A consecutive Master's degree programme builds on the content of a professionally qualifying degree programme and serves to continue and/or expand it in an interdisciplinary manner.

Yes, for admission to the Master's degree programme in Public Management & Governance, the name of the academic degree from the first degree programme is irrelevant.

No. As this is a consecutive Master's degree programme, there are no tuition fees. However, if you exceed the total standard period of study for the first degree programme and the consecutive Master's degree programme, you will have to pay multiple fees. Further details and special regulations can be found in the Thuringian Higher Education Fees and Charges Act (ThürHGEG). You will also have to pay fees of 85.00 euros/semester for the student union, 5.00 euros/semester for the student body and 176.40 euros/semester for the Deutschlandticket, i.e. a total of 266.40 euros/semester (as of summer semester 2025). For the first semester, there is an additional one-off charge of 20.00 euros for the Thuringian Student Union Card Thoska, unless you already have one from your previous studies.

Please apply online. Submit the required documents to the Study Service Centre at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences. This is possible until 28 February (if you are starting in the summer semester) and until 31 August (if you are starting in the winter semester). If you fulfil the admission requirements, you will then receive a letter of admission authorising you to enrol as soon as you have paid the fees for the first semester. If you have to complete bridging modules, this will be indicated on the letter of admission.

Yes, this is possible. If you are expected to fulfil the admission requirements, you will receive a letter of admission subject to the fulfilment of the admission requirements. You can then enrol as soon as you have paid the fees for the first semester, but must then prove that you have met the admission requirements by 31 December (for enrolment for the winter semester) or 30 June (for enrolment for the summer semester). If you are enrolled at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences, you may already attend the courses of the Master's degree programme.

In accordance with international requirements, 300 ECTS points are required for a Master's degree, including the previous degree programme. These are usually acquired through a combination of degree programmes with standard study periods totalling ten semesters (30 ECTS credits/semester). The Master's degree programme in Public Management & Governance comprises a study volume of 90 ECTS credits. If you have earned fewer than 210 ECTS credits through your first professional degree - this usually applies to degree programmes with a standard period of study of six semesters - the missing ECTS credits must be earned through bridging modules. If you have already earned 210 ECTS credits, bridging modules may still be required to enable you to continue your first professionally qualifying degree programme consecutively (qualification adjustment).

As a rule, you can choose the bridging modules from the wide range of our degree programmes according to your interests. It is only not possible to choose modules as bridging modules that are already covered by your previous degree programme.

If you are studying according to the study option for graduates of a first degree in administration, economics, law or social sciences and have earned fewer than 10 ECTS credits in business administration content from the fields of human resources, organisation, investment, financing, accounting, controlling and/or management, you can be admitted on condition that you make up the corresponding modules as part of the bridging modules or as part of the supplementary modules of the Master's degree programme.

If you are studying according to the study option for graduates of a first degree programme in administration, economics, law or social sciences and have earned fewer than 10 ECTS credits in the field of public law, you can be admitted on condition that you make up the corresponding modules as part of the bridging modules or as part of the supplementary modules of the Master's degree programme.

You will be enrolled on the Master's degree programme when you start your studies at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences. You can already complete modules on the Master's degree programme from the first semester. You complete the bridge modules until you register for the Master's thesis. If you have to catch up on bridging modules worth 30 ECTS credits (especially if you only gained 180 ECTS credits in your first professionally qualifying degree programme), you will generally need four semesters to complete the Master's degree programme. Individual bridging modules can usually be completed "on the side" without extending the duration of your studies (with "overtime", of course).

The Master's degree programme opens up access to the higher civil service and is therefore also equivalent to Master's degree programmes at universities in this respect. However, "access to the higher civil service" should not be confused with a "career qualification", as can be obtained, for example, as a result of completing our Bachelor's degree programme in Public Business Administration/Public Management for the higher non-technical administrative service. While the two practical semesters in the Bachelor's degree programme correspond to the preparatory service and the Bachelor's examination can replace the career examination for the higher non-technical administrative service, a preparatory service (administrative traineeship) and a career examination would have to be added to the Master's degree programme in order to obtain the "career qualification for the higher service". However, after completing the Master's degree programme, employment as an employee in a pay grade corresponding to the higher civil service (EG 13 TVöD/TV-L) is possible, as well as subsequent appointment as a civil servant. The federal and state governments have made different regulations for their respective areas of responsibility. It is usually possible to become a civil servant after two and a half or three years of employment at the higher civil service level.