You do not necessarily need a high school diploma to study. According to the Saxon Higher Education Act, various educational qualifications and professional experience are recognized, as are certain further education and training courses or aptitude tests. According to the latest surveys by the CHE Center for Higher Education Development, Dresden University of Applied Sciences (FHD) is the most popular university of applied sciences in Saxony among first-year students without an Abitur.
The number of students without an Abitur in Germany has more than doubled in the last ten years. There are currently over 70,000 students enrolled at German universities who have qualified to study without a school-leaving certificate. Universities of applied sciences are particularly popular: according to the latest CHE figures, 72% of all first-year students without a school-leaving certificate opt for a university of applied sciences. This continues the trend of recent years that first-year students without a school-based university entrance qualification increasingly prefer practical studies at a university of applied sciences over university studies.
This is also reflected in the higher education landscape in Saxony. Dresden University of Applied Sciences (FHD) is the number one university of applied sciences in Saxony for first-year students without an Abitur. This is the result of the latest analysis by the CHE Center for Higher Education Development on the development of studies without a school-leaving certificate in Germany. In comparison with all types of higher education institutions, the FHD is in second place, just behind the Palucca University of Dance. A university of applied sciences, the Saxon Police University, is also in third place, while the Technical University of Dresden, which was still the leader in Saxony last year, is now only in fourth place.
The private, state-recognized Dresden University of Applied Sciences (FHD) offers courses in the fields of business administration, design and applied social sciences not only for high school graduates, but also for people with a wide variety of individual educational and professional backgrounds. For working people who want to gain further qualifications or reorient themselves part-time, part-time degree courses make it possible to combine studying with work and family life.