Requirements for studying in a Bachelor's program at Fachhochschule Dortmund

In order to study at a German university, you need a secondary school graduation certificate (certificate of eligibility for German institutions of higher education; the equivalent of the German Abitur). To check whether your certificate documents give you direct access to higher education in Germany, please visit the anabin database pages(Opens in a new tab) .

Applicants whose secondary school leaving certificate does not directly qualify them to start their studies must attend a Studienkolleg for two semesters, the so-called "Prüfung zur Feststellung der Eignung ausländischer Studienbewerber für die Aufnahme eines Studiums an Hochschulen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland" (Feststellungsprüfung). It must be ensured that the focus course selected for the Studienkolleg attendance (e.g. technology, economics, social sciences, medicine or design) corresponds with the subsequent desired specialized studies. The Studienkolleg ends with the successful completion of the Feststellungsprüfung (examination to determine the suitability of foreign applicants to study at universities in the Federal Republic of Germany). 
This examination proves that the student fulfills the language and subject requirements and is suitable for studying at a German university.
Special feature: Some universities nevertheless require an additional language test; this is not valid for Fachhochschule Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Proof of a language examination recognized by us must be submitted at the time of enrollment.

Language exams recognized by us are e.g.:

• DSH 2 or 3 (taken at a university, not at a private language school),
• telc C1 university,
• TestDaF with a minimum score of 16 in all four examination parts (level 3 may have been achieved twice if this can be compensated for by achieving level 5 twice).
• Only in the case of applications for the study programs of the Faculty of Design, the Goethe Zertifikat C1 is also recognized.

Upon request, the enrollment deadline can be extended until the end of March or September (depending on the semester) due to a missing German exam. Enrollment without proof of a language exam recognized by us is not possible.

Further information on the proof of German language skills can be found in this  list(Opens in a new tab) .

If you have any questions regarding the recognition, please contact: International-Officefh-dortmundde

An internship is required at the beginning of the program for the following bachelor's degree programs:

• Social Work (400 hours total, 200 hours at enrollment), no more than 10 years old (based on intended start date),
• in all bachelor's degree programs of the Department of Design (12 weeks in total, 6 weeks at enrollment; exception Film & Sound: 6 months, 3 months at enrollment).

The certificate of professionally suitable work (relevant internship) in a business/company/retail is only required at the time of enrollment (approx. February/March or August/September, not already at the time of application). Upon request, the enrollment deadline can be extended until the end of March or the end of September due to a lack of proof of internship. Internships from abroad as well as from Germany are recognized.

Internships can generally not be arranged.

Enrollment without proof of practical activities in one of the aforementioned degree programs is not possible.

For more information, please see our individual undergraduate programs .

As of the winter semester 2023/24, proof of internship is no longer required for the bachelor's degree programs listed below in the departments of mechanical engineering and business administration:

•     Vehicle Development
•     Mechanical Engineering
•     Business Administration
•     Business Administration Logistics
      (also new: this course is free of admission from winter semester
      2023/24)
•     Finance, Accounting, Controlling and Taxes - FACT
•     International Business
•     International Business Management

In principle, this work must be carried out under the supervision of

• state-approved educators,
• state-approved curative education nurses,
• social workers/social pedagogues (Bachelor or Diploma)
• Pedagogues (Diploma) or
• state-approved childhood educators.

For internships from Germany, please use this standard form(Opens in a new tab)  (you will find it below under the item "Dokumente", Bescheinigung Vorpraktikum) and have the employer fill it out.

Please note that the practical activities must not date back more than 10 years from the intended start of studies.

There is no standard form for social internships from abroad. A certificate from the internship-giving employer must contain the following information:

• Period (e.g. 1 June - 31 July 2021),
• scope of hours,
• which activities you performed or in which area/faculty you were employed (the activities must have been relevantly social work/social pedagogy or educational),
• who instructed you (name and professional qualification, e.g. social worker, youth worker or comparable professional groups in the country with social workers, social pedagogues, educators, etc.).

The activities must not have taken place more than 10 years ago, starting from the intended beginning of the studies.

The decision about the recognition of the internship is made by the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences. For this reason, please send your internship certificate issued in your native language as well as a scanned German or English translation via e-mail to praxisbuero-fb8fh-dortmundde. You will also be informed about the decision by e-mail. In case of a final enrollment to the study program, please enclose the e-mail of the internship office (Praxisbüro) to the enrollment documents.

Applicants for the Bachelor's study program in architecture require a course-related aptitude test ; the aptitude test take place exclusively in digital form. As of the aforementioned semester, this study program will again be free of admission.

If you can prove that you have earned 30 ECTS/credits at a state-recognized university and that you have completed a study program that matches the content, you can apply to be exempted from the respective examination. If you would like to have it checked whether you can be exempted, please send your academic achievements and any degree certificate (home language and German or English translation) in a PDF file by e-mail to international-officefh-dortmundde.

Please note: You have to apply twice – for the aptitude and via uni-assist for the study program. The deadline for application at uni-assist is June 15. You can read more information about the application process at this link(Opens in a new tab) .

Applicants for the Bachelor's study programs of the Faculty of Design must participate in the program-related procedure for determining artistic and creative aptitude; the aptitude procedure takes place exclusively in digital form. For information on this procedure as well as on the portfolio and subject advising, please see the link to the aptitude procedure.

If you can prove that you have earned 30 ECTS/credits at a state-recognized university and that you have completed a study program that matches the content, you can apply to be exempted from the respective examination. If you would like to have it checked whether you can be exempted, please send your academic achievements and any degree certificate (home language and German or English translation) in a PDF file by e-mail to international-officefh-dortmundde. This is not valid for the Bachelor's program Film & Sound.

Please note: You have to apply twice – for the aptitude (with different application deadlines for each design program) and via uni-assist for the study program. The deadline for application at uni-assist is usually June 15. You can read more information about the application process at this link(Opens in a new tab) .

For the Bachelor's program in International Business you will also need to prove English language skills on B2 level in addition the necessary German level. These English skills can be confirmed by the:

• high school entrance certificate,
• university credits in the subject English language
• or an exam from a language institute.

For counseling, please contact: international-officefh-dortmundde.

Due to the mandatory semester(s) abroad, the application for Bachelor's programs in International Business is usually only advisable for citizens of the European Union (due to possible visa problems for non-EU applicants).