Examinations for access to university German Language Examination for University Entrance ("DSH")
What do I need the DSH for?
If you want to study at a German university, you usually have to present an official proof of advanced German language proficiency. The "German Language Examination for University Entrance" ("Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang", "DSH") is one way of providing such proof.
The DSH consists of a written and an oral exam. If you pass both exams, you will obtain a DSH certificate ("DSH-Zeugnis"), which you can use to apply for a place on a degree programme.
You do not need the DSH
- if you already have a German language certificate recognised as equivalent to the DSH. For official information, please contact the university where you want to study.
- if you have to attend a Studienkolleg before starting a degree programme in Germany. In this case, you will not take the DSH, but the Assessment Examination ("Feststellungsprüfung", "FSP") in German while attending the Studienkolleg. At Heidelberg University, this examination is identical to the DSH in terms of scope, format, and content. Our German language courses at the Kolleg für deutsche Sprache und Kultur can prepare you for both the DSH and the German language requirements of the Studienkolleg.
- if you need a proof of your German language proficiency not in order to go to university but to get a job or for other purposes. In such cases, other certificates will be relevant, and we advise you to contact a private language school.
- if you are planning to study at a German university as an international exchange student (e.g. via ERASMUS), i.e. only for a limited period of time and without completing a degree here.
How can I take the DSH at Heidelberg University?
The DSH can be taken with and without a preceding German language course at the Kolleg für deutsche Sprache und Kultur.
DSH with a preceding German language course:
You apply directly with us at the International Study Centre for a place on the German language courses at the Kolleg für deutsche Sprache und Kultur (KSK).
If you apply successfully, you may attend our German courses. Having reached the necessary language proficiency in the courses, you may then take the DSH. Typically, this will require you to have completed the advanced-level course (CEFR C1).
DSH without a preceding German language course:
You apply with Heidelberg University for a place on a degree programme (e.g. medicine, history, ...).
If Heidelberg University grants you admission to the degree programme of your choice, you can take the DSH immediately before the start of the lecture period.
Please note:
- If you have neither attended our German language courses nor been admitted to a degree programme at Heidelberg University, you cannot take the DSH with us.
What is the examination format?
The DSH consists of a written and an oral examination. The two examinations take place on different days; the written is followed by the oral examination.
Written Examination
Reading Comprehension + Structures of Academic Language
Time allowed: 60 minutes + 30 minutes = 90 minutes
Tasks: You are expected to demonstrate your ability to understand and deal with not overly specialised academic prose. Your tasks may include questions on the context of the text, the explanation of passages in the text, the presentation of the (argumentative) structure of the text, true/false questions, finding suitable headlines, matching tasks, etc. The tasks dealing with structures of academic language require you to identify, comprehend, and use linguistic structures that are common to scientific literature. They deal with peculiarities of the text (e.g. in terms of syntax, derivational morphology, vocabulary, idioms, text genre) and may include gap-fill tasks, questions on the comprehension of complex structures, and various types of transformation tasks (paraphrases, structure transformations), etc.
Listening Comprehension
Time allowed: 50 minutes
Tasks: You are expected to demonstrate your ability to follow an academic lecture, take notes, and process the given information. The tasks may include true/false questions, matching tasks, questions on the text as a whole or individual passages in it, reproductions or summaries of the content, etc. The transcript is read aloud twice and does not require subject-specific knowledge.
Writing
Time allowed: 70 minutes
Tasks: You are given the opportunity to express yourself independently and coherently about a study-oriented, academic topic. The text to be composed may have features of a description, comparison, and/or commentary. It may be based on an illustration, graph, diagram, keyword list, or quote.
Oral Examination
Time: 20 minutes preparation time + 20 minutes examination talk = approx. 40 minutes
Tasks: In the oral exam, you have to demonstrate your ability to spontaneously, fluently, and appropriately perform and process speech acts that are relevant at university (e.g. to discuss, assess, exemplify, inform, ...) and, moreover, to deal with relevant strategies of interaction (e.g. turn taking, cooperating, asking for clarification,...).
Please note:
- You may use a monolingual German dictionary for the written and the oral exams; bilingual dictionaries are not allowed.
- Students who have not passed the written exam (< 57%) cannot take the oral exam. In this case, the entire DSH is graded as a fail.
How is the examination graded?
Your scores in the individual parts of the written examination are weighed as follows:
- Structures of Academic Language: x 1 (ca. 14%)
- Reading Comprehension: x 2 (ca. 29%)
- Listening Comprehension: x 2 (ca. 29%)
- Writing: x 2 (ca. 29%)
Your scores in both the written and the oral exams are measured as percentages (%) of the respective maximum scores. To pass the DSH, you have to achieve at least 57% in each of the two examinations.
Depending on your score, you can pass the DSH at 3 different levels. You will receive a DSH certificate for
- level DSH-1 if you score at least 57% in both the written and the oral exams;
- level DSH-2 if you score at least 67% in both the written and the oral exams;
- level DSH-3 if you score at least 82% in both the written and the oral exams.
Please note:
- The DSH level / percentage score you need to start the degree programme of your choice depends on the programme and may vary across universities. In most cases, the minimum score required for level DSH-2 will be sufficient.
A higher score (i.e. above the DSH-2 minimum or even DSH-3) may be necessary in particular for programmes such as German Language and Literature ("Germanistik", "Deutsche Philologie"), German as a Foreign Language ("Deutsch als Fremdsprache", "Germanistik im Kulturvergleich"), Conference Interpreting, or Law ("Rechtswissenschaft", "Jura"). Level DSH-1 is typically not sufficient to start a degree programme that is taught in German. For definite information, please contact the university where you want to study.
- If you do not achieve the required score, you cannot start the desired degree programme.
- Heidelberg University allows candidates to take the DSH more than once.