Studying with disabilities or chronic illness

The campus map shows the accessible entrances and facilities on campus.

If you are not entitled to a parking permit under the 'city limits' definition, you may still be granted a permit for extenuating circumstances. For example, this is possible for registered disabled persons whose mobility is limited as well as for students raising a child who is handicapped or has not yet reached the age of ten at the beginning of the respective semester. The application should be submitted in person at the Buildings and Estates Service Office. Please provide the relevant supporting documents.

Further information on parking permits

Hardship application:

Under certain circumstances, prospective students who find themselves in a particularly serious personal situation and who require immediate admission for health, social or family reasons may submit a hardship application for preferential admission to studies.

Further information on the application procedure can be found on the webpages of the Student Registration Office.

Access arrangements

An application for access arrangements may be made if the applicant can assert circumstances which have prevented them from obtaining a better grade in their higher education entrance qualification, for instance due to longer-term illnesses in the last years of school. This requires a certificate from the school. If you would like to submit such an application, please contact the Student Registration Office in advance.

You can find further information on access arrangements at hochschulstart.de and at the German Student Services Association.

If you fall ill before an examination, you must decide before the examination whether you want to withdraw from the examination due to illness. You will need a medical certificate (doctor's note). Should you fall ill during the exam, you must present a medical certificate from a public health official, the Amtsarzt.

In either case, you need to file an application for inability to take an examination due to illness as soon as possible. Your certificate and application must be submitted to the Examinations Office, as described in the information sheet on the application. Please make sure you follow the instructions in the information sheet! Application and information sheet 

If you fall ill for a longer period of time during the semester, it may make sense for you to take sick leave. In this case, you will need a certificate from a registered physician confirming that you are unable to study and take examinations this semester and you must apply for leave of absence. A leave of absence in retrospect after the end of the semester is not possible. 

For students with disabilities, there are a few special student loans and grants (BAföG) regulations, e.g. you can apply for an extension of the grant under certain circumstances. Further information can be found on the website of the German Student Services Association.

If you have to interrupt your studies for more than three months due to illness, you will no longer receive student loans and grants (BAföG), but can apply for unemployment benefit II. "www.studentenwerke.de/de/content/bafög-bei-krankheitsbedingter-studienunterbrechung

On 4 April 2019, the Federal Social Court of Germany ruled that students with disabilities who are not entitled to current benefits to secure their livelihood in accordance with SGB II because they are already receiving BAföG benefits, may receive additional integration assistance to cover current accommodation costs as a benefit to participate in life in the community.

Borrowing

Under certain circumstances, students with disabilities, chronic or mental illnesses may receive special conditions, e.g. extended loan terms, at the University Library.

Further information can be found under the keyword Special passes for certain groups of persons on the University Library website.

Reading device for visually impaired students

In the scan box of the Central Library (reading room level) there is a reader with voice output for people with visual impairment. Before using the reader for the first time, the user must be instructed by the library staff. Please contact the checkout desk of the Central Library. People who complete an instruction briefing are also entitled to borrow reference holdings from other reading rooms during the day and take them with them into the scan box.

In almost all buildings of the university there are first aid rooms, some of which are equipped with lounge chairs and can also be used as rest rooms, and handicapped lavatories.

If you have any special needs, please contact the Disability Support Centre.