Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften Kempten

About Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften Kempten

Kempten University of Applied Sciences is formally named Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften Kempten. Its official imprint describes it as a corporation under public law supervised by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, establishing its status as a public institution rather than a private training provider. The Bavarian parliament passed the founding legislation in 1977, and the institution began teaching in October 1978 with 82 business-administration students. The university subsequently expanded into six principal academic areas: Business Administration, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Social and Health Studies, and Tourism Management. Its official history describes a 53,000-square-metre campus serving around 6,000 students. These figures are useful indicators of scale rather than admissions guarantees or current audited enrollment totals. The institutional character is that of a German university of applied sciences. Programs are designed around disciplinary study with practical and professional applications, and the catalog includes conventional full-time degrees alongside some cooperative, professionally compatible and continuing-education formats. This makes Kempten most relevant to applicants seeking a structured, career-oriented degree in a comparatively compact institution. Applicants should distinguish regular bachelor’s and master’s degrees from certificates and continuing-education offerings administered through the Professional School of Business and Technology.

Applications are submitted online through the university’s MeinCampus portal. For first-semester bachelor’s entry in winter semester 2026/27, the official application period ran from late April to 15 July 2026, although selected programs later received extensions. All bachelor’s programs were scheduled to begin on 1 October 2026. Most bachelor’s options were unrestricted, meaning eligible applicants with complete, timely applications could receive a place; Social Work and the professionally compatible Social Work program specializing in Youth Work were capacity-restricted and used the relevant allocation procedure. Master’s applicants need a suitable first university degree and must meet the requirements of the individual program. These can include a minimum prior grade, specified subject knowledge, practical experience, language evidence or an aptitude procedure. The usual master’s application windows published for future cycles are 15 November to 15 January for summer entry and 27 April to 15 July for winter entry, with earlier deadlines for certain programs. Applicants must nevertheless use the current program page and portal because extensions and exceptions occur. International applicants commonly need a preliminary review document from uni-assist for foreign qualifications, with an exception identified for the English-taught Electrical Engineering master’s program. Language requirements are program-specific. Many German-taught degrees require German at B2, while some programs require C1. English-taught degrees specify English proficiency and may also require basic or intermediate German. The university’s 2026/27 deadlines cited here have passed as of 20 August 2026 unless an official extension applies.

Kempten awards recognized bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Its bachelor’s catalog covers engineering and technology, business and tourism, social and health subjects, and computer science and multimedia. Examples available for winter semester 2026/27 include Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, Renewable Energies and Environmental Engineering, Business Administration, International Management, Tourism Management, Computer Science, Business Information Systems, Nursing, and Social Work. Program availability and official English titles should always be checked in the live catalog. The master’s portfolio provides further specialization in fields such as Automation and Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Energy Technology, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision, Game Engineering and Visual Computing, Global Business Development, Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable Finance, and Social and Health Services Management. Some master’s programs start in both winter and summer semesters, while others admit only for a particular intake. German is the primary teaching language across the institution, but the university lists several English-taught options. For 2026, these include the bachelor’s program in International Engineering and master’s programs in Electrical Engineering, Global Business Development, and Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable Finance. Even students in these English-taught programs may need German at A1 or B1 level, depending on the degree. Applicants should consult the program-specific curriculum, examination regulations, language table, delivery format and intake semester rather than assuming that requirements are uniform across a faculty.

Key Highlights

• Public Bavarian university of applied sciences and corporation under public law
• Founded by Bavarian legislation in 1977; teaching began in 1978
• Six main academic areas spanning technology, business, tourism, computing, and social and health studies
• Unified 53,000-square-metre campus in Kempten

Student Life & Environment

Student life is concentrated on the university’s Kempten campus, which includes teaching and laboratory buildings, a library and a canteen. The institution’s history describes the site as a unified campus rather than a collection of widely separated city locations. This can make academic services and everyday campus facilities comparatively accessible, although individual placements, projects or cooperative-study commitments may occur elsewhere. Housing is not guaranteed or allocated directly by the university. Its 2026 accommodation guidance lists residences operated by the Augsburg Student Union, Sozialbau Kempten and private providers, alongside private rooms and apartments. Some residences are next to the university or within walking distance, while others have bus connections. The university explicitly warns that affordable and subsidized places are limited and recommends beginning early and applying to several providers. Students should contact each housing operator for vacancies, current rent, eligibility and deadlines because tenancy arrangements are made directly with the provider. This distinction is particularly important for international students: admission to a degree does not include a room. The campus card provides access to routine services such as the library and cashless payment in the canteen, but students should budget separately for optional activities and personal living costs.

Location & Surroundings

The university is located at Bahnhofstraße 61 on the southern side of Kempten, a city in Bavaria’s Allgäu region. The campus sits close to Kempten’s main railway station; the university estimates the walk at about five minutes. The Forum Allgäu shopping centre and bigBOX Allgäu event venue are also nearby, giving students access to retail and cultural facilities without needing to live on campus. Local and regional buses serve stops at or near the university, including the Hochschule stop on Bahnhofstraße. The campus is also accessible from the A7 motorway and the B12 and B19 roads. These connections may be useful for commuting, cooperative study and regional internships, but applicants should verify current timetables before relying on a particular route. Housing options are distributed across Kempten rather than confined to a residential campus. Some listed residences are walkable, while others depend on bus travel. Prospective students should compare commute, rent and contract terms together when choosing accommodation.

Costs & Career Outcomes

The university’s August 2026 guidance states that, as a public institution, it charges no general tuition fee. All students pay a semester contribution of €115, comprising an €85 student-services contribution and €30 for the semester transport pass. Students from outside the EU who begin an English-taught degree from winter semester 2025/26 onward are also charged a €500 service fee per semester, subject to the university’s stated exemptions. Applicants should verify the applicable fee order before enrollment. For planning purposes, the university estimates that a student in Kempten needs at least €950 per month for accommodation, food, transport and other activities. Its sample ranges include rent of roughly €380–€500 per month, but these are guidance based on student experience, not fixed prices. Residence listings show that actual rents vary substantially by provider, room type and contract. Career preparation is embedded primarily through the applied character of the degrees, practical projects and, in many bachelor’s curricula, a practical semester with a company or institution. Cooperative study formats are available in selected fields. These features can provide workplace exposure, but the reviewed official sources do not publish a verified institution-wide employment rate, median salary or employer-placement guarantee. Prospective students should compare the curriculum, practical-semester requirements, local language expectations and professional recognition relevant to their intended occupation.