Numerus Clausus - Fewer admission restrictions at universities in the North
Due to a rather low quota of admission-restricted study programs, it is relatively likely in Schleswig-Holstein to obtain a desired study place in the upcoming winter semester. According to a study by the Center for Higher Education Development in Gütersloh, only 22.4% of the study place offers will be allocated via a Numerus Clausus (NC) or a qualification assessment procedure in Schleswig-Holstein in the upcoming winter semester. This is a decrease of 2.1 percentage points compared to the winter semester 2022/23.
Schleswig-Holstein has the fifth lowest NC quote in the federal comparison. Nationwide, 37.2% of all study places are admission-restricted.
The highest quote was determined to be 62.4% in Hamburg, the lowest 19.6% in Thuringia. Admission restrictions are a reaction of universities to applicant numbers that exceed the study place offer. A fixed number of study places is then allocated based on various criteria, such as the Abitur grade. The Center for Higher Education Development is a subsidiary of the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Rectors' Conference.
The distribution of admission restrictions at Schleswig-Holstein's universities varies depending on popularity and place offer: According to the study, 42.2% of the study offers in the fields of law, economics, social sciences and humanities are admission-restricted in the north, while only about one tenth (10.2%) are in language and cultural sciences. In mathematics and natural sciences, 18.5% of the offers are admission-restricted, in engineering sciences 28.1%.
The number of study offers with admission restrictions is decreasing
Nationwide, the proportion of admission-restricted study offers has been decreasing for years, as Study Director Cort-Denis Hachmeister states. "This can largely be attributed to the decline in first-semester numbers and the simultaneous expansion of study offers."
The prospects for study applicants for a study place in their preferred subject are currently as good as ever. Even in the federally admission-restricted fields such as, for example, medicine, the relationship between study places and applicants has significantly improved.
On average, there are 2.8 applicants for a study place in the fields of pharmacy, human, animal or dental medicine.
- In contrast to Schleswig-Holstein, universities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg have a higher percentage of study places with access restriction due to a Numerus Clausus or qualification assessment procedure.
- A study place in a highly sought-after study program, such as law or economics, is more likely to be subject to access restriction at universities in Gütersloh than in fields like language and cultural sciences.
- Despite the decrease in admission-restricted study places in Schleswig-Holstein, applicants still face access restrictions in fields like mathematics and natural sciences, engineering sciences, and even in some federally admission-restricted programs.
- To secure a study place in an admission-restricted program, applicants must often meet specific criteria, such as a high Abitur grade, which reflects the universities' reaction to an excess of applicants.
- Though the overall number of admission-restricted study offers is decreasing nationwide, applicants in popular programs, like medicine, still need to navigate these access restrictions to secure their desired study place.
