What is an exception to admission requirements (exemption)?

Assessment of application for exemption

Proceeding from the premise that the admission requirements are entirely necessary for benefitting from the course, a restrictive approach is applied when assessing whether to grant an exemption.

If you do not meet the formal admission requirements, you could, in some special cases, still be considered as fulfilling the qualification requirements and thereby the knowledge prerequisites for benefitting from the course, if you can prove that you have the corresponding knowledge acquired either through education at another higher-education institution, professional experience or other relevant circumstances.

A holistic assessment is applied to the merits and circumstances that could be regarded as compensatory to the deficiency in qualifications.

Under what circumstances could you be granted an exemption from admission requirements?

Under special circumstances, such as:

• You can prove that you have the corresponding knowledge acquired either through education at another higher-education institution, professional experience or other relevant circumstances. In other words, you must prove that you possess the knowledge equivalent to having completed the course that is included in the qualification requirement.
• The higher-education institution has denied you the opportunity to retake or supplement the courses listed under the prior-knowledge requirements pursuant to the regulations stipulated in the higher-education institution’s document Rules for course coordination and examination (pdf, 224 kB), for example, pursuant to item 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 17, 18 or 20.
• The higher-education institution has not published the prior-knowledge requirements for the course syllabus at the programme’s website.

Under what circumstances are you denied an exemption from admission requirements?

Under other circumstances, such as:

• You have medical or other personal reasons for not fulfilling the admission requirements
• Future expected results of your studies
• You require higher-education credits to obtain student financing
• You wish to move forward in the programme
• You do not wish to have gaps in your studies

The focus is more on how you can compensate for deficiencies, rather than on why you are not meeting the qualification requirements.

Importance of completing courses

If you are granted an exemption, it is still important to complete the courses you lack for fulfilling the  admission requirements. This is to enable you to fulfil the admission requirements for courses you may study later in your education, and to obtain your degree.

Application

Note: If you are awaiting the result of an examination that is required for fulfilling admission requirements, you are to hold off on applying for an exemption – you must not submit an application for precautionary purposes.

You should only apply for an exemption for one course at a time. Any exemption granted is valid solely for the semester for which you applied. Applications must be submitted by no later than two weeks prior to the starting date of the course.

Incoming applications that are late may be rejected.

The University recommends that you apply for an exemption from admission requirements using a special form provided by the university to ensure that the information requisite to the processing of the case will be submitted in a coherent manner and to facilitate a legally secure assessment of the case, as well as minimise the processing time of the application.
Application for exemption

On being notified of our decision

If your application should be rejected, you are welcome to book an appointment with a study and career adviser to discuss your study plan and/or a study leave.