provide a link to the module catalog for your previous degree program or upload a PDF version of the catalog as part of your online application. The examinations and coursework that you have completed can only be considered in your application if the competences you have obtained match those acquired in modules at the University of Mannheim.

One document may serve as proof of several criteria required for your application. For example, your transcript of records can also be used to prove you have subject-specific knowledge that is relevant for admission to the degree program. 

The information will be corrected in our database once we check your application. You do not need to delete the application and start again.

You can check the status in the online application portal.

The University of Mannheim is the first public higher education institution in Germany to align its academic calendar with the international academic year. The orientation weeks for first-year students and exchange students always take place in the week before the lecture period begins. View the academic calendar