Foreign degrees, university titles, and university activity titles; information on management
In the Free State of Bavaria, foreign degrees and titles may be held without authorization. No approval procedures are carried out or management permits issued.
Description
Since August 1, 2003, foreign degrees and titles may be held in the Free State of Bavaria without authorization by law. With the amendment of the Bavarian Higher Education Act on June 1, 2006, further agreements of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany were implemented in Bavarian state law, which in particular favor holders of a number of degrees and titles from the Member States of the European Union compared to the previous legal situation.
There is no need for an approval procedure in individual cases. Applications are not required. Leadership permits are not granted, as they are excluded by law. This also applies to other legally binding determinations (administrative acts) on specific forms of leadership.
Leadership principle
A foreign academic degree which has been awarded by an institution of higher education recognized under the law of the country of origin or by another body authorized to award this degree on the basis of a course of study actually completed and duly concluded by examination may be administered in the Free State of Bavaria without authorization in the form in which it was (originally) awarded, as well as in the abbreviation permitted or demonstrably customary in the country of origin, in each case stating the awarding institution of higher education.
If necessary, this form of designation can be transferred into Latin script and a literal translation (into German) can be added in brackets; in this case, the original form or the transfer into Latin script, translation and university designation as a unit form the authoritative form of designation.
This also applies to foreign state and ecclesiastical degrees, university titles and university activity designations as well as to titles that are identical or confusingly similar to domestic academic degrees.
Procedure
The Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts is only responsible for carrying out a procedure to approve the use of foreign degrees if there is a legal entitlement to this on the basis of the Federal Expellees Act. If you belong to this group of persons, you will find further information on the website of the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Art (see "Further links").
Further details and special regulations can be found in the information sheet (see "Further links"). The latest information on this subject can also be found on the website of the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts (see "Related Links").
Links to more information
Status: 30.03.2023
Responsible for editing: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst
- Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
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- Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
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- Fees, Bavaria-wide
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