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VPD - preliminary review documentation FAQ

Which applicants are exempt from the VPD requirement?

Important note: This page is currently still under revision. All information on this page is correct, but will be completed by the end of November.

Generally, a VPD is mandatory for applications with foreign certificates. However, prospective students are exempt from the VPD requirement if they belong to the following specified applicant groups:

Applicants who have successfully completed a state-recognized Studienkolleg in Germany are exempt from the VPD requirement, but must upload the following documents to the Freie Universität Berlin application portal:

  • Certificate of the assessment exam
  • An evaluation of the prior education that led to admission to the preparatory college (VPD or assessment report from uni-assist, evaluation by the Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen) or one of the certificate recognition offices of the federal states (Zeugnisanerkennungsstellen der Länder))

If you already have a letter of recognition from the ZAB, a certificate recognition office, or a comparable office in which your educational qualifications are recognized, you are exempt from the VPD requirement. However, you must upload the following document to the application portal of Freie Universität Berlin

  •  Official letter of recognition from a certificate recognition office

Please note: If this letter of recognition does not show a grade converted to the German grading system, the educational qualifications can only be considered with a procedural grade of 4.0. You can still decide to apply for a VPD to have your true grade evaluated.

If you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at Freie Universität and would like to switch to another undergraduate program, you do not need to apply for a new VPD.

  • Please upload your old VPD/examination report from uni-assist to the Freie Universität Berlin application portal, which you used to apply for the undergraduate program in which you are currently enrolled.

For subject specific university entrance qualifications: If a subject specific qualification is marked on your old VPD, you must check whether this subject specific qualification also applies to your new desired degree program.

Please note: If you have obtained new foreign certificates in the meantime that were not checked by uni-assist back then and that you want to use for the change of undergraduate degree program, you must apply for a new VPD.

If you are currently enrolled in a master's program at Freie Universität and would like to switch to another master's program, you do not need to apply for a new VPD.

  • Please upload your old VPD/examination report from uni-assist to the Freie Universität Berlin application portal, which you used to apply for the master's program in which you are currently enrolled at Freie Universität Berlin.

Please note: If you have obtained new foreign certificates in the meantime that were not checked by uni-assist in the past and that are required for the change of master's program, you must apply for a new VPD.

Applying for a VPD at uni-assist

Uni-assist only issues a VPD for you based on your transcripts. You must apply for the VPD yourself.

Uni-assist does not transmit any data to Freie Universität Berlin and does not carry out any admission procedures. General information about the VPD can be found at uni-assist.

No, the application for the VPD at uni-assist does not replace an application for admission to Freie Universität Berlin. The VPD is only an evaluation of your certificates and must be uploaded as a document to the Freie Universität Berlin application portal.

You can apply for a VPD at any time, regardless of our application deadlines. It is valid for one year after issuance.

Uni-assist usually needs four to six weeks to process the VPD application, and even longer during peak periods. We therefore strongly recommend that you submit your VPD application to uni-assist as early as possible and, if necessary, well before the application deadlines of Freie Universität Berlin, otherwise you will not be informed in time about missing documents and will not be able to submit your application to FU Berlin by the deadline. The decisive factor for meeting the application deadline is the complete receipt of your application documents, including the VPD, in the FU Berlin application portal, not the date on which the VPD was created or applied for at uni-assist.

To apply for a student visa in good time, you can present the VPD from uni-assist to the German Embassy in your home country.

No, the VPD must be issued for Freie Universität Berlin in order for you to apply to Freie Universität Berlin.

Yes, a fee must be paid to uni-assist for the verification of certificates. Your VPD application will only be processed by uni-assist once the fee has been received in the uni-assist account.

Yes, please be sure to also note the special country-specific information provided by uni-assist.

In rare cases where university entrance qualifications are unclear and are up to the decision of the university, uni-assist will give you a substitute certificate instead of a VPD. You'll need to upload this substitute certificate to the Freie Universität Berlin application portal instead of the VPD.