Universities - Few admission-restricted degree programs in Rhineland-Palatinate
In Rhineland-Palatinate, there are the second fewest study programs with restricted enrollment in the country-wide comparison. In the upcoming winter semester 2024/25, 19.8% of all study programs in the federal state have restricted enrollment, also known as a numerus clausus (NC), a selection procedure, or an aptitude test. Nationwide, this is only about 35% of the study programs. According to an evaluation by the Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) in Gütersloh.
There are fewer study programs with restricted enrollment in Thuringia (19.2%). The percentage in Rhineland-Palatinate has even decreased again compared to the previous year (22.4%).
The most frequent study programs with restricted enrollment in the state are in the fields of Law-, Economics-, Social- and Political Sciences (37.2%). On the other hand, only 9.6% of the study programs in the fields of Language- and Cultural Sciences have restricted enrollment.
There are also differences between the cities in Rhinland-Palatinate: While almost one third of the study programs in Mainz have restricted enrollment, there is only a small percentage in Trier (9%) and Kaiserslautern (7%) where study programs have restricted enrollment.
Reversed federal quote
The proportion of restricted enrollment study programs has been declining nationwide for years, said Study Director Cort-Denis Hachmeister. "This can mainly be attributed to the decline in first-semester enrollments and the simultaneous expansion of study programs." So the prospects for study applicants in their preferred subject are currently better than ever before.
Even in the nationally restricted fields of study, such as for example Medicine, the relationship between study places and applicants has significantly improved. According to CHE, on average, there are 2.8 applicants for each study place in the central application procedure for the fields of Pharmacy or Human-, Animal- or Dental Medicine.
- Despite having fewer restricted enrollment study programs than Thuringia, Rhineland-Palatinate still has a higher proportion of such programs compared to the national average.
- In Mainz, a significant number of study programs in fields like Law-, Economics-, Social- and Political Sciences have admission restrictions, as indicated by the Center for Higher Education Development in Gütersloh.
- Contrastingly, in cities like Trier and Kaiserslautern, only a minimal percentage of study programs have admission restrictions, as seen in the nationwide comparison.
- Universities in Gütersloh, like those in Rhineland-Palatinate and other parts of Germany, have seen a decrease in the number of restricted enrollment programs over the years, as mentioned by Study Director Cort-Denis Hachmeister.
- Even in restricted fields of study such as Medicine, the ratio of applicants to study places has significantly improved across various German universities, according to the CHE's analysis.
