How to study in Germany after UEC?
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Last updated: Jan 2023
TL;DR: The Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) is not one of the recognised pre-university qualifications in Germany. Therefore, students doing UEC who intends to study in Germany will need to take another pre-U qualification before they can apply to study a Bachelor’s degree in Germany. Alternatively, they can study their Master’s degree in Germany after completing a Bachelor’s degree.
The Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) is a unified examination for independent Chinese secondary schools in Malaysia. UEC holders have 12 years of education and as a result, many universities in Malaysia do recognise the UEC for direct entry to their Bachelor’s degree programmes. The Unified Examination Certificate is also recognised by universities in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Canada, UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and France. However, according to Germany’s “Hochschulzugangsberechtigung“, or the university admission requirements, it is not one of the recognised pre-university programmes. That means that Malaysian students from independent Chinese secondary schools will not be able to apply to study their Bachelor’s degree in Germany.
The UEC is not one of the recognised pre-university programmes in Germany
How can UEC holders study in Germany?
Until the certificate is recognised in Germany, students should consider doing one other pre-university qualification which is recognised. Recognised pre-university qualifications include STPM, A Level and the International Baccalaureate. Many students do sign up to sit for the SPM exam during their 11th education year. With that, students can either enrol to the A-level right after SPM (thus not completing their UEC) or register for A Level as a private candidate.
Another option for students will be to further their studies in Germany for their Master’s instead of their Bachelor’s degree. Students will need to have a recognised Bachelor’s degree to study their Master’s degree in Germany. Similar to undergraduate education, postgraduate studies are also tuition-free even for international students. Moreover, many postgraduate courses are conducted in English and students will not be required to learn German in order to qualify. Having said that, we do advise students to learn German regardlessly as it helps them to communicate with Germans and other international students.
