Second degree

The higher education admissions act (Gesetz über die Zulassung zum Hochschulstudium in Hamburg, HZG) states that no difference will be made between students applying for a first or second degree. Therefore, the same application procedure applies at Universität Hamburg regardless of whether you are applying for a first or second degree.  If you have obtained your higher education entrance eligibility and completed a degree program at a German university lasting at least 6 semesters (e.g., bachelor’s degree, Diplom, Magister), you can decide whether you wish to apply with the grade from your higher education entrance eligibility or the final grade from your first degree. This is because six-semester degree programs grant a (further) higher education entrance eligibility. Grades obtained in master’s degree programs only lasting 4 semesters will not be considered.  If you use the grade obtained in your first degree to apply, the waiting period will be calculated from the date you completed your degree.

Exception: selection procedure on hochschulstart.de

This exception only applies to degree programs in medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. To all other degree programs participating in the Dialogue-Oriented Service Procedure (Dialogorientiertes Serviceverfahren, DoSV), the above regulation applies even if the application procedure is coordinated via hochschulstart.de. 

If you apply for a degree program for which the places are allocated via the central national selection procedure on hochschulstart.de, other selection criteria apply for a second degree. For the details of these criteria and on applying for a second degree via hochschulstart.de, see the application information on hochschulstart.de.

In this case, the selection decision also takes place via hochschulstart.de. The universities are involved if scientific reasons are claimed for the second degree. If you wish to claim scientific reasons, your desired university must award points for the reason you state. You will therefore need to send your documents (proof of first degree, reason for second degree, letter of recommendation, if necessary, and other proof) both to hochschulstart.de and to your preferred university for an assessment. The latter will then review the scientific reasons stated and award points accordingly. The assessment request form is included at the end of the application information on hochschulstart.de. To request an assessment from Universität Hamburg, send the completed form and supporting documents to:

Campus Center
Team Bewerbung, Zulassung und Studierendenangelegenheiten
Alsterterrasse 1
20354 Hamburg 

Ideally, request the assessment 2 months (but at least 1 month) before the application deadline at your preferred university. They will review your scientific reasons and forward their assessment to hochschulstart.de. You will not receive an update on the assessment or the points awarded.