FAQ Applications

In general, the programme only requires its students to pay a semester fee to cover administration costs and the semester ticket. Information about the exact cost – approximately 300 Euros – is provided upon admission to or re-enrolment in a degree programme. Alternatively, the information is provided on our homepage under Semester fee. Universities in Berlin do not charge tuition fees for Bachelor’s degree programmes.

Holders of a Bachelor’s degree can apply for admission to a Master’s degree programme, either directly after graduation or at a later date. The cooperative studies Bachelor’s degree programme offered at the Department of Cooperative Studies is taught as an intensive programme with 210 ECTS credits (see: “What does ECTS stand for?”) over three years. The combination of theory and practice which it provides makes for an especially attractive qualification for its students and is very attractive to our partner companies. Graduates of a Bachelor’s degree programme with 210 ECTS credits can start a Master’s degree programme with both 90 and 120 ECTS credits.

The Berlin Professional School at the HWR Berlin also offers the Digital Transformation and the General Management cooperative studies Master’s degree programmes.

All the degree programmes run in the Department of Cooperative Studies are fully accredited. The Bachelor’s degree programmes run in the department are accredited as intensive degree programmes with 210 credits. In addition to the quality of teaching and curriculum, degree programme accreditation checks course compliance with the requirements of German government legislation and European standards.

ECTS stands for the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System. Developed by the European Commission, it achieves comparability between university systems. The specification of credits indicates the intensity of the degree programme and for instance, shows whether a Bachelor’s degree qualifies its holder to start a Master’s degree programme. Normally, a university awards 180 ECTS credits for a three-year degree programme. HWR students are awarded 210 ECTS credits in three years to reflect the close association between theory and practice achieved in our degree programmes.

Cooperative studies degree programmes seek to ensure that its graduates not only have a well-grounded subject expertise but can call on professional experience. The concept of the cooperative studies degree programme brings togehter the university and businesses to engage in a close and innovative partnership, thereby ensuring the very high employability of its graduates.

Alumni surveys of the graduates from the HWR Department of Cooperative Studies confirm this trend: some 80 percent are offered a job in the company in which they completed their training. Even after four years of professional experience, 20 percent of alumni from the department have advanced to a executive position and a further 30 percent of graduates are employed to  do challenging scientific work.

A Bachelor’s degree programme at the Department of Cooperative Studies always starts on 1 October and lasts three years, that means six semesters and includes 6 theoretical and 6 practical phases, which always alternate. The dual study courses at HWR Berlin are organized in such a way that students spend 3 months at the university and then 3 months at the partner company. The cooperative studies Master’s degree programme runs for four semesters and begins every year on 1 October.

The student counselling service for cooperative studies degree programmes provides potential and actual applicants with help and support in all questions about cooperative studies degree programmes.

Please address your questions in an e-mail to:  studienberatung.dual@hwr-berlin.de

Students at the Department of Cooperative Studies at the HWR Berlin can apply for BAföG. The grant paid will be reduced by the amount of any earnings received from their degree-related employment.

Further information about BAföG:

• https://www.stw.berlin/en/finanzierung.html

Those interested in enrolling on a cooperative studies degree programme at the HWR Berlin should not apply directly to the university, but are to send their application to a partner company of their choice. Our full list of partner companies is listed in a database. The partner companies select those applicants most suitable for admission to a cooperative studies degree programme and conclude a contract with them.

After the contract has been concluded, and the applicant has demonstrated that they comply with all admission requirements (see “Admission”) they can enrol at the HWR Berlin. Additional application to the university is not required.
 
Applicants can also select a partner company not listed in the database. In such cases, the company will approach the responsible course director of the corresponding degree programme and request acceptance as a partner (see “Course directors and course offices”). Unfortunately, we can only accept new partner companies given sufficient capacity in the respective degree programme.

The HWR Berlin does not maintain a general deadline for applications for a cooperative studies degree programme, as in addition to a university entrance qualification, applicants require a contract with a partner company. The application procedure is determined by the respective company. We advise submitting an early application − up to a year before commencing studies. Free places are often still available shortly before commencement of the academic year resulting from the withdrawal of other applicants. A Bachelor's degree programme always starts on October 1st.

Applicants can apply for a place on a cooperative studies degree programme on the basis of their most recent school certificate, if they are about to do so, but have not yet passed examinations for a higher education entrance qualification. This practice is widespread amongst applicants.

Paragraph 10 Berliner Hochschulgesetz stipulates the admission requirements for a place on a cooperative studies degree programme as a university entrance qualification, an entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences or a vocational qualification in accordance with paragraph 11 Berliner Hochschulgesetz. Applicants also require a contract with a partner company (§ 4 art. 1.2 EinglG).

The following courses of study require English-language skills for admission:

• Business Administration / Service Management: English language skills of a minimum of the level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
   
• International Industrial Management, International Logistics and Transportation, International Service Management and International Tourism: English language skills of a minimum of the level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages. The required minimum score of of the accepted English certificates are listed here.

The following applicants are not required to submit English language proficiency certificates:

• Native speakers
• Applicants who have passed Leistungskurs English prior to completing Sekundarstufe II with the minimum grade of “good” or hold a comparable qualification.
• Applicants who have studied at a school or university for a minimum of a year at which the language of instruction was English.
• Applicants who have studied at a school, university or other institution for a minimum of a year in an English-speaking country.

All other cooperative studies degree programmes do not require proof of English-language proficiency.

Please be advised, that the international degree programmes still require a German language proficiency, as they include a few courses that are taught in English.

All Bachelor’s degree programmes taught at the HWR Berlin are open to applicants with a vocational qualification, that means without a university entrance qualification or an entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences. In such cases, applications are made on the basis of paragraph 11 Berliner Hochschulgesetz. There are a number of application routes for holders of a vocational qualification:

• Those having undertaken advanced further training (Aufstiegsfortbildung), a “Meisterprüfung” or a technical college qualification (Fachausbildung) can apply directly to study at the HWR Berlin.
• Those who have completed vocational training of at least two years duration and have worked in this job for a minimum of three years can apply to the HWR Berlin to study on a degree programme in the field in which they have worked. Applicants who wish to study on a programme in a field not related to their vocational experience must pass a university entrance examination.

Further information about this matter is provided here: Student Counselling.

Cooperative studies degree programmes are not subject to a Numerus Clausus (NC); the Department of Cooperative Studies at the HWR Berlin does not select applicants according to their academic performance.

The selection procedure is conducted by the partner company, who can use the school grades as a basis on which to reach their decisions.

In addition to the general admission requirements for cooperative studies degree programmes (university entrance qualification and a training agreement with a partner company), holders of a non-German university entrance qualification should submit their qualification for verification,

• to uni-assist

Such applicants are also required to provide proof of German language skills. We accept the following proofs:

• Deutsche Sprachprüfung Hochschulzugang (DSH-2)
• TestDaF with the result TDN 4 in all four tests
• telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule
• Goethe-Zertifikat C2: Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS)

The following persons are not required to demonstrate their German-language proficiency:

• Those having passed the German language component of the Studienkolleg assessment test
• Applicants for degree programmes which are not taught in German.
• Holders of non-German certificates which are recognized as proof of language proficiency by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) and German Rectors' Conference (HRK).

Potential applicants should start with their attempts to conclude a contract with a partner company up to one year before before the beginning of the degree programme.
 
Potential applicants who wish to commence a cooperative studies degree programme at short notice can make inquiries  directly with the companies listed in the HWR database regarding whether they still have free places relinquished by previous applicants. We also list free places on our website a few weeks before the start of the semester.

In general, cooperative studies degree programmes only require their students to pay a semester fee to cover administration costs and the semester ticket. Information about the exact cost of the semester fee, the semester ticket is approximately 190 Euros, is provided upon admission to or re-enrolment in a degree programme, or on our website.

Universities in Berlin do not charge tuition fees for Bachelor’s degree programmes.

Our full range of partner companies is listed in a database. Applications are to be sent directly to these companies. The partner companies selects those applicants most suitable for admission to a cooperative studies degree programme and conclude a contract with them. Good luck!

Applicants can also search for a suitable partner company. In such cases, the company will approach the course director of the corresponding degree programme and request acceptance as a partner (see “Courses of study and course offices”). Unfortunately, we can only accept new partner companies given sufficient capacity in the respective degree programme.

Applicants accepted at the partner company to which they have applied must sign the standard contract approved by the HWR Berlin. This contract regulates questions such as remuneration or holiday entitlement.

Download:

• Training agreement from 2020

The file must first be saved in order to complete it.

Graduates are not required to remain in the employ of their partner company, although many choose to do so.

Students enrolled in a cooperative studies degree at the HWR Berlin receive a monthly salary based on the usual pay scale of the industry in which they work. This salary is paid for the duration of their enrolment in the degree programme. This salary is usually sufficient to cover the living costs of its recipients. Should this not be the case, students can also apply for a maintenance grant (BAföG). The minimum monthly salary is at about 1.000 €.