Hardship application/second degree

Osnabrück University allocates up to two percent of study places in an undergraduate (partial) degree program with restricted admission to applicants who have special personal health, social or family reasons that make it absolutely necessary for them to start their studies immediately, i.e. reasons that make it unreasonable to delay the start of their studies by even one semester. (Advance quota/hardship quota according to § 22 para. 1 no. 2 in conjunction with § 24 of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act. § Section 24 of the Lower Saxony University Admission Ordinance [NHZVO]).

Hardship applications are decided on a case-by-case basis. The justification and evidence to be provided are subject to strict scrutiny, as admission on the basis of hardship criteria generally always results in the rejection of an application that has not yet been admitted and is subject to the general admission criteria.

Substantiated applications (examples)

In the following exemplary cases, the application may be granted on the merits

1. Special health circumstances
   As a general rule, special current or future health circumstances that require immediate admission must be substantiated by a specialist medical report. The specialist medical report must make a clear statement on any applicable criteria in the following sub-items. The report should contain statements on the development, severity, course and treatment options of the illness as well as a prognosis for the further course of the illness. It should also be comprehensible for medical laypersons. Suitable additional evidence includes, for example, the severely disabled person's pass, the assessment notice from the pension office or the military discharge notice. However, these do not in themselves justify admission as a case of hardship.
   1.1. Illness with a tendency to worsen: this will lead to a high probability that it will not be possible to withstand the stresses of studying in the future.
   1.2. Disability due to illness: Vocational rehabilitation can only be ensured by immediate admission to the course of study because the disability means that it is not possible to bridge the waiting period in a meaningful way.
   1.3. Restriction to a narrow occupational field due to physical disability: The course of study aimed at is likely to lead to successful rehabilitation.
   1.4. Necessity to give up the previous course of study or the previous occupation for health reasons: A meaningful bridging of the waiting period is not possible for these reasons.
   1.5. physical disability: the disability stands in the way of any other reasonable activity until the allocation of a study place.
   1.6. restriction in the choice of profession or occupation due to illness: due to this circumstance, impediment to a meaningful bridging of the waiting period.
2. Special family or social circumstances
   In principle, special current or future family or social circumstances that require immediate admission must be clearly explained and substantiated by suitable evidence.
3. Previous admission to the named degree program and inability to take advantage of admission at the time for compelling reasons for which the applicant is not responsible (in particular illness)
   In addition to suitable proof of the compelling reason that has prevented enrolment to date, the previous letter of admission must also be provided.
4. Special social or family reasons in the applicant's person that make an immediate change of study location absolutely necessary. This does not include reasons that could have been asserted in the regular admission procedure that led to the applicant's admission (proof of current enrolment for the desired degree program at a German university and proof of the reasons for the change of study location).

Unsubstantiated applications (examples)

In the following cases, the application is generally unsuccessful, unless there are other exceptional circumstances in the applicant's person, if only the following are claimed

re 1 Special health circumstances

• Local ties due to the need for home care and support in the event of an existing illness
• Necessity to give up previous studies/profession for health reasons; it is possible to bridge the waiting period
• Restriction in career choice due to illness; it is possible to bridge the waiting period

Re 2 Special family or social circumstances

• Financing of studies from private funds is not possible
• Private financing of studies no longer possible if the start of studies is further delayed
• Limited financing of studies by contract or other legal transaction (e.g. farm transfer contract, inheritance contract, will); financing is no longer secured for the desired course of study if admission is further delayed
• Time limit on the receipt of pension payments from the German Armed Forces
• Receipt of study support from public funds, orphan's allowance, pension or similar income for an alternative course of study; the alternative course of study is counted towards the period for which this income is granted
• Financing an alternative course of study through a loan; further delays in admission to the intended course of study result in an increased burden due to repayment and interest obligations
• Maintenance by a working spouse
• Need to give up the position of the working spouse providing maintenance
• The spouse/life partner is also still in education; the financial situation therefore requires an immediate start of studies in the applicant's own opinion
• Applicant is widowed or divorced and would like to secure the future livelihood of their own dependent children through their studies
• Financial difficulties of the parents
• Applicant would like to support or provide for parents suffering from financial difficulties or care for siblings as soon as possible
• Applicant is an orphan or half-orphan
• Applicant is married
• Applicant has one or more children
• Father or mother or both parents are ill or severely disabled
• Siblings are physically disabled, in need of care or unable to work
• Origin from a large family; all or almost all siblings are still in education
• Need for financial support from parents, siblings or other dependants in the near future
• Abandonment of previous studies/occupation due to unemployment/poor career prospects
• Abandonment of previous studies/occupation due to lack of motivation/suitability
• Assertion of particular aptitude for the named course of study and the corresponding profession
• Existence of creditable academic achievements and/or periods of study
• Many years of theoretical work in the field of the intended degree program
• Applicant is already at an advanced age
• Repeated rejection for the desired degree program
• Exceeding a relevant age limit in the event of a further delay in the start of studies (e.g. for admission to the preparatory period of service prior to qualifying for the teaching profession)
• Completion of a service
• Regional restriction of the university entrance qualification
• A course of study started abroad cannot be completed there and is to be continued
• Necessity of high expenses for the acquisition of the higher education entrance qualification through the second educational pathway

re 3 Earlier admission to the named degree program and inability to take advantage of admission at the time for compelling reasons for which the applicant is not responsible (in particular illness)

• Failure to meet the enrolment deadline after admission to the named degree program in an earlier semester
• Waiver of the study place after enrolment in an earlier semester (e.g. after unsuccessful search for accommodation)
• Applicant was admitted to the named degree program in an earlier semester, but was not enrolled due to lack of recognition of the university entrance qualification by the university

Status May 2023

Osnabrück University awards up to three percent of places on an undergraduate (partial) degree program with restricted admission to applicants who have already obtained a first degree in a degree program at a German university. (Advance quota/second degree quota pursuant to § 22 para. 1 no. 3 in conjunction with § 25 of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act). § 25 of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Admission Ordinance [NHZVO]).
Decisions on second degree applications are made on a case-by-case basis. The justification and evidence to be provided are subject to strict examination, as admission as a second degree applicant generally always results in the rejection of an application that has not yet been admitted and is subject to the general admission criteria.

General information

• Study places in undergraduate (partial) degree programs are only awarded in the winter semester.
• Degree certificates issued after 15.07. (end of the application deadline) cannot be considered in the selection of second degree courses for the corresponding winter semester.
• Universities within the meaning of the aforementioned regulation include ^{universities1}, universities of education, music, art and sports universities, universities of the Federal Armed Forces, ecclesiastical universities, universities of applied sciences including universities of applied sciences for public administration and dual universities (Baden-Württemberg⁾².
• A course of study is completed when the prescribed state final examination (state examination) or academic final examination (e.g. Bachelor's, Diplom or Magister examination) has been successfully passed. In the case of Law and Teacher Education, studies are considered completed when the first state examination has been passed; Pharmacy studies are considered completed when the second part of the Pharmaceutical examination has been passed with regard to the second degree regulation.
• Applications for a place on a consecutive Master's degree course that builds on a related Bachelor's degree course do not count as a second degree application.

Required documents

• Degree certificate from the first degree program
  The degree certificate from the first degree program must be uploaded to the application portal within the respective application deadline as part of the application. The final grade with which the first degree course was completed must be stated on the degree certificate or in a special certificate issued by the body responsible for issuing the degree certificate. If a final grade is not shown, 1 point is taken as the basis.
• Justification of second degree aspirations
  As part of the application, a detailed justification for the second degree aspirations, which must include information on previous education, professional activity and the desired career goal, must be uploaded to the application portal. The justification should include all aspects that are relevant to the second degree program; the case group(s) claimed should be explicitly mentioned. Suitable documents that substantiate/support the reasons must also be uploaded.

Selection procedure

The selection of second degree applicants is based on a ranking determined by a measurement number. The score itself is generally determined by the result of the final examination of the first degree course and the degree of importance of the reasons for a second degree course. Points are awarded for both criteria as listed below - the sum of these points is used to calculate the score. There is no accumulation of several reasons; the most favorable case group is used as the basis for determining the measurement number.

If the aim is to reintegrate or re-enter working life after a family phase, an increase of up to 2 points can be granted when applying for a second degree course. The increase can be considered if the previous professional activity had to be given up for family reasons (e.g. marriage, raising children) or if it was necessary to refrain from taking up an adequate professional activity after completing the first degree course out of consideration for family concerns. The amount of the points supplement depends on the degree to which the student is affected. The extent of the burden (e.g. number of children, duration of the family phase) must be taken into account in an appropriate manner.

The score determined in this way is decisive for your placement on the ranking list for selection for a second degree course. Applicants with a higher score take precedence over those with a lower score. Subordinate criteria are service and lot. This means that there is a clear ranking order among the people who have applied for the same degree program. Selection is made in this order until all study places have been allocated within the quota for second degree applicants.

Result of the final examination

The following points are awarded for each examination result:

Reasons for the second degree

The degree of importance of the reasons is scored as shown below:

Case group 1: compelling professional reasons - 9 points
The aim is to pursue a profession that can only be practiced on the basis of two completed degree programs. The further studies should therefore enable the student to take up a profession that requires the successful completion of two degree programs. This applies, for example, to religious clergy who, after studying theology, wish to study to become a teacher at a religious school

Case group 2: Academic reasons
With a view to a later career in academia and research, a further academic qualification in another course of study is sought on the basis of previous academic and practical work.
Note: Submit your application as early as possible before the relevant application deadline, as your application must be submitted to the relevant subject representative body to assess the significance of the academic reasons.
11 points: The scientific reasons are of outstanding scientific importance, evidenced by previous outstanding scientific/practical achievements and of particular general interest.
9 points: The scientific reasons are of particular importance, documented by previous scientific/practical achievements and of general interest.
7 points: The academic reasons are weighty, substantiated by previous academic/practical achievements and of general interest.

Case group 3: Special professional reasons
7 points: There are special professional reasons if the professional situation is significantly improved by the fact that the completion of the second degree complements the first degree in a meaningful way. It must be possible to establish a factual connection between the content of the completed first degree course and the intended second degree course. In the case of a teacher training course with two subjects, it is sufficient if this is only possible for one subject.
Note: The concrete and individual career planning is decisive. This requires that, in order to meaningfully supplement the first degree course, it is explained in particular which prerequisites for the desired career goal have been acquired through the previous professional career (e.g. in the first degree course) and which prerequisites are provided by the second degree course for the desired career goal.
If the aim of the second degree course is merely to change careers, special professional reasons cannot be affirmed. However, it is irrelevant in which field of study the focus of the later professional practice lies and in which order the two courses of study are completed.

Case group 4: Other professional reasons
4 points: Although the further course of study is not a meaningful addition to the first course of study, the professional situation is significantly improved by the second course of study for other reasons.
Note: The previous lack of opportunities on the labor market after completing the first degree can be proven by unsuccessful applications and/or a confirmation from the employment agency, among other things.

Case group 5: Other reasons
1 point: All other second degree projects are assigned to this case group.

As of May 2023
^{1This includes}the former  comprehensive universities
^{2Predecessor institutions}of the universities of applied sciences and engineering schools are not subject to the regulation, nor are vocational academies unless they are state-recognized by a state awarding act and the degree is equivalent to a degree at a university and is to be regarded as equivalent.