Secure your place at university
Would you like to study at Stuttgart Media University and are wondering how places are allocated? Here you can gain detailed insights into the university's own selection procedure and find out which criteria are decisive for admission.
Find out about possible grade bonuses for your application, the consideration of waiting times and special regulations for Master's degree programmes or lateral entry. Prepare yourself optimally to get your dream study place at the HdM.
Bachelor programme
The number of places on Bachelor's degree programmes at the HdM is limited. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of study places, 90 per cent of the available study places - after deduction of the preliminary quotas - are allocated via the university's own selection procedure and 10 per cent via waiting time (HZVO § 22; HZG § 6 (1)).
Within the framework of the preliminary quotas , available study places are allocated to applicants according to the following quotas:
- 8 % to applicants from non-EU countries
- 2 % to second degree applicants, i.e. people who have already completed a degree programme at a university in Germany
- 1 % to persons who, for example as athletes, belong to a group of persons to be supported in the public interest
- 5% for exceptional cases of hardship
--> Hardship cases and compensation for disadvantages are handled by the HdM in accordance with the regulations of the Foundation for University Admission - as well as within the framework of "pre-selection" to applicants who have already been admitted to the relevant degree programme and who have been prevented from commencing their studies due to voluntary military service, federal voluntary service, international youth voluntary service, at least two years' work as a development worker or due to caring for a child or relative for a period of up to three years. Pre-selection must be applied for no later than the second allocation procedure, which is carried out after the end of the service.
The university's own selection procedure
Study place allocation according to the university's own selection procedure based on the "procedural grade" (90%)
The procedural grade
When allocating study places according to the university's own selection procedure, a so-called "procedural grade" is calculated from the average grade of the university entrance qualification and any grade bonuses.
The legal basis for the allocation of Bachelor's study places at the HdM is the statutes for the university's own selection procedure for Bachelor's degree programmes at the Hochschule der Medien (SAB).
The personal procedural grade of an applicant is calculated...
- from the average grade of the university entrance qualification
(e.g. Abitur or Fachhochschulreife - only the average grade counts, individual subject grades arenot additionally weighted
at the HdM)
and a possible grade bonus, e.g. for
professionally relevant completed vocational training (proof via degree certificate)- The basis for this is the list of recognised training occupations in the Vocational Training Act (BBiG).
- For the Crossmedia Editing / Public Relations degree programme, a bonus is awarded for a completed editorial traineeship.
- To find out which training occupations are relevant for the individual degree programmes and the amount of bonuses awarded
can be found in the Bonuses table.
Professional activities relevant to the programme (Proof of activity via employer's reference or interim reference)- Professional activities in fields of activity listed in the classification of occupations of the Federal Employment Agency are taken into account. You must have worked full-time for more than 12 months (part-time if you have worked for a corresponding length of time).
- Which professional activities are relevant for the individual degree programmes and the amount of bonuses awarded
can be found in the Bonuses table.
Independent letter of application- Please answer the key questions listed in the template, observing the stated character limit per question (characters with spaces). The aim is to justify your subject-specific aptitude and motivation for the degree programme and the professional activity you wish to pursue.
- Here you will find the form for the letter of application with corresponding key questions per degree programme.
- The amount of the bonus for the desired degree programme can be found in the bonus table.
The amount of the bonus
A selection committee decides on the amount of the bonus. There is a fixed maximum total amount of the bonus to be achieved (cap). Double counting is not possible, i.e., for example, a practical activity that is already the subject of a claimed vocational training programme will not be taken into account in the assessment of the application letter.
The ranking list
A ranking list is drawn up from all applicants on the basis of the determined procedural grade and 90% of the available study places are allocated according to this ranking list. In the event of a tie, the waiting time is the deciding factor, followed by the grade of the university entrance qualification and finally by drawing lots. Foreign grades are converted in accordance with the guidelines of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs.
Allocation of study places according to the waiting time (10%)
The waiting period is calculated based on the number of university semesters (half-years) that have elapsed since obtaining the higher education entrance qualification, minus the previous periods of study at state-recognised higher education institutions in Germany. A maximum of seven waiting semesters will be taken into account (HZG § 6 (1)).
A ranking list is compiled from all applicants based on the number of semesters of waiting time determined and 10% of the available study places for the relevant degree programme are allocated according to this ranking list. This means that the allocation of study places based on the waiting period is independent of the allocation of study places based on the procedural grade (see above). The number of waiting semesters does not affect the procedural grade.
Higher semester / change of subject
Free study places will be allocated to applicants for a higher semester, provided that they can prove that they have completed the required period of study for the desired semester and have a corresponding level of education. The head of the respective degree programme (dean of studies) decides whether and in which semester an applicant is placed. The applicant's creditable academic achievements are decisive. If you have any questions about the transferability of credits from your previous degree programme, please contact the student advisory service. Contact persons can be found on the degree programme websites.
- The legal basis for the recognition of academic achievements is the statutes on the recognition of study and examination achievements at the Hochschule der Medien (as of 31 January 2020).
- Further information can be found on the page "Change of subject / Credit transfer / Application for a higher semester".
Second degree programme
Anyone who has already successfully completed an undergraduate degree programme at a university in Germany and is applying for a second undergraduate degree programme is considered a second degree applicant with special admission requirements. Only 2% of the available places on a degree programme are allocated to second degree applicants as part of the preliminary quota (see preliminary quotas above).
Applicants for a second degree programme are classified and selected according to the examination results of the first degree programme and the reasons for the second degree programme. The guidelines of the Foundation for University Admissions apply when awarding points. See
"Richtlinien für Entscheidungen über Anträge von Bewerberinnen und Bewerbern für ein Zweitstudium" of the Foundation for University Admissions (PDF) under II. decision criteria (p.9-11)
Student counselling at the HdM
Annica Funke
Mitarbeiterin, Zentrale Studienberatung
David Sixt
Mitarbeiter, Zentrale Studienberatung