FAQs about Studying with Special Needs
If you suffer from a mental or chronic illness, you can seek advice from the Student Advising: Studying with Special Needs. You can receive advice in person, by telephone or virtually. You can make an appointment by emailing Handicap@zv.tum.de. You can also ask questions by email.
The UN Disability Rights Convention, the Grundgesetz and the Social Code regulate the interests of students with impairments.
The Higher Education Framework Act and the Bavarian Higher Education Act regulate further legal bases at universities.
At TUM, there are further regulations in the General Academic and Examination Regulations and the General Diploma Examination Regulations.
You can find further information here.
As you can read under "Useful Information: Facts and Figures", only three percent of affected students have an impairment that is visible on first sight, meaning that students have to point out impairments themselves and actively seek advice and support.
The personal situation of disabled and chronically ill prospective students can be taken into account when applying for a Bachelor's degree program. In order to give applicants with a disability or chronic illness equal access to studys and an equal chance in the admission procedure, you can claim your disability or chronic illness by not receiving a direct rejection in aptitude assessment procedures (“Eignungsfeststellungsverfahren” (EFV)) or by improving your grades through a school report (Gutachten). It is best to seek advice on the options that are suitable for you in your particular situation at the Student Advising: Studying with Special Needs!
You can find further information on the subject of application and admission here.
Disadvantage compensations in studies are measures that compensate for difficulties in the course of studies and examinations due to impairments. Disadvantage compensation is always designed on an individual and situation-specific basis and is not awarded across the board. They depend, for example, on the effects of the impairment and the respective subject. Disadvantage compensations are also not facilitations. The performance goals of the study and examination regulations remain unchanged.
You can find more information on the topic of disadvantage compensation here.
Your disability or chronic illness may have an impact on your studies in general. As the requirements of your subject, including the examination conditions, must be taken into account and the effects of a disability or chronic illness are very individual, we recommend that you get in touch with the contact persons at the faculties or schools. Students are entitled to disadvantage compensation if they have an impairment that affects their studies and can be compensated for. The disadvantage compensation is not necessarily in the form you would like.
You can find further information on the topic of disadvantage compensation here.
The following questions are important when applying for disadvantage compensation: How will my disability or illness affect me in an examination and which measures to compensate for disadvantages are suitable for me? Not every measure is suitable for every situation!
Compensation for disadvantages in examination situations could be
- Time extension for written or oral exams
- Breaks during the exam
- Less frequented/separate room
- Adaptation of tasks (font size, font, etc. or as an audio file) and adjustment of speaking speed or pronunciation in oral examinations
- Use of personal assistance and/or technical aids to compensate for the handicap (e.g. typists or readers, sign language interpreters)
- rarely: Change of examination format (e.g. written instead of oral examination) if no other disadvantage compensation is possible
Important: When using aids, it is strongly recommended to inform the examiners/lecturers concerned as early as possible and to familiarize them with any special technical features that may need to be taken into account.
Further information on the topic of disadvantage compensation can be found here.
In order to be granted a disadvantage compensation, you must submit an application for disadvantage compensation to the examination board responsible for your degree program. Please use the application form (PDF, 744 KB). Above all, it is important to describe the specific effects of the illness on examination situations and to derive from this (a) corresponding measure(s) to compensate for disadvantages. In addition, you will need a conclusive certificate or expert opinion, for example from a (specialist) doctor or psychotherapist, which you should enclose with the application.
The examination board responsible for your degree program will review the application. You can therefore submit the application there directly, send it to the contact person for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses at your faculty/school or to the Student Advising: Studying with Special Needs.
You can find more detailed information on applying for disadvantage compensation here.
Yes, you need a conclusive certificate or expert opinion, for example from a (specialist) doctor or psychotherapist, which you enclose with the application for disadvantage compensation. The certificate or expert opinion certifies your disability or chronic illness, describes the effects on examinations and the measures required from a medical point of view. The certificate should be up to date. Please note the information described in this cover letter (PDF, 144 KB), which you are welcome to hand over to the practice treating you!
You can find more detailed information on applying for disadvantage compensation here.
If you have long waiting times for a specialist appointment and the application for disadvantage compensation is therefore delayed, you should make an appointment with the Student Advising for Studying with Special Needs and contact the person(s) responsible for students with disabilities at your faculty or school to discuss your situation.
If you are unable to study due to health impairments, i.e. you can no longer pursue your studies as usual, and if it is foreseeable that this phase is not only temporary but will last longer, a leave of absence may be the appropriate measure. This allows you to officially "deregister" from your studies for one or more semesters and take a break in order to concentrate fully on your recovery, for example therapy and rehab.
You can find further information on applying for leave of absence, deadlines, etc. on the TUM webpage on leave of absence.
You can find further information on leave of absence and disadvantage compensation disadvantages here.
If you have missed the deadline for applying for a leave of absence, please arrange an appointment with the Student Advising: Studying with Special Needs or the contact person in your degree program immediately to discuss an extension of the deadline.
On the website "Accessibility" you will find a lot of information on structural accessibility at TUM as well as on barrier-free teaching and barrier-free access to information and communication.
The website also contains information on quiet rooms and their equipment, induction loops or radio transmission, StudiTUM buildings, the university library and aids.
The Wheelmap app can help you find barrier-free access points all over the world. It also shows you barrier-free access points at TUM. You can also search for specific places and facilities to inform yourself about the accessibility beforehand.
The following maps can help you navigate around TUM:
On the website on accessibility you will find documents with location information about the handicapped-accessible toilets at the various locations of TUM.
The campus sites in Munich city, Garching and Freising/Weihenstephan, the StudiTUM buildings and Straubing each have quiet rooms that offer students with disabilities or chronic illnesses the opportunity to rest and/or study between courses or study units. The Ottobrunn site is currently under construction, please contact Mr. Brunner for individual solutions.
Further information on the locations and facilities can be found here.
On the website "Advice and Information" you will find the contact persons for students with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses at the respective faculties and schools with their contact details.
You can find external advice services and contact points on the "Advice and Information” website.
There are various ways to receive financial/economic support as a result of studying with a disability. The possibilities vary from scholarships, material resources, BAföG, accommodation for students with disabilities or chronic illness to financial support from other institutions.
You can find more detailed information on the options listed above on the "Economic Support" website.
You are welcome to make an appointment with the Student Advising: Studying with Special Needs!
On the website "News and Events: Studying with a Handicap" you can find out about current events from the Counseling Center or other TUM institutions. You can also find external offers such as mentoring programs or scholarship announcements there.
The website "Legal Framework" contains all important information on the subject. There you will find the overarching legal basis, the Higher Education Framework Act and the regulations at TUM.
The requirements for studying with special needs are regulated in the General Examination and Study Regulations (APSO) and the General Diploma Examination Regulations (APDO) for all degree programs.
16% of students (22nd Social Survey) have an impairment that affects their studys.
The website "Interesting Facts about Studying with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses", summarizes for example the results of three studies, the best1, best2 and best3. The studies deal with "studying with special needs", whereby students with disabilities and chronic illnesses at over 250 universities (best 3) were asked about their study situation.
You can also find further information material on the subject of studying with special needs on the website.
You can search for possible contact points via the following link:
https://www.kvb.de/patienten/psychotherapeutische-versorgung
In an emergency situation, you can contact the Klinikum rechts der Isar: https://www.mri.tum.de/
In the event of a mental health crisis, you can contact the Crisis Service Bavaria: 0800 / 655 3000
The Crisis Service Bavaria is available throughout Bavaria and offers advice by telephone in over 120 languages. https://www.krisendienste.bayern/