Organising your studies Organising your studies

All students in Germany are required to have health insurance coverage. Proof of coverage is usually provided upon enrolment.

The transfer of information between universities and health insurance companies will now take place digitally. This means you do not need to submit paper documents to us if you change health insurance providers. After 1 November 2021, please give your new health insurance provider the sender number for HAW Hamburg: H0000531.

If you fall behind on your health insurance payments, this information will be provided to us digitally. You will then be blocked from re-registering for the next semester. As soon as you have made the outstanding payments, your health insurance company will inform us and you will be able to re-register.

If you are currently enrolled at HAW Hamburg and only change your degree course, you do not need a new certificate of health insurance coverage, unless you switch health insurance providers at the same time you switch degree courses.  

Note: If you are over 30 years old, you are no longer obligated to have public student health insurance. In this case, you do not need to submit any documents from your health insurance company.

HAW Hamburg’s electronic student card is a chip card with multiple functions:

•    Personalised student ID card with photo
•    HVV semester ticket for Hamburg’s public transport system
•    HAW library card
•    Cashless payment function for the cafeteria (Studierendenwerk Hamburg)
•    Access to electronically secured rooms on the HAW campus

The chip card is your student ID card for the duration of your studies at HAW Hamburg.

All you need to do is validate the card at the beginning of each semester following successful re-registration. The functions are valid for one semester only.

Additional information

The myHAW application and student portal at HAW Hamburg is used to manage the university's application process, degree course organisation, and examinations.

At the current time, students can use their new HAW user ID (w...123@haw-hamburg.de) to sign into myHAW and obtain the access code for the energy-costs subsidy, as well as their enrolment and BAföG (student financial aid) certificates. It is also possible to change your address and submit leave and deregistration requests.

The grades and examination results stored in myHAW and Stysis have been preserved for the most part following the cyber-attack at the end of 2022. 

The ITSC is currently working with the Faculty Service Offices to make the grades available successively to all students by winter semester 2023/24. Students will be informed as soon as their department is able to offer this service again.

If you are unable to attend at least half of the classes in a semester due to extenuating circumstances, you can apply for a leave of absence. Please note that you still have to pay the semester contribution. If you apply for leave extending over several consecutive semesters, the administrative fee can be reimbursed. The application for leave must be received by the Student Admissions and Registration Office before the re-registration deadline. This deadline does not apply to applications for leave due to illness or caregiving responsibilities. You are eligible for a leave of absence if one of the following situations applies:

• Illness
• Caring for a child
• Study abroad
• Military or alternative civilian service
• Financial difficulty

Leave of absence is not possible in the following cases:

• Prior to successful completion of first-year academic courses
• When the timely completion of studies is jeopardised (e.g. in the case of discontinued degree courses)

These restrictions do not apply if you are ill, have to care for a relative, are pregnant or need to care for a child.

You can download the application form from myHAW (Mein Studium/Studienservice/Beurlaubung) and upload the required documents. Once you have submitted the application, you can no longer reverse it in myHAW. If you have submitted the application in error, please contact the HAW Hamburg Student Admissions and Registration Office (studierendensekretariat (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de).

You can find the forms necessary for submitting changes to the Student Admissions and Registration Office on myHAW.

• Internship semester (please include supporting documents!)

You can apply to withdraw via the myHAW portal (Mein Studium/Studienservice/Exmatrikulation). It is no longer necessary to apply in writing.

You can also change your address in myHAW yourself.

Please note: If you live alone and move within Hamburg, you can change your address with the resident registration office using the eWA (electronic residence registration) online service. To do so, you need a personal ID card with an e-ID function and need to set up a user account. This offer is provided by the City of Hamburg. More information (in German) is available here.

Please inform us in writing of the following changes, making sure to include the supporting documents:

• Name change (please include excerpt from the Familienbuch or for trans people the dgti ID card)
• Change in health insurance provider
• Re-registration for a study semester following an internship semester (request can also be submitted via email)

Please send your application and the supporting documents to the Student Admissions and Registration Office (Studierendensekretariat):

HAW Hamburg
Studierendensekretariat
Postfach 10 20 31
D-20014 Hamburg
studierendensekretariat (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de

If you would like to bring your application to the office at Stiftstraße 69 in person, the mailboxes are located in and in front of the entrance area.

Upon graduation

Once you have successfully completed your final Bachelor’s or Master’s examination and the responsible Faculty Service Office has sent a copy of your transcript to the Student Admissions and Registration Office, you will be deregistered from the university.

Withdrawal from the university

If you have decided to withdraw from HAW Hamburg before completing your studies, please apply to withdraw through the myHAW portal (Mein Studium/Studienservice/Exmatrikulation).

Change in degree course

If you transfer to a different degree course within HAW Hamburg you do not need to withdraw.

Processing time

It generally takes four weeks for the withdrawal/deregistration process to be completed. Please take this timeline into account if you want to apply for withdrawal. Once your application has been processed, you will receive confirmation of deregistration and your pension statement. If you require immediate proof of deregistration – for example, because you are changing universities – please state this in your application.

If it is not possible for you to continue studying due to temporary complicating circumstances (e.g. childcare, or caring for a family member), you can apply to temporarily suspend your studies. During this time you will not be a HAW Hamburg student, but you are entitled to be re-enrolled in the degree course you have deregistered from until the deadline given. You can obtain more information from the Student Admissions and Registration Office.