Faculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig

About the Faculty

Leipzig is well suited to students who prefer a clearly structured standard curriculum over a reform model. The preclinical and clinical phases are distinct, and the examination structure follows the Approbationsordnung without deviation — making semester transfers and time abroad straightforward to plan.

The LernKlinik Leipzig partly compensates for the later start of practical work: examination techniques, emergency scenarios, and communication skills are simulated there before students encounter real patients. Student tutors run the LernKlinik on a peer-to-peer basis, and all courses are free of charge. The University Hospital Leipzig (UKL) brings together 29 clinics and polyclinics on a single connected campus on Liebigstraße.

University Hospital

The UKL operates 1,350 full inpatient beds and 101 partial inpatient beds and provides maximum-level care for the Leipzig region across all major specialties. Its compact campus layout means that students move quickly between courses, wards, and outpatient clinics throughout the clinical years.

Admission

Places are allocated via hochschulstart (winter semester only). In the main quota (Auswahlverfahren der Hochschule): Abitur grade counts for 60%, TMS score for 30%, and completed vocational training for 10% — Leipzig weights the Abitur more heavily than most other faculties. In the additional aptitude quota, the TMS accounts for 90%. No tuition fees are charged.

Admission

Winter semester only, via hochschulstart. Main quota: Abitur 60%, TMS 30%, Berufsausbildung 10%. Aptitude quota: TMS 90%. No tuition fees; only the semester contribution is payable.

Study at Germany's Second-Oldest University

The Faculty of Medicine belongs to the Alma mater Lipsiensis, founded in 1409 and the second-oldest continuously operating university in Germany. Teaching follows the standard curriculum; there is no model programme in Leipzig. Instead, the faculty has progressively incorporated practice-oriented and case-based elements into the classical framework.

The first four semesters form the preclinical phase (Anatomy, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Terminology, Medical Psychology and Sociology, Biochemistry, Physiology), ending with the First Section of the Medical Examination. From the fifth semester, the emphasis shifts to seminars, block placements, and bedside teaching in the major disciplines. Problem-oriented learning courses — covering infectiology, acute medicine, and geriatrics — and the LernKlinik complement this structure throughout the clinical years. The Practical Year consists of three blocks of 16 weeks: Innere Medizin, Chirurgie, and a freely chosen Wahlfach. PJ placements are at the UKL on the Liebigstraße campus and at affiliated teaching hospitals in Saxony.

Medizin-Campus Liebigstraße in the City

Leipzig is one of the few large German cities that still feels young, with a very large student population and a faculty campus right in the thick of things. The Medizin-Campus borders the inner ring road and Johannapark; clinics, institutes, the library, and the LernKlinik all sit on one site, and the main university campus at Augustusplatz is reachable in minutes. Popular residential areas include Südvorstadt, Connewitz, Plagwitz, and Gohlis, typically in renovated pre-war apartment buildings. Rents have risen noticeably in recent years and the market is competitive at the start of each semester, but Leipzig remains affordable by comparison with Cologne, Hamburg, or Munich.

Daily life works well without a car: the city is flat, the tram network is dense, and most journeys can be done by bicycle. Gewandhaus and Opera, the cafés and clubs along Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, the Book Fair in spring, and the former open-cast mining lakes just beyond the city limits provide ample recreation. By ICE, Berlin is just over an hour away; Dresden, Halle, and Jena are even closer.

Is the Leipzig programme a model curriculum?

No. Leipzig uses the standard curriculum (Regelstudiengang). The preclinical and clinical phases are separate, and the First Section of the Medical Examination follows after the fourth semester. Reform elements such as problem-oriented learning and a dedicated skills lab are integrated into this framework.

What is the LernKlinik Leipzig?

The LernKlinik is the faculty’s practical skills training centre. Under the guidance of student tutors, you practise auscultation, abdominal ultrasound, suturing and plastering techniques, and communication skills on models and simulators. Preparation courses for the nursing internship and Famulatur are also available, and all courses are free of charge.

How much patient contact is there in the clinical phase?

From the fifth semester, bedside teaching becomes the focus, supplemented by block placements in the major specialties and problem-oriented learning courses in infectiology, acute medicine, and geriatrics.

Where does the Practical Year take place?

The PJ consists of three blocks in Innere Medizin, Chirurgie, and a Wahlfach. It is completed at the University Hospital Leipzig on the Liebigstraße campus or at affiliated teaching hospitals, giving students the choice between a tertiary centre and smaller hospitals.

How do I apply for a place in Leipzig?

Applications go through hochschulstart via the standard national quotas. Abitur grade and TMS score are the key factors; the cut-off values change each year. Medschool Experts advises on NC-free study routes in Germany and abroad and does not arrange applications to German state faculties.