Application 

M.Sc. Agricultural Sciences
in the Tropics and Subtropics

Before you apply, please read the information about the admission requirements and the documents you need to provide with your application. This will make the application process easier for you and helps to avoid mistakes and delays.

Deadlines  I  Admission requirements  |  How to apply |  Application documents  |  FAQs  I  Contact  |  Study Program

Application deadlines

1st subject-related semesterHigher subject-related semesters

Only winter semester

  • For EU applicants: 15 September (Application period starts middle of April)
  • For non-EU applicants: 15 March (Application period starts middle of November)

For the winter semester

  • For EU applicants: 15 September (Application period starts middle of April)
  • For non-EU applicants: 15 March (Application period starts middle of November)

For the summer semester

  • For all applicants: 15 January (Application period starts in middle of December)

Admission requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural, Natural, or Environmental Sciences, or a related discipline with “above average” grades
  • Proof of English proficiency, most commonly by an IELTS academic test (overall band 6.5) or TOEFL ibt (90 points)

Please note, that a language proficiency certificate from your university is not sufficient! Even if you have studied in English during your entire university career (e.g. in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, India, …) we need the result of an official English test.

The only exceptions apply to applicants who have studied in the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand, or at a university in the European Union where English was the language of instruction.

German applicants can submit their Abitur-Zeugnis as proof of English if they studied English in the last two years of high school and if they achieved at least 8 points on the average during these two years.

How to apply

  • Online application
    Apply online via the HohCampus application portal for the Master's degree program in Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics and Subtropics and upload the application documents in the application portal. There you can also check the status of your application at any time.

Online application

Application documents

Please upload your documents in PDF format. You do not need to send any document by postal mail.

Before you apply, make sure you have the following documents ready in pdf format:

  • Bachelor's Degree Certificate & Transcript of Records in original form, with certified translations into English or German (if issued in another language)
    In addition to credits and grades earned per course, transcripts must include a grading scale, otherwise a supplement is to be included.
    If you have not graduated yet at the time of applying, you can just upload your current grade list.
    In case you have studied on Master’s level already you can also include the respective documents here. They cannot replace the Bachelor’s documents, they can only be considered additionally to your Bachelor’s degree.
  • Proof of English proficiency, as described above. (Please note: language proficiency letters from universities are not accepted!)
  • University Entrance Qualification (i.e. your secondary school leaving certificate, high-school diploma, A-level certificate, etc.) in original form, with certified translations into English or German (if issued in another language). This is needed for statistical purposes only and does not influence your admission for the program.
  • Ranking or recommendation letter, if additional proof is needed to show that the final grade of your previous degree was actually above average. If your GPA is numerically below average (2.5 on the German scale), then you will need to acquire a ranking document from your university proving that you were in the top half of your class.
  • Proof of special aptitude for the degree program if your academic background does not clearly match the admission requirements. Your special aptitude can be proven by a convincing motivation letter (use this form only, other formats will not be considered), proof of relevant work experience or other activities related to the scope of the degree program.
  • APS Certificate (Akademische Prüfstelle), only for applicants from India, China and Vietnam.

A few documents can be handed in by email after the official application deadlines.

Proof of English proficiency and ranking:
Non-EU applicants: until 15 July
EU applicants: until 15 September

APS certificate (applicants from India, China and Vietnam):
Until 15 July
However, a proof of registration for the APS certificate has to be uploaded with the application before the deadline (15 March)

Final Bachelor’s degree certificate or proof of completion of studies:
All applicants: until 15 December, after the lectures of the winter semester have started already

Enrollment

The admission letter will indicate the deadline to accept the place in the study program and the deadline to complete the enrollment.

More information about the enrollment procedure is available here:

 

Information for EU students

 

Information for non-EU students

Admission

The admission letters will be available approximately 4 weeks after the application deadline.

In some cases, conditional admissions will be granted and applicants will have the chance to hand in missing proof of English proficiency or a ranking document until the deadline as stated above (see chapter “Deadlines for documents to be handed in after the official application deadline”). In this case the official unconditional admission letter will only be issued after the missing document has reached us.

FAQs

English is the official language in my country, do I need an official English test?

Yes, you do, unless you are a national of one of the following countries:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States of America, and from the Caribbean Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, or from South American Belize and Guyana.

OR if you have completed at university degree in one of the countries mentioned above or in the European Union (with English as language of instruction for the entire study program).

If none of the above is the case, you have to hand in a TOEFL ibt or IELTS academic test result.

I have not graduated in my Bachelor’s studies yet, can I apply?

Yes, you can. Simply upload your current transcript of records (complete grade list of all courses you have taken for all semesters you have studied). You can hand in the final degree certificate or at least proof that you have completed your Bachelor’s degree until 15 December of the year in which you start your studies in Hohenheim.

I am not sure if my degree is “above average”

If you are not sure that your degree is going to be considered to be “above average”, you can ask your examinations office to issue a ranking document which indicates your position in order of merit compared to your class mates who graduated in the same year with you.

If your university does not issue rankings, you can ask one of your professors to issue a recommendation letter comparing your academic performance with your class mates, ideally specifying if you belong to the top 10%, top 20%, etc. of your class.

For the format of this recommendation letter see next point below.

Do you have a template for a recommendation letter?

No, we don’t. Ask your referee to issue the recommendation letter on the official letter head of the university, indicating his/her name, position, and contact details. The letter has to be signed and should ideally bear a stamp of the university.

Recommendation letters that do not fulfill these requirements will not be accepted.

You can also ask your examinations office to fill out this ranking template.

How do I prove relevant work experience or experience abroad?

You can upload reference letters from employers or work contracts, or any other document that shows that you possess
practical / professional experience that could be relevant for the study program.

If you want to include several documents, please merge them into one pdf file.

I have applied online and I got the notification “preliminarily excluded”. What does this mean?

Please log into the application portal to see further details. Usually it means that a document is missing or that you do not fulfill the formal admission requirements. Generally, missing documents have to be handed in before the application deadline.

If the missing document is your official proof of English or a ranking / recommendation letter then your application will still
be considered by the admission committee even after the official application deadline, and you might be granted a conditional admission. The deadlines to hand in these missing documents are detailed above.

Application status

Stay informed about the status of your application at any time online in the HohCampus application portal.