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Allocation of Places at University

RheinMain University offers degree programs with both limited and unlimited admission. Prospective students applying for programs with unlimited admission will in any case receive a place provided they fulfill the admission requirements of the degree program in question and submit the necessary application documents in time.

All prospective students who wish to enroll in a bachelor's or diploma degree program with limited admission need to apply for a place first. RheinMain University allocates its places for first-semester students according to the regulations of the Hesse regulations governing the allocation of places at university. This allocation procedure is explained below.

Contents

This page addresses the following questions:

  • Download all the important information for degree programs with limited admission (N.C.) here (in German only)
  • Download all the important information for degree programs with unlimited admission here (in German only).

 

 

What is an NC?

NC (for the Latin "numerus clausus", "closed" or limited number) is the term for regulations that limit the admission to certain degree programs on account of their lack of capacities and determine how many students they can admit. For any degree program, if the number of applicants exceeds the number of places to study, the program will automatically become a limited-admission program.

 

What are the selection values for the upcoming allocation process going to be?

    NC values or limit values for each allocation process are never determined in advance. For each allocation procedure, the values are generated anew and result from the ratio of number of places to study to the number of applicants and the conditions pertaining to each individual applicant. An admission limit conveys information about the grade (the grade average of the high school diploma or an equivalent while taking account of the second criterion) and the number of standby semesters of the last admitted person. NC values are thus always historical and result from a specific field of applicants.

       

      What does waiting period mean?

      Waiting period is the number of half years (also called standby semesters) that have passed since the applicants received their higher education entrance qualification, such as for example a specialized high school degree, up until their enrollment in a program – minus any semesters studied at a institution of higher education. For the calculation of waiting periods, it does not matter how how you spent the waiting time (for example, it is irrelevant whether you were doing a vocational training or military or civilian alternative service, engaging in other professional activities or just doing nothing in particular.) Thus, if you do not immediately start to study after getting your high school degree, you automatically accumulate standby semesters, which add to your waiting period. The continuous accumulation of waiting time ends with your enrollment in a degree program at a German institution of higher education.

      The waiting period may increase if

      • you have completed vocational training with a certification prior to receiving your higher education entrance qualification. If you have completed vocational training before July 16, 2004, four semesters can be credited to your waiting period, and if you have completed your training between July 16, 2004 and July 16, 2008, up to two semesters can be added. For vocational training qualifications attained after July 16, 2008, no waiting semesters can be credited.
      • if you have attained vocational training qualifications after receiving your higher education entrance qualification and if you have started your vocational training before January 16, 1998. For this, one semester can be added to your waiting period.
      • if you have worked at least three years before receiving your higher education entrance qualification and if you have started working before January 16, 1998. For this, one semester can be added to your waiting period.
      • if, after receiving your higher education entrance qualification but after January 16, 1998, you were unable to attain a vocational qualification or work for at least three years because of maintenance obligations, because of doing a mandatory service, because of working for at least two years in the developmental aid services, because of doing a voluntary social or ecological year or because of an illness or another situation not under your control. For this, one semester can be added to your waiting period. 

       

      How does RheinMain University allocate its places?

      For all limited admissions degree programs the following quota apply:

        1. quota for international applicants (up to 10 % of the places)
        2. quota for cases of hardship (up to 5 % of the places)
        3. quota for applicants who are planning to get a second higher education degree (up to 3 % of the places)
        4. main quota (after subtracting quotas 1 to 3, the remaining places are distributed based on applicants' waiting period (20 %) and their qualifications (80 %).

        The applicants' level of qualification is determined by the grade average of their higher education entrance qualifications in conjunction with a further criterion, the so-called second criterion. At RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, bylaws determine that a completed vocational training is to be considered as a second criterion. This means that a documented completed vocational training can enhance how the average grade of the higher education entrance qualification is weighted in the study place allocation procedure. Thus, applicants with a completed vocational training might be able to enter the procedure with a better grade than the grade that is actually stated on their higher education entrance qualification.

        Information about how this works and what types of vocational training for what programs qualify as a second criterion can be found on the individual program pages below the page

        For more information on the allocation procedure bylaws of RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, you can download the bylows here:

        Please note: For purposes of the second criterion, only vocational training that is not itself part of the higher education entrance qualification can be considered. If the vocational training is requisite for receiving a higher education entrance qualification, for example if the latter results from completing a vocational training plus one year of specialized high school, the vocational training can not also be considered as second criterion. Applicants without vocational training enter the allocation procedure with their regular higher education entrance qualification grades.

        All applicants are carried on all ranked lists of the main quota and receive a ranked position in accordance with their grades and waiting periods. Regarding the applicants' ranking on the grade-based list, applicants with the same grade average are selected based on the criteria waiting period, their mandatory or voluntary service and the lottery procedure, in this order. Regarding the applicants' ranking on the waiting-period-based list, applicants with the same waiting period are selected based on the criteria level of qualification, their mandatory or voluntary service and the lottery procedure, in this order. An applicant has received a place if their position on at least one of the two ranked lists is sufficient.

        Independent from the quotas, you will be accepted to a degree program if you have already been accepted in a previous allocation procedure for the same degree program, and if you were unable to take up your studies because you

        • completed your mandatory military or alternative civilian service or served in the federal police force (up to three years),
        • have worked in the developmental aid services for a minimum of two years,
        • have completed a voluntary social or ecological year or
        • have cared for a child below the age of 18 or a relative in need of care for up to three years.

        However, you are only entitled to this place at university

        • if you submitted your higher education entrance qualification and completed any internships your program of study may require before you started your service or period of care-giving and
        • if you were admitted to your chosen degree program at the beginning or during your period of service or care-giving (submit your admission notification with your application) and 
        • have not entered more than one allocation procedure for a place at university after finishing your service or care-giving period.

        If you are applying for admission during doing your military or alternative civilian service, you need to submit documentation that you will finish your service by March 15 (if you are planning to begin your studies in a summer semester) or by October 1 (if you are planning to begin in a winter semester).

         

        What is a move-up procedure (Nachrückverfahren)?

        As a rule, not all applicants who have received a place to study eventually accept their places. In the move-up procedure, RheinMain University of Applied Sciences allocates the places that have been freed up in this way to applicants who could not be awarded a place in the primary allocation procedure. How many places can be distributed during the move-up procedure is unpredictable.

        If you have been rejected during the primary allocation round, you will automatically enter the move-up procedure. Only those applicants who are accepted in the move-up procedure will receive a second notification. In some cases, admission in the move-up procedure can happen very late in the process.

         

        What is a lottery procedure?

        If it should happen that places are left over after the allocation procedure has run its course, the remaining places are being distributed by lottery. All open places are reported to the Place-to-Study Exchange (Studienplatzbörse) – see below.

        German and international applicants can submit written applications for the leftover open places by October 1 each year for the upcoming winter semester and by March 15 for the upcoming summer semester. German applicants need to submit a completed application form with a cv and a copy of their higher education entrance qualification. International applicants need to add proof of their adequate proficiency in German (minimum level DSH 2).

        Please note: Applicants who are not allocated a place to study in the lottery procedure will not receive a rejection notification.

        After March 1 for each summer semester and after September 1 for each winter semester, you can use the following link to find out for which degree programs RheinMain University of Applied Sciences will allocate places via the lottery procedure. Here you can also download the application form for entering the lottery procedure.

        • Go to the page with more information and the form for applying for leftover places

        Use the following link to find open places at a German university on the Place-to-Study Exchange:

        Please keep in mind that between March 1-15 and September 1-30 the list of degree programs for which leftover places are allocated is updated on a daily basis and that further degree programs may be added at any time. So checking the list every day may pay off.

         

        What is a petition in cases of hardship?

        Applicants for whom not being admitted to the degree program for which they applied would constitute a major hardship can file a hardship petition. Major hardships are for example social or health reasons or family situations of the applicant that require that she or he begin their studies immediately. The hardship petition needs to be filed together with the application documents. Your hardship petition needs to include a detailed and convincing explanation of your special circumstances which must be supported by documented proof. Applicants petitioning a situation of hardship will be ranked according to the severity of their situation. Please find further information on what constitutes cases of hardship here (in German only).

         

        What is a petition for compensation of disadvantages?

        You can petition for your grade average to be considered higher for application purposes if reasons beyond your control have prevented you from attaining a better grade average than you would otherwise have been able to achieve.

        You can file a petition for your waiting period to be considered longer for application purposes if reasons beyond your control have prevented you from attaining the higher education entrance qualification at an earlier point in time.

        These petitions can not be filed by applicants who have already graduated from a university.

        Please find further information on compensation of disadvantages here.

         

        What is a degree program with unlimited admission?

        Degree programs with unlimited admission admit all applicants. This means that everyone who applies in good time for a place and submits all the required valid documents will be accepted. Please find further important information by using the application information links.

         

        Who can apply to enroll as a first-semester student?

        Beginning students or students who neither are nor have ever been enrolled at a German institution of higher education apply to enter a program as first-semester student.

        Applicants who want to switch programs or change their study location can apply as first-semester students or enroll in a higher semester.

         

        Who must apply for enrollment in a higher semester?

        If you have formerly been enrolled in a program at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences but have suspended your studies, you must apply for reentering your program in a higher semester of study.

         

        When are studies considered to be studies for a second degree, and to whom does this apply?

        You are considered a second-degree applicant if you have already completed a degree program at any public or private officially recognized institution of higher education in Germany. Institutions of higher education are for example universities or universities of applied sciences, including universities of applied sciences of public administration, music or art, of the federal army as well as church-run institutions of higher education. Periods of study at universities of cooperative education may be counted towards a degree at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences if the university of cooperative education and the degree sought are considered to be equivalent to their counterparts in the public sector.

        The first degree program is only considered completed if it has been completed with a bachelor's, diploma, state examination, master's, doctoral or other recognized higher education degree.

        The selection of second-degree first-semester applicants for a (limited admission) degree program is determined by an index resulting from the grade of the first program's final examination and the weight of the reasons for seeking a second degree. Find more information on how the index is generated here:

         

        For how many programs can you apply at a time?

        Prospective students who do not have a degree yet can apply for up to three degree programs at a time. Applicants seeking a second degree may only apply for one degree program at a time.

        Contact

        Student Information Center
        (S!C)
        Hochschule RheinMain
        University of Applied Sciences
        Kurt-Schumacher-Ring 18
        65197 Wiesbaden
        Germany

        Phone: +49 (0)611 9495-1555
        Fax: +49 (0)611 9495-1553

        ipunkt[at]hs-rm[.]de