• Long-term illness that prevents you from studying properly
• Illness of a close relative or having to care for a close relative, which prevents you from studying properly
• Maternity and parental leave
• Study or work abroad that is relevant to your studies or associated career opportunities (if not required according to the examination regulations)
• Completing an internship that is not required according to the examination regulations
• Financing your studies
• Active participation in a statutory committee of JGU, of the student body, or of the Studierendenwerk

If at all possible, submit your application by the re-registration deadline. In any case, it must be submitted before the start of the semester for which you wish to take the academic leave of absence.

As you will be retaining your student status during an academic leave of absence, you must pay the semester fee and any tuition fees for the semester during which you wish to take an academic leave of absence before the re-registration deadline.

You can submit your application for an academic leave of absence through JOGU-StINe.

Long-term illness
Submit a medical certificate which certifies your inability to study and take exams. At least six weeks of illness must be stated on the certificate. The medical certificate is only valid with a stamp from the doctor’s office and a signature.

Illness of or duty of care for a relative
Current care level certificate (Pflegeeinstufungsbescheid) in which you are named as carer for the relative in need of care, as well as documentation from the medical service regarding the time required to provide care or, if the care is only provided temporarily and there is no official care level: a medical certificate clearly showing that you are responsible for providing care. The medical certificate should also provide information on the time spent providing the care.

Maternity and parental leave
Before your child’s birth: copy of the page in your maternity record that shows the expected delivery date or a medical document naming the expected delivery date. After your child has been born, we require a copy of the birth certificate.

Stay abroad
Proof of the stay abroad (attestation from DAAD/Erasmus, the foreign university, employer, etc.). This is not required for language degree courses.

Internships
Copy of the internship contract.

Financing your studies
Copy of the employment contract that clearly shows the extent and duration of the employment relationship.

Active involvement in official bodies
Evidence of the nature and extent of the involvement.

Once your application has been successfully processed, we will make your updated semester documents available on JOGU-StINe. If your request for an academic leave of absence is rejected, you will find the letter of rejection on JOGU-StINe under “Service > My documents” as well.

An academic leave of absence is either not possible or is only possible to a limited extent in the following cases:

Academic leave of absence during the current semester
In these cases, an academic leave of absence is only possible if you are unable to study properly as a result of unexpected events (e.g., an illness). The unexpected nature of the event necessitating an academic leave of absence must be made clear in the documents submitted for the academic leave of absence.

Academic leave of absence in the first semester, including after a new enrollment or re-enrollment
In these cases, an academic leave of absence is only possible if you are unable to study properly as a result of unexpected events (e.g., an illness).

Academic leave of absence in the first semester of a master’s degree, including after a new enrollment or re-enrollment
An academic leave of absence in the first semester of a master’s program after the beginning of the studies or change of subject is only possible due to:

• unexpected events which prevent you from being able to study properly, or
• study-related reasons (e.g., an internship or stay abroad) – if they are not compulsory according to the examination regulations.

If enrollment in the master’s degree program is conditional, e.g., because proof of successful completion of a bachelor’s degree is missing or other subject-specific entrance requirements have not been fulfilled, an academic leave of absence for study-related reasons is unfortunately not possible.

Academic leave of absence in a preparatory German course or Studienkolleg
It is not possible to take an academic leave of absence in this case. For further information, please contact the International Preparatory and Language Center (ISSK) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Academic leave of absence for the examination in a third teaching subject
If you are currently only studying for the examination in a third teaching subject, you can only apply for an academic leave of absence for the following reasons:

• Illness
• Care of a close relative
• Maternity and parental leave
• Active involvement in official bodies