BUSINESS MATHEMATICIAN (M/F)

GERMAN: WIRTSCHAFTSMATHEMATIKER/IN

Competent authority in charge of recognition procedure

Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (ZAB)

Graurheindorfer Str. 157

53117 Bonn

Phone: +49 228 501 664

Fax: +49 49 228 501 229
E-mail: zabservice@kmk.org
http://www.kmk.org/zab

Certificate assessment of foreign higher education qualifications

DO I NEED TO HAVE MY PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS RECOGNIZED?

You can work in this occupation without recognition. Your degree enables you to do this. The selected occupation is not regulated
in Germany.

In order to be able to work in the occupation, you must demonstrate evidence of knowledge and skills acquired in your degree.
You do this with your university degree. You apply with your leaving certificate and transcript of records. The certificate must
specify the level of degree obtained (e.g. Bachelors).

On occasions, employers do not understand foreign certificates. To make it easier for you to provide evidence of your
qualification, you can have your qualification assessed in Germany. This procedure is referred to as “Certificate assessment of
foreign higher education qualifications”. The certificate assessment is an official document which describes your higher
education qualification and the professional and academic options available. This document enables you to improve your
application and can provide you with better opportunities of finding a job in Germany.

The certificate assessment represents comparative grading and is not a formal recognition.

WHO CAN APPLY FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CERTIFICATES?

Anybody who has obtained an academic qualification abroad can apply for a certificate assessed by the ZAB. Your nationality or
the country in which you completed your qualification are not important. You can also apply abroad. This means you can easily
apply for certificate assessment if you are not yet in Germany.

Please note that foreign higher education qualifications in Germany are generally only recognised if they have been obtained
from a government or government recognised institution. You can determine this before an application on the anabin database
of ZAB.

Further information about the necessary requirements is available here.

HOW DOES THE PROCEDURE WORK?

You send the signed application form and all necessary documents (see under “Which documents do I need?”) by post to
the ZAB. A document may still be missing. In this case you receive an email from the ZAB, which specifies the documents
which you still need to send.
The ZAB considers if your foreign degree is comparable to a german degree.
The ZAB will also check if you acquired your degree at a state-recognised university
Your foreign degree will be classified into the german education qualification

Further information about the procedure is available here.

WHAT RESULTS ARE POSSIBLE?

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You received the certificate assessment. The certificate assessment states whether your foreign higher education qualification
is comparable with a corresponding German higher education qualification. This may be a Bachelor’s qualification or Master’s
qualification. Further information is also included in the certificate assessment. You find out whether the degree can be continued
in Germany or whether you are permitted to use a certain level of degree.

Your application is refused if your certificate is not comparable with a German degree. In this case you do not receive a certificate
assessment. The ZAB then sends you a letter of rejection. In this letter, the ZAB specifies the reasons for the rejection.

WHICH DOCUMENTS DO I NEED?

You must send copies of your higher education certificate and a few other documents to the ZAB. These include:

The final certificate of the higher education qualification to be assessed in the original language
An overview of the subjects and grades for the entire degree
The diploma supplement in the standardised European form (if issued)

Systems of education and training differ around the world. Your application is dependent on where you studied. You may require
other documents or additional documents. The ZAB informs you of the documents to be submitted.

You are able to submit documents in Arabic, German, English, French, Italian, Polish or Spanish. If you have studied in a
country in which another language is spoken the documents must first be translated. The translations must be completed by
publicly appointed or sworn translators from Germany or from abroad. The publicly appointed/sworn interpreters/translators in
Germany can be found here.

It is often necessary to send officially certified copies. In this case an authority in Germany or abroad confirms that the photocopy
matches the original. Further information is available here.

Please do not send original documents as they may be lost in the post.

HOW LONG DOES THE PROCEDURE TAKE?

The procedure begins when you have paid the fee and submitted all documents. Following this, the certificate assessment takes a
maximum of three months.

WHAT DOES THE PROCEDURE COST?

There is a charge for the certificate assessment. You must pay a fee of approximately €200 to the ZAB. Further information is
available here.

Additional costs may be incurred. For example, if your certificate for another document needs to be translated or certified. Costs
vary.

It may be possible for you to receive financial support. Further information is available here.

Counselling Services

Obtain personal advice at an IQ Counselling Centre. Information on how to find a Counselling Centre in Germany is available
here.

The telephone hotline provided by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is open from 9 am to 3 pm Monday to Friday and
can be contacted on: +49 30 1815-1111.

Further advisory services are available here.

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Occupational profile

Fields of work

Business mathematicians are primarily employed, for example,

at mathematical and economics research institutes

at banks and insurance companies
at auditing companies
at corporate consultancies
at software and system developers
in public administration, e.g. with statistical offices, with vehicle licensing offices
at universities

Professional experience

Business mathematicians solve complex business problems using mathematical methods. For example, they deal with issues
relating to the optimisation of company processes, storage, site planning, and with assessing opportunities and risks in insurance
and financial planning.

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