Studying Without a High School Diploma: How German Law Opens University Access to Working Professionals

The assumption that a university degree in Germany is impossible without the Abitur, the traditional secondary school leaving certificate, keeps qualified professionals away from higher education every year. In practice, access for vocationally qualified applicants has been regulated by law for years, with responsibility resting at the level of the individual federal states.

In Baden-Wuerttemberg, the state higher education act provides several routes. The first runs through a vocational qualification combined with an advanced professional training programme of at least 400 hours, such as a Fachwirt or Betriebswirt. The second is a trial period of study, in which aptitude is demonstrated during the course itself. The third is an aptitude examination.

For working professionals, the relevant question is therefore not whether a degree is possible, but which route applies fastest in their individual case. That depends on the qualifications already held and can usually be clarified within a single advisory conversation.

A second factor is frequently overlooked: the recognition of prior learning. Applicants who have completed an advanced professional qualification, or who have earned credits in an earlier course of study, can have those achievements credited towards their degree. This shortens the duration of study and reduces the total cost without altering the qualification awarded.

The route is particularly practicable in combination with a part-time distance learning programme, as it requires neither relocation nor giving up employment. When selecting a provider, three verifiable criteria apply: state recognition of the institution, accreditation of the degree programme, and, for distance learning, the approval required by German law from the Staatliche Zentralstelle fuer Fernunterricht, the central state authority for distance education.

Information on access routes for vocationally qualified applicants is available from Allensbach University, a state-recognised private distance learning university based in Konstanz, Germany: https://www.allensbach-hochschule.de/en/

Allensbach Hochschule
Lohnerhofstrasse 2
78467 Konstanz
Germany
Phone: 0049 (0)7533 919 23 -90
E-Mail: kanzler@allensbach-hochschule.de
Web: https://www.allensbach-hochschule.de/en/

Allensbach University is a state-recognised private distance learning university based in Konstanz, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Founded in 1996 as WHL Wissenschaftliche Hochschule Lahr and located in Konstanz since 2015, it offers part-time Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes in business administration, business psychology, finance and business education, as well as MBA programmes and university certificates.

All programmes are designed as distance learning and are aimed at working professionals. The institution is supported by European Education Group GmbH.

This release was published on openPR.