Medizinische Fakultät Augsburg

Medizinische Fakultät Augsburg was founded in 2016 and began teaching in the 2019/20 winter semester. It launched simultaneously with Bavaria's first model curriculum in human medicine, in which pre-clinical and clinical content are integrated rather than sequential, organized around themes and organ systems rather than subject lists. The two research priorities are unusual for a German faculty: medical informatics on one side, environmental medicine on the other. Universitätsklinikum Augsburg has been owned by the Free State of Bavaria since 2019 and has 1,699 beds, making it one of the largest hospitals in southern Germany.

With 84 study places per cohort, Augsburg is a small location, and the faculty's development is not yet complete — structures, teaching formats, and research areas continue to grow. This location suits you if you are interested in data analysis, digital medicine, or environmental influences on health, and if studying at a faculty without decades of tradition and a dense alumni network does not put you off.

Allocation runs nationwide through hochschulstart.de. 30 percent of places go to the top Abitur grade quota, 10 percent to the Additional Aptitude Quota — which does not use the Abitur grade — and 60 percent to the university's own selection process. The criteria and their weightings in that process are set by the University of Augsburg in its regulations; at Bavarian faculties, the TMS result typically plays a role alongside the Abitur grade.

There are no tuition fees. The only payment required is the University of Augsburg's semester contribution, which is set anew each semester.

KAMM: A Curriculum Built From Scratch

Augsburg only began its medicine program in the 2019/20 winter semester and built its Kompetenzorientiertes Augsburger Medizinisches Curriculum — KAMM for short — without any legacy constraints. The model curriculum teaches pre-clinical and clinical content together rather than in sequence, organized around topics and organ systems. The guiding principle is the biopsychosocial model of health and disease, complemented by early patient contact and scientific work from the first year of study.

Examinations and Structure

The first study section spans four semesters. Once you have passed its modules, you receive an equivalency certificate for the First Section of the Medical Licensing Examination — there is no classic Physikum to sit. Assessment runs continuously through interdisciplinary module examinations, oral-practical components, and OSCE examinations at multiple stations. The standard study period is 12.5 semesters. The second section includes Famulaturen and the Praktisches Jahr; the Second and Third Sections of the Medical Licensing Examination are taken at national level, followed by the Approbation.

Clinic and Research

The clinical partner is Universitätsklinikum Augsburg, a maximum-care hospital that transitioned to state ownership in 2019. Research priorities for the faculty are health and the environment, and medical informatics. The nursing placement, first aid certificate, and four months of Famulatur are required as at all faculties; the Praktisches Jahr is completed at the hospital and at regional teaching hospitals.

Two Locations, a New Medical Campus

The main university campus is in the south in the Universitätsviertel, with lakes, a canteen, and short distances. Medicine, however, has its own medical campus in the west, directly adjacent to Universitätsklinikum. The first teaching building opened in 2024, bringing study spaces, a library, a skills lab, and a café under one roof. You commute between the two locations by tram and bus; for a city of this size the network is well developed.

Housing

Augsburg is Bavaria's third-largest city — considerably cheaper than Munich, but more expensive than comparable cities in western and northern Germany. Because many Munich commuters share the market, apartments are scarcer than the city's size would suggest. Popular student neighborhoods include Univiertel, Pfersee, Hochfeld, and the Textilviertel.

Daily Life

Cohorts are small, so you get to know people quickly, and the student representative body (Fachschaft Medizin) is as young as the faculty itself and correspondingly open to input. Munich is reachable by train in under an hour. In the city itself, the Fuggerei, the UNESCO-listed historic water management system, and the Friedensfest — a public holiday observed only in Augsburg — mark the calendar.

Is Augsburg a model curriculum?

Yes. KAMM teaches pre-clinical and clinical content together rather than in separate sections. Instead of the Physikum, you receive an equivalency certificate for the First Section of the Medical Licensing Examination after passing four semesters of modules. The Second and Third Sections and the Approbation follow the national standard.

How many study places are there?

The program started in 2019 with 84 places per cohort and is being gradually expanded, with the goal of a significantly larger faculty. Intake is exclusively in the winter semester through hochschulstart. Small cohorts mean more contact with lecturers in practice, but also fewer places in the application process.

What is the NC in Augsburg?

There is no fixed NC. Places are allocated through the top Abitur grade quota, the Additional Aptitude Quota, and the university selection process, whose cut-off values are determined anew each year. The selection process weights primarily the Abitur grade and TMS result, supplemented by points for vocational training and relevant work experience. Reliable figures are only available in the current cut-off tables at hochschulstart.

What is the supervision like at such a new faculty?

The staff-to-student ratio is good, because staff and facilities are built up in parallel with each cohort. The trade-off is that procedures and examination formats are not yet fully established everywhere, and you occasionally live with provisional arrangements. Those who want to get involved have unusually wide scope to do so.

What does housing cost in Augsburg?

As a Bavarian location, Augsburg is not cheap, but it is clearly below Munich's level. Student services dormitory places are the cheapest option and correspondingly sought-after. Those flexible about location and willing to search outside the Univiertel will find noticeably cheaper rooms.