With more than 10,500 students, Hochschule Bielefeld – University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI) is the largest university of applied sciences in East Westphalia-Lippe (OWL). Based in Bielefeld, Minden and Gütersloh, it has an excellent network not only in the OWL region, but also nationally and internationally through diverse contacts, partnerships and cooperations in science, economy, politics and culture.
Our six faculties – Design and Art, Minden Campus, Engineering and Mathematics, Social Sciences, Bielefeld School of Business and Health – strive for high quality in teaching and research.
With our diverse range of courses, we make a responsible contribution towards social development. Our teaching serves to educate academically, to qualify for specialist and executive roles and to spark interest in lifelong learning.
In research, teaching and transfer, the university’s mission is to become a key innovation hub in the OWL region. Studies at HSBI will enable graduates to enter the successful network of the region with its leading-edge cluster it’s OWL, the Campus OWL association, the consortium of universities and universities of applied sciences as well as regional businesses.
With our course offer, we address all groups of prospective students: young people who have just graduated from school, professionals who want to achieve further qualifications without giving up their job or those who want to combine academic and vocational training. We have developed various study models for this purpose: full-time programmes, work-integrated programmes and programmes with professional qualification, part-time programmes and part-time combined programmes. Opportunities for scientific further education round off our course offer.
HSBI is system-accredited and thus authorised to accredit its own study programmes. Our university’s own quality management system ensures an attractive and diverse range of courses geared towards all prospective students’ needs, comprehensive support for all students in achieving their study goals and, last but not least, an enhancement of all graduates’ qualification levels.
As an employer, HSBI has received multiple awards for its successes in promoting equal opportunities and has been certified as a family-friendly university.
| Acronym | HSBI |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Undergraduate Programmes | |
| Postgraduate Programmes | 29 |
| Departments | 6 |
| Location | Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Address | Bielefeld University, Interaction 1 33619 Bielefeld Campus |
The five-pillar concept:
1. Integration of social responsibility into the teaching programme
2. Use of student platforms for service learning
3. Accolades for lectures that implement social responsibility
4. Enhancing employer attractiveness
5. Professionalisation of university commitment to social responsibility
HSBI engages in close contact with the industrial and business communities and with the social, cultural and nursing institutions in the region. Students benefit from a well-developed co-operation network and can apply the academic knowledge they gain in a work environment.
Apart from “normal” full-time study programmes, HSBI offers two further study models: work-integrated courses and part-time courses. With our flexible study models, study and work can be easily combined.
In Bielefeld, Minden and Gütersloh, HSBI offers work-integrated courses, where on-the-job training and university education are closely interlinked. Each semester consists of an eleven-week work placement in a company followed by a twelve-week theory block at the university. This means that the theoretical knowledge and skills acquired are promptly transferred into corporate reality.
The part-time courses at HSBI are specially designed for the needs of working people and trainees. Students of part-time courses have self-study and attendance phases parallel to their work commitments. In the self-study phase, students prepare for the attendance phases with homework assignments. Block teaching is offered in employee-friendly manner exclusively on Saturdays in term time.
You will find the enrolment deadline for your application in the application portal as soon as you have submitted the application and you have received the admission. Please make sure to check the deadlines in the application portal regularly. For restricted-admission bachelor’s degree programmes, all master’s degree programmes and all certificates, the enrolment deadline will also be communicated in the admissions letter. You must request enrolment online in the application portal within this deadline.
To find out which documents you must upload in the application portal as part of enrolment, please see the enrolment checklists (see download area on the left-hand side) and the menu item “Upload enrolment documents” when enrolling in the application portal.
We can only process your enrolment if you have uploaded all the documents required as a readable PDF file and if we have received your insurance or exemption confirmation from a statutory health insurance provider (this is the usual process for which there may be rare exceptions).
After completing your online enrolment, you will receive all relevant information in a single PDF file once more. Among other things, you will find the deadline for uploading the enrolment documents there.
The verification of foreign certificates is very time-consuming and takes some time. We will contact you should any documents be missing or if we have any questions about your application.
Until a decision has been made concerning your admission, you are welcome to visit the International Office’s websites and find out more about offers for international students at HSBI and life in Germany in general.
Choose a study programme and check the admission requirements.
Entry requirements vary by program. Please refer to the website for an overview of our work-integrated study programs. You will find details regarding the admission requirements in the respective study program’s examination regulations. These can be downloaded from the download boxes on each study program page.
As an applicant with certificates issued abroad, you can apply through HSBI’s application portal. The application period is usually from 1 December to 15 July each year. Please upload the application documents listed below to the university’s application portal:
Please submit all documents with your application via HSBI’s application portal “CAT”: click here to access the portal.
*Please note: The work placement can be planned as an internship, part-time job or as an apprenticeship. Proof of this must be provided before registration through an agreement on the implementation of the work-integrated study (cooperation agreement) between the students, the company providing training and HSBI.
Email: [email protected]
Phone : +49 521 106 70093, +49 521 106 70797
Evaluated and certified by the AQAS accreditation commission, giving HSBI the right to award the seal of the Accreditation Council for its study programs.
Prof. Dr. Germanus Wegmann was the first rector of the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences.
Over the years, the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences expanded its range of courses and opened additional locations in Minden and Gütersloh.
On April 19, 2023, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences was renamed “Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI)” to reflect its broad range of subjects and its claim to be a modern university of applied sciences.
Today, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts is the largest state university of applied sciences in East Westphalia-Lippe, with over 10,000 students, and offers a wide range of courses in six faculties.