Overview
- The CHE analysis of HRK Hochschulkompass data, published Tuesday, shows 31.6 percent of about 22,700 study programmes for winter semester 2026/27 have formal access restrictions such as a Numerus Clausus (NC), institutional selection or an aptitude test.
- The share has fallen steadily from over 40 percent six years ago and bachelor programmes are now far less restricted at 28.7 percent compared with roughly 47.6 percent a decade ago.
- Restrictions vary sharply by region and institution: Berlin records the highest rate at about 53.5 percent while Thüringen and Brandenburg sit near the bottom with roughly 16.8 and 17.2 percent respectively, and Bavaria bucked the national downtrend with a recent rise to 34.2 percent.
- Fields and degree types differ: medicine and pharmacy remain universally restricted, law, economics and social sciences show higher restriction rates (around 36 percent), and engineering, maths and natural sciences have fewer limits.
- CHE and experts point to two main drivers—more programmes on offer and universities reassessing or reintroducing selection rules (with Bavaria’s G9 shift cited as a factor)—which improves many applicants’ chances but also leaves local capacity pressures in large cities and some states.