Leave of absence

Students must apply to take a leave of absence. The university insists that students provide a good reason why a leave of absence is necessary. Acceptable reasons include: illness, maternity and child-care leave, military or community service, residence abroad, committee work or internship. On occasion, other private reasons will also suffice as long as relevant proof is provided.

A leave of absence lasts for one semester. Students are allowed a maximum of two leaves of absence per course of study.

When a student changes his/her course of study or transfers from another university, the leaves of absence are taken into account when calculating the student’s obligation to pay long-term study fees.

Therefore, we do not recommend taking a leave of absence for the purpose of studying abroad. Because of recent academic reforms (Bologna Process) and the resulting improvements regarding the recognition of academic credit for courses taken abroad, an academic semester in a foreign country should be regarded as a regular semester at home. Therefore, academic semesters abroad are not taken into account when calculating one’s obligation to pay long-term study fees, regardless of whether students take a leave of absence during their semester abroad or not.

It is not permitted to apply for a leave of absence in retrospective.

Furthermore, it is not permitted to complete academic requirements or pursue your final examination requirements (Bachelor’s, Master’s and diploma theses) while on a leave of absence. This rule does not apply to study programmes abroad.

Students on leave are exempt from long-term study fees. The semester during which a student takes a leave of absence is not regarded as an academic semester. Applications for a leave of absence must be submitted to the Student Office no later than four weeks after the start of the semester.

The conditions of fee exemption are outlined in the semester fee regulations of the Studentenwerk Thüringen. Reimbursement applications must be picked up in person from the Infotake at the Mensa am Park.
In special circumstances, the Student Office can waive a student’s tuition fee (e.g., because of an academic semester abroad).

If a student has already paid his/her re-registration fee, but, for urgent reasons, wishes to take a leave of absence instead, the student must return all re-registration documents (student ID, confirmation of enrolment) to the Student Office.

Application for a leave of absence (PDF format)