Application and admission
The Electrical Engineering with Orientation Semester (ETOS) degree programme is not admission-restricted. This means that all applicants with an Abitur (university entrance qualification), entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences or a vocational qualification are admitted, although they must fulfil certain admission requirements in order to be able to apply.
Two universities - one application
To start the orientation programme, apply online via the FH Aachen application portal. You will need a university entrance qualification (general university entrance qualification or entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences). Under certain conditions, a vocational qualification is also sufficient (such as a master craftsman's certificate or at least two years of vocational training and experience). You can find out what needs to be considered in individual cases below or on the website of the Registrar's Office of FH Aachen linked there.
Together with the letter of admission at the end of the application process, you will also receive information and links to the applications for cross-registration at RWTH Aachen University. If you have a certificate of general university entrance qualification, you can become a "major cross-registered student" at RWTH Aachen University during the orientation semester; if you have a certificate of entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences, you can become a "minor cross-registered student". The cross-registration is important in order to be able to complete the joint semester properly.
The prerequisite for continuing your studies after the orientation semester at RWTH Aachen University is a general university entrance qualification. If you have an entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences, you can only continue your studies at FH Aachen.
Admission requirements for the Electrical Engineering degree programme with orientation semester
General access requirements
For all Bachelor's degree programmes, a university entrance qualification (HZB, Hochschulzugangsberechtigung) in one of these forms is required:
- Abitur (certificate of general university entrance qualification)
- Fachhochschulreife
Please note: Depending on the type of certificate, a six-month or full-year "practical part" is also compulsory for admission to the Fachhochschule in addition to the "school-based part" (download PDF brochure of state ministry). The practical part must be completed by 30 September for the winter semester, or 31 March for the summer semester at the latest, and proof of this must be submitted to the Registrar's Office. Some certificates outside the state of NRW may have to be recognised by a district government.
- Subject-linked university entrance qualification (only entitles the holder to study the degree programmes shown on the certificate)
- Vocational training and work experience (university entrance without (Fach-)Abitur): Under certain conditions, you can also take up studies without a Fachhochschulreife or Abitur. You can find further information under Applicants without Fachabitur or Abitur.
- For more information on foreign university entrance qualifications, please see International Applicants.
Application procedure
- Register for the current semester in the FH Aachen portal. (Registrations from previous semesters will be deleted and are no longer valid).
- Go through the online application of FH Aachen and click on "Submit application".
- Afterwards you will be forwarded directly to the online application for registration.
- Here you can upload the documents mentioned in the letter of admission. Your letter of admission will be available in the inbox of the FH Aachen portal.
- After the Registrar's Office has checked your documents, you will receive an email confirming your registration.
A detailed description of the individual application steps can be found in the checklist.
You can find an overview of admission-free programmes on this website.
Application for higher subject-specific semesters
- Get a confirmation of classification in a higher subject-specific semester from the Examination Board of the respective faculty at FH Aachen and scan it.
- Register at the FH Aachen portal. If you are already studying at FH Aachen, log in with your FH ID to complete the application.
- Go through the online application of FH Aachen and click on "Submit application".
- If you have applied for an admission-free degree programme, you can register online right after the application.
- To do so, upload the documents mentioned in the admission letter. The letter of admission is available in the inbox of the FH Aachen portal.
- If you have applied for an admission-restricted degree programme, you will only receive an admission notification after the application deadline and then carry out the online application for registration.
- After the Registrar's Office has checked your documents, you will receive confirmation of your registration by email.
You will find a detailed description of the individual application steps in the checklist.
Examination Board
The Examination Board is responsible for
- Decisions in examination matters
- Compliance with Examination Regulations
- Appeals against deregistrations
- Appeals against the final failure of an examination
- Recognition of examination achievements when changing degree programmes, see also: Transfer students
NOT within the remit of the Examination Board
- Changes to the Examination Regulations -> Faculty Council
- Deadlines and missed deadlines Registration -> Registrar's Office
Chair of the Examination Board and contact person:
Documents to be submitted for registration
The Following Documents Must Be Uploaded at the Time of Registration:
- Proof of payment of the semester fee or bank statement
- Valid identity card or passport
- Certificate of exmatriculation and, if applicable, clearance (if you have previously studied at a German university)
- School leaving certificate (university entrance qualification)
- Tabular curriculum vitae (with date)
Proof of Language Skills
For Bachelor's degree programmes:
One of the following proofs and certificates must be uploaded at the time of registration:
- Proof of having passed the DSH-2 language examination.
- TestDaF 4x4
- telc Certificate C1 University
- Goethe Certificate C2
- DSD II
- ÖSD C2
For the foreign-oriented Bachelor's degree programmes (AOS), lower German language requirements apply. Proof of German language skills is not required for the degree programme Global Business and Economics.
Proof of the required German language skills must be submitted to the Registrar's Office by 31 March at the latest for registration for the summer semester and by 30 September for registration for the winter semester.
For Master's degree programmes:
Please note the language certificates listed on the letter of admission.
Application with professional qualification
The following options are available for studying without having obtained the Fachhochschulreife or Abitur:
1 | If you have a master craftsperson's certificate or a comparable further training qualification, you will be admitted to the course of study. This qualification entitles the holder to take up studies in any degree programme. For degree programmes with local admission restrictions, these applicants may only be admitted via a special quota.
2 | If you have completed at least two years of vocational training and can prove that you have worked in this particular profession for at least three years, you will be admitted to the course of study. This qualification entitles the holder to take up studies in a corresponding degree programme. For degree programmes with local admission restrictions, these applicants may only be admitted via a special quota.
3 | If you have completed at least two years of vocational training and can prove that you have worked for at least three years in a professional capacity, you will be admitted to the course of study. The required professional activity does not have to have been completed in a corresponding specialist field. Here, being primarily responsible for, and independently managing, a family household and bringing up a minor child/caring for a relative, is considered to be of equal value. In addition, however, either an entrance examination or, in the case of degree programmes without admission restriction, trial studies must be completed.
1 | Submit the application for the assessment of the university enrrance qualification in writing to the Registrar's Office.
You can submit your application as a person qualified in vocational education and training
- for the coming winter semester by 1 July or
- for the coming summer semester by 5 January.
Due to the necessary review of your vocational training and professional activity, we recommend that you submit your application as early as possible.
2 | Apply via the Online Portal and upload the result of the assessment of the university entrance qualification to the application portal.
Applications from East Belgium
In order to submit an application via our Application Portal, the upper secondary (Oberstufe) school-leaving certificate of the German-speaking Community of Belgium must first be converted by the Registrar's Office of FH Aachen.
Please send the certificate with the individual grades listed to the Registrar's Office of FH Aachen by email to studierendensekretariatfh-aachen.de before submitting your online application.
After the assessment, you will receive a calculated grade from us, which you should enter in the respective place in the online application. A short instruction will also be sent to you.
If you have obtained your university admission neither in Germany nor in the German-speaking Community of Belgium, you have to apply via uni-assist for the Bachelor's degree programmes offered at FH Aachen.
Application with a foreign university entrance qualification
Application with Foreign University Entrance Qualification
The application with a foreign university entrance qualification takes place via uni-assist.de. Please submit all required documents to uni-assist. After a positive check, uni-assist will forward your documents to FH Aachen. Checklists for the application procedure can be found at uni-assist.
Further information can be found on the page for applicants with foreign university entrance qualifications.
Deutsche und nicht-deutsche Staatsangehörige, die Ihr Abitur an einer deutschen Schule im Ausland gemacht haben, müssen sich nicht über uni-assist bewerben. Bitte bewerben Sie sich über das hochschuleigene Bewerbungsportal der FH Aachen.
Dates faculties 5
Dates and application deadlines
Dates & application deadlines for prospective students
End of May Opening of the application portal
15 July Application deadline for Bachelor of Business Informatics, Media and Communications for Digital Business
31 August Application deadline for Bachelor's degree programmes in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Smart Buidling Engineering (applications for Computer Science for winter semester 2023/24 no longer possible, applications for Electrical Engineering for winter semester 2023/24 until 15 September)
31.08. Application deadline for the Master's degree programmes in Electrical Engineering and Information Systems Engineering starting in the winter semester
11.09.23 Start of preliminary mathematics course | online preliminary maths course
02.10.23 Start of courses and lectures in the winter semester
Beginning of December Opening of application portal for Electrical Engineering with orientation semester (ETOS)
End of January / beginning of February University information day
28.02. Application deadline for Electrical Engineering with orientation semester (ETOS)
28.02. Application deadline for the Master's degree programmes in Electrical Engineering and Information Systems Engineering starting in the summer semester
We reserve the right to change the stated deadlines at short notice for internal university reasons.
Deadlines for prospective students WITHOUT an entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences)
05.01. Application for examination of the university entrance qualification as a person qualified in vocational training for the summer semester
01.07. Application for examination of the university entrance qualification as a qualified person in vocational education for the winter semester
01.10. Application deadline for participation in the entrance examination for the summer semester
01.04. Application deadline for participation in the entrance examination for the winter semester
15.01. Examination procedure for foreign applicants via uniassist for the summer semester
15.07. Examination procedure for foreign applicants via uniassist for the winter semester
Semester dates*
Start of lectures WS 23/24 at FB5: 02.10.2023
End of lectures WS 23/24 at FB5 : 26.01.2024
Start of lectures SS 24 at FB5 : 01.04.2024
End of lecture period SS 24 at FB5 : 12/07/2024
*The deviating lecture period for the university-wide dates also includes some examination phases
Questions
Do you have questions about application deadlines and dates?
Please contact the Student Service Centre at any time