Local Government (MA)

1. Applicants with a previous higher education qualification worth 210 ECTS credits and one year’s relevant professional experience
2. Applicants with a previous higher education qualification worth 180 ECTS credits, one year’s relevant professional experience and further relevant professional experience amounting to at least 30 ECTS credits:

The following conditions apply:

Applicants must be currently engaged in, or have previously been engaged in, professional work that is substantively related to local government; in doing so, they should have acquired knowledge and skills that are beneficial to their studies. Applicants must provide evidence of meeting the individual criteria by submitting a report they have prepared themselves. The report should be supplemented by confirmation from the employer, certificates or other supporting documents. Confirmation may be waived provided the applicant gives a valid reason for this (e.g. following one or more changes of employer).

The criteria include participation in or management of individual projects or similar activities within the functional areas listed here. Examples from the field of municipal services are provided for illustrative purposes. Projects in other sectors in which municipal enterprises operate – such as the energy sector, housing sector, water sector and transport sector – will also be taken into account if their requirements and scope of work correspond to the examples listed below.

This list is not exhaustive; the examination board will decide on the recognition of further credits.

Applicants without a university degree may be admitted if they hold a qualification entitling them to enter higher education (in addition to the Abitur, this also applies to a recognised vocational qualification with a grade of 2.5), have completed three years of relevant professional experience and pass an internal university aptitude test.

The aptitude test consists of producing a two-month academic seminar paper comprising 30 pages of text, followed by a colloquium – the defence of the seminar paper in a 30-minute presentation. Support courses on how to write academic papers are offered both in person and online.

The following documents must be submitted with your application

• a certified copy of your first university degree and your university entrance qualification
• Application for an aptitude test for applicants without a first university degree 
• Application for recognition of up to 30 LP for applicants with a university degree (180 LP)
• Curriculum vitae, including evidence of at least one year’s professional experience (applicants with a first university degree) or at least three years’ professional experience (applicants without a first university degree)
• Certificate from your health insurance provider (may be submitted at a later date) confirming that you have health insurance

Application
deadlines

28–29 February for commencement of studies in the summer semester
31 August for commencement of studies in the winter semester

Course
delivery: The course will only run if a minimum number of participants is reached.
 

Regarding the application process

Please contact the programme management (Prof. Dr Mario Stoffels or Julian Hauptmeier, M.A.) before submitting your application documents. We will coordinate the remaining application steps with you on an individual basis.

The Local Government Management (MA) programme is a fee-paying continuing education programme. Tuition fees amount to a total of 15,000 EUR for three semesters, plus the university-wide semester fee currently in force.

Should an aptitude test be required for students without a first university degree, a further €3,000 in tuition fees will be payable. Once the results are announced, a passed aptitude test remains valid for the following 10 semesters, during which admission to the Local Government Management programme is permitted. If the degree programme does not commence within two years of the aptitude test, half of the aptitude test fees will be refunded.

Tuition fees are tax-deductible and can therefore, in many cases, be reduced by up to 30 per cent or more. The programme is often funded by employers as a staff development measure, meaning that students usually only have to make a small contribution themselves. Where applicable, applications may be made for federal or state funding from the relevant federal state.

The degree programme is recognised as a course under the Rhineland-Palatinate Educational Leave Act. Worms University of Applied Sciences will provide students with a certificate to this effect. In almost all federal states, students are entitled to time off work for the purposes of further education whilst continuing to receive their salary from their employer (educational leave, also known as ‘Bildungsurlaub’ in other federal states). Based on a five-day working week, this entitlement amounts to ten working days over a period of two consecutive calendar years. Students are advised to reach an agreement with their employer regarding educational leave at an early stage.