How to apply as a degree-seeking student
If you have selected one or more degree programs at TH Köln you want to apply for, we strongly recommend informing yourself about the right way of applying. The correct way for you to apply is determined by your citizenship, your desired program and your previous academic qualifications.
How to apply
University entrance qualification (“Hochschulzugangsberechtigung”)
A certificate that entitles the holder to study at a university. This can be a school-leaving certificate or a combination of school-leaving certificate and periods of study from the home country.
Please check how to apply for your desired program.
If you would like to apply for more than one program, it is possible that the application processes are different. Therefore, please carefully read the information about each of your desired programs.
Please tick the boxes that apply to you.
What is restricted admission?
Bachelor's programs without restricted admission (without numerus clausus) are programs in which there is no maximum number of places and, as a rule, every applicant receives a place if the basic requirements are met (school-leaving certificate or degree entitling the holder to study in Germany). In the case of Bachelor's programs with an aptitude test, only persons who both fulfill the basic requirements and have passed the test are admitted.
Bachelor's programs with restricted admission (with numerus clausus) are programs for which only a certain number of places are available in each semester. A ranking system will allocate the places to applicants, using the allocation procedure.
For non-EU-/EEA-applicants, 7% of the places are reserved in each Bachelor's program with restricted admission.
For programs with restricted admission, it is always advisable to apply to several universities in parallel, as there is no guarantee that you will get a place.
It is also not possible to make definite forecasts for a semester, as it always depends on how many applicants there are in a semester.
The NC is not a fixed value. It is not possible to say in advance that only people with a grade of, for example, 2.0 will get a place.
To get an idea of how many places a program has and how many applicants there were in previous semesters, it is interesting to take a look at the procedure results of the last semesters.
Master's programs can also be with or without restricted admission. In the case of admission-restricted Master's programs, there are also only a certain number of places available. In this procedure, places are allocated according to the best grade. 7% of the places are reserved for non-EU-/EEA-citizens.
In the case of admission-free Master's programs, theoretically all applicants who meet the basic requirements can be admitted.
However, the examination board of the program usually looks at all formally correct applications and then decides on the basis of its criteria (letter of motivation, etc.)
who will be admitted to the program. Care is taken to ensure that a good group of students is selected and that the ratio of teachers to students is balanced to ensure the quality of the program.
This means that there may be rejections even though all formal requirements have been met.
Applicants with Feststellungsprüfung
The Feststellungsprüfung (e.g. a degree from a Studienkolleg in Germany) is only valid in conjunction with your foreign secondary school certificate and therefore counts as a foreign higher education entrance qualification, i.e. not as a German certificate. Please follow the instructions in the table above.
What are the application deadlines?
The application deadlines for all Bachelor's and Master's programs can be found on the individual program pages. Please select a program and then "How to apply". Here you can find out which application deadlines apply to you.
Should you have any questions about the application or the admission, please contact the Team International Degree-Seeking Students.
