Admission to a Place of Study

At universities in Baden-Württemberg, there are courses of study with and without entry restrictions.

Courses of study without entry restrictions

Courses of study do not have entry restrictions, if any person who wishes to enrol obtains a place. There are usually prescribed deadlines for enrolment.

Courses of study with entry restrictions

  • Courses of study with local entry restrictions

Entry restrictions for courses of study generally exist if it is to be expected that the number of enrolments at a university exceeds the number of places available. Locally, this means that the entry restrictions for this course of study do not apply at all universities. It may occur that course of study X is free at one university, but has entry restrictions at another. The entry restrictions may differ for a course of study from university to university. In total, approximately 80% of the courses of study in Baden-Württemberg have entry restrictions.

In case of courses of study with entry restrictions, the universities must select the students in accordance with defined criteria. This is set out in the selection regulations of the respective course of study. The selection criteria do not just include the Abitur mark, grades from school and elsewhere must be included. For example, these include internships, professional experience, voluntary work, letter of motivation, essay, selection test, interview.

Please also comply with the deadlines. For example, the deadline for the test for doctors is before the deadline for the course of study in medicine.

  • Courses of study with national entry restrictions

A small number of courses of study are subject to nationwide entry restrictions. These are currently medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary science. For such courses of study, it is necessary to apply to the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung.

  • Courses of study with special requirements

Alongside the usual application and admission procedures of the universities, there are also special application, access and admission rules for art and music universities, film and pop academies, academies for visual arts, academies for representative arts and for dual universities in Baden-Württemberg. In order to be admitted to such universities, you must generally pass an entry exam or apply to a company which is involved in the study process.

Release note

The German original version of this text was drafted in close cooperation with the relevant departments. The Wissenschaftsministerium released it on 12.02.2024. Only the German text is legally binding. The Federal State does not assume any liability for the translated texts.

In cases of doubt or if you have any questions or problems, please contact the relevant authorities directly.