If you wish to study at a German university, you must prove that you are eligible to do so on the basis of your school or vocational qualifications – in other words, that you hold a university entrance qualification.

German university entrance qualification

The following information sets out the regulations of the state of Lower Saxony for studying medicine:

Medicine – Studying with or without the Abitur

Entry requirements

Please direct any further enquiries to the applicant service at Hochschulstart:

Hochschulstart

Foreign university entrance qualifications

All documents must be submitted in German. If documents are not available in German, please enclose an official German translation. This does not apply to university entrance qualifications in English or French.

In Germany, the following persons are authorised to produce certified translations:

Database of interpreters and translators

You can check for yourself whether your qualification entitles you to study in Germany:

anabin

uni-assist

Please direct any further enquiries to the applicant service at Hochschulstart.

Hochschulstart

German language proficiency

Proof of German language proficiency is required from all applicants who did not obtain their university entrance qualification in German at a German institution. This generally applies to German nationals as well.

Proof of language skills must be submitted upon enrolment at the University of Oldenburg.

Further information is available on this website under: Language Proficiency

Up to 20% of university places are allocated via the advance quotas:

• 5% international students
• 2% hardship cases
• 3% applicants applying for a second degree
• 12 places for the rural doctor quota

The remaining places, after the preliminary quotas have been deducted, are allocated via the main quotas:

• 30% quota for top A-level students
• 60% university selection procedure (AdH)
• 10% additional aptitude quota (ZEQ)

In the top Abitur results quota, only the overall grade on the university entrance qualification counts. The AdH and ZEQ quotas also take into account medical-related vocational training, the Test for Medical Degree Degree Programs (TMS) as well as service and awards.

University selection procedure (AdH), 60% of places:

Additional Eligibility Quota (ZEQ), 10% of study places:

For each quota, the rankings are calculated by the Foundation for University Admissions using a ‘points system’.

Further information on the selection criteria

Foundation for University Admissions (Hochschulstart)

School IV – Application for Medicine

To improve your chances of securing a place at university, you can explore various options:

Medicine – Criteria independent of grades

You can estimate your chances of securing a place based on data from applicants in the previous winter semester. The Medi-Ranger tool is available for this purpose. You can enter your details there to determine whether you would have secured a place on a medical degree course last year. Please note that this may differ in future application procedures.

Advice on alternative study options

Study and Career Counselling Service at the University of Oldenburg (ZSKB)

The numerus clausus (NC) is not a value determined before the allocation procedure. It is the result of the procedure for awarding degree programmes with restricted admission and can only be communicated retrospectively.

The values vary from year to year because the number of applications received is different and therefore the average grades they contain are also different.

You can view the selection limits for previous semesters here:

Detailed results

After you have received admission to a degree programme via Hochschulstart, your contact details will be sent to our university. Our Admissions office will take over the further processing and take care of your enrolment.

Here you will find a list of the required documents and important information:

Documents for enrolment

Notes on enrolment

After successful enrolment, you will be guided through your studies by the staff of School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

From the 2023/2024 winter semester onwards, those interested in places on medical degree programmes in Lower Saxony can apply via the rural doctor quota.

Applications are not made via the university or the foundation for university admissions, but to the Lower Saxony Association for the Granting of Medical Licences (NiZzA).

Please note that separate and earlier deadlines apply to this application, which differ from those of the foundation for university admissions!

A distinctive feature of this process is that the Abitur mark is not the sole determining factor in the allocation of places. In the first stage of the selection procedure, three criteria are taken into account:

• Overall grade on the university entrance qualification (usually the Abitur), weighted at 30 per cent
• The result of the Test for Medical Degree Degree Programs (TMS), weighted at 30 per cent
• Duration of relevant vocational training, professional experience or practical work, weighted at 40 per cent

Applicants ranked 1st to 120th are then invited to a selection interview, which is conducted by the Lower Saxony Medical Association. During this interview, social and communication skills, as well as subject-specific aptitude, are assessed.

The Lower Saxony Association for the Granting of Medical Licences (NiZzA) forwards the list of selected applicants, together with the allocated study places, to the Foundation for University Admissions. On this basis, the Foundation for University Admissions issues the letters of acceptance. Unsuccessful applicants will receive a letter of rejection from the Lower Saxony Association for the Granting of Medical Licences (NiZzA).

By accepting their place on the course, students undertake to work for ten years in general practice, following the completion of their degree and further education (General Practice or Internal Medicine), to work for ten years in general practice in areas where the State of Lower Saxony, in collaboration with the KVN, has identified a particular need.

Further detailed information:

Rural Doctor Quota

Rural Doctor Quota application portal

Study places not filled via the Rural Doctor Quota are transferred to the regular waiting list procedure of the foundation for university admissions and are filled by applicants from the main quotas AdH and ZEQ.

Note on enrolment

If you did not obtain your university entrance qualification at a German school or in the German language, you must provide evidence of sufficient German language skills in order to enrol at our university. This also applies to German nationals.

A lottery procedure for study places in the first semester will only be carried out if the regular allocation procedures of Hochschulstart have been completed and there are still places available.

A study place already obtained is not lost by participating in the lottery procedure. Applicants who did not take part in the regular application period can also register for the lottery procedure.

Application form for participation in the lottery procedure:

Proposal for the lottery procedure

The deadline for submitting applications is 15 October of the year. You can send us your proposal by post or email (PDF file).

University of Oldenburg
Division 3 - Admissions office
Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118
26129 Oldenburg

The University of Oldenburg has been running a model degree programme in human medicine since the winter semester 2012/13. The model degree programme in Human Medicine in Oldenburg is designed in accordance with the Medical Licensing Regulations, but differs considerably from a standard degree programme in terms of content and timetable.

Information on the content of our model degree programme in Human Medicine can be found on the website of School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences:

European Medical School Oldenburg-Groningen

Proof of German language skills is required from all applicants who have not obtained their study qualification in German at a German institution. This also applies to German nationals.

Please refer to the following document to find out which certificates are accepted:

Proof of language skills in human medicine

Proof of language skills must be submitted when enrolling at the University of Oldenburg. Subsequent submission is not possible.

Please note: Our university does not offer preparatory German language courses or German language tests.

The exchange of university places is an offer by the respective university to change your place of study without having to take part in the regular application procedure. For this reason, there is no legal entitlement to an exchange authorisation.

At the University of Oldenburg, an exchange of university places for the first semester is generally not possible. Only in the context of an exception can important health, social or economic reasons be taken into consideration. The following reasons can be taken into consideration:

1. residence of spouse or partner and/or own child in Oldenburg

Proof of residence:

• Certificate of residence (e.g. registration certificate from the citizens' office)
• Marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate
• Birth certificate of the child

2. health impairment (severe disability or chronic illness), which has generally been permanently treated by medical specialists in Oldenburg for at least 18 months.

Evidence:

• Proof of your health impairment
• Confirmation from the medical specialist treating you about the type and duration of your treatment

3. you live in Lower Saxony or Bremen and the University of Oldenburg is the nearest university where you can study human medicine. Only the proximity to your place of residence is decisive here.

Proof of residence:

• Certificate of main residence (e.g. identity card)

An exchange of university places must be applied for by 30 September at the latest - regardless of when you received your admission from Hochschulstart.

You can obtain detailed information and the relevant forms from the Admissions office:

The term “Test for Medical Degree Programme (TMS)” refers to a subject-specific aptitude test that assesses candidates’ understanding of scientific and medical problems.

The TMS is jointly administered by the heiTEST Coordination Office at Heidelberg University and other universities. Participation in the TMS is ultimately governed by the conditions laid down by the test organiser.

Participation is voluntary. Each person may retake the TMS once within a year following their first attempt. The Test for Medical Degree Degree Programs takes place twice a year (Spring TMS and Autumn TMS).

The test result may improve your chances of securing a place on a degree programme under the ‘Additional Aptitude Quota (ZEQ)’ and ‘University Selection Procedure (AdH)’ quotas. There is no risk of your chances being reduced compared with other applicants, as the test result can only have a positive effect on your ranking.

Applicants who are eligible to study on the basis of their professional qualifications mayalso sit the TMS. The test is not relevant for the top A-level quota or the priority quotas (foreign nationals who are not treated on an equal footing with German applicants; cases of hardship; applicants applying for a second degree).

In Lower Saxony, the TMS is also used as one criterion in the selection process for the rural doctor quota.

For detailed information, please refer to the provider’s website:

Test for Medical Degree Programme (TMS)

A second-degree applicant is someone who has already completed a degree programme in a different subject at a German higher education institution. A degree programme is deemed to have been completed once the prescribed state final examination (State Examination) or academic final examination (Diplom or Magister examination, Bachelor’s degree) has been successfully passed.

In the case of Law and teaching degree programmes, the degree is deemed to have been completed upon passing the First State Examination; for the purposes of the second-degree regulations, a degree in Pharmacy is deemed to have been completed upon passing the second part of the Pharmaceutical Examination.

Admission to a second degree programme is limited to a maximum of 3 per cent of the available places. Places are allocated on the basis of a points score derived from the examination results of the first degree programme and the reasons for undertaking the second degree programme.

Application deadlines

• Anyone who completes their first degree before 16 January of the relevant year is to be treated as a ‘previous A-level graduate’. The deadline for applications is therefore 31 May.
• Anyone who completes their first degree after 15 January of a given year is to be treated as a ‘new A-level graduate’. The deadline for applications is therefore 15 July .

Detailed information from the Foundation for University Admissions:

Hochschulstart – Second degree

There are scientific reasons for a second degree if, with a view to a later career in science and research, a further scientific qualification in another degree programme is sought on the basis of previous scientific and practical work. For example, an engineer who is researching a new mechanical heart valve and will not be able to demonstrate the necessary success of his research without a medical degree.

If you would like to claim scientific reasons, you will need an expert opinion from the university named as the first priority.

The proposal for the expert opinion must be received by the university 6 weeks before the application deadline. If you do not meet this deadline, timely processing cannot be guaranteed:

First degree completed after 15 January of the year: by 1 June
First degree completed before 16 January of the year: by 15 April

Please send the complete documents to:

University of Oldenburg
School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Studiendekanat Medizin
Keyword: Zweitstudium
Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118
26129 Oldenburg

The application form and further information can be found here:

Hochschulstart - Second degree programme

As a student of human medicine, the same rules apply to you as to all employees in the healthcare sector. You must therefore be fully immunised against the following diseases:

• Mumps
• measles
• rubella
• influenza
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• varicella
• Pertussis

Please have your immunisation status checked and, if necessary, refreshed before the start of the study. Please bring your immunisation record with you to Oldenburg as proof. You will need this regularly during the course of your studies.

Please address any queries to:

School IV - Human and Health Sciences
Office of the Dean of Studies

+49 (0)441 798-3114

Oldenburg students have the opportunity to complete part of their degree programme in Groningen. Various options are available to allow students to plan their exchange flexibly. For example, they can complete their research work in Groningen in their 4th or 5th year of study or complete parts of their block internships and practical year there.

Information and contact persons

School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences