15.2 What is a study programme and who defines study programmes?

Accreditation does not specify the definition of study programmes. As a rule, the state higher education acts contain corresponding provisions. A typical formulation, here from § 30 of the Baden-Württemberg State Higher Education Act (as of the beginning of 2020), reads: “A study programme is a course of study regulated by study and examination regulations and aimed at a specific degree …”. Similarly in Section 60 of the North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Education Act: “Study programmes within the meaning of this Law are regulated by examination regulations”.
If the respective Higher Education Act contains such or similar wording, this means that the definition of the study programme is the responsibility of the higher education institution and that the examination regulations are the relevant place for this definition. In study programmes leading to regulated professions, external specifications are also common.