Application and enrollment
You can find all information about the application procedure with foreign certificates as well as information about enrollment at Hochschule RheinMain here.
You normally apply via the uni-assist applicant portal. You can find the exceptions to this below in the section exception from the uni-assist procedure
The application period for Studienkolleg for the 2026 summer semester closed on December 1, 2026.
Applications for bachelor's and master's degree programs can be submitted until January 15 or March 1, 2026, respectively. Please refer to the information on this website to find out the deadline for your desired degree program.
You would like to generally study in Germany and do not know how to proceed? On the page of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research you can find a lot of information that can help you decide and gives many tips for preparation: www.study-in-germany.de/en/.
Information on applying with foreign certificates
The general requirements for admission to a study place at Hochschule RheinMain are:
A valid university entrance qualification
Depending on the country in which you have obtained the “Abitur” (or secondary school leaving certificate such as Baccalauréat, High School Certificate, Lise Diplomasi, etc.), it is necessary to check whether your certificate entitles you to study in Germany. If you want to know whether your foreign certificates entitle you to study in Germany, please have a look at the page of http://anabin.kmk.org or at the website of uni-assist "Check: university admission".
Admission to a master's degree program
You have to submit proof of a valid first university degree (Bachelor) from a recognized university completed in accordance with the prescribed study standard and, as a rule, on a full-time basis. This degree must be equivalent to a six- to eight-semester bachelor's degree completed in Germany. You can check if the institution you completed your degree at is a recognized institution in anabin under "Institution" and "Hochschulabschlüsse". The institutions marked H+ are recognized in Germany.
Please note that your first degree must be completed upon application.
Sufficient language proficiency for studying
RheinMain University of Applied Sciences offers degree programs in German or English. In the study finder, you can filter your search for the desired degree program by language of instruction.
German
When applying, you can initially submit a certificate with at least level B2. For enrollment, you must provide proof of at least level C1. This website provides information on the German language certificates accepted by RheinMain University of Applied Sciences.
RheinMain University of Applied Sciences offers preparatory German courses at levels B2 and C1. For more information, visit prepare@hs-rm.de
English
Here you can check the English language requirements. You can find the English language requirements under “Everything at a glance -→ Language level and certificates.”
Meet the prerequisites for the desired degree program
Please find out about the content and admission requirements of your desired degree program BEFORE applying (> click on the desired degree program”).
Meet the formal requirements and observe the deadlines when applying
- The documents must be submitted in the original language and with a translation in German or English. The translation must be done by a sworn translator. This also applies if you have to hand in proof of internship with a list of the completed tasks.
You can search for suitable translators in your area on the website of the Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators (Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer, web site in German): https://bdue.de/der-beruf/beeidigte. - You must upload all required documents (transcripts, language certificates and additional documents depending on the study program) to the uni-assist applicant portal MyA and submit all applications online by the application deadline. The uni-assist fee must also be transferred and received by the application deadline.
Applicants with foreign certificates apply using the uni-assist procedure, regardless of their nationality. uni-assist takes over the expert examination of your application documents and forwards your valid application to Hochschule RheinMain. You can find all important information about application at www.uni-assist.de.
Please apply early so that you have time to submit any missing documents, if necessary. Only a complete application submitted by the application deadline is valid. You can find the check lists for required documents under the "Downloads"section. The application is an online application, you have to upload all required document in the uni-assist application portal My assist.
How do I apply through uni-assist?
If you are applying for Studienkolleg or an NC Bachelor's program, please read the information about the specific application procedure below. Apply as follow for all NC-free Bachelor's programs and Master's programs.
Step 1
Apply via uni-assist. Information about applying to uni-assist can be found on the homepage www.uni-assist.de/en/.
Step 2
Upload all required documents on the uni-assist application portal MyAssist and submit the application online. uni-assist will evaluate your documents and forward the valid applications to Hochschule RheinMain. You can find a check list of the required documents in the download section.
Step 3
After a positive evaluation, uni-assist will automatically forward your application in electronic form to RheinMain Hochschule, where your admission will be decided. When your application has been accepted, your data will be transferred to our Campus Management System HSRM COMPASS and you will receive your personal access data by e-mail.
You can follow the progress of your application and will receive a message whether you are admitted or whether some required documents are still missing via HSRM COMPASS .
Specific application procedure
- I have an indirect university entrance qualification and have to complete a preparatory year (Studienkolleg)
Applicants with an indirect university entrance qualification must either complete a preparatory course at a Studienkolleg or pass an internal university examination before starting their studies > Information on the application procedure - I would like to apply for an NC Bachelor's degree program (limited admission)
Hochschule RheinMain participates in the dialog-oriented service procedure (DoSV) for NC degree programs - If you have not received a study place in the main procedure in applying for an NC Bachelor or Master's degree program
There is the possibility to apply in the lottery procedure if study places are (still) available shortly before the start of lectures. A remaining place can be allocated by lottery (information only in German). The study courses participating in this lottery will be published on our website.
For a summer semester/for a winter semester
Application deadline for Studienkolleg
December 1/May 15: for all degree programs
Application deadline for Bachelor's degree programs
January 15/July 15: for all bachelor's degree programs with restricted entrance and the program 'Social Work BASA-Online'.
March 1/September 1: for all other bachelor's degree program without restricted entrance
Application deadline for Master's degree programs
June 15:
- Innenarchitektur - Conceptual Design (only for a winter semester)
January 15/July 15:
- Architektur | Bauen mit Bestand
- Digital Business Management (NC)
- International Management (only in Englisch)
- Kommunikationsdesign - Crossmedia Spaces (only for a winter semester)
- Media & Design Management
- Real Estate (only for a winter semester)
- Screen Arts (German track or English track)
- Sales & Marketing Management
- Soziale Arbeit (NC, only for a summer semester)
- Umweltmanagement und Stadtplanung in Ballungsräumen (full time study or work-study program)
March 1/September 1:
- Advanced Media Technology
- Angewandte Physik
- Baukulturerbe | Sustainable Heritge Conservation
- Berufsbegleitendes Ingenieurstudium Elektrotechnik und Management (part-time)
- Berufsbegleitendes Ingenieurstudium Product Development and Manufacturing (part-time)
- Berufsbegleitendes Ingenieurstudium Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen (part-time)
- Bio- und Umwelttechnik
- Controlling and Finance
- Electrical Engineering - Connected Systems
- Fahrzeugentwicklung, Energietechnik und Produktionsplanung
- Informatik - Software und System Engineering
- Insurance and Banking
- Konstruktiver Ingenieurbau/Baumanagement
- Management im Gesundheitswesen
- Medieninformatik - Intelligente und interaktive Systems
- Medizintechnik
- Nachhaltige Mobilität (only for a winter semester)
- Real Estate (only for a winter semester)
- Soziale Arbeit mit Schwerpunkt Bildung (only for a summer semester)
- Wirtschaftsinformatik - Information Systems & Digital Transformation
If you are applying for a Bachelor's degree program for a first semester (not Studienkolleg), you can be exempted from the uni-assist application procedure. This applies in the following cases:
- Applicants who can present a certificate of assessment for direct admission to higher education with a stated average grade (according to the German grading system) from a central certificate recognition office in one of the federal states that is valid throughout Germany. Attention: the assessment notice of a university is not a generally valid notice and is usually only valid in the context of the application procedure for a specific semester at this university. If you have any doubts, please do not hesitate to ask us.
- Applicants submitting a European Baccalaureate with the accompanying certificate of assessment of the European grade into a German grade;
- Applicants who passed an assessment test at a Studienkolleg (preparatory course) in Hesse at one of the following locations: Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Kassel, Marburg
(Applicants from other German federal states need to apply through uni-assist) - Students at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences or applicants who have already received a letter of admission from Hochschule RheinMain for the same degree program in the previous semester.
- Applicants for a higher semester;
- Application to one of the following bachelor programs:
- Berufsbegleitendes Ingenieurstudium Elektrotechnik
- Berufsbegleitendes Ingenieurstudium Maschinenbau
Please apply via HSRM COMPASS, the online application portal of Hochschule RheinMain.
Please note the deadlines for direct application via HSRM COMPASS (only in German).
You must submit German language skills in addition to the university entrance qualification.
There are no exceptions to the uni-assist procedure for an application for the Studienkolleg and for all Master's degree courses for a first semester, except for the Master's degree course in Social Work with a focus on social space development and organization (Soziale Arbeit mit dem Schwerpunkt Sozialraumentwicklung und -organisation). You apply for this program via Hochschule Fulda.
For application
The minimum level of German language proficiency while applying is level B2. You have to hand in proof by application deadline at the latest:
DSH-1
- TestDaf: at least level 3 in all parts of the exam
- Intermediate Level Language Test of the Goethe-Institut ("Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung")
- a certificate showing you have completed an advanced course at another language school (Zeugnis über den Abschluss der Oberstufe eines Sprachinstituts)
- a certificate showing you have completed a DSH/TestDaF preparatory course
- a certificate of a completed German course/German examination with at least level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
- proof of at least 1,000 hours of German lessons (800 hours for application to Studienkolleg)
For enrollment
Once you are admitted to the desired degree program, you are required to hand in proof of German language proficiency with level C1. You must submit one of the following certificates by the enrollment deadline, but no later than March 15 for a summer semester or September 15 for a winter semester:
German language proficiency test for university entrance (DSH) at a registered higher education institution. DSH-2 is required!
- TestDaf: min. level 4 in all parts of the examination
- telc Deutsch: C1 Hochschule
- Goethe Certificate C2
- German Language Diploma of the German Education Ministers’ Conference DSD II (Deutsches Sprachdiplom– Stufe II)
- "Großes" or "Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom" test of the Goethe Institute
- Goethe Institute: the Central Advanced Language Test "Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung"
- Assessment test from a Studienkolleg, German test with a grade of at least 4 (Feststellungsprüfung)
- Certificate of the German Language Examination II of the Sprachen- und Dolmetscher-Institut Munich
You can be exempted from a German examination if you hand in one of the following certificates:
- telc C1 Hochschule
- Österreichisches Sprachdiplom C2 (ÖSD C2)
- A degree in German (Germanistik) (also teaching first or second foreign language) abroad
- a completed vocational apprenticeship (or education) in Germany
- a completed German taught degree at a recognized university in Germany
- 10 school years at a German school (the certificate "Realschulabschluss" without proof of 10 years at a German school does not qualify)!
- German citizens who have obtained their International Baccalaureate (IB) in Germany are exempt from the DSH examination if the subject German was taken as Language A or Language B HL.
- or if you are applying for the English taught master's degree programs 'International Management' (in this case, a level C1 in English is required) or in 'Screen Arts (in this case, the required level is B2).
You will find an exhaustive list in Annex 1 of the Enrollment Rules for Hochschule RheinMain (only in German).
The language of instruction for most degree programs at Hochschule RheinMain is German. However, there are some degree programs that require additional English language skills or are taught exclusively in English.
You can find out which degree programs these are and the required level of English at the Language Hub > Everything at a glance > “Language level and proofs”.
The International Office of Hochschule RheinMain has developed a new concept for preparatory German courses. All prospective students from a solid B1 level and with a direct university entrance qualification can register for the Prepare@HSRM program (only in German).
If you have received an admission offer that you wish to accept, please enrol within the deadline stated in the admission letter.
The letter of admission explains the steps you need to take to enroll. If you do not apply for enrollment together with the required documents in your applicant account within the specified period, your letter of admission will become invalid, meaning that you will not be able to transfer it to the next semester.
Documents for enrollment
The enrollment process is an online process. Please do not hand in any documents in hard copy/paper.
- You have to provide proof of membership in a statutory health insurance company.
- If you are a minor (under 18 years old), we require the declaration of consent of your legal guardian.
- If you have already studied in Germany (Studienkolleg excluded), you must submit the ex-matriculation certificate from the former university or universities.
- If you have already studied in Germany, you must also prove that you are still entitled to take examinations in the former degree program or that you have not definitively failed the examinations.
- If you have never studied at a German university, you do not need proof of ex-matriculation or examination entitlement.
- German language certificate C1, if not already handed in.
I am enrolled. What now?
Once you have fully enrolled, you will receive an e-mail from the Admissions Office (Studienbüro) with important information about starting your studies and a separate email from the IT and Media Center with your login details for your student account on HSRM COMPASS.
As soon as you have logged in, you can download a certificate of enrollment which you can present to the Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde).
Certificates for the Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde)
During the course of your studies, you will regularly need a certificate of study progress (Studienverlaufsbescheinigung) to present to the Immigration Office in order to extend your residence permit. Please contact the International Team in the Admissions Office (Studienbüro) at least two weeks before your appointment with the Immigration Office. Send an e-mail stating your request along with your complete name, date of birth and enrollment number (Matrikelnummer).
German Language: I'm still learning!
Even if I handed in my C1 proof for enrollment, it is still hard work to study in German. The LehrLernZentrum offers language courses for the scientific and technical language German and other interesting workshops - all free of charge! This way I can keep developing my German skills and can focus on studying without the worry about understanding, writing and speaking in a language that is not my mother tongue.
I am enrolled in the English track of a Master program
If I am planning on finding a job on the German market, I need to be aware that I still need to have at least some basic German language skills to be successful. It is strongly recommended to learn the German language even if it means that I have a higher workload. It will pay off in my day-to-day life and in my job search.
You can find information about the application to a higher semester here (only in German).
Checklist for required documents
German proficiency
Fact sheet German language skills
Degree programs
Studienkolleg: focus courses for degree programs
Application portal HSRM COMPASS