Academic recognition

Provisions on academic recognition of study periods abroad and achievements at a partner university or another host university abroad are laid down in the examination regulations (RPO) for the Bachelor programmes and the Master programmes at Leuphana. In principle, academic achievements from foreign higher education institutions will be recognized, if there are no substantial differences to corresponding academic achievements at Leuphana. The university body in charge of academic recognition is the relevant examination committee. The conclusion of a Learning Agreement simplifies the recognition procedure.

A Learning Agreement is a binding agreement on the study programme to be completed at the host institution, which ensures academic recognition at Leuphana even before the start of the study abroad (given successful completion).

For participants in an exchange programme within the scope of Erasmus a Online Learning Agreement/Learning Agreement Before the Mobility is mandatory. Students selected for a Leuphana non-EU exchange programme are advised to sign a Learning Agreement and must submit it no later than five weeks after the start of the lecture period at the partner institution.

Please note that (Online) Learning Agreements as part of the simplified academic recognition procedure are only processed before and during the current stay abroad; processing after the stay is not possible.

The conclusion of a Learning Agreement prior to the study abroad is also recommended for students who will be studying abroad as a free mover. According to the RPO (Bachelor and Master), free mover can only request academic recognition if the chosen host university is an accredited institution of higher education and thus, the qualifications (knowledge and skills) acquired at the host institution do not significantly differ from those at Leuphana. The host university must be classified as a H+ institution in the anabin database (Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) of the Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in Germany).

Learning Agreements are set up with the responsible staff designated for each degree programme. For Master's students, this is usually the programme director and the staff responsible for the complementary studies. For Bachelor's students, depending on the course selection, these are the programme directors of the major and the minor (teaching and learning: subject coordinators) and the staff responsible for the complementary studies.

Erasmus students set up a study programme on the routing slip first and complete the Learning Agreement/Learning Agreement Before the Mobility that will be signed in the International Center first and will then be sent to the host university for signature. Participants in an exchange programme outside the EU and Free Movers directly complete the Learning Agreement form. All documents are available on the webpages "Information for Outgoing Exchange Students" and “Freemover > Formal Requirements”.

In order to check the equivalencies, students must provide the staff in charge of recognition matters with course/module descriptions of the university abroad including information on competencies and qualifications to be achieved.

Provisions in detail:

• Academic recognition is granted only for a complete Leuphana module (no recognition for module components);
• Study level: Eligible for academic recognition towards a Bachelor’s degree programme are modules/courses at undergraduate level only, for Master's degree programmes modules/courses at graduate level.
• Credit transfer Leuphana Bachelor programmes:
  • A successfully completed course/module at a host institution will generally be transferred with the CP assigned to the corresponding Leuphana module. since the recognition of a course/module is based not only on its equivalence in terms of knowledge and competences but also in terms of workload (Decision of the examination board for the Leuphana Bachelor and complementary studies from 05.05.2009).
  • In the case of a 10 or more CP/ECTS credits course/module at the host institution, the staff in charge for recognition matters decides on how many Leuphana modules can be credited
  • In case a course/module of the host university has less than 5 CP/ECTS credits, the staff in charge of recognition matters decides how many courses of the host university correspond to the workload of a Leuphana module.
• Credit transfer Leuphana Master programmes:
  • The staff in charge of recognition matters decides whether a course/module of the host institution can be credited with 5 or 10 ECTS credits according to the workload at Leuphana or how many courses at the host university correspond to the workload of a Leuphana module.
• Only modules from the curriculum of your Major, Minor and Complementary Studies or study programme (GS) are eligible for recognition at Leuphana University.

Changes to the Learning Agreement before the mobility must be documented in a Learning Agreement during the mobility. Changes may be necessary if courses selected prior to the mobility will not be offered or there is a time overlap of selected courses. Changes that affect recognition require confirmation of the staff in charge of recognition matters, which can be requested by e-mail and must be documented in the modified Learning Agreement together with the corresponding e-mails. Forms are available on the webpages "Information for Outgoing Exchange Students" and “Freemover > Formal Requirements”.

After the mobility student must send an informal request for academic recognition to the Leuphana Examination Service (Prüfungsservice). Include the complete Learning Agreement, if applicable the e-mails approving changes, and the Transcript of Records of the host institution. If all courses/modules according to the Learning Agreement have been successfully completed and documented on the Transcript of Records of the host university, recognition is granted without further validation. If single courses have not been completed successfully or if you do not request recognition for all courses, you must explicitly state for which courses you request recognition. The examination board will decide on the request.

Further information:

Courses for which academic recognition has been granted, are marked with the adjunct "recognition" on the transcript of records.

Additional courses/modules completed abroad will not be documented on the Transcript of Records issued by Leuphana. You can prove these additional qualifications with the Transcript of Records from the host university.

Leuphana graduates will receive a Diploma Supplement (DS) together with the degree certificate. The DS is a standard EU document that provides information about the university, the programme of study, the degree awarded, and the qualifications acquired. As a supplementary information to the official documents of a university degree (degree certificate, transcript of records), it is intended to internationally and nationally facilitate and improve the evaluation and classification of academic degrees both for study and professional purposes. The information provided with the DS should be both comprehensive and informative for different target groups - primarily national and foreign universities and employers.

For further information, please contact the Examination Office.