Leave of absence
In compliance with TH Köln's enrollment regulations, students may be granted a leave of absence if they are able to present a valid reason.
Reasons for requesting a leave of absence
- German volunteer service (Bundesfreiwilligendienst) or a Voluntary Social/Ecological Year (Freiwilliges Soziales/Ökologisches Jahr)
- voluntary military service
- illness
- nursing and care of minors in compliance with section 25 (5) of the German Federal Training Assistance Act (biological children, adopted and foster children, children of one's spouse or partner who live in the same household, grandchildren living in the same household)
- absence from Cologne for reasons which are in the university’s interest or are due to participation in a research project (please submit a confirmation from your faculty)
- studies abroad, unless your program includes a mandatory semester abroad (please submit a confirmation from your faculty)
- program-related internship (please submit a confirmation from your faculty)
Further information
Requesting a leave of absence
Applications for a leave of absence are to be submitted through TH Köln's campus management system CaMS during the re-registration period (deadline January 10/July 10). After the official start of the lecture period, only applications for a leave of absence due to illness will be accepted. Students need to re-apply each semester.
Fees and public transport pass during a leave of absence
Students on leave are still required to pay the fee for the General Students’ Committee (AStA). This is set down in §2 (2) of the current version of TH Köln's student body fees regulations.
Students can only be exempt from paying the administrative fee for the Kölner Studierendenwerk if they take a leave of absence to study abroad or due to illness. Please note that applications must be submitted prior to the start of the lecture period.
In general, students on leave are not eligible for a student public transport pass ("Semesterticket"). Exceptions are only possible if they are on leave of absence for one of the following reasons: care of minor children or relatives in need of care.
Exams while on leave
Students on leave may not participate in any form of assessment, accumulate credits or take examinations unless:
- they need to retake a failed examination or accumulate credits/meet participation requirements that are a result of the semester abroad or internship semester for which a leave of absence was approved.
- they are on a leave of absence due to child care (as defined in §25 (5) of the German Federal Training Assistance Act) or because they provide care for their spouse or registered partner, a relative in direct line of descent or a brother or sister-in-law.