Examination Law in the Medicine Degree at the University of Augsburg: Attempts, Resits, Medical Certificates

The Nationwide Rules First: What the ÄAppO Sets Out for Everyone

This framework applies equally at every German faculty. The Approbationsordnung für Ärzte (Medical Licensing Regulations) governs the state examinations:

• Three attempts per stage: M1, M2 and M3 can each be resat twice.
• Nationwide effect: A definitive fail applies across the whole of Germany – transferring to another university doesn't change that.
• No fresh start: Even restarting a medicine degree doesn't open up a further attempt.
• Automatic summons to the next exam date, arranged by the university.

Everything before that – module exams, sign-offs, attendance – is regulated individually by each faculty.

Augsburg's Special Feature: Limits Based on Attempt Count, Not Time

The University of Augsburg explicitly states that the provisions of the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act (BayHIG) on study duration are not directly applicable to the model programme. There is no standard study period limiting how long you may study.

Instead, the number of exam attempts is what limits your studies. In practice this means you won't be deregistered for studying too long – but because you've run out of attempts. If you keep track of your attempts, you actually have more breathing room than at many other locations.

How Many Times Can You Resit an Exam in Augsburg?

• Failed exams can be resat twice – so three attempts in total.
• Written term papers only once.
• The first resit should generally be taken at the scheduled resit date in the same semester.
• The second resit can take place at the next regular exam date, or its resit the following year.
• Once the maximum possible number of failed resit attempts has been used, an exam counts as definitively failed.

The Two-Semester Deadline – the Most Common Pitfall

One point that's easy to overlook, and costly if you do:

Registration to resit an exam must take place within two semesters at the latest after the exam result is announced. Otherwise, the exam is marked as "failed".

So it isn't enough to sit it again at some point – the clock starts running from the day your result is announced. And it keeps running even during a semester of leave: while on leave you may not sit first attempts, but you may need to sit a resit precisely during that leave period in order not to lose an attempt.

No Grading Curve on Resits

As a rule, no grading curve is applied to resits in multiple-choice format. The pass mark is fixed at 60%. However, students can choose between using the resit date or sitting the regular exam the following year – where the grading curve does apply. Making this choice deliberately can be the difference between passing and failing.

We can work through together which option is better for your situation – book a free consultation here.

Registration: Nothing Happens Automatically

Unlike at some faculties, Augsburg has no automatic exam registration. Registration is done electronically through the STUDIS system by the students themselves – separately for each exam and each exam format (written exam, oral exam, etc.). This also applies to resits.

• Anyone who misses the registration deadline can only submit a written application in exceptional cases, within 14 days of the end of the registration window – and must demonstrate a substantiated hardship case along with blameless failure to register.
• Anyone who wasn't registered for the regular date at all may not sit the resit in the same semester – only at the next regular date the following year.

Withdrawal and Sick Notes: the Rules Are Strict

• Withdrawal without giving a reason is possible within the registration deadline.
• After that: not showing up, withdrawing after the exam has started, or failing to submit work on time all count as failed.
• In the event of illness, withdrawal must be reported and evidenced on the day of the exam. The doctor's visit must take place on that same day.

What a Medical Certificate Must Contain – and What Isn't Enough

The requirements are specifically defined:

• A standard sick note is not sufficient.
• A certificate that merely states "unfit for examination" is also not sufficient.
• The certificate must describe the specific physical, mental or psychological impairments clearly enough for the examination board to assess unfitness to sit the exam – no diagnosis is required.
• A certificate issued three days later does not meet the requirements.
• The certificate may not be issued by a family member.

Attendance Requirements

Attendance is compulsory in particular for the dissection course: the faculty justifies this with the high cost of maintaining a sufficient number of body donors. A group discussion is also held at the body donor for each dissection area.

The exact absence limits for individual modules are set out in the module handbook in force at the time, which is published each semester – alongside the examination regulations and the ÄAppO, it's one of the three most important documents in the Augsburg programme.

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Progress Test: Relevant in Three Ways

• Participation at least once per academic year is compulsory (two dates are offered per year).
• For admission to the second stage of study: proof of two completed sittings.
• For admission to the practical year: proof of five completed sittings.
• The Progress Test should not be taken during a semester of leave.
• In the case of blameless non-participation, an informal application can be made to the examination board.

Recognition and Transferring: Why Augsburg Is a Special Case

The model-programme character makes itself felt here too. The university states this clearly itself: because of the integrated curriculum and the early introduction of clinical content, recognition options are usually very limited; on a case-by-case basis, credits often don't meet the required level of equivalence. Anyone wanting to transfer out of an ongoing degree therefore quickly runs into limits at a model-programme location that have nothing to do with their own performance.

What applies in an individual case, which documents are required, and how advanced an entry point is even possible, differs from faculty to faculty and from year to year. That's exactly why we don't publish lists on this. Instead, send us your academic records and transcripts: we'll assess the highest possible year of entry for you and tell you which university, in which country, can take you on with a clear plan. Entry into the final two years of study is often possible.

Behind this stands our network of official partner universities for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and veterinary medicine. Book your free consultation here.

One side detail that causes recurring confusion: the state-examination human medicine programme does not award ECTS credits. In terms of workload, however, the credits up to the equivalence certificate correspond to roughly 120 ECTS.

Appeals: One Month, in Writing

Anyone who receives a decision stating they have failed can lodge a written appeal with the central examinations office within one month. Important: a simple email does not meet the formal requirement. The appeal must be justified and supported with evidence – for example, findings from reviewing the exam paper.

If the appeal is unsuccessful, a fee-based appeal decision is issued (around €105); after that, the route of legal action is open. For exams that were passed but which students feel were marked too harshly, there is also the free reconsideration procedure.

COVID Special Regulation: One Additional Attempt

Everyone who was enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine in the summer semester of 2020, the winter semester of 2020/21, the summer semester of 2021, or the winter semester of 2021/22, and who failed an exam, was granted one additional attempt for that exam – that is, three resits instead of two. Anyone who was enrolled during this period should, if in doubt, raise this with the examinations office.

The Second Stage of the Medical Examination (M2)

In the model programme, M2 can be taken at the earliest after five years of studying medicine (Section 41 ÄAppO). Key facts:

• 320 questions over three consecutive days, five hours each.
• Registration runs through the relevant state examinations office and is subject to strict deadlines.
• Pass with at least 60%, or via the grading curve (no more than 22% below the average of first-time candidates after the minimum study period).
• Can be resat twice; summons is automatic.
• Anyone who interrupts the exam – for example by not appearing from the second day onwards – has failed it.

If Things Can't Continue in Augsburg

If your attempts are used up, the route through a German faculty is closed – even at a different location. What remains is the route through an EU university abroad: a complete medicine degree from an EU university is automatically recognised under Directive 2005/36/EC and leads to a German medical licence (Approbation) – without a further knowledge test.

The requirement is that the degree is completed entirely afresh, with no credits carried over from the unsuccessful German programme. All the details are set out in our in-depth guide, Compulsory Deregistration From a Medicine Degree.

Your Next Step

If you're between your second and third attempt in Augsburg, or you've got the two-semester deadline breathing down your neck, the most important sentence on this page is this: you don't have to sort this out alone. Send us your transcripts, your academic records to date, and your preferred countries.

We look at your case personally and tell you which university, in which country, we can place you at and where we can get you in with a clear plan – through our network of official partner universities for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and veterinary medicine. For students transferring, we always assess the highest possible year of entry. Book your free consultation here.