Please note that the information published here refers exclusively to the master’s degree programs for which the application is submitted through PULS or directly via uni-assist. Our master's programs providing continuing education, joint degree programs and teacher training master’s programs have different application procedures and deadlines, which you will find under the respective degree courses.
In the subject-specific admission regulations of your desired Master’s program, you will find out which Bachelor’s degree is necessary for admission. The subject-specific admission regulations provide information about qualifying study disciplines, required subject competencies, and language skills.
The University of Potsdam will assess whether your Bachelor's degree meets the subject-specific requirements of your desired Master's program during the application processing. Please note that all academic and, if applicable, language requirements must be met in order to have a chance of admission. Before applying, you can compare the content of your Bachelor's program with the requirements of the subject-specific admission t regulations. A final evaluation of your academic and language qualifications can only be performed during the application processing, provided that all required documents have been submitted in our required format.
All prospective students have the opportunity to submit an application for admission to their desired master's program. However, prospective students with a degree from a foreign university should consider the following aspects: First, degrees from a foreign university must be recognized within the German education system. Second, they must be equivalent to a German bachelor's degree with at least 180 ECTS credits to qualify as a formal master's eligibility.
The review and evaluation of foreign degrees are conducted by uni-assist e.V. according to the specifications of the KMK and are based on the entries in the Anabin database. Please note that the information provided by the Anabin databank only provides general information about each institution of higher education. Individual academic credentials presented by each applicant still must be evaluated in terms of recognition and authenticity.
Each Master’s program at the University of Potsdam has its own language admission requirements. This means that you should always check the language requirements for each specific Master’s program you intend to apply for and before submitting your application. The language admission requirements are defined in the currently valid subject-specific admissions regulations. An overview of the required language documents for each Master’s program can be found on the page for Master’s applications . Please note that all stated language proficiency requirements in the stated format must be present before we can evaluate applications in terms of their academic eligibility.
A selection based on academic performance or additional qualification criteria occurs only in master's programs with a restricted admission status. In addition, it is necessary only when the number of applicants who meet the subject-specific admission requirements according to § 3 of the subject-specific admission regulations exceeds the number of available study places.
In Master’s programs with restricted admission, the selection is based on various criteria that are converted into a total score. You can find these individual evaluation criteria and their weighting in the respective subject-specific admission requirements. How well an application performs in our selection process depends, among other things, on the number of applications, the size of the GPA cohorts, and the size of the total score cohorts. Therefore, the selection limits are based on various variables and cannot be predicted.
You can find an overview of the documents you need to submit on the following page.
Please note that all mandatory documents must be presented with an application before we can evaluate academic eligibility. Applications where mandatory documents are missing will be declined and will not be taken into consideration for our admission process.
In order to obtain a VPD for the university of Potsdam, you must select 'University of Potsdam - VPD' at uni-assist. We require an institutional VPD and not a program specific VPD. Please note that we cannot consider VPDs issued for other institutions of higher education.
Learn more about our requirement of equivalency confirmation via this page.
Even if you have not yet formally completed an undergraduate degree at a recognized university, you can still apply for admission. At the time of application, we require at least the following credit point information with a transcript of records and the average grade that you attained at the time of application without a formal degree certificate:
If you intend to submit academic credentials issued by a foreign institution of higher education that has a different academic credit point system than ECTS, the minimum academic credit point requirement will be evaluated and confirmed by uni-assist in the course of your VPD application.
A placement notice contains the evaluation result from the responsible Examining Board of your desired master's program, after they have reviewed your academic achievements from another master's study whether they can be recognized and qualify for an advanced semester entry. You need to obtain and submit a placement notice with a placement decision form the Examining Board of your desired master’s program in the following cases:
You can find instructions on how to apply for a placement decision on this page.
On the 'Language Skills for Study' page, you can see the certificates and documents we accept as evidence of English and German language proficiency. If your desired master's program requires proficiency evidence of other languages such as French or Latin, you will find this information in the program-specific details on the 'Master Application' page.
If your desired master's program requires proof of German and/or English language skills, you must submit a certificate according to the formal requirements as they are listed on this page.
If your desired master's program requires proof of language skills, you must submit the certificate according to our formal requirements by the end of the application deadline. There is no possibility to submit language certificates after the deadline has passed.
The application deadlines are cutoff periods. Documents submitted after our deadlines have passed are not accepted and will not be considered.
You only need to submit a letter of motivation or work certificates if your desired master's program explicitly requires them. All documents required by a master's program are listed in the program-specific information.
You can learn about the Diploma Supplement on the following page
You don’t need to submit certified hard copies; all documents must be submitted as pdf only.
Documents and certificates as well as preliminary transcripts of records can be submitted in German or English. If you want to submit documents that have been issued in a language other than German or English, you also require a German or English translation prepared by a sworn translator.
It is not mandatory to submit digitally required documents together with the online application form.
If some of of your application supporting documents required for the application are missing (e.g. results of a language test), you can still submit your online application form and upload those required documents to your uni-assist documents folder. Please note those documents can only be considered if they were uploaded by the end of the application deadline 11:59 CET/CEST.
If you receive the message that documents are missing, you can submit them through uni-assist by the application deadline 11:59 PM CET/CEST. Please note that the missing documents must be submitted in the required form. Documents that have to be submitted digitally must be uploaded by the application deadline 11:59 PM CET/CEST via your 'documents' folder under 'my applications'.
For the winter semester: starting April 1.
For the summer semester: starting November 1 of the previous year.
Please note that we only accept applications for the following semester. It is not possible to submit an application for the subsequent summer semester during the application phase for the winter semester.
It is also not possible to submit an application for the subsequent winter semester during the application phase for the summer semester.
An application for admission is only possible during the specified application period.
Where you submit your application for admission depends on the respective consecutive master's program.
Currently, there are two online portals through which an application for admission is to be made: the online portal offered by the University of Potsdam ‘PULS’ or the online portal hosted by uni-assist e.V.
Cooperative master's programs and advanced master's programs have program-specific application methods and processes. If you are unsure where to submit your application for your desired master's program, it is best to start from the 'Master Application' page. When you click on your desired master's program, you will be automatically directed to the relevant page with application information.
For the following master's programs, you must submit your application for first semester admission winter semester 2026/27 through uni-assist e.V.
MSc Cognitive Science
MSc Cognitive Systems: Language, Learning and Reasoning
MSc Psychologie mit den Schwerpunkten Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie oder Kognition und Verhalten
MSc Psychologie mit dem Schwerpunkt Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie
MA War and Conflict Studies
The application deadline depends on whether a master’s degree program is admission-free or restricted. As this is annually stipulated, the application deadlines can change annually as well.
We would therefore advise you to find the currently applicable deadlines on the relevant websites.
Please find an overview of the current application deadlines here.
These deadlines apply to all applicants, that is, EU applicants and applicants from non-EU countries.
Step 1: Registration
You register on PULS. Please ensure that you enter a current valid address for the postal delivery of notices. A notice of admission with your valid address and your correct name will be needed if you need to apply for a residence permit. Complete your new registration by confirming the registration email.
Students of the University of Potsdam must use their regular PULS login details and must not complete a new registration.
Step 2: Online Application
In your PULS account, you can select your desired master's program. In the application form, answer all queries truthfully and upload the required documents as PDFs. Please note that all documents and fields that are marked with a star are mandatory. Your application will only be evaluated in terms of academic eligibility, if you submitted all mandatory documents. If mandatory documents are missing, applications will be excluded from our admission process.
Submit your application for admission electronically only. Please note that to be considered timely, your application must be submitted electronically by the end of the application deadline at 11:59 PM CET/CEST. We only consider documents submitted via PULS by the end of the application deadline.
Applications directly submitted to the University of Potsdam by post or via email will not be processed and not be considered.
Step 3: Editing Application Documents
If your application for admission is preliminarily excluded during the application phase, you have the opportunity to submit additional documents. To do this, you must first withdraw your application in PULS. Only then can you upload additional documents. Once you have completed your revisions, you must re-submit your application for admission. It will only be available to the Department for Student Affairs after you have electronically resubmitted it.
Step 1: Create your application account
Register for the uni-assist portal and answer the basic questions. Please note that you must enter a current address for the postal delivery of decision notices to you. A notice of admission with your valid address and your correct name will be needed if you need to apply for a residence permit.
Step 2: Apply online
You can find and select your preferred master's program via the search function. Use the list to get to the online form. Please follow the instructions and send your online application form electronically to uni-assist. You can upload your application supporting documents such as a transcript of records or proof of language proficiency as detailed on this page in the designated upload areas of your online application form.
You submit your online application by sending your online application form to uni-assist e.V. via their payment function. You will not be charged processing fees.
Please note that in order for your application to be considered submitted in time, you need to have sumbitted your online application form plus all required supporting documents by the end of the application deadline 11:59 PM CET/CEST. The date and timestamp of your submission is determinative.
Step 3: Adding missing or additional documents
If you like to add new application supporting documents such as an updated transcript of records, you can add them via your personal documents folder of your uni-assist account after you submitted your online application form. They will be processed by uni-assist e.V. accordingly.
Note that application supporting documents can only be considered which were uploaded by the end of the application deadline 11:59 CET/CEST. The date of the upload and timestamp is determinative.
Please make sure to not send applications and supporting documents directly to the University of Potsdam. Applications directly submitted to the University of Potsdam by post or via email will not be processed and not be considered.
No documents need to be send via post to uni-assist e.V. All required documents must only be uploaded as a pdf.
Before applying for admission to an advanced semester of study, you must first obtain a placement decision from the responsible Examining Board of your desired master's program. Based on the placement decision, you can then submit an application for admission to the confirmed advanced semester of study, provided there is a study offer for the semester.
If an application through the University of Potsdam's PULS online portal is required for your desired master's program, submit your application for admission to an advanced semester electronically through PULS before the application deadline expires.
For the following master's programs, an application for admission to an advanced semester for the summer semester 2026 must be submitted to the respective Examining Board:
Cognitive Science
Cognitive Systems: Language, Learning and Reasoning
Psychologie mit den Schwerpunkten Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie oder Kognition und Verhalten
Psychologie mit dem Schwerpunkt Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie
War and Conflict Studies
All required documents must be submitted by the application deadline of your desired master's program.
Please note that applications via PULS can only be submitted, withdrawn and resubmitted with additional documents until the end of the application deadline. With uni-assist e.V., documents submitted by this deadline will be considered in the evaluation.
The application deadlines are cutoff periods. Documents submitted later are not accepted.
After you have submitted your application for admission, no further steps are required. You will receive feedback about your application via your PULS account.
Please note that in order for your application to be considered submitted in time, you need to have sumbitted your online application form plus all required supporting documents by the end of the application deadline 11:59 PM CET/CEST.
Please note that required documents must also have been uploaded by the end of the application deadline 11:59 CET/CEST. The date of your upload and timestamp is decisive for the timely receipt of your application.
You can only submit additional documents within the application deadline. To submit documents later, you must first withdraw your application. Only then can you add documents to the application components. Please note that after making changes, you must resubmit your application for admission electronically. It will only be available to the University of Potsdam for review of formal and academic suitability after you have resubmitted your application electronically.
If you have applied for first semester entry to your desired master's program directly via uni-assist e.V. and submitted all required documents there, an additional registration for the application via PULS is not necessary.
If uni-assist e.V. can export your application to the University of Potsdam, you will be informed by uni-assist. Subsequently, your application will be processed by the Examining Board. After the application processing is completed, you will receive a notification either by post or additionally via email.
You can add additional documents to your personal document folder of your uni-assist account. Please note those documents can only be considered if they were uploaded by the end of the application deadline 11:59 CET/CEST.
Please be aware of the processing times by uni-assist e.V. for the review of subsequently submitted documents.
If you receive the message that documents are missing, you can submit them through uni-assist by the application deadline 11:59 PM CET/CEST. Please note that the missing documents must be submitted in the required form. Documents that have to be submitted by the application deadline 11:59 PM CET/CEST via your 'documents' folder under 'my applications'.
Please be aware of the processing times by uni-assist e.V. for the review of subsequently submitted documents .
If you have submitted an application for admission through PULS:
For applications via PULS, you will be informed by email as soon as the status of your application changes. You can view the status of your application through your PULS account. Admission and rejection notices are provided as PDFs via PULS and sent by post to the address you specified. Please consider that you provide a correct address which we can use to send our notice to you. A valid notice of admission will also be required if you need to apply for a visa.
If you have submitted an application for admission to the 1st semester of study through uni-assist e.V.:
If uni-assist has not yet forwarded your application to us, please contact uni-assist e.V. Uni-assist e.V. provides information about the average processing time. Once you receive the notification from uni-assist e.V. about the forwarding of your application, you can only obtain information about the status of your application directly from the persons responsible for the program. Specific contacts can be found on the individual pages of the master's program offerings. However, please consider the timing guidelines stated here.
If you applied for a degree program with a restricted admission status (application deadline June 1 and December 1), admission results will be communicated only after the application deadline has expired and after the respective admission procedure has been completed.
When applying for an advanced semester of study, you require a placement in an advanced semester. If you have already acquired academic credentials that can be recognized for the master’s degree program you would like to apply for, you must apply for their recognition at the responsible Examining Board.
An application for an advanced semester of study includes two steps. In the first step, you must apply for the Recognition of Previous Academic Credentials at the respective Examining Boards.
Please apply via uni-assist e.V., if you are placed in the first semester of study.
If you are placed into a higher semester of study, the department must first check whether the advanced semester of study offers a program for the intended application semester. If such a program is offered for the respective semester of study, you should submit a cover letter and the documents as it has to be done when applying for the first semester (copy of the final certificate in German or English, language certificates, proof of the current average grade etc. for degree programs with restricted admission) to the Examining Board of the respective master’s degree program.
Also when you intend to apply for the first semester, you will need a placement notification. You need to apply for the recognition of your previous academic credentials at the respective Examining Boards. An application for the first semester is only possible if you are placed into a first semester.
If you receive a placement notification for the first semester, submit it in digital form (i.e. upload the notification to your uni-assist account) together with the other relevant application documents for the first semester through uni-assist.
Submit the original notification when enrolling for your studies.
If the placement notification is missing, you will be excluded from the admission procedure.
When you will be informed about the result of your application depends, among other things, on whether you have applied for an admission-free or admission-restricted master’s degree program.
You have applied for an un-restricted master's program (no NC) with the application deadline August 15 or February 15 via PULS:
After you have submitted your application for admission electronically, it will be checked for formal completeness by the Student Affairs Department. If the formality correctness can be confirmed, your application will be forwarded to the Examining Board for confirmation of your academic suitability. You may receive a result within approximately three weeks via PULS. The exact processing times vary by program and depending on the timing within the application phase (lecture period, lecture-free period). You will receive an admission notice through your PULS account and by post. Applications that do not meet the all the admission requirements will receive the respective notice after the application phase has been closed.
You have applied for an admission-restricted master’s degree program with an application deadline June 1st or December 1st:
For master's programs with admission restrictions, prospective students receive feedback on the outcome of their application after the selection process has been completed. A selection process can only be conducted after the application deadline and once all timely submitted applications have been reviewed. The selection processes at the University of Potsdam typically take place from the end of June to the end of July for the winter semester and from the end of January to the end of February for the summer semester each year. Please note that these dates are only guidelines and do not represent a binding deadline. If you applied through PULS, you will receive your admission or rejection notice via PULS. If you submitted your application through uni-assist e.V., you will receive your admission or rejection notice from the Examining Board.
Notices will only be sent by post to registered addresses in Germany. For addresses in another EU member state or outside the European Union, notices will be provided digitally only.
For admission-free master’s degree programs, the incoming application is reviewed to determine whether it meets the subject specific admission requirements. The application can be examined and the decision regarding admission can already be made during the application period. If you meet the admission requirements, you will receive a notification of admission.
For admission-restricted master’s degree programs, the incoming application is reviewed to determine whether it meets the subject-specific admission requirements. Since admission-restrictedmaster’s courses of study are degree programs with a limited number of places, a subject-specific selection procedure follows if the number of applications who meet the subject-specific admission requirements exceeds the number of places. The selection criteria are specified in the respective subject-specific entrance and admission regulations.
The waiting period is the time in which applicants were not enrolled at a German university after having obtained their final certificate of their undergraduate degree (i.e. B.A. or B.Sc. degree certificate).
For the calculation of waiting period the date on which a degree certificate was issued is determinative.
Waiting period is calculated in full semesters. The waiting period is limited to 16 semesters.
A succession procedure can be done for degree programs with a restricted admission status. If offered places have not been accepted by applicants and, as a consequence, there are still places available, waitlist procedures will be carried out.
Applicants for admission-restricted master’s degree programs who have taken part in the selection process and have not been admitted to a master’s degree program will automatically participate in the succession procedure. It is not necessary to apply or register again. Prospective students automatically participate in a waiting list procedure if they were unable to receive an admission offer in the main selection procedure.
Uni-assist e.V. checks whether a formal master's eligibility exists and whether the language certificates required by the program have been submitted by you in the correct form and on time. If these formal minimum requirements are met, uni-assist e.V. forwards the application to the respective program for further processing.
Uni-assist e.V. does not check whether the documents you submitted are sufficient to confirm the academic admission requirements or whether documents for participation in a selection procedure for master's programs with admission restrictions have been submitted.
Uni-assist does not assess whether you meet the academic admission requirements. Please note that forwarding by uni-assist e.V. does not automatically mean you meet the academic admission requirements and will receive admission.
You can submit up to three applications for a master’s degree program at the University of Potsdam for each application period.
Possible reason 1 - The program is not offered for the selected semester: The range of programs may vary from semester to semester. For the first semester of study of some master’s degree programs you can only apply either in the summer or in the winter semester. You can find out under the program-specific information of this website whether applications for the first semester of study are possible for the respective period.
Possible reason 2 - The application deadline has expired: After the end of the application deadline, the application portal for the respective master’s degree program is closed. After this date it is not possible to submit an application for a master’s degree program electronically. Please find the current application deadlines here.
Possible reason 3 - An application through uni-assist is not possible. Please check on the page or our list of offered programs if it is possible to apply for your desired master’s degree program and what the application deadlines are. If you cannot find your master’s degree program on the uni-assist website, this may be due to the fact that this is generally not offered by uni-assist and the application must be submitted another way.
If you still cannot find your master's degree program, we will be happy to help you. Please contact us at masterbewerbung@uni-potsdam.de.
Uni-assist will inform you whether they were able to forward your application to the university or whether that was not possible. If your application is not forwarded to the degree program, uni-assist will inform you of the reasons why it could not be forwarded. If you do not agree with this decision, please contact uni-assist directly and submit a written complaint via email or their contact form Your application will then be reviewed again. In the event of a further complaint, uni-assist will deliver the application for decision to the university administration.
Uni-assist e.V. informs you which documents are missing or incorrect within the scope of their review process. If the application deadline for your desired master's program has not yet passed, you can submit any missing documents online via uni-assist via your personal documents folder of your uni-assist account. Please check here to see which documents may be missing and complete them if necessary.
Please note that documents can only be submitted via uni-assist within the application period and uni-assist must have received them before the application deadline. Documents that you must submit digitally must be uploaded by the application deadline 11:59 PM CET.
uni-assist is a service provider who works for a large number of German universities. The uni-assist portal has been designed to meet the different requirements of all member universities, i.e. the information provided by uni-assist does not necessarily conform to the documents required for an application at our university.
Therefore, please use the information published on the websites of the University of Potsdam.
The information on our website 'Application via uni-assist' is applicable. When you apply via uni-assist, we accept uncertified copies.
uni-assist is a service provider who works for a large number of German universities. The uni-assist portal has been designed to meet the different requirements of all member universities, i.e. the information provided by uni-assist does not necessarily conform to the documents required for an application at our university.
If uni-assist has not yet forwarded you application to us, please contact uni-assist. On the website of uni-assist you will find information about then processing periods.
As soon as you have received the notification from uni-assist that your application was forwarded, you can only obtain information about the status of your application from the person responsible for the degree program. Please find the contact persons on the respective pages of the master’s degree program . Before sending a request, please look at the periods and phases above via Paths to the Master's Degree.
No, the application for a master‘s degree program at the University of Potsdam is free of charge for the applicants.
There is no tuition fee for the non-teaching master’s degree programs as they are listed on our page 'Application via uni-assist e.V.'. Upon enrollment and each re-registration, however, students have to pay a regular administrative semester fee (Semestergebühren). For more information visit this page to learn more.
