Save time & money Recognition of previous achievements

After you've checked the standard recognition options with pre-filled forms, you can alternatively submit an individual application. In both cases, fill in the application online, email it to us, and upload all relevant evidence or certificates. Once we receive your application, we'll email you and inform you about any documents we may need. 

Once we've processed your application, it will be forwarded to the examination committee for final approval. After conclusive review, we'll send you a recognition notice by email, which is also forwarded to the examination board. Your recognised achievements will be recorded in your performance overview once you're officially enrolled. If the recognition of prior experience also reduces your tuition fees, you'll receive an additional agreement that will be sent to you before the start of payment and is valid from your official enrolment date. 

Yes, if you have already completed a first degree at a university or a further education programme, you can have comparable previous achievements credited to your IU degree programme at any time. If you have any further questions, please contact our student advisory service. 

If you have completed vocational training, you can particularly benefit from the recognition of previous achievements: depending on the area in which you've trained and what you want to study, you could reduce your study time by up to 50%. 

More on studying after vocational training

If you have already completed a first degree at a university or a further education programme, you can have comparable previous achievements credited to your IU degree programme at any time. If you have any further questions, please contact our student advisory service. 

• We can only check applications that have been completed in full.   

• For any recognition, we always need corresponding evidence.   

• You must submit any missing documents within four weeks of submitting your application or our request for missing documents.   

• We take into consideration successfully completed achievements if they correspond to the level and learning outcome of the module or course for which you want to have them credited. 

• All documents/evidence must be submitted in German or English. Documents in other languages must be submitted as a certified translation or translated by the higher education institution/university/further education provider that issued the documents.   

• The decision on the recognition of prior achievements lies solely with the examination board or a person appointed by it.   

• If an aptitude test is necessary as an admission requirement for your entry into a degree programme, we cannot credit you with the required specific modules from it.    

• You are enrolled from the date on which you officially start your Bachelor’s or Master’s programme. This does not include participation in aptitude tests, TASC examinations or admission courses.  

• In the case of new degree programmes or re-accreditations, you can only apply for recognition at the start of the new programme.   

• Please note that changes in the curriculum may affect your verified recognition. 

• We can recognise up to 50% of the ECTS credits for a degree programme.   

• For the recognition of a professional qualification, we need proof in the form of a qualified work certificate/official job description or your completed employer confirmation from IU. 

• Your experience must correspond to the level and learning outcome of the module or course you wish to have recognised.   

• We can only recognise professional qualifications that you have not acquired as part of an apprenticeship after three years of full-time work (Bachelor) and if your qualification is relevant. The training period does not count as professional experience. If you have three years of full-time work experience, we can recognise your qualification with up to 5 ECTS.   

• The recognition of professional training is only possible if your certificate of attendance contains information on the contents and the time frame.   

• Recognition of academic achievements from a university 
  Provide evidence of all achievements that you would like us to recognise in the form of examination certificates and the corresponding module descriptions.   

• The recognition of final theses (diploma thesis or Bachelor’s/Master’s thesis) is generally excluded.   

• We recognise foreign languages if the language level according to the CEFR is noted on your certificate. In the case of Abitur, we can automatically recognise the B2 language level in our distance learning programme.  

About the transfer of your grades:   

• For recognised achievements, we’ll transfer the grade of the external German university/institution at which you completed the achievement if it matches the IU grading system.   

• If our grading system does not match that of the university/institution at which you completed the course, we will convert your grades using a table and transfer them to IU’s grading system. If the grading system is not comparable, we’ll recognise your performance without grading.  

• If your recognition relates to skills that you have acquired in different courses with different grading, this will be done without grading and with the remark “passed”. 

In order to benefit from a reduction of tuition fees, you must submit your application for recognition by the end of your trial month at the latest. This way you will reduce the number of monthly instalments; the amount of the instalments itself will not change.    

• Your additional agreement on the amount of the price reduction is valid from the official enrolment date. For legal reasons, we can only officially recognise your previous achievements once you are enrolled.    

• Your tuition fee will be reduced by 30 euros per recognised ECTS credit.   

• In order for us to be able to grant you a cost reduction, you must submit any missing documents no later than four weeks after submitting your application or our request for missing documents.   

• There is no entitlement to the provision of teaching material in recognised courses. Separate provision is only possible upon request and for a fee. However, you can check out the scripts via the free Interactive Book. 

In the event that the start of your studies overlaps with the examination of your application for recognition, please do not enrol in any of the courses for which you have applied for recognition. We can only enter your recognised courses after the process has been completed and you have enrolled.  

For new courses, the new modules will only be available at the start of each semester. 

Note: Once you have registered your credits for a course, you will no longer be able to take an exam. If you have registered for an exam for a module that you have also applied for recognition for, your application for recognition for this module will be deemed invalid according to Section 7 (1) of the General Examination Regulation of IU.