Study organization

The academic year consists of a winter semester and a summer semester. The winter semester officially begins on September 1^st and ends on February 28^th/29^th of the next calendar year. The summer semester begins on March 1^st and ends on August 31^st.

Teaching generally starts, dependent on the respective date

• in the winter semester, at the beginning of the 39th calendar week and generally ends during the 5th week of the following calendar year (19 weeks). Examinations start on the Saturday of the second week of the year.
• in the summer semester, at the beginning of the 10th calendar week and generally ends during the 27th calendar week (18 weeks). Examinations start on the Saturday of the 24th calendar week.

More special features

• The dates and objectives are largely compatible with the Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia summer vacations. They also include a lecture break of four weeks in February/March.
• The Friday before the Tuesday after Pentecost are used for lectures. So, instead, there are no lectures on the Friday after Ascension Day.
• Lectures are not held through the holidays at the turn of the year during the winter semester. There are no lectures on January 2 if it falls on a Friday. This creates an additional day off during the Easter week.
• There are no lectures on December 22 if it falls on a Monday. There are no lectures on December 23 to allow for timely journeys home.
• Lectures will be resumed on the Tuesday after Easter. For this, there are no s during the entire Holy week.

General opening hours of the university buildings:

Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 8:00 pm
Saturday 7:30 am - 1:00 pm

Self-study areas (building CL, building SB 4th floor)

Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 10:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm

Students at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences must pay a semester fee for each semester. The semester fee for the winter semester 2026/2027 is broken down as follows:

Degree programs in Lingen and Osnabrück*:

Administrative fee: 75 €
Student Services fee: 135 €
Contribution to Student Self-Governance(ASTA) fee: 9 €
German Semester Ticket: 224 €**

Total: 443 € (please note the bank account information to ensure timely registration)

*Does not apply to the part-time bachelor’s programs “Mechanical Engineering”, “Management of Operational Systems”, “Midwifery” (enrollment starting in the summer semester of 2025), “Plant Technology in Agriculture”, “Nursing Management”, “Nursing Science” and “Physiotherapy (part-time),” as well as all non-consecutive part-time master’s programs; these students pay the amount of 219 €, reduced by the cost of the Germany Semester Ticket, and/or any additional fees required under the program’s fee schedule.

**= Students who hold a permanent disability certificate with one of the following designations: G, aG, H, Gl, B, or Bl, may apply to the Student Affairs Office for an exemption from the Germany Ticket fee before paying the semester fee.

Students on Leave of Absence:

Students on leave of absence pay a reduced amount for the 2026/2027 winter semester, excluding the administrative fee, as follows:

Degree programs with the German Semester Ticket:
Osnabrück and Lingen campuses: 368 €

Degree programs without the German Semester Ticket:
Osnabrück and Lingen campuses: 144 €

Information on registration, including bank account details, can be found here.

Information on applying for a leave of absence, academic credits, the long-term study fee, and the possibility of a waiver of the long-term study fee due to undue hardship can be found on the intranet.

Enrolled students who want to continue their studies in the following semester must report back in the following periods:

• June 1 to July 15 for the winter semester
• December 1 to January 15 for the summer semester

Re-registering takes place by the transfer of the current semester contribution (and the long-term study fees, if applicable) to the following account:

Bank details:

Hochschule Osnabrück
IBAN: DE90 2655 0105 0000 0787 90
BIC: NOLADE22XXX
Sparkasse Osnabrück

Intended purposes:
Line 1: HSOS und your Matrikelnumber (without space) - Example: HSOS1234567
Line 2: Your surname, first name

Academic leave of absence

Students can be granted a leave of absence from the second semester for one to four semesters for an important reason. Study and examination services cannot be used during a leave of absence.
Also in the sabbatical semesters, students must re-register, but the semester fee is reduced by the administrative fee. For the current semester fee for a sabbatical semester, see the point Semester fee.
Applications are to be submitted in writing for the winter semester no later than July 15 and for the summer semester no later than January 15. Learn more about the leave of absence from the Registrar's Office (website only available in German) at servicedesk@hs-osnabrueck.de or phone: +49 (0)541 969-7100

De-registration/Unenrollment

Students can de-register at any time through a written request to the Registrar's Office (website only available in German). Find the application form on the intranet. The de-registration is done - if not otherwise requested - usually at the end of the current semester. It may not be retroactively rescinded.
Upon successful completion of the degree program, the de-registration takes place automatically with the date of the last examination.
 

From 1 December 2021, the new electronic student registration procedure of the statutory health insurance companies will apply. This new electronic reporting dialogue between the health insurance companies and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences enables paperless communication and sustainable optimization of the reporting procedure.

Generally speaking, you must have sufficient health insurance coverage to be able to study in Germany. An exemption is only possible in exceptional cases (private health insurance).

In the past, students had to submit a paper document from the health insurance company to enroll at a university. From now on, this "document" will be made available to the universities digitally by the health insurance company!

Students are subject to the statutory health insurance obligation. An exemption is only possible in exceptional cases (private health insurance).

For enrollment, the university requires an electronic notification from a statutory health insurance company as to whether or not statutory insurance exists.

For this purpose, please ask your statutory health insurance company to check your insurance status, which you will have at the beginning of your semester (01.09. for the winter semester or 01.03. for the summer semester), and ask them to send it to Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences in electronic form. The health insurance company will then transmit your insurance status directly to Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences using the electronic notification procedure. The further submission of health insurance certificates in paper form is not required! The university will also confirm your enrollment to the health insurance company via the electronic registration procedure.

In principle, the statutory health insurance fund with which you are or will be insured at the beginning of your studies is responsible for the electronic health insurance registration.

Important: Even if you are privately insured and are exempt from compulsory insurance, your insurance status must be checked by a statutory health insurance fund and transmitted to the university. Prospective students who are not insured by the statutory health insurance at the beginning of their studies should contact the statutory health insurance with which they were last insured, or any other statutory health insurance.

If you are insured abroad, your insurance status must also be checked by a statutory health insurance company and electronically transmitted to the university.

If you have any further questions, please contact your health insurance company directly.