Access to higher education for working people

©UHH/KlimaCampus/Ausserhofer

Paragraph 38 of the Hamburg Higher Education Act HmbHG (Hamburgisches Hochschulgesetz) admits working persons without an Abitur (secondary school leaving certificate) who have a higher education entrance qualification (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung, HZB) to study at Universität Hamburg:

• do you possess a higher education entrance eligibility certificate?  If not, you can register for a University entrance examination - provided that your vocational training and general qualifications indicate that you are sufficiently qualified.
  
• a higher education entrance examination test allows you to apply for a specific University degree program
  
• admission to the test does not require any connection between your prior line of work and the desired University degree program.
  

Important information

For detailed info, please see the brochure "Information on special access to higher education for working persons" (pdf, in German only).

Admission requirements

• completed vocational training
• three years work experience after completion of vocational training
  

Application deadline

The higher education entrance examination is offered once a year. The application deadline is: 1 February to 1 March.

You can download the application form for the university entrance exam only within the application period under "Download"!

Required documents

Please submit the following documents for admission to the higher education entrance eligibility test:

• completed and signed entrance exam application form
• certified proof of completed professional training, e.g. an examination certificate from the Chamber of Crafts, Industry, Commerce, trade or similar
  
• certified copy of employment references or similar documents attesting to your employment history
• CV
• proof of particpation in academic subject advising
  
• examination fee transfer receipt
• letter of motivation (Please note: this counts as an examinination component!)
  

We do not provide specific bibliographies for exam preparation; however, we strongly recommend that applicants stay posted on current press topics.

Access to higher education for master craftsmen and women (Meister) and specialist examination (Fachwirt) certificates

Find more information here!

Special admission procedure for social economics

In deviation from the rules and regulations of all other degree programs at Universität Hamburg, the Department of Social Economics offers a separate application procedure with individual application deadlines for working persons applying for the degree program social economics.