Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

General information

• Location: Berlin. The main sites are around Unter den Linden in Berlin-Mitte, as well as the campus in Adlershof and other parts of the city.
• Founded: 1810, on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt. It has carried its current name, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, since 1949.
• Profile: a classic, broad-based university with strengths in the humanities and social sciences, law, economics, natural sciences, mathematics, computer science and the life sciences. Medicine is studied jointly through Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
• Admission: depends heavily on the programme – some bachelor's programmes have restricted admission (NC), others are open. International applicants often apply through uni-assist or directly to HU, depending on their prior education and the programme.
• Distinctive feature: HU is one of the best-known traditional universities in Germany and, together with Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin and Charité, forms the Berlin University Alliance. It has a very strong international academic reputation, especially in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

Deadlines

• Summer semester: by 15 January
• Winter semester: by 15 July

A CV is also required with the application.

Programmes

Medicine – Charité

• Duration: 6 years and 3 months – the standard length of medical studies in Germany
• Credits: 300 ECTS; model programme (Modellstudiengang)
• Location: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the joint medical faculty of Humboldt-Universität and Freie Universität Berlin. Teaching takes place across the Charité campuses, including Campus Charité Mitte, Campus Virchow-Klinikum and Campus Benjamin Franklin.
• Start: twice a year – in the winter and in the summer semester
• Admission: heavily restricted (national NC). Charité offers around 325 places; first-semester admission is coordinated centrally through Hochschulstart.de.

Deadlines: for the 2026/27 winter semester, applications through Hochschulstart closed on 31 May 2026 for older diplomas and on 15 July 2026 for diplomas from this year. For the summer semester the standard deadline is around 15 January; check the exact dates for the year in question.

Applying from Bulgaria: Bulgaria is an EU country, so Bulgarian citizens apply for medicine by the same central route as German and other EU/EEA applicants – through Hochschulstart.de.

TMS: because admission is extremely competitive, the medical studies test (TMS) matters a great deal – Charité counts its result both in the university's own selection (AdH) and in the additional aptitude quota (ZEQ).

Law (Rechtswissenschaft)

• Duration: normally 10 semesters (about 5 years) up to the first state law examination
• Credits: around 270 credits in total in the current structure; the programme ends with the First Law Examination rather than a classic bachelor's degree
• Location: Juristische Fakultät, central Berlin around Bebelplatz / Unter den Linden
• Start: as a rule once a year – in the winter semester (October)
• Admission: restricted (NC) – places are limited and applicants are ranked by their recognised school-leaving qualification and the admission rules in force

Deadline: usually 15 July for the winter semester. With a diploma from outside Germany you apply through uni-assist.

Core areas: civil, criminal and public law, plus an elective specialisation, legal foreign languages and practical components.

Graduation and career: the First Law Examination is usually followed by legal traineeship (Rechtsreferendariat) and the Second State Examination. After that you can work, for example, as a lawyer, judge, public prosecutor or in a company's legal department.

Business Administration (BWL)

• Duration: 3 years (6 semesters), 180 ECTS
• Degree: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)
• Location: Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Berlin
• Start: mainly in the winter semester (October)
• Admission: restricted (NC) – the number of places is limited and admission depends on the applicants' results in the semester in question

Deadline: usually 15 July for the winter semester. With a Bulgarian diploma you usually apply through uni-assist.

Core subjects:

• accounting (Rechnungswesen)
• finance
• marketing
• management
• micro- and macroeconomics
• mathematics and statistics
• econometrics and data analysis
• business law