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- What is uni-assist?
- Special Case: Vorprüfungsdokumentation
- Will this cost money?
- uni-assist Fee Waiver
- Which universities are members of uni-assist?
- Are member universities better?
- Why can I apply for a degree without uni-assist at member universities?
- List of uni-assist Universities in Germany
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Finding your dream programme can be a bit stressful, especially if you want to study in a foreign country. Many students look to study in Germany because of its tuition-free public universities, which are open to all students, including non-EU students.
Something to keep an eye out for is the application process - requirements, deadlines, certificates, etc. - which programs have for their international students. Usually, the application process is different for international students since their certificates such as educational diplomas, language certificates, and other official documents will not be in German and come from countries all over the globe.
To ease the application process for both international students and universities, there is a national service provider used as a mediator for many German universities which process all such application procedures for international students: it's called uni-assist.
uni-assist is responsible for processing all application forms and documents for international students and is used by many universities across Germany. Students wishing to apply to programmes that use uni-assist cannot avoid the process. It may sound overwhelming, but don't worry, we've broken it down for you!
What is uni-assist in Germany?
uni-assist is a tool used by universities to help them process applications from international students. They also support international students who are interested in applying to German universities.
uni-assist does this by providing general information about the application process online and by processing the relevant application documents required by the universities for the admissions process. Although the universities evaluate student applications and ultimately decide which students are admitted, uni-assist processes the application documents and facilitates the admissions process.
Again, just to be clear, uni-assist does not make the decision on whether a student is admitted to a course. They are only responsible for ensuring that a student has all the necessary application materials and that all official documents have been verified. Once this has been done, they will provide the student with a confirmation of admission to the university to which they have applied.
Special Case: Vorprüfungsdokumentation (VPD)
Some universities have their application process directly with the university and just use uni-assist to verify the documents required to apply. Through this process, once students have documents verified by uni-assist, they receive a Vorprüfungsdokumentation (VPD) (don't let big German words scare you, in English, this translates to 'Pre-Review Documentation') which they then send, along with the application and required documents, directly to the university.
The VPD is a certificate, used by uni-assist, that students must submit directly to the university when they apply. Students must submit the VPD to the university before the application deadline expires.
The VPD contains information on
- which educational certificates you presented to uni-assist,
- which kind of university entrance is possible with these certificates,
- and how uni-assist rates your grade within the German system of grades.
To clarify, even though students must have their documents verified by uni-assist in this case, the application is still done directly through the university.
Will this cost me money?
The short answer is yes. uni-assist charges for its services because it takes a lot of time and resources to process documents from all over the world, translate them, check their authenticity and convert grades to the German grading system.
The good news is that once you have submitted an application to a university, the fees for further applications are lower.
How much do you have to pay for uni-assist?
-
1st Application: EUR 75.00 for your first desired course of study in an application semester.
- Additional Applications: Each additional desired course of study in the same semester costs EUR 30.00.
Another advantage of uni-assist is that you only have to apply to them once. They will process your documents and submit the rest of your applications to the universities of your choice. If different programmes require different documents, uni-assist will make sure that you upload all the necessary documents for all the programmes.
Advice Box
There is no limit for the amount of applications you can send through uni-assist, but keep in mind that universities can limit the number of applications per semester. You should enquire at your chosen university about how many courses of study you can apply to at the same time.
Special Cases: uni-assist Fee Waiver
Some universities that process their international student applications through uni-assist cover the uni-assist application fees. This means the application fee is free for you! If this applies to your application, you will see a special note in the list of your chosen programmes in the uni-assist online portal.
Besides, various universities have special programs for refugees. To find out the details regarding the conditions and processes, the applicants are encouraged to contact their university program directly. You can find more about special offers for refugees here.
Which universities are members of uni-assist?
Many universities across Germany process international student applications with the help of uni-assist, this includes top-ranked universities as well.
Our StudyFinder can help you with this too! By simply using the filters on the left hand column, you can see all of the universities which use uni-assist and among them, you will find many top-ranked universities. Simply select "only uni-assist" under the "Application" column, or check the list at the bottom of this page to see which universities handle their applications through uni-assist.
Advice Box
Something to bear in mind: Some universities only use uni-assist to process international student applications for certain courses, not for all courses.
You should therefore check whether your preferred course uses uni-assist rather than searching for the university on the list of member universities. Even if your preferred university is listed, it may be that your programme has direct applications through the university, or vice versa.
Are member universities better than non uni-assist universities?
Absolutely not! Whether or not a university uses uni-assist to process their international student applications by no means is a determinant of the quality of education of the study programs.
There are many internationally top-ranked universities in Germany that do not use uni-assist and have their applications done directly through the university.
Alternatively, there are also many top-ranked universities that do use uni-assist to process their applications. Therefore, don't be misled in thinking that a program may be better or worse because they do or don't process their international student applications through uni-assist.
Why can I apply for a degree without uni-assist - even though the university is a member?
This is because universities may use uni-assist for selected programmes and have others for which students apply directly to the university, even though the university is listed as a uni-assist member. The list of member universities on the uni-assist website is therefore not an accurate representation, as a university may be listed as having only one or two programmes that are processed through uni-assist.
For example, a university may choose to process applications for its Master of Business Administration programme through uni-assist due to the high number of international applicants. If you apply to the same university for a Master's in Psychology, where the university processes applications directly, uni-assist would not be relevant to you, even though your university is a member of uni-assist.
List of Universities in Germany that process their English-taught Degree Applications through uni-assist
Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development
Freie Universität Berlin
Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM)
University of Bayreuth
Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences
TU Dortmund University
Rosenheim Technical University of Applied Sciences
University of Cologne
TUM Technical University of Munich
Technische Universität Dresden
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uni-assist provides a list with all member universities on their website but this information is not precise as many universities have only a handful of study programs in which their applications are processed through uni-assist.
Member universities may also offer direct applications for some master's programs, so be sure to look for the specific study program of your choice for their application procedures.
