Preparatory Course for International Students (Studienkolleg)

If you do not yet have a certificate that directly entitles you to study in Germany, you can attend a preparatory course (Studienkolleg) in certain cases. This enables you to obtain a higher education entrance qualification.

Within one year, you will attend a specific specialization course and complete it with the so-called "Feststellungsprüfung" (university entrance exam). This corresponds to a subject-specific higher education entrance qualification, which enables you to study certain subjects throughout Germany in accordance with the specialization course.

You can find information about the recognition of your certificates and the admission options for the preparatory course (Studienkolleg) on  uni-assist or  anabin.

Course types

Preparatory courses (Studienkollegs) offer different types of specialization courses that prepare you for the respective field of study. Your previous education and your desired field of study determine which course you can take:

• T-courses for technical, mathematical and scientific subjects (except biology)
• M-courses for medical and biological subjects
• W-courses for economics and social science subjects as well as law
• G-courses for humanities, social sciences and arts subjects

Osnabrück University does not have its own preparatory course (Studienkolleg).
If you apply for a preparatory course (Studienkolleg) via Osnabrück University, you will be referred to the  Niedersächsische Studienkolleg in Hannover.

Language requirements

An entrance requirement for applying to the preparatory course (Studienkolleg) is a good knowledge of German at level B1 or higher.
The following language certificates are recognized as proof of German language proficiency:

Onset, TestDaF, DSH, DSD I, DSD II, Telc, Telc Hochschule, Goethe-Zertifikate, ÖSD, Unicert, IB-Deutsch, IIK Göttingen and certificates from TU Clausthal and TU Braunschweig.

Please note that the language certificate must not be older than two years at the time of application and that we cannot recognize certificates from private institutions.

If you are not sure whether your language certificate is recognized, please contact us at:  studentsoffice@uni-osnabrueck.de

Application and invitation to the entrance test

After a successful application via uni-assist, Osnabrück University will send you an invitation to the preparatory course (Studienkolleg) entrance test. On the website of the preparatory course (Studienkolleg) in Hanover you will find  further information on the admission procedure.

This admission test includes a German test as well as additional tests for the different course types. Information on test dates and examples of tests can be found on the website of the  Niedersächsisches Studienkolleg.

Please note that passing the entrance test does not mean that you are guaranteed a place at the preparatoty course (Studienkolleg).

Feststellungsprüfung (university entrance exam)

After two semesters, you will take the so-called Feststellungsprüfung (university entrance exam). With this certificate, you can apply to all German universities for subjects in the area of the specialization course that you have successfully completed. For direct studies, you must re-apply to the university of your choice. The German section of the Feststellungsprüfung (university entrance exam) corresponds to a German language certificate at level C1 and is recognized by Osnabrück University as sufficient proof of German language skills.

Further preparatory courses

There is a private  preparatory course (Studienkolleg) in Mettingen in the Osnabrück University region, for which you can apply directly (without having to apply to the university). Further information can be found on the website of the preparatoty course (Studienkolleg) in Mettingen.

Studienkollegs throughout Germany

There are other preparatory courses (Studienkollegs) in Germany. Here you will find a list of  state-recognized preparatory colleges. We recommend that you use this list as a guide when choosing a preparatory course (Studienkolleg).