Application & selection process at Zeppelin University
Selection with subjective criteria and selection day with a learning opportunity
Are you up to the challenge? Can you handle questions with unknowable answers? Can you manage to commit to a variety of disciplines and still concentrate on your questions? Do you use a variety of perspectives as a resource for your own work? Are you brave and humble, interested in research, and do you have a practical mindset? What can you bring to the ZU and to your fellow students? And what will your fellow students be able to learn from you?
Selection day at Zeppelin University
When it comes to selecting our students, we share Karl Jaspers’ opinion:
“The whole life of a university depends on the kind of people who come together within it. The life of a university depends no less on the kind of students it admits than on its resident professors.” “Die Idee der Universität”, Berlin 1946, page 91
Our admissions procedure is based on two assumptions:
Firstly, that you are not defined entirely by your grades. You have many talents and abilities that we can only discover via our own selection process. And secondly, there is not necessarily a positive correlation between your intelligence and your financial situation.
As an applicant, you must be a good fit for our university – but our university must also be right for you. Both you and our selection panel must therefore strive to determine whether this is the case.
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Our next selection days
Because a decision to study demands early and often long-term planning, we are now enabling prospective students to apply to the Zeppelin University three semesters in advance.
Master selection days are bilingual:
| MA IRGP & CME are completely in English
| all other master programs lead their interviews in German
| Selection day (bilingual DE | EN) | Application deadline | Start of study |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, July 20, 2022 | digital | ||
| Thursday, July 28, 2022 | on site | Tuesday, July 12, 2022 | Fall 2022 | Fall 2023 |
| Wednesday, October 19, 2022 | on site | Sunday, 02 October 2022 | Fall 2023 |
The selection process – step by step
| Kick-off
Your first step: simply complete the kick-off requirements and get access to our online application portal.
| Online application
After
choosing your own password, you can get started with your application.
We want to get to know you better by means of a detailed CV that
includes a letter of motivation. Tell us your story. What were the
formative events in your past? Who played an important role in your
personal development? Why do your want to study this subject at our
university? What are your plans for the future? In addition, please
upload your latest school reports and final qualification certificates.
Important: Please load up all additional documents as PDF files only. Applications can only be submitted online – postal applications will not be accepted.
Not yet completed your studies?
You
can still apply now! Simply submit all the reports and certificates you
have received so far or your current Transcript of Records. You can
submit your final certificates at the time of enrollment.
Experiencing a sudden bout of writer’s block?
No
problem. You can easily save your application at any point and come
back to it later when feeling suitably inspired. Don’t send us your
application until you have given every part careful consideration.
What will happen after I have submitted my application?
We
will thoroughly check your application for a study place. This process
can take up to two weeks. If successful, you will receive an invitation
to one of our selection days – the next step in our selection process.
Admissions Office & Selection Procedure
Admissions Office & Selection Procedure
Phone: +49 7541 6009-2000
Write an Email
Do you have any questions about the study programs and the selection process? Then please contact our Admission Office.
The selection day
What does a Master Selection Day look like?
(The event will be held in English) )
| The Selection Day will start off at 12 PM with a short welcome by the Applications & Admissions team and a member of the President's board. The digital format will then offer an insightful presentation from an alumna or alumnus. When spending the day on-site, all applicants will embark on a campus tour together.
| Lunch break...will be spent on-site by
having a tasty meal in our sustainable cafeteria. At the digital event lunch
break is spent individually.
| Selection Interviews: After lunch, the
individual sessions begin. You will have a 45-minute interview with three
members of the university, possibly including an alumna or alumnus. Each
interview is individual - just like you! We would like the talks to be a
dialogue. Feel free to ask questions and mention your thoughts and passions!
Note:The individual committee
talks will be in English for CME and IRGP. All other applicants will converse
in German.
| Tests: included in the day are two 35-minute tests. All applicants to the master programs take an English test and an essay. Exception is the GEMA program which
requires a math test.
| Finally... when spending the day on-site,
we will come together to reflect the day. We are eager to hear your impressions
or answer final questions. The digital format offers a platform for a final
exchange as well. Please plan your afternoon
to last until approximately 5 PM.
| Decision over admission
Selection committees meet after the
official part of the Selection Day to decide over admission. The following day
you will receive an email informing you about the decision.
Also on the following day, the scholarship
committee meets to decide on scholarship awards. Immediately thereafter, your
contract documents will be prepared and sent to you by postal mail. The
scholarship decision will be included in that delivery.
Please note that after successful participation in the selection process, our contract offer is usually bound to a two-week return period.
Opinions about the selection day
Mariel Susa, 4th semester CCM Bachelor
- How would you sum up the selection day in three words?
I found the selection day surprising because I didn't know what to expect. Exciting, because I was confronted with many new things and people. And organized, the good structure was helpful.
- What would you like to recommend to future candidates?
Stay as you are, recharge your batteries at the lake, and if need be, the nut buns in the refectory will help.
- What do you personally remember most about the selection day?
I remember the people, the food, the campus at Seemooser Horn, the fabulous weather, the lake and the windsurfing club next door.
Nina Heine, 4th semester CME Bachelor
- How would you sum up the selection day in three words?
Challenging, eventful, informative
- What would you recommend to future candidates?
Don't play roles! Always remain yourselves, show character and remember that team spirit is always more important than ambition and that there will be no opposition on the selection day. It's helpful to have a certain amount of real-life cleverness, which helps you to answer questions spontaneously. In all of this, however, you should be clear about whether you really want to do this course of study, because that is the most important thing.
- What do you personally remember most about the selection day?
My lasting memory is mainly limited to one kind of feeling. Unlike in many institutions I have known so far, I believed that with ZU I had found a place where boundaries are not rigid, but hierarchies are flat and opportunities are unlimited. It was like a field with straws full of possibilities that you just have to grab.
Nicolas Böttger, 4th semester SPE Bachelor
- How would you sum up the selection day in three words?
Challenging, instructive and incredibly inspiring
- What would you recommend to future candidates?
Never try to play a certain role. If you get a rejection, don't see it as a failure, but as an opportunity to reflect on yourself and your actions. If you still want to go to ZU, then try again, don't give up! I myself have applied again and do not regret this persistence in any way. On the contrary: I feel incredibly comfortable at ZU and have rarely met so many interesting people in a single place.
- What do you personally remember most about the selection day?
The selection interviews, which were all characterized by critical questioning but at the same time by great cordiality. The most important thing during the interviews is to also ask counter-questions, because you are not only an applicant, you also have to find out whether the university is a good fit for you. Be sure to take the opportunity to talk to students and ask them about their personal experiences during the selection day.
Links | Downloads
Admissions Office and Selection Procedure
| Phone: | +49 7541 6009-2000 |
| Room: | FAB 3 | 0.31 |