Choosing a Degree Program
With nearly 20,000 degree programs available in Germany, choosing the “right” program and a suitable university is not easy. On this page, you will find academic orientation workshops, online self-assessments (OSA) and other digital tools to help you identify a field of study that matches your interests and career aspirations.

Workshop:"Abitur – What’s Next?”
The two-day workshop “Abitur – What’s Next?” is intended for upper-level high school students who want to engage in guided discussions about their future together. The workshop is held digitally via Zoom.
Learn to systematically explore your interests, abilities and preferences. Take an online test that can support you with your self-exploration and learn about the most important sources of information with regard to university and career choices.
Short workshop “Academic Orientation”
In our two-hour short workshop on “Academic Orientation,” participants explore various questions to help them decide what and where to study. Working in small groups, students and counselors of the University of Bonn get together to discuss possible orientation activities that can help them make structured academic choices. This involves not only an exchange of information but also conversations that help students reflect on their own abilities, interests and preferences.

Online-Self-Assessments (OSA)
Our Online Self-Assessments (OSA) are subject-specific academic orientation tests that give you initial insights into a given subject. Working online and at your own pace, you complete a range of questions and problems, with detailed feedback on your results available right after you’re done. In this way, you can find out whether your personal skills, interests and expectations match the requirements and actual contents of your desired degree program.

Taster Program
Sit in on selected courses to get a realistic impression of a given field of study and a taste of what it’s like to be a university student.
More digital tools
01.
Check-U
This exploration tool from the Federal Employment Agency can help you find a suitable vocational training or university degree program.
02.
ORCA.nrw
Learn about academic requirements and take advantage of free online tests and study contents to get off to a good start at university.
03.
OSA-Portal
The OSA portal provides an overview of a wide range of online self-assessments (in German) for all academic disciplines.
Academic orientation in times of COVID-19 and social distancing
Helpful tips
Despite the protective measures in place to contain the coronavirus, the Central Study Advisory and Counseling Service (ZSB)98 is available to you as well as in person, by email, telephone and with many digital offerings.
For more information, please visit the pages of the Central Study Advisory and Counseling Service98.
Time for self-reflection: A meeting with yourself?!
You are wondering what to do after high school and asking yourself questions about yourself and about your future? With social interactions being as restricted as they are at the moment, this may just be the right time for you to think about yourself and your future, about what to do with your life, and to consider the choices you will soon have to make and how you might approach these choices. We invite you to have a meeting with yourself!
Academic orientation works just as well online! We have compiled a few online tools and information pages that may help you in the process of choosing a degree program and preparing for the beginning of your studies.
- Check-U5, a self-exploration tool provided by the Federal Employment Agency
- Studiport9 – Digital tutorials to get you started
- Academic orientation tests3 (Online Self-Assessments, OSA) for degree programs at the University of Bonn
The YouTube Channel10 of the Central Study Advisory and Counseling Service features short videos with information about “Studying at the University of Bonn“.