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Which school certificates open a German university
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Janine El-Saghir
Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
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Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating...
- The Abitur is Germany’s general higher education entrance qualification. A foreign certificate counts as its equal only if it meets the rules the German states set for that country.
- Many certificates open only some fields. Three A-levels, a US diploma with four AP exams or an IB Diploma with math only at Standard Level lead to a subject-restricted entrance qualification. An IB Diploma that misses the other conditions needs the assessment test.
- For certificates that the evaluation rules route to the assessment test, the fallback is a preparatory year. The Studienkolleg ends with that test.
In German the Abitur is the “general higher education entrance qualification”. Applicants with a foreign certificate need one that is recognized as equal, or a preparatory route. The rules for each country are set by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) of the education ministers and published in its anabin database. Universities and uni-assist apply them. If your teenager is still at school, the easiest route can be to finish with the Abitur in Germany: the way to the Abitur. If not, check the certificate against the table below before applying, then plan the student visa and student health insurance.
What the Abitur is
German pupils earn the Abitur after 12 or 13 years of school, at a Gymnasium, a comprehensive school or a vocational Gymnasium. The final grade combines the course grades of the last two years with exams in four or five subjects. At least two exam subjects are taken at an advanced level, the subjects must cover languages, social sciences and math or science, and two must come from German, a foreign language and math. In almost all states the ministry writes the exam papers. Certificates are handed out between mid-June and mid-July. The final mark is an average on the 1 to 6 scale, worked out from points.
Which foreign certificates count
| Certificate | Direct admission if | Otherwise |
|---|---|---|
| IB Diploma | Six subjects including two languages (at least one a foreign language taken as Language A or as Language B at Higher Level), a science, math and a social science. One of the three Higher Level subjects is a language, math or a science. All subjects at least grade 4, or one 3 offset by a 5 in another subject at the same or a higher level, with at least 24 points in total. At least twelve years of school. | Assessment test, or under certain conditions one year of university study for a subject-restricted place |
| A-levels (UK) | Three general A-levels with at least grade C, two of them from a fixed list. Opens the fields that match the subjects. | Depends on the evaluation rules for your UK certificates: check uni-assist or anabin |
| US high school diploma | Four AP exams with 3 or higher in a set combination (opens the matching fields), or an associate degree or two years of college (opens all fields) | Studienkolleg, if the unweighted GPA is at least 3.0 |
| Indian Class 12 (CBSE, CISCE, state boards) | At least 70%, the APS certificate and one successful year of a bachelor’s program: direct admission to the same and closely related fields | Studienkolleg, with at least 70% and the APS certificate |
| Rules for admission from winter semester 2026/2027. Sources: KMK agreement on the IB Diploma (version of 15 June 2023), RWTH Aachen University (A-levels, US diploma), APS India (update of 23 February 2026), uni-assist country information, retrieved 8 November 2026. | ||
The details per country are on the comparison pages: US diploma, A-levels, Indian Class 12.
The IB Diploma in detail
The German states have a separate agreement for the IB Diploma, last amended on 15 June 2023. Besides the subject rules in the table, every subject must have been taken for the full two years of the Diploma Programme. The Higher Level rule applies from the 2025 exams. Students who took either math course only at Standard Level from the 2021 exams on get a subject-restricted qualification for fields outside math, science and technology, unless their school is on the list attached to the agreement. Plan the subject choice at 16, not at 18.
The IB total also gives the German grade, with 42 points counting as a 1.0 and 24 points as the minimum:
| IB points | Calculation | German grade |
|---|---|---|
| 42 to 45 | Top value | 1.0 |
| 38 | 1 + 3 × (42 − 38) ÷ (42 − 24) = 1.666… | 1.6 |
| 33 | 1 + 3 × (42 − 33) ÷ (42 − 24) = 2.5 | 2.5 |
| 24 | 1 + 3 × (42 − 24) ÷ (42 − 24) = 4 | 4.0 |
| The result keeps one decimal and is not rounded up. Our own calculation with the formula of the KMK agreement on the IB Diploma, retrieved 8 November 2026. | ||
When the certificate is not enough: Studienkolleg
If a certificate does not give direct admission, the applicant must pass the assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung) before starting a degree. Most prepare for it at a Studienkolleg, a preparatory course. It lasts two semesters, can be shortened to one or extended by up to two in justified cases, and runs in tracks by field, from technology and science to medicine, business and the humanities. German is a condition: applicants must show enough German to follow the lessons before they are admitted. Places are limited, and there is no right to one.
Your overall grade in German terms
For an application with a foreign certificate, the university converts the average with the “modified Bavarian formula” of the education ministers, using an upper and a lower reference value that the ZAB sets for each foreign scale: German grade = 1 + 3 × (upper value − your average) ÷ (upper value − lower value). The result keeps one decimal and is not rounded. The values for each country come from the ZAB. If you had to pass the assessment test, your overall grade is the average of the converted foreign grade and the test grade. More on the German scale: German grades explained.
What to do, step by step
- Check your certificate against the rules above, and on uni-assist’s country page.
- Applicants with Indian documents: apply for the APS certificate early.
- No direct admission? Apply for a Studienkolleg and start German lessons now.
- Apply to the universities, directly or through uni-assist, and then for the student visa.
- Open a student bank account before the move.
Bottom line
An IB Diploma with the right subjects is the most direct foreign route into a German university. With A-levels, a US diploma or Class 12, check the subject rules early and plan a Studienkolleg as the fallback.
Part of education in Germany. Next: studying in Germany · German grades.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is recognized as equal if it meets the conditions of the agreement between the German states: the right six subjects, a language, math or science among the Higher Level subjects, two continuous years and the minimum grades. If one condition is missing, it opens only some fields or requires the assessment test.
The university you apply to, or uni-assist on its behalf. Both follow the evaluation rules of the Central Office for Foreign Education, which a German court described in 2024 as binding expert guidance.
The framework rules of the education ministers do not set fees, and the states organize the courses. Ask the Studienkolleg of the university you are aiming for. What the rules do fix: there is no right to a place, and you must prove your German before you start.
Yes, but only in the fields it opens. Three A-levels in history, economics and English, for example, fit programs in the humanities, law and the arts. The social sciences and economics would also need an A-level in math, biology, chemistry, physics or computer science, and medicine three A-levels from math, biology, chemistry, physics and computer science.
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
- Eurydice, European Commission, Germany: organisation of general upper secondary education and assessment in general upper secondary education: Abitur after 12 or 13 years, exams, final mark, certificates.
- Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education (KMK), agreement on the recognition of the IB Diploma (version of 15 June 2023, lists of 2026, in German, with grade formula).
- KMK, agreement on the overall grade of foreign school-leaving certificates (1991, version of 2013) and framework rules for the Studienkolleg and the assessment test (both in German).
- RWTH Aachen University, admission requirements for A-levels and US high school diplomas; uni-assist, country information United States, United Kingdom and India.
- Academic Evaluation Centre APS India, update on higher education eligibility requirements (23 February 2026).
- Administrative Court of Munich, judgment of 18 November 2024 on a US high school diploma (in German): the ZAB evaluation rules as binding expert guidance.
- Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB), anabin database, school certificates with university access, USA, High School Diploma (retrieved 9 November 2026, in German): AP, college and Studienkolleg routes.