uni-assist

uni-assist is the central application service for international students seeking admission to around 160 German universities and higher education institutions. If you hold a non-German educational qualification and want to study at a German university that uses uni-assist, your application must pass through this service before it reaches the university.

uni-assist assesses whether your foreign educational certificates meet the requirements for study in Germany, checks equivalency with the German Hochschulzugangsberechtigung, and forwards your documents to the relevant universities. This process — known as a Vorprüfungsdokumentation (VPD) — is a mandatory step for most international applicants.

Applications are submitted online through the uni-assist portal (My assist), where you upload your documents, pay the application fee, and track the status of your application in real time. The service processes applications in multiple semesters throughout the year, and processing times vary by institution and application volume.

uni-assist’s Berlin-based team handles correspondence in German and English, making it relatively accessible for international applicants. Detailed guidance on required documents, application deadlines, and the VPD process is available on their English-language website, along with FAQs covering the most common questions from international students.