Refugees: Pathways into studying

Table of contents

Study selection and study funding

Refugees can obtain information from

Self-assessment fore refugees

The self-assessment for study orientation for refugees provides you with

  • Basic information about the requirements for studying
  • Insights into daily student life
  • Tips for successfully studying
  • Video interviews with students

The online self-assessment does not provide personalised answers about whether you will receive admission for a study programme or which specific conditions you do not yet fulfil. If you have questions about applications and admission, please contact the Student Service Centre of HTW Berlin.

Applying for admission as a guest listener

HTW Berlin invites refugees to attend courses as guest listeners (Gasthörer).

  • Download the Application for admission as a guest listener [PDF].
  • Complete the form as required, ensuring that is clearly legible, and then take it to the teacher of the module for signature and written permission.
  • Submit the fully completed form which has been signed by the teacher to the Students Management.
  • After you have received confirmation of your admission as a guest listener, submit this immediately to the teacher of the module you wish to attend.
  • As a guest listener at HTW Berlin, you can obtain a certificate of participation for guest listeners and guest students for the modules for which you are registered. You can then gain accreditation for the modules you participated in and any examinations, e.g. in order to apply for a study place.

Applying for a study place

If you have a higher education entrance qualification from abroad, your application for a programme of study will be pre-checked by uni-assist. Please submit all necessary application documents by the following dates:

  • for summer semester by 31 December
  • for winter semester by 30 June

Address
HTW Berlin
c/o uni-assist e.V.
D-11507 Berlin

uni-assist will assess whether your foreign certificates meet the standards of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs  (Central Office for Foreign Education / Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen – ZaB) and are sufficient for admission to higher education in Germany. In some cases a school-leaving certificate granting admission to higher education in the applicant’s country of origin is sufficient to apply directly for a programme of study in Germany. However, it is often the case that additional qualifications must be demonstrated, e.g. proof of successfully completed academic years.

If you are unable to provide all of your certificates from your country of origin, uni-assist will forward your application to HTW Berlin after you have proven your refugee status with a copy of your residence permit. HTW Berlin will then decide whether your application can be considered.

If the pre-check performed by uni-assist determines that your foreign education certificates do not give you direct entitlement to study at HTW Berlin, you can apply for a preparatory course called a Studienkolleg (indirect entitlement to study).

Participants of the HTW Integra Programme only can claim a reimbursement for application expenses.

Residence permits

If you are applying for a programme of study or as a guest listener, please submit one of the following documents:

  • Copy of your certificate of registration as an asylum seeker (Bescheinigung über die Meldung als Asylsuchender — BÜMA) or
  • Copy of your temporary residence permit (Aufenthaltsgestattung) in accordance with Section 55 AsylVfG in conjunction with Section 63 AsylVfG or
  • Copy of your residence title granted on the basis of international law, humanitarian or political grounds as defined in sections 22 to 26 of the German Residence Act (AufenthG) or
  • Copy of a refugee travel document, based on Article 28 of the Geneva Convention or
  • Copy of temporary suspension of deportation (Duldung) as defined in Section 60a of the German Residence Act (AufenthG).

Central Library