A complete guide to using Anabin

Where to Check?

With the DAAD database of admission requirements or the Anabin database, managed by the Standing Conference of the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz) - the Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen), you can check whether your foreign diploma is recognized in Germany.

However, the Anabin database list is not complete. So it's possible that your certificate, diploma, or institution isn't listed. But don't worry - that doesn't mean your diploma isn't recognized.

This website is only available in German, but we'll give you a detailed explanation of how to use it. Let's get started!

How to Check?

By Degree

Step 1: Go to this website anabin.org. The homepage looks like this:

Step 2: Find "Hochschulabschlüsse" on the left and click on it, you'll then see:

Step 3: On the right, you'll see two categories, namely "Suchen nach Abschlüssen" and "Suchen nach Abschlusstypen", which means you can search by your specialization and your degree. But either way, you need to choose the country where you obtained your degree. For the "Suchen nach Abschlüssen" category for example, you'll see the screenshot below.

Translation: Länder: countries; Studienrichtung: field of study; Bitte geben Sie einen Suchbegriff ein: enter a search term; Suche starten: start search; Suche zurücksetzen: reset search.

Note that non-Latin languages such as Russian, Arabic, or Chinese are displayed

Step 4: After filling in the information, you'll see something like the screenshot below. Here, we use "Chemistry + China" as an example.

Click on the "+" sign indicated by the arrow, and you'll then see more information about the subject in your chosen country.

Step 5: The information is displayed in 3 or 4 sections:

• Beschreibung - Description
• Verleihende Institutionen - the institution where you obtained your degree
• Bewertung - Evaluation
• Weiterführende Informationen - further information

Then, you can click on the "+" sign on the left to get more information about each category.

Step 6: Information regarding the classification of grades in the German education system (Äquivalenzklasse) can be found under "Bewertung" (by pressing the plus symbol). The possible classifications are:

• bedingt vergleichbar (conditionally comparable): Formally, there are several differences between the status of your diploma obtained in your home country and its equivalent in the German education system. For example, diplomas obtained at university level in the home country are equivalent only to vocational school diplomas in Germany.
• Entspricht (corresponds to): There are no significant differences between your diploma and German qualifications.
• Gleichwertig (equivalent to): The diploma is certainly equal to a German diploma.

By Institution

Step 1: Go to this website anabin.org.

Step 2: Click on "Institutionen" on the left.

Step 3: Search for the institution where you obtained your higher education diploma by opening the "Suchen" tab.

Step 4: After clicking on "Suchen", you'll see a table similar to the previous step:

Step 5: After finding your university, open the file and click on "Statuts" (click on the "+" sign on the left of the table for more details). Then, another table will appear:

Institutions can have the following status type:

• H+: Your institution is also recognized in Germany
• H-: Your institution is not recognized in Germany.
• H+/-: The status of your institution cannot be categorized. This is the case, for example, when some programs are certified to be taught at a higher education institution while others are below standard or not accredited due to their duration and/or level.

Conclusion

Let us know if you have any more questions about how to verify your qualification on Anabin. Good luck!