Application & Admissions

There are two application pools – based on your citizenship and your University entrance qualification:

• Pool 1 for citizens from EU and EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) member states, and for all other international applicants with a German Abitur
• Pool 2 for non-EU / -EEA citizens without a German Abitur

The pools are assessed separately. The processes and criteria are based on the Admissions Regulations for EU and for non-EU applicants, respectively. Dual citizens apply with the citizenship “closest” to Germany:

• German and any other citizenship → as a German citizen
• EU or EAA and a non-EU/-EAA citizenship → with your EU or EAA citizenship
• two non-EU/-EAA citizenships → either

Submitting Your LAS Application

1. Registration on hochschulstart.de

The University uses the Dialogue-Oriented Service Procedure (DoSV) to coordinate LAS applications. After registering at hochschulstart.de, you receive your BID (Bewerbungs-ID = Applicant ID) and BAN (Bewerbungs-Authentifizierungs-Nummer = Applicant Authentication Number).

2. Registration and Application at the University of Freiburg

You then register on the University application portal. Here you can enter your BID and BAN to allow data transfer from hochschulstart.de and to enable email notifications. In the drop-down menu under “Your desired degree program”, you then select “Bachelor” and the study program “Liberal Arts and Sciences”.

After completing the application form and uploading the application documents listed below, you can check and edit your application. Then, please confirm that your data is correct and submit your application using your BID and BAN numbers. We recommend downloading the application control sheet for your records.

If you submit more than one application for the DOSV, you must prioritize your study preferences by 22 July. In the dynamic DOSV system, lower-prioritized offers are retracted automatically as soon as you receive a higher-prioritized offer.

The University of Freiburg Service Center Studium (SCS) provides further information on the online application process, including prioritization.

Application Documents

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• University Entrance Qualification
• B2 English Proficiency
• Application Essay
• Letter of Motivation
• Declaration of Authorship
• Student Orientation Procedure
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• Your University Entrance Qualification consists of your school-leaving diploma and your transcript of grades. Documents not in German, English, or French must be translated into German or English by a certified translator or approved by a German Embassy or Consulate.
• Please consult the central University of Freiburg information on the eligibility and recognition of different University Entrance Qualifications, for example:
• Non-German University Entrance Qualifications including the International Baccalaureate Diploma must be recognized by University Department Application and Admission. Please consult their information regarding your eligibility before applying.
• If you are a German citizen and have a non-German University entrance qualification, please see the information here.

Applicants must provide proof of English proficiency at B2 level or higher according to the CEFR. You can find a list of the language certificates that the University of Freiburg accepts here under “English B2”.

The application essay is your opportunity to show how you approach and answer the essay question. The question for 2025 is: “What are reasons for and against the claim that ‘knowledge is power’? Describe a situation from your own life that either supports or challenges this claim.”

Application Essay Guideline

The application essay must answer the application question and be written in English. It must not exceed 500 words. A slightly longer essay will make a successful application less likely. An overlong essay will lead to the disqualification of your application. The application essay is evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. independent, comprehensible argumentation,
2. structured and clear expression, and
3. correct external form and spelling.

Keep in mind that there is not one correct answer to the essay question. Different approaches and results are possible. We are most interested in reading your own ideas and arguments about the essay question.

The letter of motivation is your opportunity to share what motivates you to study LAS in Freiburg. It gives us the opportunity to get to know you better as a person and young scholar.

Letter of Motivation Guideline

The letter of motivation must be written in English and must not exceed 500 words. A slightly longer letter will make a successful application less likely. An overlong letter will lead to the disqualification of your application. The letter of motivation is evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. convincing presentation of your own study interests regarding the contents of the LAS study program,
2. structured and clear writing, and
3. formal correctness and spelling.

In devising your letter, we encourage you to find out what you want to learn and how studying LAS is related to this. We advise you to be honest with yourself and with us. Nobody is a perfect candidate. In your letter, we suggest you address the following questions:

• What is your understanding of an interdisciplinary Liberal Arts and Sciences education?
• Why do you want to study LAS in Freiburg?
• Why and what do you want to learn? Which kinds of intellectual or academic questions do you find interesting or inspiring?
• How do these interests relate to the LAS Core and to one of the LAS Majors?
• How does your interest in specific parts of the LAS program in Freiburg relate to your previous experiences (e.g., stays abroad, internships, school projects) or achievements?
• Which goals or future ideas, also beyond your studies, do you associate with LAS?

The Declaration of Authorship (“Erklärung”) is a mandatory part of your LAS application. Please print and sign the following declaration, then scan and upload it to the application portal:

I hereby confirm that the Letter of motivation and the Application essay have been composed by me and are my own work, unless stated otherwise.

Your First and Last Name
Your email address

You must provide confirmation of having completed a Student Orientation Procedure, e.g., the LAS Online Study-Choice Assistant (OSA). The OSA for the LAS Program is also an interactive tool that provides insights into studying LAS and includes helpful videos, links, and information on student orientation.

We check that your application includes the required application documents and that they are valid. If you submit your application by 1 July, we will notify you in case of missing and/or invalid documents. In addition, non-German school-leaving certificates must be recognized as a German University entrance qualification by the University Department Application and Admission.

Applications that do not fulfill the application requirements will not be considered for selection.

LAS is a selective program. Not all applicants are admitted. Per LAS application pool, the applicants are ranked according to:

• the (converted) final grade of your University entrance qualification
• your application essay
• your letter of motivation

Starting late July, you will be notified by email from hochschulstart.de about your admission or rejection. If you are admitted to the LAS Program, you have to actively accept or decline our offer on hochschulstart.de.

• If you do not intend to accept the offer, please make a prompt decision and decline the offer on hochschulstart.de in order to unblock that study place for waitlisted applicants.
• Please make sure to correctly prioritize your applications in the DOSV. If you did not indicate LAS as your priority and you intend to accept our offer, you should do so immediately. Otherwise, your original priority application could override our LAS offer.
• If you accept our offer, your official letter of admission will be issued via hochschulstart.de, including information on enrollment at the University of Freiburg. You then have 10 days to enroll. If you cannot meet this deadline, you can start the enrollment process online and apply for an extension. Please do not send original documents of which you only have one copy via surface mail.

Deferring admission for one year is only possible if (1) you are a German citizen, have a German Abitur, and/or are an EU or EEA Citizen with a University Entrance Qualification from an EU or EEA country. And if (2) you will be doing a mandatory or voluntary military or civil service or caring for a child or relative.

Over the summer, UCF will provide you further details about starting your LAS studies. During our Welcome Week, we will introduce you to LAS, to each other, the city and the University of Freiburg!