Leave of Absence

Generally speaking, a reason is considered important if it prevents the student from carrying out and completing a course of study. Possible reasons are for example:

• an illness attested by a physician
  A leave of absence due to illness should generally not exceed two semesters per person (not per program). In individual cases, a third semester of leave of absence may be approved once if a physician's certificate is available which certifies that the student's ability to study will most likely be restored after the third semester of leave of absence, or if therapeutic measures continue into the third semester since the beginning of the leave of absence. Leave of absence will not be granted for a fourth or further semester.
• parental leave
  A leave of absence due to parental leave is granted for a maximum of six semesters per person. Leave of absence is generally possible as long as the youngest child has not reached the age of 8.
• caring for a close relative
• studying at a foreign university
• an external internship as mandated in the FPSO, which cannot be completed in the lecture-free period alone
• a voluntary internship or an equivalent activity. Please note that this is only possible on a case-by-case basis and with written approval of the school and only if a refusal based on the duration of the activity were to place the student at an unfair disadvantage.
  
  Please be aware that requesting a leave of absence due to an internship may require additional processing time within the school administration. Be sure to contact your school in time.
   
• a limited period of particularly time-intensive involvement in a TUM Student Club. A leave of absence is possible if there is a particularly high level of commitment that extends over more than half of the lecture period, and should not exceed one semester. Please contact studentclubsspam prevention@tum.de.
• the formation of a company. This has to be verified with an extract from the Commercial Register. If this is unavailable, a draft of the business plan, approved by TUMforTE may also be submitted.

Other reasons may be recognized on a case-by-case basis after a review. Economic circumstances are not considered important grounds for a leave of absence however.

• Requests for a leave of absence must be submitted until the first day of the lecture period of the respective semester. Relevant documents may be submitted later.
• If the reason for the leave of absence occurs after this period and was unforeseeable, the request can still be submitted up to five weeks after this date.
• A leave of absence is normally approved for one semester and should not exceed two semesters per person (not per program). A leave of absence due to maternity or parental leave is granted for a maximum of six semesters per person. Leave of absence is generally possible as long as the youngest child has not reached the age of 8.
• Even if the reason is important, a leave of absence during the first semester of enrollment in the degree program can be approved only if the reason occurred after enrollment and was therefore unforeseen (e.g. illness). This does not include a leave of absence during the first semester of enrollment in a consecutive master's program at TUM.
• A leave of absence cannot be granted retroactively.

• You are required to hand in your application for a leave of absence in writing, using the official form provided by TUM. The document can be downloaded from your TUMonline account under “Print Documents”.
• The application has to be submitted in the interval between the beginning of the re-enrollment period and the start of the lecture period. You can hand in the documents supporting the reason for your leave of absence later if you cannot get hold of them in time.
• Should the leave of absence be illness-related, you will need a medical certificate by a physician or, if requested by TUM, by a TUM partner physician
• You can submit documents supporting the reason for your leave of absence until the respective enrollment deadline. If they are not submitted by the deadline, the leave of absence cannot be approved. The application does not then have to be withdrawn separately.
• If possible, please submit the application and documents together, for example in the same e-mail.
• Submit your hand-signed application to studiumspam prevention@tum.de or send it to
  
  Technische Universität München
  Application and Enrollment
  Arcisstraße 21
  80333 Munich

Important note on attestations:

• Medical certificates issued in Germany and in German can be sent electronically via email to studiumspam prevention@tum.de. They do not have to be certified or submitted in hardcopy. 
• Medical certificates issed in another language or outside of Germany have to be submitted as original or certified copy, together with a translation by a sworn translator in either German or English. Submission is then only possible as hardcopy via post, we cannot accept original or certified documents via e-mail. 

• You still have to pay the semester fee.
• Your rights and obligations as a student are not affected. You are only no longer obligated to attend a regular course of study. You cannot participate in courses, lectures or initial examinations during a leave of absence. Exceptions apply in the case of maternity leave or paternal leave or leave for the care of a close relative.
• You can still participate in university elections.
• Make-up examinations can still be taken, however.
• Please note: Existing deadlines still apply! This also applies to a leave of absence based on a foreign study semester or an internship. For this reason you should inquire in advance as to whether an examination schedule can be postponed. Please contact the corresponding examination committee
• There is no entitlement to BAföG during a leave of absence. If you receive a scholarship, you should check with your scholarship provider before taking a leave of absence to see whether the scholarship will continue to be paid out during your leave of absence. For TUM scholarships and the Deutschlandstipendium more information is available in our scholarship overview. The payment of child benefit can also be affected – for further information, please contact your local family fund.