If you study medicine at one of our partner universities (e.g. Erasmus+, SEMP), you can apply for a one- or two-semester study mobility within our iMED study program at the Faculty of Medicine of Universität Hamburg. For further information, please refer to Applying for a semester exchange .

For a quick overview, please see the information provided on the website Applying for a Medical Degree .

Universität Hamburg offers a 6-year medical degree program that concludes with a state examination (Staatsexamen). The Faculty of Medicine does not offer bachelor or master degrees in medicine. Furthermore, Universität Hamburg introduced a new medical curriculum in 2012, the integrated medical degree program iMED which differs a lot from the traditional curriculum in Germany.

You can find more information about the medicine degree program iMED and the respective application process on the website Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine as well as on the website Applying of the Campus Center.

Please note that the language of instruction is German. Sound German language skills are essential for your academic success at Universität Hamburg. When enrolling at Universität Hamburg, all prospective students must submit proof of sufficient proficiency in German, e.g. Goethe-Zertifikat C1. Further information concerning the language requirements can be found on the website German language proficiency of the Campus Center.

Students pay a semester contribution. You can find more information on the website Semester contribution of Universität Hamburg. More information about financing your studies is provided on the website Financing your studies of the Campus Center.

The website Finding accommodation in Hamburg provides useful information about housing in Hamburg.

For any further questions concerning the application procedure, please refer to the website Advising & Contact and Academic orientation for international prospective students of the Campus Center.

Universität Hamburg offers a special program for refugees: #UHHhilft .

For a quick overview, please see the information provided on the website Applying for a Medical Degree .

Universität Hamburg offers a 5.5-year dentistry degree program that concludes with a state examination (Staatsexamen). The Faculty of Medicine does not offer bachelor or master degrees in dentistry. Furthermore, the University introduced a new curriculum in 2019, the integrated dentistry degree program iMED DENT which differs a lot from the traditional curriculum in Germany.

You can find more information about the dentistry degree program iMED DENT and the respective application process on the website Dentistry of the Faculty of Medicine as well as on the website Applying of the university’s Campus Center.

Please note that the language of instruction is German. Sound German language skills are essential for your academic success at Universität Hamburg. When enrolling at Universität Hamburg, all prospective students must submit proof of sufficient proficiency in German, e.g. Goethe-Zertifikat C1. Further information concerning the language requirements can be found on the website German language proficiency of the Campus Center.

Students pay a semester contribution. You can find more information on the website Semester contribution . More information about financing your studies is provided on the website Financing your studies of the Campus Center.

The website Finding accommodation in Hamburg provides useful information about housing in Hamburg.

For any further questions concerning the application procedure, please refer to the website Advising & Contact and Academic orientation for international prospective students of the Campus Center.

The University of Hamburg offers a special program for refugees: #UHHhilft .

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) and Universität Hamburg offer the cooperative inter-university degree program in Midwifery iMID (B.Sc.). Academic and practical training are combined in the course structure and content. Upon completing this undergraduate course, you will be awarded an academic qualification (B.Sc.) and a licence to practice midwifery.

You can find more information about the midwifery degree program iMID and the respective application process on the website Midwifery of the Faculty of Medicine of Universität Hamburg as well as on the website Midwifery of HAW Hamburg.

Please note that the language of instruction is German. You may find more information concerning the language requirements on the website Language skills of HAW Hamburg.

More information about the semester contribution which students need to pay as well as how to finance the studies is provided on the website Semester contribution of HAW Hamburg.

The website Finding accommodation in Hamburg provides useful information about housing in Hamburg.

For any further questions concerning the application procedure, please contact the Student Admissions and Registration Office of HAW Hamburg.

Students with refugee experience may receive support through #UHHhilft of Universität Hamburg and through the Centre for Migration Research and Integration Practice of HAW Hamburg.

You can find information about the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs Molecular Life Sciences and the application process on the website Further Degree Programs .

Please note that the language of instruction is German. You may find more information concerning the language requirements on the website Language requirements of the university’s Campus Center.

Students pay a semester contribution. You can find more information on the website Semester contribution . More information about financing your studies is provided on the website Financing your studies of the Campus Center.

The website Finding accommodation in Hamburg provides useful information about housing in Hamburg.

For any further questions concerning the application procedure, please refer to the website Advising & Contact and Academic orientation for international prospective students of the Campus Center.

Universität Hamburg offers a special program for refugees: #UHHhilft .

Universität Hamburg offers a 6-year medical degree program that concludes with a state examination (Staatsexamen). The Faculty of Medicine does not offer bachelor or master degrees in medicine. Furthermore, Universität Hamburg introduced a new medical curriculum in 2012, the integrated medical degree program iMED which differs a lot from the traditional curriculum in Germany. This makes a transfer to our university a little difficult and you will likely have to study longer overall.

You can find more information about the undergraduate studies of the Faculty of Medicine on the website Application & Admission .

Medical students from abroad can only transfer to the University of Hamburg for the second part of the medicine degree programme iMED (= first clinical semester, semester 4) or for the third part (= final practical year, semester 11). It is not possible to apply for a another higher semester.

If you started your studies abroad, you will need to have your previous academic achievements recognised as the “First Part of the Medical State Examination” to apply for the second part of the medicine degree programme iMED; or you will need to have your previous academic achievements recognised as the “Second Part of the Medical State Examination” in order to apply for the third part (final practical year) of the medicine degree programme iMED.

Please find more information in this handout and in the following:

• If you are not born in Germany, Landesprüfungsamt für Medizin, Psychotherapie und Pharmazie in Düsseldorf is responsible for the verification of your courses completed abroad.
• If you are born in Hamburg, the verification of your courses completed abroad is done by Landesprüfungsamt für Gesundheitsberufe Hamburg (LPA) . If you are born in another federal state in Germany, the state examination office of the respective federal state is in charge.

Please note that the language of instruction is German. Sound German language skills are essential for your academic success at Universität Hamburg. When enrolling at Universität Hamburg, all prospective students must submit proof of sufficient proficiency in German, e.g. Goethe-Zertifikat C1. Further information concerning the language requirements can be found on the website Language requirements of the Campus Center.

Students pay a semester contribution. You can find more information on the website Semester contribution . More information about financing your studies is provided on the website Financing your studies of the Campus Center.

The website Finding accommodation in Hamburg provides useful information about housing in Hamburg.

For any further questions concerning the application procedure, please refer to the website Advising & Contact and Academic orientation for international prospective students of the Campus Center.

Universität Hamburg offers a special program for refugees: #UHHhilft

Please refer to the sections "Applying for a degree program at the Faculty of Medicine" or "Transfer to University of Hamburg".

In addition, the Faculty of Medicine offers medical student refugees the possibility to attend as Freemover guest students the iMED study program. The guest stay is limited to a period of two semesters. You can find more information on the website Applying for a semester exchange .

Please refer to the section "Traineeship".

The UKE offers different possibilities for medical students to undertake a part of their medical training in one of its various departments. The application procedure depends on the year of study you will be in at the time of the elective. Please find further information on application procedures on our website Applying for medical electives .

Medical/dental graduates can apply for an observership (hands-off). Please find further information on the application procedure for observerships on our website Applying for medical electives .

Graduates who would like to complete their postgraduate traineeship have to apply for a German temporary licence to practise medicine/dentistry (befristete Berufserlaubnis) or licence to practise medicine/dentistry (Approbation). The state examination office for medical professions (Landesprüfungsamt für Heilberufe) is responsible for issuing the licence.

Undertaking a traineeship (hands-on, "Famulatur") is only possible for medical/dental students who are enrolled at a medical school at the time of the traineeship.

In Germany, physicians need to have a recognized full or temporary licence to practise medicine. You can find more information on the website of the German Medical Association .

Medical graduates who have finished university studies but still need to complete their mandatory postgraduate practical training, have different options to complete their postgraduate training and/or studies. After completing, graduates can apply to get their full licence to practise medicine at the state examination office.

Option 1: Applying for admission to (a higher semester of) a medical degree program to complete your medical studies and practical training as a student in Germany.

• In a first step, you send the required documents to the licensing authorities in Düsseldorf to have your previous academic achievements recognized. You can find an overview of the documents to be submitted on the website of the Landesprüfungsamt für Medizin, Physiotherapie und Pharmazie Düsseldorf . The recognition process can take up to several months. After your previous academic achievements have been recognized, you can apply to transfer to a German university to complete your studies, incl. the practical training (Praktisches Jahr, PJ). Depending on the recognition of your previous academic achievements, you can apply to transfer to a specific higher semester at a German university.
• You can also choose to apply for the first semester of a medical degree program. After successful admission, you can clarify with the university and the respective state examination office of the federal state, whether some of your past academic achievements can be reconigzed and replace subjects from the medical degree program.
• It is important to know that in Germany, the practical year is an integral part of the medical degree program and takes place in year 6. It comprises 16 weeks in surgery, 16 weeks in internal medicine, and 16 weeks in a subject of your choice. Please find further information about the practical year (PJ) at Universität Hamburg on our website Praktisches Jahr (only available in German).
• This option is recommended by the state examination office for medical professions in Hamburg. If you have further questions, you can contact the state examination office for medical professions in Hamburg .

Option 2: Applying for a temporary medical licence to complete the postgraduate training in a German hospital.

• Physicians who finished university studies abroad, but have not yet completed the mandatory postgraduate training, can complete the postgraduate training in German hospitals if they have a temporary medical licence. The state examination office for medical professions in Hamburg is responsible for issuing temporary medical licences in Hamburg.
• The purpose of this option is to complete a postgraduate internship that meets the legal requirements of the country in which you studied and the issue of your foreign diploma. With your foreign diploma, you can apply for a licence to practise medicine in Germany (Approbation).
• The success of this option depends to a large extend on whether the foreign authorities allow you to complete the postgraduate practical training in Germany and then take the final examinations. In addition, you need to find a hospital that accepts you as postgraduate trainee.
• Based on previous experiences and the rather poor prospects of a successful application procedure for the temporary licence to practise, this option is rather not recommended by the state examination office for medical professions in Hamburg.

Questions regarding the recognition of your foreign diploma?

Please refer to the FAQs for international postgraduates.

Other jobs that do not require a licence to practise medicine

• There might be other jobs in the private sector which only require an academic diploma and not a medical licence (e.g. research assistant for a pharmaceutical company). Therefore, we propose that you get in contact with the Hamburg Welcome Center to discuss your professional opportunities.
• There is also the possibility to start a vocational training, for example in nursing, as an anaesthesiology assistant, surgery assistant, dental assistant, etc. For further information, please check out the UKE career website .

Traineeships in midwifery are organized by the Center for Obstetrics and Pediatrics . You can find the contact person handling traineeship requests in the Department of Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine on the UKE career website .

Applicants who are not from EU member states, states of the EEA or Switzerland apply through the Department for International Guests .

Traineeships in dentistry are organized by the different dentistry departments:

Department of Orthodontics
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Department of Prosthetic Dentistry
Department of Periodontics, Preventive and Restorative Dentistry

You can find the department’s contact person for medical traineeship enquiries on the UKE career website or you can contact the department's secretary (contacts are available on the department websites in German).

Applicants who are not from EU member states, states of the EEA or Switzerland apply through the Department for International Guests .

Traineeships in nursing are organized by the different clinical departments .

You can find the department’s contact person for nursing traineeship enquiries on the Patient and Care Management website .

Applicants who are not from EU member states, states of the EEA or Switzerland apply through the Department for International Guests .

In addition to traineeship opportunities in medicine, dentistry, midwifery or nursing, UKE offers traineeships for the following occupational groups in particular: pharmacists, psychotherapists, psychologists, social pedagogues and paramedics.

To apply for a traineeship, please refer to the UKE career website . If the area you are looking for is not listed, you can send an unsolicited application to the recruiting team .

Applicants who are not from EU member states, states of the EEA or Switzerland apply through the Department for International Guests.

Please find more information about research possibilities on the website of the Dean’s office for Research .

For information about medical or non-medical PhD programs, please visit the website of the Dean’s Office for Research .

The UKE offers different possibilities for international guests, for example observerships (hands-off) or hands-on training in one of its various departments. For further information, please visit the website for International Guests .

The Team for International Guests from the UKE’s Human Resources Department acts as an interface between the candidate and the respective clinic. In case of questions, please contact: international.guest@uke.de .

If you want to complete your specialty training in Germany, you have to apply for a job as „Arzt/Ärztin in Weiterbildung“ (medical assistant in specialty training). Job offers for medical assistants in speciality training are published on the website Karriere im UKE (only available in German).

If you want to apply for a job as medical assistant in specialty training and practise medicine in Germany, you will need to obtain a licence to practise medicine (Approbation = full licence, Berufserlaubnis = temporary licence). You can find more information about specialty training in Germany on the website of the German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer).

Please refer to the explanations given in the section "Traineeship" - "I am a medical graduate and would like to complete my obligatory postgraduate medical training (e.g. "Internship", "Internatur") at the UKE. Is this possible?"

If you want to practise medicine in Germany, you will need to obtain a licence to practise medicine (Approbation = full licence, befristete Berufserlaubnis = temporary licence).

You can find more information about the recognition process of professional qualifications and the competent authorities in Germany on the websites of the German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer).

• If you have completed your basic medical training outside EU, EEA or Switzerland, please look at this website of the German Medical Assocation for further information.
• If you have completed your basic medical training in EU, EEA or Switzerland, please look at this website for further information.

In Hamburg, the following authority is responsible: Behörde für Arbeit, Gesundheit, Soziales, Familie und Integration in Hamburg - Landesprüfungsamt für Gesundheitsberufe

If you need support during the recognition process, you can find support through the Information portal of the German government for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications:

• If you live in Germany: Counselling search
• If you do not yet live in Germany: Service Center for Professional Recognition

You can also contact the Hamburg Welcome Center .

In addition, Marburger Bund (organisation representing the interests of physicians in Germany) provides helpful FAQs .

For information about advanced training in dentistry, please visit the website of Zahnärztekammer Hamburg (Hamburg’s Chamber of Dentists), which is responsible for advanced training in dentistry in Hamburg (website only available in German). The Chamber provides an overview of advanced training courses for dentists.

General information for international dentists is available on the website of the Bundeszahnärztekammer – Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Deutschen Zahnärztekammern e. V. (Federal Chamber of Dentists), which is the professional representation of all dentists in Germany.

If you want to complete a specialty training in dentistry ("Weiterbildung zum Fachzahnarzt/zur Fachzahnärztin") or apply for recognition of your specialised title to become a dental specialist in Germany, you will need to obtain a licence to practise dentistry ("Approbation" = full licence, "Berufserlaubnis" = temporary licence).

On the website Anerkennung in Deutschland , you can find the different types of dental specialists in Germany and more information about their fields of work and how to start the recognition process. In addition, please refer to the FAQ "I am a dentistry graduate and would like to start the recognition process of my diploma to get a full/temporary licence to practise dentistry. How do I proceed?"

The UKE offers specialty training in dentistry for licenced dentists in the following specialties:

• Oral surgeon (and Specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery )
• Orthodontist (websites only available in German)

If you have any questions about these specialty trainings, please get in touch with the contact person listed on the website of the respective clinical department.

The UKE offers various possibilities to complete a vocational training or dual study program, e.g. in health care, management, IT or natural sciences. You can find more information on the website UKE Karriere (only available in German).