University access WITH vocational upgrading qualification

With their qualification, master craftsmen and women have the general higher education entrance qualification, which entitles them to access all undergraduate degree courses at universities in Hesse.

There are also qualifications that are comparable to the master craftsman examination. These qualifications also provide a general higher education entrance qualification:

• Persons with advanced training qualifications in accordance with § 53/54 of the Vocational Training Act or § 42/42a of the Crafts Code, provided the courses comprise at least 400 hours. These are, for example:
  - state-certified technicians
  - state-certified business economists
  - specialist business administrators (e.g. specialist business administrator - foreign trade)
• Persons with state certificates of qualification for the nautical or technical ship service. For example:
  - Employees in the nautical or technical shipping service who require a state certificate of competence
  - Pursers
• Persons with degrees from technical colleges. For example:
  - state-approved nursery school teachers
  - state-approved remedial teachers
  - state-certified designers
  Please note: Training at technical colleges must be based on the requirements of the resolution of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK resolution) on technical colleges. A certificate from the technical college attended must be enclosed with the application.
• Persons with qualifications from comparable further education and training regulations under federal state law for professions in the healthcare sector and in the field of social care or social pedagogical professions, provided that these courses comprise at least 400 hours. For example:
  - Specialist pediatric nurse
  - Operating theatre nurse
• Persons with qualifications from comparable federal further education and training regulations, provided that these courses comprise at least 400 hours. For example:
  - tax consultants
  - auditors.

The above list contains examples of upgrading qualifications. You can check whether your qualification is recognized as an upgrading qualification in the largely complete list of advanced training qualifications of the BMBF initiative ANKOM (PDF). You can also research at www.berufenet.arbeitsagentur.de to find out whether an upgrading qualification is comparable to a master craftsman's examination. The University of Kassel is responsible for deciding whether the requirements have been met.

Please note: Graduates of administrative and business academies, on the other hand, have a subject-specific higher education entrance qualification, provided that they have also completed vocational training. Accordingly, these qualifications can only be used to start subject-related degree courses. For example:
- Economist (VWA)
- Business economist (VWA)

If your degree is equivalent to the general higher education entrance qualification, you can study all undergraduate degree courses (Bachelor's degree, teacher training course, artistic degree course) at the University of Kassel.

If you have decided on a course of study at the University of Kassel, you can apply for the relevant application procedure with proof (e.g. master craftsman's certificate) and the grade of your advanced qualification. Deadlines and procedures are listed on our course pages.

If you have any doubts as to whether your qualification is sufficient, you can have your certificate checked. Please apply in good time before February 15 of each year to have your documents checked using this online form and select "Preliminary check of your documents: University entrance qualification with professional qualification".

If your certificates do not meet the requirements, you may still have the opportunity to apply for admission to the university entrance examination by the deadline of February 15. You can find more information on this under University entrance WITHOUT vocational qualification - University entrance examination.

Then please use the online form "Studying with a professional qualification" of the Hessian universities and select "Preliminary examination of your documents: University entrance qualification with professional qualification".