At the technical colleges and universities in Germany, admission restrictions continue to decline in percentage terms.

According to a study published on Thursday by the Center for University Development (CHE), the so-called Numerus Clausus (NC) applies to 40.1 percent of the courses in the winter semester (2021/2022).

In the previous year the value was 40.6 percent.

Across Germany, the NC rate has fallen for the fifth year in a row, said the CHE, which is part of the Bertelsmann Foundation.

"The fact that more than half of all courses are open to prospective students in the current Abitur class after this extraordinary school year is an important and positive signal," said CHE Managing Director Frank Ziegele, according to the announcement. According to the CHE, around 900,000 people start studying nationwide in Germany every year.

Hamburg (65.2 percent), Berlin (65.1) and Saarland (63.3) have the highest rates.

Prospective students in Thuringia and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have the best chances of getting a place at university.

Here only around 20 percent of the courses have an NC.

When comparing the cities, the study shows clear differences.

In Dortmund, a university town with more than 50,000 students, the NC rate for subjects is 23 percent, in Leipzig with over 17,000 students it is 63 percent.

Look at the types of degrees

"It is noteworthy that seven of the ten cities with the highest NC rate were able to reduce their share of courses with restricted admission compared to the previous year," says study author Cort-Denis Hachmeister. This applies particularly to popular student cities such as Cologne (from 59 to 52 percent), Hamburg (62 to 58), Leipzig (65 to 63) or Munich (53 to 52). Hachmeister recommends looking into the neighborhood. “There are often equivalent courses of study without numerus clausus even at neighboring universities,” says the author of the study.

When looking at the nationwide figures, however, it is worth taking a look at the types of degrees, subjects and types of university. According to the study, every second degree program in law, economics, social and social sciences nationwide is covered with an NC. It is different with engineering. Two thirds of the freshmen have free access regardless of their Abitur grade. Universities work less with admission restrictions (37 percent) than universities of applied sciences (42). There is also a difference between bachelor’s and master’s courses of 42 to 39 percent.