The preparatory year "Academic German Year" (our German intensive language course without prior knowledge) allows you to gain the German language skills required to gain admission to a degree programme of the University of Passau. We offer 20 places per course.
When applying for the AGY programme, you need to upload a motivation letter – written in German or English – in which you explain your interest in studying for a degree at the University of Passau.
Furthermore, you should provide supporting documents to show that you fulfill all requirements (other than the German language skills) for studying at a German University. Documents that are not written in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish should be accompanied by a certified German translation.
The Anabin website (only available in German) or Uni Assist provide details on whether your qualifications are recognised as equivalent to a German university entrance qualification.
If your qualifications do not equate to a German university entrance qualification, you may have to complete a one-year bridge course at a Studienkolleg (further education college for international applicants) and successfully complete their final examination (called 'Feststellungsprüfung') before you can apply for a place on a degree programme. The Studienkolleg is generally free of charge. However, please note that you will not be able to complete this course in Passau, as the relevant Studienkolleg is located in Munich.
The application form for the Academic German Year is available within the application period. The application period for the Academic German Year 2025/2026 starts in March 2025.
The general terms and conditions, the withdrawal policy and the data protection information can be found at the end of this web page.
If we offer you a place on the AGY programme you will receive a Registration Form and be asked to make a pre-payment of € 490.00.
You are only fully registered for the programme and have a place in the program after:
Available places will be allocated in the order in which the registrations and payments are received. We therefore recommend that you make payment as early as possible, as places on the programme are strictly limited.
Upon receipt of your payment you will receive a confirmation letter stating your participation in the course. Those who need a visa to come to Germany should submit this letter for the visa application process.
Overview of visa requirements/exemptions for entry into the Federal Republic of Germany
The general terms and conditions, the withdrawal policy and the data protection information can be found at the end of this web page.
Successful participation in the Academic German Year does not automatically enable you to enroll in a degree programme at the University of Passau! It is important that you read up on the academic and language requirements for joining your desired degree programme beforehand. Please also note the detailed information on how to apply and which documents to enclose at www.uni-passau.de/en/apply. For questions concerning the degree course at the University of Passau or your university entrance qualification please contact the Academic Advice Service.
This English version is only intended to aid your understanding and does not have legal force. In the event of discrepancies between the English and German wording, the German wording shall prevail.
Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen (German Version)
§ 1 Scope of application and general information
(1) These General Terms and Conditions apply to participation in the Academic German Year (AGY) and the Academic German Semester (AGS) at the University of Passau. AGY and AGS are intensive language courses for international prospective students with the aim of acquiring the German language skills required for studying at the University of Passau. The aim of the programme is to prepare participants for a language test for university admission. The duration of the programme is one year for the AGY and 6 months for the AGS. Further details can be found in the course calendar, which is part of the contract.
(2) The General Terms and Conditions can be accessed online at any time and saved as a PDF file; they will be sent in text form (§ 126b BGB) on request.
(3) Unless otherwise stipulated in these General Terms and Conditions, the statutory provisions of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.
§ 2 Contract conclusion
(1) Once the application process has been completed, the participant can register for participation in the AGY or AGS using a separate participation form and transfer the deposit of €490. By submitting the completed application form, the participant declares that he or she has taken note of these General Terms and Conditions and agrees to their validity and to the purpose-related collection, processing and use of the data entered by him or her.
(2) Once the registration form has been processed and the deposit received, the participant will receive a confirmation of registration from the University of Passau. The contract is concluded with the confirmation of registration.
§ 3 Participation fee
(1) A fee is charged for participation in the courses. The participation fee is €3,990.00 for the AGY and €1,990.00 for the AGS.
(2) A deposit of €490.00 is due upon registration. The remaining fee of €3,500.00 (AGY) or €1,500.00 (AGS) must be paid by 15 February (AGS) or 15 September (AGY) at the latest.
(3) Payment by instalments is not accepted.
(4) In the event of irregular attendance of the course, there will be no refund of course fees and no extension of the course.
§ 4 Withdrawal
(1) The participant may withdraw from the contract under the following conditions:
(a) Withdrawal up to one month before the start of the course is possible without giving reasons; the participation fee will be refunded in full. If the participant withdraws before 15 February (AGS) or 15 September (AGY) due to a visa refusal, the participation fee will be refunded minus a processing fee of €200.00.
(b) Beyond this, a refund of the participation fee is not possible unless the participant can prove good cause for the withdrawal. Good cause exists if the participant cannot reasonably be expected to continue the contractual relationship until the end of the programme, taking into account all the circumstances of the individual case and weighing the interests of both parties.
(2) The University of Passau may withdraw from the contract if the number of participants is too low (less than 20% of the specified quota places are filled) or for good cause in accordance with subsection 1 letter b sentence 2 above. In that case, the participant has a contractual right of withdrawal.
(3) Text form is sufficient for withdrawal.
§ 5 Liability
(1) The University of Passau shall only be liable for damages incurred if these are caused by a breach of a material contractual obligation or by intentional or grossly negligent behaviour on the part of the University of Passau, its legal representatives or vicarious agents. If a material contractual obligation is breached due to slight negligence, the liability of the University of Passau is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract. Any further liability for damages is excluded. Liability for culpable injury to life, limb or health in accordance with the statutory provisions remains unaffected; this also applies to mandatory liability under the German Product Liability Act.
(2) The participant is not covered by the University of Passau’s accident insurance, unless he or she also has regular student status of the University of Passau. Participants must take out the necessary insurance policies (e.g. health, accident and liability insurance) themselves.
§ 6 Final provisions
(1) The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany apply for all legal relationships arising from the registration for participation in the AGY and AGS courses of the University of Passau.
(2) Should any provision of these General Terms and Conditions be invalid or contestable, the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.
This English version is only intended to aid your understanding and does not have legal force. In the event of discrepancies between the English and German wording, the German wording shall prevail.
Widerrufsbelehrung (German version)
Right of withdrawal from the contract
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reasons.
The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day the contract is concluded.
To withdraw, you must inform us (University of Passau, Language Centre, German Courses Passau, Innstr. 40, 94032 Passau, Germany, +49 851 509 1708, info-gcp@uni-passau.de) of your decision to terminate this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or e-mail).
You can use the attached sample form, but doing to is not mandatory.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your notification of exercising your right of withdrawal before the end of the withdrawal period.
Consequences of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. For this repayment, we will use the same means of payment that you used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; in no case will you be charged any fees for this repayment.
If you have requested that the service should commence during the withdrawal period, you must pay us a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of the services rendered up to the time at which you inform us of your withdrawal with regard to this contract compared to the total scope of the services provided for in the contract.
This English version is only intended to aid your understanding and does not have legal force. In the event of discrepancies between the English and German wording, the German wording shall prevail.
1. Data controller
University of Passau
Public corporation according to Art. 11(1)BayHschG(Bavarian higher education act)
The University of Passau is legally represented by the chairperson of the governing body, President Professor Ulrich Bartosch.
University of Passau
Innstr. 41
94032 Passau
Germany
Telephone: +49 851 5090
Fax: +49 851 509 1005
president@uni-passau.de
2. Contact details of the appointed data protection officer
Data protection officer of the University of Passau
Nikolastr. 12
94032 Passau
Germany
Phone: +49 851 509 1107
datenschutz@uni-passau.de
3. Purpose and legal basis of the data processing
Your data will be processed on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (e) GDPR and Art. 4 (1) of theBayDSG (Bavarian Data Protection Law).
4. Recipients of personal data
Your personal data will only be used and forwarded within the university for the purpose of the Academic German Year/Semester.
5. Transfer of personal data to a third country
No personal data will be transferred to a third country.
6. Data retention period or criteria for determining the data retention period and deadlines for the review thereof
Your data will be retained for the duration of the Academic German Year/Semester and deleted regularly.
7. Rights of data subjects
If your personal data are processed, you have the right to receive information about the data stored about you (Art. 15 GDPR).
If incorrect personal data are processed, you have the right to have them corrected (Art. 16 GDPR).
Subject to specific requirements, you can request the deletion or restriction of the processing and lodge an objection to the processing (articles 17, 18 and 21 GDPR).
If you have consented to data processing or if a contract for data processing exists and data processing is carried out using automated processes, you may have the right to data transferability (Art. 20 GDPR).
If you make use of your aforementioned rights, the University of Passau will check whether the legal requirements for this are met.
8. Right of appeal to the supervisory authority
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Bavarian state commissioner for data protection.
Postal address:
Bayerischer Landesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz.
Postfach 22 12 19
80502 Munich
Germany
Street address:
Bayerischer Landesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz
Wagmüllerstrasse 18
80538 Munich
Germany
Phone +49 89 21267 20
Fax +49 89 212672 50
poststelle@datenschutz-bayern.de
9. Right of withdrawal after giving consent
If you have consented to the processing by the University of Passau by means of a corresponding declaration, you can revoke your consent for the future at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of the data processing carried out based on the consent given until the time of withdrawal of said consent.
