German educational institutions and study programmes

Below, we explain what types of German educational institutions and study programmes there are, and how we check whether they are recognised and/or accredited. We check the and to make sure that the quality is sufficient. We give the necessary information for each type of education.

Secondary education | diplomas

With regard to secondary education programmes, you have to pay special attention to the fact that a student has a recognised diploma. These are the recognised upper secondary education diplomas:

See Secondary education documents for a short explanation of the documents that students receive.

Higher education | educational institutions

In Germany, there are separate educational institutions for research-oriented higher education and higher professional education.

Institutions for research-oriented higher education

Students can follow research-oriented higher education at various Universitäten and specialised Hochschulen:

  • Universitäten
  • Technische Universitäten
  • Technische Hochschulen
  • Wissenschaftliche Hochschulen, zoals:
    • Pädagogische Hochschulen
    • Erziehungswissenschaftliche Hochschulen
    • Medizinische Hochschulen
    • Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschulen
  • Kunst- en Musikhochschulen

Kunst- en Musikhochschulen

In German higher education, Kunst- en ­Musikhochschulen form a separate category. The admission requirements and diplomas of these institutions are often the same as those of the research-oriented Universitäten en Hochschulen. However, the goal of the programme is often more similar to that of Dutch universities of applied sciences ( ). Per study programme, we determine if we can compare the diploma to a Dutch HBO or diploma.

Institutions for higher professional education

Fachhochschulen offer higher professional education. In English, these institutions are called: university of applied sciences.

Checking the recognition of higher education institutions

You can find a search tool for all recognised German higher education institutions on the Hochschulkompass website (in German only).

  • Open the Hochschulkompass search tool.
  • At the section ‘Suchen Sie hier nach Hochschulen’, enter the name of the German higher education institution and click on ‘Treffer anzeigen’.
  • No result? The higher education institution is probably not recognised.

Higher education | study programmes

In Germany, higher education programmes must be accredited. Below, we explain how to check if a study programme is accredited.

Checking accreditation of bachelor's and master's degree programmes

Follow the steps below to check whether an undergraduate or graduate programme is accredited:

  • Go to the Akkreditierungsrat database.
  • Type in the name of the study programme at ‘Studiengang’ and the name of the educational institution at ‘Name der Hochschule’. Then click on ‘Treffer anzeigen’.
  • Check if the educational institution's study programme is listed in the search results.
  • Is it not listed? Then the study programme is probably not accredited.
  • Is the study programme listed in the search results? Then click on it.
    • Does ‘Ja’ appear under ‘Akkreditiert’? Then the study programme is accredited.
    • Does ‘Nein’ appear under ‘Akkreditiert’? Then the study programme used to be accredited, but is no longer.
    • To check if and when a study programme was accredited previously, look at the following:
      • Under ‘Erstakkreditierung’ it is stated when the study programme was first accredited. In other words, the study programme was not accredited before that time.
      • Under ‘Reakkreditierungen und Fristverlängerungen” it is mentioned when the accreditation was first renewed and it states all renewals since then. So here you can see if a study programme was accredited in a particular year.

Checking accreditation of Diplom courses

Follow the steps below to check whether a Diplom course is accredited:

  • Search for the educational institution via the Hochschulkompass website. Above, under Checking the recognition of higher education institutions, we describe how to do that.
    • Is the educational institution listed in the search results? Then it is currently recognised. This means that the study programmes offered by this institution are currently accredited as well.
    • Is the educational institution not listed in the search results? Then the educational institution is probably not recognised at the moment. This means that this educational institute's programmes are currently not accredited either.