Germany, master's admission

Find out what you need to submit, what previous studies meet the general entry requirements, how to meet the English requirement and any special instructions for your country of study.

Meeting the general entry requirements

The minimum requirement is a Bachelor's degree of at least 3 years, a Diplom (Univ/FH) with Diplom-Urkunde, or Magister Artium. 

  • Students holding a degree in law or teaching will meet the minimum requirement with Erste Staatsexamen/Staatsprüfung.
  • Students holding a degree in medicine or pharmacy will meet the minimum requirement with the Zweite Staatsexamen/Staatsprüfung.

Meeting the English requirement

You can meet the English requirement with the following upper secondary studies:

  • Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife or Zeugnis der Fachgebundene Hochschulereife with either 4 English semesters from Qualifikationsphase (if primary foreign language), or Leistungskurs/Abiturprüfung in English.
  • In order to fulfill the English requirement with Zeugnis der Fachhochschulreife, you must have studied an additional English course or a course in English at the advanced level (Niveaustufe B2).

If you’re documenting your English based on your upper secondary studies, you must provide documentation demonstrating you meet the requirement. Please submit your upper secondary documents as indicated for bachelor’s level studies.

You can also demonstrate that you meet the English language requirement through certain university studies, or an internationally approved English test.

Find out more at English language requirements

General document requirements

In order to complete your admissions application, you must provide the following documents so they arrive at University Admissions by the deadline.

  1. Certificates and diplomas of your completed degree(s) from an internationally recognised higher education institution. 

    The certificate/diploma must be officially issued by a representative of the Academic Registrar's Office, the Examinations Office, or the equivalent office that issues official transcripts of records at your university.

    Find out more about what officially issued means

    Are you in your final year of studies? You'll need to document this! Find out how at the final year of bachelor's studies page
  2. Transcripts of completed courses and grades for each semester included in your degree. If you have had courses credited/transferred from previous studies, you must also submit official transcripts for those courses.

    The documents must be officially issued by a representative of the Academic Registrar's Office, the Examinations Office, or the equivalent office that issues official transcripts of records at your university.

    Make sure the transcripts are dated so we can clearly see when they were issued.
  3. Proof of English language proficiency
  4. Proof that you meet the specific entry requirements

    It's important you check the university's website for information regarding the specific entry requirements for the course or programme you have applied to and any other documentation they may require, such as dissertations, essay summaries, letters of recommendation, or letters of intent. Please do not submit any additional documentation unless it is specifically requested by the university.
  5. In order to speed up the processing of your application, we require a copy of the page in your passport with your personal data and photograph, or some other identification document.

Translation requirements

If you submit your transcript in German, you must also provide an official translation of your documents. Official means that your translation must be completed by a translation company or a person who works as a translator. Accepted languages for translations are Swedish or English.

If the official transcript of records is issued in English by the university, this document will be accepted and the German language version is not required. However, if it is stated on the English language transcript that only the German language version is valid and that the English language version is only a translation, then the German language transcript must also be submitted. 

Your original diploma in German can be submitted alone. No translation is required.

Special document requirements

To document your eligibility, please submit your final transcript of record and Diploma (Urkunde).The Zeugnis cannot replace the Urkunde (except for Staatsprüfung). If your diploma supplement lists all your courses, it can replace the transcript of record.

  • If you hold an Erste or Zweite Staatsprüfung degree, it's important that you submit complete documentation of your study programme including a complete transcript. Please note that within some education areas (e.g. medicine), you must complete both Erste and Zweite Abschnitt in order to fulfill the requirements for master's studies in Sweden.
  • A computer-generated transcript of records with a clearly stated verification code for online verification can be accepted. Documents without an online verification code or stamp and signature will not be accepted, even if it states “valid without signature”.
  • All pages with text/writing/stamps must be submitted, even back pages.
  • Please note that entries in academic record books (Scheine, Studienbuch or Lehrveranstaltungsnachweise) cannot be accepted as transcripts of records.

Diploma Supplement

A Diploma Supplement is not required when applying to studies in Sweden. However, if you have a Diploma Supplement, you can submit it together with your degree certificate in place of an official academic transcript. Please note that:

  • all courses and grades must be clearly stated
  • all pages of the Diploma Supplement must be submitted
  • your Diploma Supplement alone cannot be used as proof of your degree.

Read more about the Diploma Supplement

Your name and birthdate must match on all documents

For your documents to be accepted:

  • the name and birthdate provided must be the same on all your documents (ID, transcripts, degree certificate, etc.)
  • the name on your documents must match the name you reported in your account at Universityadmissions.se

If the names are different, you must provide us with documentation (for example, a marriage certificate if you've been married) as to why they don't match.

If the birthdate on any of your documents is different from your passport, the difference must be explained with official documentation.

This documentation must be either issued in English or Swedish or, if issued in another language, officially translated to Swedish or English.

The easiest way to get your documentation to us is by uploading it here at Universityadmissions.se. 

Incomplete documentation

It's your responsibility to ensure that you have read and understood the application requirements and have gathered and submitted all the necessary components of the admissions application by the deadline.

Verification

University Admissions in Sweden checks the authenticity of your documents with the issuing institution. University Admissions in Sweden reserves the right to revoke admission if supporting documents are discovered to be fraudulent.

Submission of false documents is a violation of Swedish law and is considered grounds for legal action.

Last updated: 17 October 2022