A disability or chronic illness should not stand in the way of required achievements. The recognition of hardship cases and the compensation for disadvantages ensure equal opportunities in access to studies.

Individual consultation

Here you will find an overview of contact points that offer individual consultation.

Access and admission to studies

The Student Advisory Service offers information on general questions regarding application, admission requirements, aptitude tests and admission procedures, among other things. The Student Office advises on all administrative matters for admission to studies, including applying for hardship or disadvantage compensation and the required evidence.

Advanced training

The Commissioner for Handicapped and Chronically Ill Students organizes regular staff training courses on compensation for disadvantages. Further information can be found in the staff training database.

Conflicts and solutions

The contact for study offices, teaching staff and Examination Committees in the case of complex (guidance) cases is the Commissioner for Handicapped and Chronically Ill Students.

Qualification test

Do you have to pass a qualification test? You may be entitled to compensation for a disadvantage. The prerequisite is that you are disadvantaged in the performance of the qualifying test compared to your fellow applicants due to the consequences of your impairment. Please inform yourself in good time before the examination at the respective faculty.

Apply for hardship

Two percent of the study places are reserved for applicants with a case of hardship. The prerequisite is that the rejection of the application for admission to studies would constitute an exceptional hardship. Special social or family reasons may make it absolutely necessary to take up studies immediately or to change the place of study.

Requirements

The prerequisite is the existence of a particularly serious personal exceptional situation related to present or future circumstances. The consideration of hardship cases has a serious impact on the allocation of available study places. Therefore, a particularly strict standard is applied. Our university is guided by the criteria of the Foundation for University Admission (hochschulstart.de). For foreign nationals and stateless persons, insofar as they do not have the same status as Germans, other advance quotas often apply. Then no case of hardship can be claimed.

  • A particularly severe personal exceptional situation does not automatically lead to the receipt of a study place!
    If the number of applicants exceeds the available hardship places, the degree of exceptional hardship will decide.

Examples

The existence of a hardship may generally be presumed in the case of:

  • special health circumstances which require immediate admission,
  • Illness with a tendency to aggravate, which will result in a high probability that the stresses of the course of study cannot be endured in the future,
  • Restriction to a narrow field of occupation due to physical disability; the course of study sought is likely to result in successful rehabilitation,
  • physical disability that stands in the way of any other reasonable activity until a place of study is assigned,
  • necessity to give up the previous studies or occupation for health reasons, and
  • previous admission to the said course of study. But the participation was not possible for reasons that are not self-inflicted. This can be especially illness (proof of the compelling reason that prevented enrollment and previous admission letter).

As a rule, the following situations do not constitute hardship:

  • the prospective student has sick or severely disabled parents,
  • the prospective student is married,
  • the prospective student has one or more children,
  • the prospective student has a partial study place, and
  • the prospective student would like to do a doctorate in Leipzig.

Proof

Your hardship case must be clearly demonstrated by enclosed supporting documentation. An outside person must be able to understand the facts of the case on the basis of the documents. The circumstances claimed must lie in your person and not be your responsibility!

In the case of health impairments (for example, disability or chronic illness), a current statement or expert opinion from a specialist may be required as proof. The proof must contain a sufficient statement on the individual criteria that are claimed as a case of hardship.

The evidence should contain statements about the origin, severity, course and treatment options of the disease as well as a prognosis about the further course of the disease. The evidence should be comprehensible to medical laypersons who do not have in-depth medical expertise. Suitable additional proofs are, for example, the disabled person's pass or the assessment notice from the pension office. All documents must be submitted as officially certified copies.

Submitting an application

To submit an application, specify this in the online application in the section "Recognition of special applications". In the next application section, you will be asked to upload evidence for your submitted application and a justification. To do this, attach the required evidence to the printed application that you send to the Leipzig University.

Improvement of the average mark

Special circumstances may hinder the achievement of a better average grade in the acquisition of the university entrance qualification. In this case, you can apply for disadvantage compensation to improve your average mark. The performance in the upper school is considered and not the Abitur examination.

Requirements

There must be special circumstances and resulting impairments of performance. This must have prevented the applicant from achieving a better average grade or score within the framework of the university entrance qualification (for example, Abitur). Our university is guided by the criteria of the Foundation for University Admission (hochschulstart.de).

Examples

Possible reasons and evidence:

  • prolonged absence from classes due to illness during the three years before acquiring the university entrance qualification (specialist medical certificate),

  • prolonged severe disability or illness (specialist medical certificate) 

  • as well as other comparable special health circumstances (specialist medical certificate).

Unfounded applications

The following is a list of cases or reasons which in principle do not show any disadvantage to be compensated. A corresponding application is generally futile. Please pay close attention to the list:

  • Working in the parental household, business or enterprise during the school years without being forced to do so by an emergency situation,

  • Illness of the parents,

  • relocation of the parents within three years before acquiring the higher education entrance qualification,

  • alleged disadvantage because of attending a high school of a certain type or taking the Abitur for persons who did not go to school,

  • claimed disadvantage because of taking the Abitur in a country with a central Abitur,

  • attending a school with bad facilities or a shortage of teachers,

  • claiming to have been disadvantaged by unfair assessment,

  • illness during the Abitur,

  • long and time-consuming way to school,

  • participation in an exchange program,

  • or participation in pupil management.

Evidence

If special circumstances have led to an impairment of performance (for example, a month-long hospital stay), only this evidence is not sufficient for the justification. In addition, it must be proven how the circumstances have affected the average grade.

To prove the drop in performance, you must enclose certified copies of your school reports. As further proof, you will usually need a report from your school (not from the teacher!). The proof must show the extent to which your academic performance has deteriorated. The proof must be submitted individually for each relevant subject. This assessment will result in a new average grade with which you will participate in the admission procedure.

A school report can only be dispensed with if the school is unable to provide it. Example: You attended the school for only a short time and the school is unable to assess the impact of special circumstances. In this case, you must submit a statement from the school explaining why it cannot provide a report. In such a case, an expert opinion of a person trained both pedagogically and psychologically must be submitted, which you must obtain at your own costs.

Submitting an application

To submit an application, specify this in the online application in the section "Recognition of special applications". In the next application section, you will be asked to upload evidence for your submitted application and a justification. To do this, attach the required evidence to the printed application that you send to the Leipzig University.

Improvment of the waiting period

Special circumstances can delay the acquisition of a university entrance qualification. Then you can apply for disadvantage compensation to improve the waiting period. This may be the case if, for example, you had to repeat a school year due to special circumstances. 

Requirements

The waiting period is calculated from the time you acquired your university entrance qualification. However, special circumstances may lead to a delay. Applicants then have less waiting time to show. Our university is guided by the criteria of the Foundation for University Admission (hochschulstart.de).

Examples

Possible reasons and evidence:

  • prolonged absence from classes due to illness (specialist medical certificate),

  • Severe disability of 50 percent or more (assessment notice from the pension office and certified copy of the severely disabled person's pass),

  • prolonged severe disability or illness (specialist medical certificate) 

  • as well as other comparable special health circumstances (specialist medical certificate).

Evidence

Proof of a special circumstance is not sufficient for an application. You must additionally prove that the incriminating circumstance has delayed the acquisition of the university entrance qualification. Proof may be provided by a certificate from your school stating the reason for and duration of the delay. Other suitable evidence to prove the reason for delay is also possible.

Submitting an application

To submit an application, specify this in the online application in the section "Recognition of special applications". In the next application section, you will be asked to upload evidence for your submitted application and a justification. To do this, attach the required evidence to the printed application that you send to the Leipzig University.