Admission Interviews for Nordic and German University Programmes: Formats and Expectations

When interviews come into play

Nordic countries and Germany rely on centralized, grade-based or test-based admission for most bachelor's programmes. Sweden, Denmark, and Finland run national or programme-level entrance tests and rank applicants using school grades or standardized test scores, so an interview is the exception rather than the norm at bachelor's level.

Interviews show up more often for master's programmes, especially ones with limited places, and for subjects that need to assess a skill grades cannot measure, such as art, music, design, or clinical subjects. Some German programmes also use an interview as part of an aptitude assessment when an applicant's foreign qualification needs extra evaluation.

Germany: aptitude and selection procedures

German universities can run a formal aptitude assessment, known as an Eignungsfeststellungsverfahren, for programmes where standard entry requirements are not enough to judge whether an applicant is prepared. This applies most often to international applicants whose school-leaving qualification is not automatically recognized as equivalent to the Abitur, and to subjects like art, music, sport science, and some specialist master's programmes.

The procedure can include a written test, a subject-specific task, and an interview, and the exact combination depends on the university and programme. Applicants usually go through uni-assist first for a general qualification check, and the university itself handles any further interview or test the specific programme requires.

Sweden, Denmark and Finland: mostly grade and test based

Swedish universities admit most bachelor's applicants through grades or the Swedish university entrance test, both processed through the national admissions system, with interviews reserved for a small number of programmes such as some art, design, and teacher training courses. Master's programmes sometimes add a short interview or a written statement for competitive places, but this is set programme by programme rather than nationally.

Denmark uses two admission tracks: quota 1, based purely on grades, and quota 2, which can include additional criteria such as work experience, motivation, or in some cases an interview, set individually by each programme. Finland has shifted most bachelor's admission toward entrance exams and matriculation exam results, and interviews appear mainly in creative fields like art and design, often paired with a portfolio or entrance test.

How these interviews differ from UK-style interviews

Oxford and Cambridge-style interviews test how you think through unfamiliar material in real time. Nordic and German interviews, where they happen, focus on a narrower set of questions: why you chose this specific programme, what relevant experience or knowledge you bring, and, for programmes taught in the local language, whether your language ability meets the level the programme needs.

Expect a structured conversation rather than an open academic debate. Interviewers usually work from a set list of questions and compare answers across candidates in a consistent way, closer to a structured job interview than a tutorial-style discussion.

How to prepare

• Check the specific programme page for whether an interview is part of admission, since this is set at programme level, not country level.

• Prepare clear, specific reasons for choosing that exact programme and university, not general reasons for choosing the country.

• If the programme is taught in the local language, be ready to demonstrate your language level in conversation, not only through a certificate.

• For creative subjects, prepare to discuss your portfolio or prior work in detail, since interviewers often ask you to explain your process, not just show finished pieces.

• For German aptitude procedures, ask the university directly what the assessment covers, since the mix of test, task, and interview varies by programme.

Master's admission committees

Beyond formal aptitude procedures, many German and Nordic master's programmes with limited places set their own admission committee process, which can include reviewing your CV, a short statement, and sometimes a brief interview to confirm your background matches the programme's prerequisites. This differs from a general academic interview, since the committee usually already knows from your documents that you are qualified and uses the conversation mainly to check fit and availability rather than to test your thinking under pressure.

If a programme lists an interview as part of a wider selection process alongside grades and a written application, prepare to talk through your CV in detail, including any gaps or changes in direction, since committees often ask you to explain choices your documents alone cannot clarify.

If you are not sure whether your programme interviews

Programme pages sometimes describe the admission process only in general terms. If you cannot find a clear answer, contact the programme's admissions office directly and ask specifically whether an interview, test, or portfolio review is part of selection that year, since practices can change between intakes.

Ask current or former students in the programme, through university open days or online student groups, whether they went through an interview and what it covered. First-hand accounts often fill in detail that official pages leave out.