Combined degree programmes

Academic studies or vocational training? The Combined degree programmes cover both!
They enable you to earn your bachelor’s degree together with a fully official vocational qualification .

Duration: 4.5 years (incl. 27.5 months of work experience and 3 months spent writing your bachelor’s thesis)
Qualifications awarded: Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.Eng., B.Sc.) and certification by the professional chamber

A combined programme on the “hochschule dual” scheme equips you with specialist knowledge at the same time as notching up the necessary know-how to apply this in practice, not to mention further key vocational skills. Your degree and the professional experience that you have already gained give you a solid head start. Completing “hochschule dual” opens up a wide world of career opportunities.

How does a combined degree programme work?

Look through the options at our university of applied sciences in Kempten for a degree programme that you can study alongside an apprenticeship .

Then, you apply for an apprenticeship with a company of your choicethat collaborates with Kempten University of Applied Sciences on the degree programme that you would like to study. To find out which companies offer combined apprenticeships, check out the section on “Dual / cooperative study options”. Alternatively, there’s nothing to stop you applying to a company that doesn’t yet collaborate with us (and then simply enquire about potentially collaborating with the university).

After that, you sign a training contract with the company and then apply to study on a degree programme at Kempten University of Applied Sciences.

Once you have spent up to 14 months at the company, you will start studying in Kempten. From then on, you will alternate between blocks of theory at the university and practice. As a rule, you will take your vocational examination (IHK/HWK) with the appropriate chamber of trade or commerce during the third year of your apprenticeship. After passing your vocational final examination, you will complete further practical stints in the company during lecture-free periods and, if applicable, any additional practical semesters that form part of your degree programme.

Combined programmes conclude with your company-related bachelor’s thesis.

How to apply for a combined programme

Kempten University Of Applied Sciences takes note of the contract between a company and dual / cooperative programme students. New compulsory requirement: Supplement citing topics to be covered during practical semester

We note the period of contract, practical stages and timing of the practical semester cited in the “Supplement detailing the practical semester of study”, which you must append to your contract. The placement officer in your faculty will check all these details before signing the supplement, after which you will be emailed a copy for your records.

What we need from you:

Contract of study, signed
Supplement detailing the practical semester of study

In addition for combined programmes:

Training contract
After completing your training, the certificate from the chamber of trade or commerce

How to apply for a combined programme

A higher school leaving certificate (“Abitur”), college certificate (“Fachhochschulreife”) or master craftsperson’s certificate (or equivalent advanced training certificate) qualifies you for admission to a university of applied sciences. It is also possible for specially formally trained workers to enrol on programmes related to their field.
A good year before you’re due to leave school or college is the right time to start thinking about potentially suitable dual / cooperative degree programmes. It’s especially important to get ahead of the game if you want to enrol on a combined programme. You can browse the various options for dual / cooperative degree programmes at Kempten, including a list of all our partner companies, in our “Dual / cooperative study options”.
Around 12 months before the dual / cooperative degree programme is due to start, you should apply to the company of your choice for a place on its training scheme. It’s also possible to apply to companies who don’t yet collaborate with us (simply enquire about potentially establishing a partnership with Kempten University of Applied Sciences).
Once you have signed a training contract with the company, you can then apply for a place on the degree programme that you want to study at the university. Please note the period for submitting your application (15 April – 15 July). We don’t require any original documents from you – a scanned copy of your training contract and the supplement detailing the practical semester suffice.
During the applications process, you should indicate the combined degree programme “starting with training” and send us your study and training contracts. We will then issue you with an PRE-ADMISSION certificate, which you must keep somewhere safe! Don’t forget to enclose a POSTAGE-PAID, SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE with your application for us to return your documents and send you the advance admission certificate. Once you’ve got those back, you can commence your apprenticeship in the safe knowledge that everything’s set.
At the end of your first year of training, you need to apply online once again for the degree programme during the allotted timeframe (15 April – 15 July). During the applications process, you should indicate the combined degree programme “starting to study”. There is no need to resubmit your study or training contract.
However, please resubmit your complete set of documents and your PRE-ADMISSION certificate . You will then be asked to enrol as a student.
This step is absolutely vital – you must reapply!
Done all that? In that case, we are delighted to welcome you as a student at Kempten University of Applied Sciences!
From now on, you will alternate between academic and practical blocks. Your spend your practical semester, lecture-free periods, and the time working on your final thesis entirely in the company with which you have a contract.
This degree programme format concludes with an award by a chamber of trade or commerce (IHK/HWK) and a practically focused bachelor’s thesis produced in the company, earning you the corresponding bachelor’s degree (B.Eng. / B.A. /B.Sc.).
Please bear in mind!
Some of our degree programmes have specific admission criteria – usually in the form of a “numerus clausus” (cut-off entry grade), which is the same as that for the regular degree programme. Your company will generally know if cut-off grades apply, and will bear this in mind during the selection process. Kempten University of Applied Sciences reserves a certain number of places on programmes subject to numerus clausus for combined programme students.

What if the company that you wish to work for isn’t yet partnered with Kempten University of Applied Sciences?
You are very welcome to use your own initiative to find a company and enquire about the potential for studying on a dual / cooperative degree programme (combined format or extended practice).

Combined degree programme with vocational qualification

The university collaborates with a number of vocational colleges to help prepare combined programme students for for their final professional examinations by chambers of trade or commerce. There are two modes of attendance.

1. Schooling in collaboration with training sites

Ideally, the three places of learning – company, vocational college and university – coordinate and interlink teaching so as to avoid overlaps, harness synergies and ensure qualifications can be achieved within 4.5 years.

During their first year of training , our students on dual / cooperative programmes usually attend regular vocational classes with additional qualification modules. Under certain circumstances, it is possible to go straight into second-year lessons. From the second year of training onward, the format of schooling is flexible through to completion of final examinations by the chambers of trade or commerce. You can get a good idea of the how the various training and schooling models are structured from our graphics.

Qualification modules:

Material studies	Design and CAD	EPLAN modules
- Electrical engineering and information technology - Mechanical engineering - Mechatronics	- Electrical engineering and information technology - Mechatronics	- Electrical engineering and information technology

2. Self-structured schooling

Even if we cannot offer a set schooling programme for your choice of apprenticeship, this doesn’t prevent you from studying on a combined programme. Please get in touch so that we can discuss how you and your practice-based partner can combine and schedule your training and studies.

Schooling formats and combinations in Kempten: