University of Hamburg Admission Requirements 2027

The University of Hamburg is a public research university and a city-state institution that charges no separate tuition fee to international students. Master's application deadlines changed for the 2025/26 winter semester and now run for six weeks in May and June.

Requirements

Bachelor's / Staatsexamen

A higher education entrance qualification recognised as equivalent to the Abitur is required; most Bachelor's programmes are taught in German.

Master's

A relevant first degree is required. Each programme sets its own English or German language requirement in its admission regulations.

Documents

Certified copies of school and degree certificates and transcripts; a language certificate meeting your programme's required level; and any subject-specific documents listed in that programme's admission regulations. Some programmes accept conditional admission with proof due early in the first semester.

How to apply

Choose a programme and check its own language requirement and deadline track (standard, summer semester, or International Master's Programmes).
Prepare certified copies of your qualifications and your language certificate.
Apply within the relevant window: 1 May to 15 June for most Master's programmes starting in the winter semester, 1 December to 15 January for the summer semester, or 15 February to 31 March for International Master's Programmes.
If admitted, arrange health insurance, apply for a student visa if coming from outside the EU/EEA, pay the semester contribution, and enrol.
Register your address in Hamburg.

English test waiver

Hamburg's English requirement is set per programme rather than centrally: most subjects reviewed ask for IELTS 5.5 or TOEFL iBT 70 to 72 (for example Human Movement Sciences, Earth System Physics and Psychology), while English as a teaching subject asks for IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 90, and Business Mathematics accepts a lower IELTS 4.0. Conditional admission pending a certificate is possible for some programmes.