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Shorten Your Study Duration

Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer

At Brand University of Applied Sciences, we actively support the recognition of previously acquired competencies towards your degree. This means you can shorten your study duration by transferring credits from other degree programmes or having relevant professional experience recognised.

What types of recognition and credit transfer are possible?

You may apply for recognition of:

  • Credits earned at other higher education institutions

  • Learning achievements gained outside of higher education, e.g. in a completed vocational training programme prior to your studies

  • Professional experience that is directly related to your chosen programme at BU

Recognition can only be granted if the academic quality of the BU programme remains ensured. Each application is therefore reviewed individually by the Examination Board of the respective programme.

What are the requirements?

The competences you would like to have recognised must correspond to a module of the programme. If all requirements are met, the module is considered completed and you will not need to take it again.

The Examination Board will assess the following:

  • Content: The competences must match the module description in the module handbook. What matters is not the module title, but the actual teaching and assessment.

  • Scope: Recognition is only possible for a complete module, i.e. competences equivalent to at least 6 or 9 ECTS (depending on the module) must be demonstrated.

  • Level: The competences must correspond to the academic level of the programme at Brand University. This is particularly important for competences acquired outside of higher education (e.g. vocational training or professional experience).

Grafik von Frau mit To-Do-Liste

Recognition of Professional Experience

It is also possible to have relevant professional experience recognised. The crucial requirement is that you can provide employment references as proof of your experience. These references must clearly state the duration, scope, and content of your responsibilities.

As a general guideline: one year of full-time employment, provided there is a complete match in terms of academic level and subject relevance, is equivalent to approximately 12 ECTS.

Your submitted application must clearly indicate which module the respective professional experience, as evidenced by the employment reference, should be recognised against.

How Does the Recognition Process Work?

  • The application form for recognition can be downloaded here. It must be completed in full, signed, and submitted to the Examinations Office.

  • All required documents must be attached; otherwise, the application may be rejected. You will need to provide evidence of content (e.g. course manual, syllabus, or qualified employment references) and scope (e.g. transcripts with credit points from higher education institutions, contact hours in vocational training, or details stated in employment references).

  • The lecturers of the relevant module may be consulted by the Examinations Committee regarding subject-specific matters. If necessary, they will contact you directly should any questions arise.

  • Once the Examinations Committee has made its decision, we will inform you of the outcome.

Download application form for recognition

You want to check if your prior learning or professional experience can be credited?

Our team is here to support you. We will review your previously acquired skills and qualifications to assess whether they can reduce the duration of your chosen programme. Please contact [email protected]

Your questions are our motivation

Do you have any questions about our distance learning programmes, the university certificates or anything else in general? We will be happy to advise you.

Iris Zimmermann

+49 40 982 56 14 10 [email protected] Callback at your preferred time Chat with us on WhatsApp
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