Preferential admission after completing a period of service

If you would like to complete a period of service after earning your higher education entrance qualification, you may apply for a position in a study programme before starting your service or even during your service. If you are accepted into a study programme but cannot begin studying until your period of service ends, then the position in the programme will be reserved for you.

All you need to do is re-apply before the deadline and enclose your certificate of service and a copy of your original letter of admission in the application. You will receive preferential admission, i.e. admission is awarded to you before all other applicants.

Periods of service include:

• Voluntary military service
• Bundesfreiwilligendienst (federal volunteer service in Germany) for at least six months
• Jugendfreiwilligendienst (voluntary service for young people in Germany and abroad): Freiwilliges soziales Jahr (voluntary civil service), Freiwilliges ökologisches Jahr (voluntary ecological year) or Freiwilliges kulturelles Jahr (voluntary cultural year) for at least six months
• The EU-funded European Voluntary Service for at least six months
• Another voluntary service as part of a pilot project funded by the German government: "Weltwärts“ (an international development project) or "<link http: www.kulturweit.de de.html _blank external>Kulturweit” (an international cultural project) for at least six months
• Development assistance work for at least two years
• Caring for a child under 18 or a relative requiring nursing care (up to three years).
  You will need a written confirmation stating that you performed this task full time and that no other person was available to carry out this task. If you were caring for a child, please include all supporting documents that prove their need for your (nursing) care (e.g. birth certificate, proof of registration with the municipality, doctor’s note). If you were caring for another relative, please include a doctor’s note detailing the reasons for and the extent of the care needed as well as the proof of your relative’s registration with the municipality. The documents should provide plausible evidence for the fact that you provided care to the extent claimed.

For international applicants with the same standing as those from Germany, we will take into account a period of service completed abroad