Leave of absence from studies
Students can be granted a leave of absence from their studies for good cause upon application. The leave of absence is always granted for the duration of a complete semester. The application must be submitted anew for each semester. A retroactive leave of absence for a completed semester is also excluded. The basis of every leave of absence is that at least 50% of the lecture time (not semester time!) is covered by the intended reason for the leave of absence (only one reason can be selected).
Please submit your application for leave of absence in our campus portal. Here you will also find information on the individual reasons for leave of absence as well as the documents to be submitted.
The deadline for submitting the application for the summer and winter semester is always the Friday before the start of lectures of the semester for which the leave of absence is to be claimed. You can find an overview of this on the Dates & Deadlines page. Your leave of absence can only be granted if the documents you have uploaded are complete and you have already paid the amount shown on the application within the re-registration period. If you pay after the end of the re-registration period, you will have to pay a late fee.
The semester fee is 341.95 euros until February 24, 2023, after which an additional late fee of 3.40 euros will be charged. In some cases, Studierendenwerk Dortmund has decided to waive the student union fee for students on leave of absence. Exclusively for the following reasons for leave of absence, the semester fee is then reduced by 110 euros:
- Completion of the Federal Volunteer Service, or voluntary military service.
- Longer, serious illness
- statutory maternity leave / high-risk pregnancy
- Study at a foreign university
In our campus portal you will also find information about the amount you have to pay.
The following applies to all reasons for leave of absence:
- Each student on leave of absence will be provided with the Semesterticket NRW/VRR in the campus portal after the re-registration/leave of absence has taken place.
- Students can either use this ticket or, if necessary, contact the General Student Committee (AStA) regarding reimbursement. You can find more information on this on the AStA pages.
The contact person for questions concerning the organization of examinations is the central examination administration.
In principle, students are not entitled to take examinations during their leave of absence. You may not
- no course work or examinations may be taken.
- no participation requirements or credit points may be acquired.
- no examinations may be taken.
Repeat examinations may be taken.
Participation requirements that are the result of a semester abroad or an internship semester itself may be acquired.
The leave of absence may have an impact on a possible free attempt regulation.
Students on leave of absence due to raising and caring for their own children or caring for and caring for dependents are eligible to take exams.
You may not earn credit for internships you complete while on a leave of absence.
If you receive BAföG, it is advisable to ask the BAföG office to what extent a leave of absence can affect the payment of BAföG.
In order to enable you to continue your studies successfully, you will find important information from the TU Dortmund University Family Service on the topic of pregnancy during your studies here.
If you would like to take a leave of absence due to a high-risk pregnancy, please submit an application for leave of absence in the campus portal. At the same time, the leave of absence is accompanied by a notification of the pregnancy to the district government of Arnsberg. As a university, we have had to comply with this obligation to report since the changes to the Maternity Protection Act on January 01, 2018. More background information is available in the Family Service. You can also find further important support options as well as information to enable the successful continuation of your studies on the pages of the TU Dortmund University Family Service on the topic of pregnancy during studies.
Search & People Search
Cafeteria menus
Location & approach
The campus of TU Dortmund University is located close to interstate junction Dortmund West, where the Sauerlandlinie A 45 (Frankfurt-Dortmund) crosses the Ruhrschnellweg B 1 / A 40. The best interstate exit to take from A 45 is “Dortmund-Eichlinghofen” (closer to South Campus), and from B 1 / A 40 “Dortmund-Dorstfeld” (closer to North Campus). Signs for the university are located at both exits. Also, there is a new exit before you pass over the B 1-bridge leading into Dortmund.
To get from North Campus to South Campus by car, there is the connection via Vogelpothsweg/Baroper Straße. We recommend you leave your car on one of the parking lots at North Campus and use the H-Bahn (suspended monorail system), which conveniently connects the two campuses.
TU Dortmund University has its own train station (“Dortmund Universität”). From there, suburban trains (S-Bahn) leave for Dortmund main station (“Dortmund Hauptbahnhof”) and Düsseldorf main station via the “Düsseldorf Airport Train Station” (take S-Bahn number 1, which leaves every 15 or 30 minutes). The university is easily reached from Bochum, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Duisburg.
You can also take the bus or subway train from Dortmund city to the university: From Dortmund main station, you can take any train bound for the Station “Stadtgarten”, usually lines U41, U45, U 47 and U49. At “Stadtgarten” you switch trains and get on line U42 towards “Hombruch”. Look out for the Station “An der Palmweide”. From the bus stop just across the road, busses bound for TU Dortmund University leave every ten minutes (445, 447 and 462). Another option is to take the subway routes U41, U45, U47 and U49 from Dortmund main station to the stop “Dortmund Kampstraße”. From there, take U43 or U44 to the stop “Dortmund Wittener Straße”. Switch to bus line 447 and get off at “Dortmund Universität S”.
The H-Bahn is one of the hallmarks of TU Dortmund University. There are two stations on North Campus. One (“Dortmund Universität S”) is directly located at the suburban train stop, which connects the university directly with the city of Dortmund and the rest of the Ruhr Area. Also from this station, there are connections to the “Technologiepark” and (via South Campus) Eichlinghofen. The other station is located at the dining hall at North Campus and offers a direct connection to South Campus every five minutes.
The AirportExpress is a fast and convenient means of transport from Dortmund Airport (DTM) to Dortmund Central Station, taking you there in little more than 20 minutes. From Dortmund Central Station, you can continue to the university campus by interurban railway (S-Bahn). A larger range of international flight connections is offered at Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is about 60 kilometres away and can be directly reached by S-Bahn from the university station.
The facilities of TU Dortmund University are spread over two campuses, the larger Campus North and the smaller Campus South. Additionally, some areas of the university are located in the adjacent “Technologiepark”.
Site Map of TU Dortmund University (Second Page in English).