Application for a higher semester
Would you like to continue your dental studies with us at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf or are you planning a lateral entry? We have compiled the most important information for you here.
Application deadline
- September 15 for the winter semester
- March 15 for the summer semester
The application for a higher semester is made via the Student and Examination Administration of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. The application documents and further information can be found here.
In principle, a change of location - if it is considered really necessary - is recommended after passing one of the two intermediate examinations (Z1 or Z2).
At the end of each semester (usually at the end of February/beginning of March or end of August/beginning of September), we offer an open consultation specifically for students who are transferring. At this appointment, we will give you feedback on which semester we will place you in on the basis of the Düsseldorf curriculum. For this appointment, you will need your application for a higher semester as well as your complete original transcripts of records (if applicable, a letter of recognition from the Landesprüfungsamt).
As we have incorporated dental medicine courses into our curriculum from the first semester onwards, these are a prerequisite for your application, both for career changers (also from related subjects such as medicine, chemistry, biology, etc.) and for those changing location. You can find out which courses take place in which semester in our study plan and the individual subject blocks.
If you do not meet the requirements, you must apply for the first semester. This is usually possible via Hochschulstart.
Study achievements from abroad must be recognized by the responsible state examination office before application. The Landesprüfungsamt NRW is responsible if you were born in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Bremen or outside the Federal Republic of Germany.
If you have not previously studied dentistry in Germany, your academic achievements must be recognized by the relevant state examination office. As a rule, a certificate of equivalency from the respective subject representation of a German dental faculty is a prerequisite for the recognition of your previous academic achievements. There is no legal entitlement to a certificate of equivalence before admission to the dental degree program.
The Landesprüfungsamt NRW is responsible if you were born in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Bremen or outside the Federal Republic of Germany.
Placement in the appropriate semester is based on your performance records and on our Düsseldorf curriculum. It is therefore not primarily decisive how many semesters you have already studied or how many semesters have been recognized by the Landesprüfungsamt.
A change in the pre-clinical section in particular can lead to an extension of study time, as there is a close link with the model degree program in human medicine. This means that the acquisition of some certificates of achievement begins in the first semester, which become relevant later at other universities. You may therefore have to catch up on some courses from the first semesters in order to obtain the relevant credits. Please note that only fully completed credits can be recognized.
We do not hold any study places specifically for transfer students / applicants in the higher semester. We can only allocate study places in the higher semester if these have become available for various reasons.