Admission Procedure

Admission to undergraduate studies (Bachelor, first law examination)

Basically, a distinction is made in the award procedure between open-admission subjects and restricted-admission subjects. Restricted-admission subjects are marked in the Studies Database and in the brochure “Studying at the University of Bremen” (only in German). If there are specific requirements for your study program, they must be fulfilled before you can enroll. This applies regardless of whether your degree program is open-admission or restricted, i.e. if you do not meet such requirements on time, you will not receive a place to study.

Open-admission subjects

For subjects that do not have restricted admission, so-called “open” subjects, there are enough places for all applicants. Anyone who submits an application with all the required documents by the deadline will be allocated a place to study.

Restricted admission subjects

For restricted admission subjects, so-called Z subjects, there are only a limited number of places available. For Z subjects, 80% of the study places are awarded on the basis of theaverage or weighted school-leaving grade. (Exceptions are the study places awarded according to special quotas). From the applicant list sorted by grades, the so-called ranking lists, as many as study places are allocated as available. The grade of the last student admitted is the “NC” of the respective procedure. The NC is therefore not a fixed value, but results every year anew depending on the number of applicants and the number of study places that can be awarded.

20% of the places are allocated on the basis of waiting lists. A waiting period is the period after high-school graduation during which an applicant was not enrolled in Germany. For example: An applicant goes abroad as an au pair for a year after graduation or undertakes a three-year period of vocational training: This results in 2 or 6 waiting semester respectively.

Applicants with the best average grades or the longest waiting times will get a study place. Applicants who have waited more than 8 semesters will be placed in a random order. Waiting times are being counted, regardless of whether you have actually applied for a place to study. Waiting times and average grades are NOT offset against each other.

Ranking lists in dialogue-oriented service procedures

As soon as the University has created and activated the rankings, you can see under your login at www.hochschulstart.de how many places are allocated, what your rank is, and how many persons have withdrawn their application. As soon as an applicant withdraws from the procedure, the dialogue-oriented service procedure automatically awards the vacant place to the next applicant in the ranking list.

How high was the minimum grade requirement?

The minimum grade requirement values ​​from the last admission procedures provide an orientation for the chances of admission, because the minimum grade requirement is the grade or waiting time up to which there were allocations of study places in the previous year. However, the minimum grade requirement only says something about the limits of past allocation procedures; never about future! The limits always reflect the relationship between supply (places) and demand (applications). Depending on the relationship between supply and demand, thresholds vary considerably from semester to semester and from university to university.

The limit values ​​of the last admission procedures (in German):

• Minimum grade requirement values for the winter semester 2021/2022
• Minimum grade requirement values for the winter semester 2019/20 and 2020/2021
• Minimum grade requirement values for the winter semester 2019/20
• Minimum grade requirement values for the winter semester 2018/19
• Minimum grade requirement values for the winter semester 2017/18
• Minimum grade requirement values ​​for the winter semester 2016/17
• Minimum grade requirement values ​​for the winter semester 2015/16

Admission to study with several subjects

If you apply for a bachelor's degree program with two or three subjects, you will only be admitted if you obtain a place in all study subjects. No offer in one subject leads to the rejection of your entire application: Enrollment in part of a study program is not possible. In the course of your application, you can apply for different subject combinations with a single subject.

Anyone who has already enrolled at the University of Bremen and wants to change to another subject will be transferred to that subject in the event of being allocated the desired place. In case of rejection, you remain enrolled in your previous degree program.

Hardship cases, military and community service, second degree, and age

In some cases special rules have to be taken into account. In detail these are:

• Hardship cases if the applicant is bound to Bremen owing to serious illness, family or economic reasons
• Preferred approval following military or voluntary service and after the care and support of a relative
• Second degree after completing a university degree
• Age from 55 years

Admission to a master’s program

A master's is a new / second degree. Graduates from bachelor’s studies are therefore new students in the master's program and not “advanced students”. For a master's degree, a successful bachelor's degree is prerequisite. Selection for a master's program takes into account the grade of the bachelor's degree, a letter of motivation or the applicant’s professional proximity to the content of the master's program. Waiting times do not count. Which criteria play a role in the selection can be found in the respective admission and admission regulations for the master's program in question. A quick overview of application deadlines and the respective admission regulations can be found in the University of Bremen’s Master-Portal.