If you already have a degree and are considering a career change, furthering your education, or specialising, then you may wish to consider a second undergraduate degree. To enrol on a second undergraduate degree programme, you must already hold a degree from a German university or university of applied sciences when you apply.

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Information about Second Undergraduate Degrees

Are you interested in a second undergraduate degree, but have questions about the requirements, selection criteria and application process? Below you will find information about the most important aspects related to a second undergraduate degree.

To apply for a second undergraduate degree programme, you must already hold a degree from a German university or university of applied sciences when you apply and have this degree certificate in hand.
If this is not the case, you can only apply as a first-degree student.

If you completed your first degree at a university abroad or at a university of cooperative education (Berufsakademie), you are also considered a first-degree student.

Degree programmes with admission restrictions

  • Three per cent of the study places available on a degree programme with restricted admissions are allocated to second undergraduate degree applicants.
  • The selection from within this second undergraduate degree quota is made based on a special numeric indicator.
  • This is calculated from the final grade of your first degree and your reasons for choosing the second degree programme.
  • The higher your numeric indicator is, the better the chance you will have to receive a study place.

Point system to calculate the numeric indicator

First Degree Reasons for Choosing Second Degree Programme
Final Grade   Reason Points
Outstanding 4 Compelling professional 9
Very good 4 Academic 7, 9 or 11
Good 3 Important professional 7
Fully satisfactory 3 Other professional 4
Satisfactory 2 Other 1
Sufficient 1    

You can find further information on the reasons listed and on the groups that apply to you in the section “Ergänzende Informationen zur Bewerbung für bundesweit zulassungsbeschränkte Studiengänge” (in German only) under “Informationen rund um die Studienplatzbewerbung” online or as a download on hochschulstart.de.

If you are interested in applying for a second degree programme in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or veterinary medicine, you will need to submit a report (expert opinion) with your application that assesses your academic motivation for beginning the programme. You can request the form by email or by postal mail from the Student Office at the University.

For degree programmes without admission restrictions

In the case of degree programmes without admission restrictions, no differentiation is made between first and second degree programmes during the enrolment process. Provided that you meet all formal requirements, you will receive a study place in the programme you apply for.

For degree programmes in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and pharmacy

Apply to these degree programmes directly on hochschulstart.de.

For degree programmes that participate in the dialogue-oriented service procedure (DoSV)

Register for these degree programmes first at dosv.hochschulstart.de and then apply via the AlmaWeb portal.
Further information on the dialogue-oriented service procedure can be found on Leipzig University’s Admission Restrictions page.

For all other degree programmes with admission restrictions

  1. Register for the AlmaWeb portal or log in to your current account.
  2. Apply to your desired degree programme there by the deadline.
  3. Complete the “Previous studies” section in full by entering all of your periods of study and your final examination.
  4. In the section “Recognition of special application requests”, indicate that you have already completed a degree programme.
  5. In the next application step, upload the degree certificate from your first degree programme as well as your reasons for wanting to pursue a second undergraduate degree in one PDF file in the AlmaWeb portal.
  6. Complete the application and submit it online.

Please note that your degree certificate from your first undergraduate degree must be submitted and uploaded in the AlmaWeb portal no later than 15 July in order to be considered in the selection process.

For degree programmes without admission restrictions

  1. Register for the AlmaWeb portal or log in to your current account.
  2. Apply to your desired degree programme there by the deadline.
  3. Complete the “Previous studies” section in full by entering all of your periods of study and your final examination.
  4. Finish the application, submit it online and generate the application for enrolment. To do so, follow the additional instructions provided in the AlmaWeb portal. Alternatively, you can also generate the application for enrolment by clicking the print link in the “Actions” column of your application overview. The application will then be opened as a PDF document and saved in your AlmaWeb account under “Account” → “Documents”. Print out the application form, sign it and then send it to the Student Office before the deadline together with the required documents.

In this case, as well, you will need to have your degree certificate in hand. However, you can submit this at any point up until you enrol. You do not have to provide reasons for choosing the second undergraduate degree.

For further information, please refer to the Application Documents page.

enlarge the image: Vorlesung Master Soziologie
Photo: Christian Hüller

FAQs about Second Undergraduate Degrees

We have compiled the most important questions and answers here that are related to second undergraduate degrees.

Since the summer semester 2018, a tuition fee of €350 per semester has been charged for second undergraduate degrees at Leipzig University.

Whether you have to pay fees for your second undergraduate degrees will be checked on a case-by-case basis and depends on your previous degree and how long you have studied so far.

For further information, please refer to the Tuition Fees page.

If you are already studying at Leipzig University, please review the information above as well as the information on our Changing Degree Programmes page, which includes additional instructions that are important to follow when you apply.

Under admission law, master’s degree programmes are not second undergraduate degrees, but are instead graduate degrees and therefore subject to the application regulations of the master’s degree programmes. It is also irrelevant whether the master’s degree is a consecutive or a non-consecutive programme. Even if you would like to pursue a second master’s degree after completing a first master’s degree programme, this is not treated as a second degree programme (under admission law).

However, in terms of fees, a second master’s programme may well be considered a second degree programme. If you have any questions, please speak with your contact person in the Student Office.

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