FAQ

Please check under Accepted Language Certificates for more information.

Please check under Accepted Language Certificates for more information.

Professional experience is only taken into account if it is explicitly stated as an application requirement for the respective study program. If this is not the case for your study program, then professional experience does not play a role in the application process.

You can find an explanation of the university entrance qualification on our Apply to TH OWL website.

No. The TH OWL does not issue conditional admissions. Admission to a degree program will only be granted if you fully meet the admission requirements. This also applies to the language requirements.

However, as a Uni-Assist applicant, you have the option of applying for German taught degree programs with a certificate at the preliminary level and later presenting the language certificate at the required language level at the time of enrollment (at latest). For example, if your desired degree program requires a German B2 level, you can submit a German B1 certificate with your Uni-Assist application. If you then receive admission and enroll, you will need to submit an accepted German B2 certificate to begin your studies.

Applicants who submit their application via the KIS portal must already submit the required language certificate with their application.

Please refer to the admission requirements section on the individual course page. There you will find information on the required language level. Please note that the TH OWL only accepts certain formats of language certificates.

If you would like to apply for a higher semester, you must apply in accordance with the general application procedure and at the same time contact the relevant department or the examination office of the relevant department in order to have your placement in a higher semester checked.

If you are studying in Germany on a student visa, please note that your visa is linked to the university and the degree program for which you submitted your visa application. Therefore, if you change your degree program and/or university, you must discuss this in advance with the Immigration Office to avoid any difficulties with your visa!

In some countries, proof of APS is required in order to obtain a visa and enter the country. Applicants from India must submit proof of APS with their application in Uni-Assist. Applicants from other countries that also require proof of APS do not necessarily have to submit this with their application.

No. You must submit the relevant application documents within the deadline specified by Uni-Assist. Please refrain from submitting documents to us by email after the deadline. Out of fairness towards all applicants, these documents cannot be considered.

No. If you already have a positive evaluation report from Uni-Assist (which is not older than 2 years), this is sufficient to reapply for the same degree program via the KIS portal. You do not need to apply for an additional VPD and you don't need to apply over Uni-Assist again.

NON-EU Applicants if

• have not obtained their university entrance qualification (Abitur, Baccalauréat, Diploma, etc.) or their first university degree (Bachelor) in Germany
• have already completed a preparatory course in Germany, or
• do not have a Allgemeine Hochschulreife or Fachhochschulreife issued by a German school abroad.

This also applies if

•     you are a German citizen or
•     are already or have been enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's program at another German university with foreign certificates and would like to transfer to TH OWL.

Uni-assist checks on behalf of the TH OWL whether your foreign certificates meet the requirements of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (Kultusministerkonferenz - ZaB) and are sufficient for university admission.

It may be that your school certificate acquired in your home country is bound to a certain selection of subjects, for example because it was taken in a certain subject area (Série/Stream).

Since the courses offered by TH OWL are courses with a high technical content, your field of study must be of a technical, mathematical or scientific nature (Série technique, mathematique, scientifique / Scientific Stream).

The only exceptions are the degree programs Business Administration, International Logistics and the Master's degree programs Management of Medium-Sized Enterprises and International Logistics Management. Here, the specialization (Série literature/Literary Stream) may have been acquired.

If you are graduating from a German Studienkolleg, you must make sure to take the so-called "T-course", in exception the "W-course" for the above-mentioned economics courses.

Please check under Application Documents for more information.

First, create your own profile on uni-assist. You will find the courses offered by TH OWL under the Hochschule "Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-lippe".

•     upload all documents online In the applicant portal.

Please do not send originals to TH OWL. Please also know the processing fees charged by uni-assist.

In case of a successful check, uni-assist will automatically forward your application documents to TH OWL. Therefore, you do not need to apply directly to us.

Important: If you need a visa for study purposes to enter Germany, you can already apply for this with the message from uni-assist that your application has been forwarded to us. You can find some useful information about the visa application procedure here.

Your admission is generally not valid for a later semester.

No. The admission offer is only valid for the current semester and cannot be postponed to the next semester. If you are unable to start your studies in the specified semester, you can reapply for the next semester. Applicants who have already applied via Uni-Assist can then apply directly via the KIS portal with the VPD or Evaluation report and do not have to reapply via Uni-Assist.

Your admission offer letter will not be sent to you by e-mail. As soon as you have received an offer of admission, a confirmation letter will be generated within 24 hours and deposited in the inbox of your KIS Portal account. You can then download the letter from there.

There could be two reasons for this:

1. You have entered an incorrect password. In this case, please send us an e-mail and we can generate a new initial password. You can then change the password again.

2. You are already enrolled as a student. In this case, your login details as an applicant will no longer work. After completing your enrolment, you will receive an e-mail with the subject "Studienbewerbung – Sie wurden erfolgreich eingeschrieben". There you will find your new access information for the KIS portal as an enrolled student. From now on, please use this login data to log in to the KIS portal in the area for students.

If both cases do not apply, please contact our technical support at support@th-owl.de.

No. Please refrain from sending us transfer confirmations, health insurance certificates etc. by mail. The documents you need for enrollment should only be uploaded to the KIS portal. Only send us documents by mail, if we explicitly ask you to do so.

As soon as you have received an admission offer, you will see in the KIS portal and in your admission offer letter until when you can complete the enrollment application. Please adhere to this deadline.

If you got an admission offer to a degree program, you will receive a letter of admission offer in your KIS Portal account. You must download this yourself in the inbox of your KIS Portal account and it will not be sent by e-mail!

No, the status "valid" is not the same as admission! This merely means that your application documents have been received by the TH OWL and are now being checked for admission.

Yes, you must upload officially certified and, if necessary, translated documents. You can find more information in the Application documents section.

If you are unable to attend the semester, you have the option of exmatriculation. Please note that if you exmatriculate after the start of the semester (September 1st or March 1st), a refund of the semester fee is no longer possible. In order to receive a refund, you must therefore submit the application for exmatriculation and refund by 31st of August or 28/29th of February at the latest. The Enrolment Office can provide you with information on how to apply.
You can then reapply to the TH OWL for a later semester.

If you decide to remain enrolled even though you cannot attend the semester, you must be aware of the consequences:

•     You must pay the fees for health insurance on an ongoing basis from the start of enrollment, although if you are not yet able to enter Germany. These fees cannot be refunded!
•     Your enrolled semesters are counted consecutively, regardless of whether you have actually studied in the semester or not.

If you have any questions about exmatriculation, please contact the Enrolment Office.

The Studierendenwerk Bielefeld offers student residences for which you can apply. We generally recommend that international students look for suitable accommodation as early as possible. In addition to student residences, it is also worth looking for suitable offers in the region on private platforms. You can find more information on this topic at the following link:

Living in OWL

You can submit applications for exmatriculation/semester off via your account in the KIS portal. If you have any questions on this topic, please contact the Enrolment Office.