Conditions of Participation

General:

As a basic principle, all graduates who would like to take part in the Universitätsfest can register between March 16 and 11:59 pm on May 31, 2026, inclusive using the registration form on the event web page at www.uni-bonn.de/unifest.

Please understand that registration requests received after the registration deadline cannot be considered for organizational reasons. Final confirmation of your participation in the event will be provided after the relevant examination offices have themselves issued confirmation and approval from mid-June 2026 onward. After this approval has been granted, you will receive a confirmation email that will also confirm how many people have been registered as accompanying you to the event. Participating graduates do not have to be enrolled at the University of Bonn at the time of the Unifest.

If you are unsure about any aspect of these terms and conditions of participation, please contact your examination office at an early stage (i.e. before the registration deadline!).

The following also applies to graduates who have already completed every element of their degree program:

Participation is open to all graduates who obtained their degree (bachelor’s, master’s, Diplom, Magister, state examination) in the 2025/2026 academic year, i.e. up to and including May 31, 2026. Graduates from previous years can also take part in the Unifest this year provided that they have not already done so and they obtained their degree within the past five years (i.e. it must have been awarded after January 1, 2021).

The following also applies to bachelor’s and master’s graduates:

Bachelor’s and master’s students who have obtained at least 132 credit points (bachelor’s) or 60 credit points (master’s) by May 31, 2026, and have already registered for their bachelor’s or master’s thesis can also participate even if they have not yet completed every element of their degree program. Graduates can also participate in the celebrations after obtaining both degrees, i.e. once after their bachelor’s degree and a second time after their master’s degree.

In any case, they must register for the Universitätsfest by May 31, 2026!

The following also applies to Diplom and Magister graduates:

Diplom and Magister students must have submitted their Diplom or Magister thesis and achieved a pass in it by May 31, 2026. In any case, they must register for the Universitätsfest by May 31, 2026!

The following also applies to graduates from the Faculty of Catholic Theology:

The abovementioned terms and conditions apply for students in standard bachelor’s degree programs and teaching degree programs at bachelor’s and master’s level. Students of the master’s program in Comparative Theological Studies may participate if they can prove having acquired 36 CP and having registered for the master’s thesis by the Unifest registration deadline. Magister Theologiae and Church Degree students may participate if they can prove having acquired 270 CP and having registered for the final thesis by the Unifest registration deadline.

The following also applies to graduates from the Faculty of Protestant Theology:

Enrolled students of the degree programmes in Protestant Theology with the final goal "Magister Theologiae" or "Kirchliches Examen", who are admitted to the final examination in the degree programme, may participate, provided they have already submitted the academic term paper and the practical theological paper in due time. Graduates of the degree programme in Protestant Theology who have passed the “Kirchliches Examen” are eligible to participate, provided they were enrolled in the degree programme in Protestant Theology at the University of Bonn in the semester in which they passed the “Kirchliches Examen”. Students in the one-year Master's degree programmes in Biblical Studies or Ecumenical Studies who have at least 27 credit points as of May 31, 2026 and have already registered for the Master's thesis can also participate, even if they have not yet fully completed their studies.

For the degree programmes of the Faculty of Protestant Theology that are not specifically mentioned, the general conditions for students in Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes listed above apply.

The following applies to graduates in human medicine and dentistry:

All graduates who completed their degree (i.e. passed their state examination) in the 2025/2026 academic year (including summer semester 2026) may participate. Please contact your department for more information.

The following applies to graduates of the master’s program in global health:

All graduates who have earned at least 35 credit points by May 31 and have registered for their Master’s thesis are eligible to participate. Please contact your department for more information.

The following applies to graduates from the degree program in Law culminating in the state examination:

The degree program in Law concludes with the first (legal) examination, which consists of the compulsory subject-specific state examination (70 percent) and the university specialization examination (30 percent).

Graduates may participate in the Universitätsfest if

• they have passed the compulsory subject-specific state examination (they must have completed their oral examination before the Universitätsfest);
  all achievements in the examinations required for the area of specialization studied at the University of Bonn have been completed in full, i.e.
  • in accordance with the 2015 examination regulations for the area of specialization (Prüfungsordnung der Rechts- und Staatswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn für den Schwerpunktbereich im Studiengang Rechtswissenschaft vom 04. September 2015, SPB‑PO 2015): six written examinations; or
  • in accordance with SPB‑PO 2023: at least three written examinations, at least two of which come from the core area, and these examinations must have been sat no later than winter semester 2025/26. The seminar paper must be submitted in summer semester 2026 at the latest and confirmed by the chair as having been passed by June 12, 2026, at the latest; and

• the fact that the area of specialization studied has been passed has been determined mathematically based on the assessments already made of the necessary examinations.

The examination in a graduate’s area of specialization is deemed to have been passed in mathematical terms if they have already achieved an average of at least 4.0 points in all required examination components (written examinations and the seminar paper). When calculating the pass mark, the seminar paper counts four times (40 percent) in accordance with SPB‑PO 2015 and SPB‑PO 2023. Each of the six final written examinations in accordance with SPB‑PO 2015 is worth 10 percent or 20 percent in the case of the three best relevant written examinations in accordance with SPB‑PO 2023.

In addition, the following applies in accordance with SPB‑PO 2015: If examinations were taken abroad or at other universities, graduates must also have achieved an average of 4.0 points in their two best final written examinations taken at the University of Bonn. SPB‑PO 2023 also requires at least 4.0 points to have been achieved in the graduate’s best written examination in a core subject.

If the question of whether or not a graduate has passed the examination in their area of specialization in mathematical terms hinges on an assessment of their seminar paper and this assessment is still pending, they will unfortunately not be able to attend the graduation ceremony.

The following applies to graduates from the integrated bachelor’s degree program in Law:

Graduates may participate in the Universitätsfest if

• they have completed all the coursework and passed all the examinations required for the integrated bachelor’s;
• they have already applied for their bachelor’s diploma; and
• all the evidence required for this has either been submitted already or was enclosed with the application.

The criteria for awarding a degree, details of the documents to be submitted and the application form can be found on the Examination Office’s web page at https://www.jura.uni-bonn.de/pruefungsamt/integrierter-bachelor.

The following applies to graduates from teaching degree programs:

As a basic principle, graduates from teaching degree programs must fulfill the abovementioned participation requirements for bachelor’s or master’s graduates. They should select “yes” for “Teaching degree” when they register to attend the Unifest. When you select a faculty and then a subject from the options presented to you as a result, you determine which faculty you will process in with during the Unifest and which faculty you will receive your presentation certificate from.

For example, if you are studying mathematics and English for a teaching degree and feel a stronger affinity with the Faculty of Arts than the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, then you should first select “yes” for “Teaching degree.” Then select “Faculty of Arts” under “Faculty” and finally “English” as your subject. You will then wear the sash of the Faculty of Arts, process in with the Faculty of Arts and receive your presentation certificate from the Faculty of Arts at the handover point.