International applicants

Worldwide interest in Germany remains high

Ongoing interest in Germany as a place to pursue study and research. According to information released by uni-assist and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Berlin today, the number of foreign university applicants is at around 80 per cent of the previous year’s level despite the corona pandemic.

Vier junge Menschen laufen nebeneinander und unterhalten sich

According to uni-assist, just under 60,000 prospective international students applied for a bachelor’s or master’s degree programme in Germany by the deadline of 20 August. This puts the number of applications at around 80 per cent of the previous year. In view of the corona crisis with its worldwide mobility restrictions, it is extremely gratifying to see this substantial level of ongoing interest, say the two organisations. The assessed applications will now be made available to the member universities to begin the admissions process. 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Strackeljan, Chairman of the Board of uni-assist:
“In order to give as many applicants as possible the opportunity to study in Germany in spite of corona, many of our member universities contributed to making the application process more flexible right from the beginning of the crisis by participating in the online system and extending application deadlines. It is thanks to centralised collaboration through uni-assist e.V. that it has been possible to coordinate this at such short notice. The organisation is proud to have contributed to maintaining high numbers of applicants in a year when preparation for admission has been especially complex.

Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, President of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): 
“In times of crisis such as these, German universities can be seen to have a very solid standing thanks to public funding – not least in terms of their international competitiveness. Germany has become a top destination for international students. This is a great opportunity for us: in these difficult times in particular we are able to offer talented young people the prospect of studying at our excellent universities, thereby further increasing our competitiveness as a hub of science and industry. We must seize this opportunity now – through speedy admissions and visa procedures as well as by providing sound support for international students at the beginning of their studies and during their stay in Germany.

uni-assist 
As the central administration and service organisation for international student applications in Germany, uni-assist takes care of the preliminary assessment of international student applications, supported by around 180 universities in Germany. Founded in 2003 by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) and a number of German universities, uni-assist is a non-profit organisation. On average, uni-assist processes some 300,000 university applications from over 180 countries and regions around the world every year.

DAAD - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst - German Academic Exchange Service