Studying with family responsibilities
As a pregnant or breastfeeding student, you are subject to the Maternity Protection Act: the Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG) protects your health and that of your child during pregnancy, after giving birth and while breastfeeding - including during your studies. It enables you to continue your studies as well as possible during this time without endangering your health and protects you from disadvantages.
The regulations of the law apply to everyone who is pregnant, has given birth or is breastfeeding - regardless of the gender stated in their birth registration.
Below you will find the most important regulations that are relevant for you as a pregnant or breastfeeding student.
The Maternity Protection Act applies to pregnant or breastfeeding women who are students within the meaning of the Maternity Protection Act. Students according to §1 paragraph 2 sentence 2 number 8 MuSchG are women who are enrolled at the university.
- guest auditors are not covered by the Maternity Protection Act, as they generally wish to attend lectures out of their own interest and the university does not impose any mandatory requirements.
- in the case of early students (school students), scholarship holders and doctoral students, it must be checked separately and on a case-by-case basis whether they are students within the meaning of the Maternity Protection Act and therefore fall under the Maternity Protection Act. The same applies if you are planning to study or work abroad during your pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
In these cases, please contact the Student Advisory Services (ZSB) listed below.
The Student Advisory Services (ZSB) advises you on pregnancy during your studies and studying with children. We can provide you with information on maternity protection and the procedure for reporting a pregnancy or breastfeeding. We can also help you plan your studies and answer any other questions you may have. Our services are confidential and you can take advantage of them even if you have not reported your pregnancy.
You can also find information about studying and family life online in the KIT family portal.
The Maternity Protection Act protects the health of the woman and her child at the place of work, training and study during pregnancy, after delivery and during the breastfeeding period. Maternity protection applies from the beginning of pregnancy until after delivery and during the breastfeeding period. However, effective protection of the health of the pregnant or breastfeeding student and her child requires that the university is aware of the pregnancy or breastfeeding period. As a student, you should therefore inform the university as early as possible about your pregnancy and the expected date of delivery or that you are breastfeeding. Only if you have notified your employer of your pregnancy or breastfeeding can all necessary measures be taken to protect your health and the health of your child. It is therefore in your own interest to notify us as early as possible. However, there is no obligation to disclose the pregnancy.
If you are pregnant, it is advisable to inform the university of your pregnancy as soon as you know that you are pregnant. If you are breastfeeding, you should also inform the university as soon as possible.
The Student Advisory Services (ZSB) will help you to report your pregnancy or breastfeeding. Please make an appointment or come to the open consultation hours. We will provide you with the necessary forms. Alternatively, you can download them from this page under Forms.
You fill out the notification of pregnancy / breastfeeding, the data protection declaration and, if desired, the waiver and / or the declaration for lectures until 10 p.m. and on sundays and public holidays. Please submit the risk assessments to the person responsible for the respective courses you wish to attend in the respective semester. Please hand in the completed documents at the Student's Office (Welcome Desk). If applicable, please hand copies of the waiver and / or declaration for courses until 10 p.m. and on sundays and public holidays to the person responsible for teaching the relevant courses.
In accordance with §27 paragraph 1 number 1 MuSchG, the university is obliged to notify the responsible supervisory authority (Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe) of the pregnancy or breastfeeding period.
As a pregnant student, the university may not allow you to study during the last six weeks before giving birth unless you expressly declare your willingness to continue your studies and the completion of your studies and examinations does not pose an irresponsible risk to the life of mother and child. In this case, please complete a corresponding waiverform. You can also revoke this declaration at any time with immediate effect for the future.
The expected date of delivery, as stated in the medical certificate or the certificate of a midwife or maternity nurse, is decisive for calculating the protection period before delivery. If you do not give birth on the expected date, the period of protection before childbirth will be shortened or extended accordingly.
As a pregnant student, the university may not allow you to study until eight weeks after giving birth unless you expressly request this (declaration of waiver). You can revoke your declaration at any time with immediate effect for the future.
The protection period after childbirth is extended to twelve weeks
- in the case of premature births,
- in the case of multiple births and,
- if the child is medically diagnosed with a disability within the meaning of Section 2 (1) sentence 1 SGB IX before the end of eight weeks after delivery.
If you give birth prematurely, the protection period after childbirth is generally only extended by the period of the shortened protection period before childbirth in accordance with No. 3 if you apply for this as a student.
In the evening or at night (§5 para. 2 MuSchG)
As a pregnant or breastfeeding student, the university may not allow you to work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. as part of your studies. It may only allow you to attend study and teaching events until 10 p.m. if
- you expressly declare your willingness to do so,
- participation is necessary for study purposes at this time and
- in particular, there is no irresponsible risk to you or your child from working alone.
In this case, please complete a corresponding waiverform.
You can revoke your declaration at any time with immediate effect for the future. Studying is no longer permitted after 10 p.m. under any circumstances.
On sundays and public holidays (§6 para. 2 MuSchG)
As a pregnant or breastfeeding student, the university may not allow you to work on sundays and public holidays as part of your studies. The university may only allow you to take part in study and teaching events on Sundays and public holidays if
- you expressly declare your willingness to do so,
- participation is necessary for study purposes at this time,
- you are granted an alternative day of rest each week following an uninterrupted night's rest of at least eleven hours and
- in particular, there is no irresponsible risk to you or your child from working alone.
In this case, please complete a corresponding waiverform.
You can revoke your declaration at any time with immediate effect for the future.
Pregnant and breastfeeding students are subject to maximum working hours and rest periods. As a pregnant or breastfeeding student, the university may not allow you to attend courses for more than a maximum of eight and a half hours per day or 90 hours per double week. If you are under the age of 18, you may attend educational events for a maximum of eight hours per day or 80 hours per double week. Sundays are included in the double week. Statutory rest breaks and travel time are not working time. As a pregnant or breastfeeding student, you must also be granted an uninterrupted rest period of 11 hours after the end of your daily working hours.
In accordance with §10 of the Maternity Protection Act, the University is obliged to determine the risks to which you as a pregnant or breastfeeding student or your child are or may be exposed. Based on this risk assessment, the university determines whether and to what extent protective measures must be taken.
Hazards are possible in particular during activities in laboratories or workshops, during excursions, during lectures and pratical courses in the field or during practical sports events.
When consultating the Student Advisory Service, we will discuss which courses you would like to attend as part of your studies and provide you with the relevant risk assessment forms. You present these to the respective lecturer or course coordinator. If there is no risk, further participation in the course is possible. If there is a risk, an attempt will first be made to avert this by redesigning the working conditions. In the case of lecture and study rooms, the Dienstleistungseinheit SUM and the occupational safety specialists do not consider there to be any hazards that go beyond the general risk of life. In this case, the field "es sind keine besonderen Schutzmaßnahmen erforderlich" (no special protective measures are required) must be checked in the form under "V: Ergebnis der Beurteilung der Arbeitsbedingungen" (V: result of the assessment of the work conditions).
The university is only obliged to exclude you from certain courses or labs for the duration of your pregnancy or breastfeeding period in cases where it is not possible to rearrange and reorganize your working conditions or where hazards cannot be ruled out even by rearranging the working conditions.
If the risk assessment leads to restrictions or prohibitions, the university will offer a consultation on the further course of studies, in particular with the aim of counteracting disadvantages in your education.
You must complete the following forms if you wish to report your pregnancy or breastfeeding. Please submit the completed forms to the Welcome Desk at the Studen's Office. Please note the privacy policy. Please note that due to the official nature of these documents, some of them are provided by the respective authorities in German only.
- notification of pregnancy / breastfeeding (§15 MuSchG)
- risk assessment (please read the section on risk assessment)
If required, please also complete the following forms:
- declaration of maternity protection periods (§§3 and 15 MuSchG)
- declaration on courses until 10 p.m. and on sundays and public holidays (§§5 and 6 MuSchG)
- application for leave of absence
Please note our privacy policy.
On hazards and safety in the workplace: Medical services
Are you a mother or father and want to study at the same time? To make this possible, KIT offers you support tailored to the special needs of students with children. Our aim is to help you with planning and organization so that you can better reconcile your studies and family life.
If you are expecting a child or already have one or more children and are planning your studies or are already studying, you will certainly have many questions about the organization of your studies, leave of absence, financing and other topics. This website provides you with the most important information in brief. For more in-depth information and details, we will be happy to help you personally or you can obtain information directly from the offices listed. You are invited to come visit us with all your questions at the Student Advisory Services (ZSB) with all your questions.
KIT reserves 1% of the available study places in the bachelor's degree programs with restricted admission for applicants who require special consideration or support in the public interest. These groups also include applicants who are caring for and raising children up to the age of 12 if they are bound to Karlsruhe as a place of study for justified reasons. If this applies to you, you can submit an application for preferential admission. To do this, go to the KIT application portal, select preferential admission under special applications and upload the relevant documents.
If you have children, you can apply to your examination board for extensions to examination deadlines or the maximum duration of study. Maternity protection periods interrupt any deadlines, and if you are on parental leave, you can set new deadlines with the program coordinators. For more detailed information, please refer to your study and examination regulations and the statutes on regulations to compensate for disadvantages in the bachelor's and master's degree programs at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
If you are breastfeeding during your studies, you are entitled to breaks under the Maternity Protection Act and have the opportunity to integrate these into your daily study routine. There is a breastfeeding facility in the parent-child study room, for example. If you need longer breastfeeding breaks or would like to adjust your study times, talk to your examination board or program coordinators to find flexible solutions.
You can apply for a leave of absence for the duration of the statutory parental leave, which lasts up to your child's third birthday (maximum six semesters). You can also take up to two years (maximum four semesters) of this parental leave later, up to your child's eighth birthday. Taking these semesters of leave is independent of receiving parental allowance. There are special regulations for leave of absence due to parental leave; for example, you may take coursework during your leave of absence. You can find more details in the admission and enrollment regulations of KIT and on the website for leave of absence.
You are entitled to parental allowance, even if you did not work before the birth of your child. You will also receive child benefit. If you receive BAföG, you can apply for a childcare supplement and your maximum funding period will be increased. You can find an overview of other funding options at the Studierendenwerk.
There are various benefits and grants, such as the Mensa Kids card which allows your child to eat for free in the dining hall and subsidies towards the parental contribution for childcare. The Karlsruhe Children's Pass also offers discounts for families on low incomes.
The Studierendenwerk offers various day-care facilities for children of students. It is best to look for a place early on, but it is also worth enquiring at short notice, as individual places are always available.
There are changing tables and breastfeeding rooms available in several buildings on South Campus. The library also offers a parent-child learning room on the 3rd floor of the old building of the KIT Library South, room 32. This room is equipped for working as well as with children's furniture and toys.
Sometimes it's just good to talk to people who are in a similar situation. If you would like to get to know other students with children and receive regular news about studying with children, sign up for the newsletter "Studying with family at KIT".
If you are a caregiver for a family members alongside your studies, the Student Advisory Services (ZSB) of the KIT will help you to master this challenge. Even before you start your studies, we will advise you on questions relating to application and admission as well as family-friendly study organization. We will show you ways to make your studies more flexible - for example by taking leave of absence, extending deadlines or compensating for disadvantages - and inform you about other important contact points.
KIT reserves 1% of the available study places in admission-restricted degree programs for applicants who are particularly worthy of consideration or support in the public interest. This group also includes, for example, persons who care for family members within the meaning of § 7 para. 3 of the Caregiver Leave Act (Pflegezeitgesetz), provided that they are considered to be in need of care according to §§ 14 and 15 SGB XI. If you would like to apply for a degree program with restricted admission at KIT and can prove that you are bound to Karlsruhe as a caregiver, you may be eligible for preferential admission due to local ties in the public interest. Find out about this early on in the relevant Statutes of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for the selection of applicants according to local ties in the public interest.
If you wish to take advantage of preferential admission, submit your application directly in the KIT application portal. Under special applications, select the preferred admission option and upload the required documents. If you have any questions or need advice, please do not hesitate to contact the Student Advisory Services.
If you are studying and at the same time caring for a family member as described above, you can apply for a leave of absence for up to two semesters. During this leave of absence you can continue to attend courses and take examinations. As the counting of your semesters is paused during this time, you gain more flexibility and can better adapt your studies to your care situation. You can then apply for a leave of absence at the Student's Office.
To make it easier for you to combine studying and caring, you also have the option of applying to your examination board for extensions to examination deadlines or the maximum duration of studies. You can find detailed information on this in your study and examination regulations.
Depending on the individual characteristics of your life situation, your examination board can grant you further appropriate measures to compensate for disadvantages (such as other forms of examination) upon request to ensure equal opportunities. The basis for this is the Statutes on regulations to compensate for disadvantages in the bachelor's and master's degree programs at KIT. If you have any questions, please contact the Student Advisory Services (ZSB). We will be happy to help you.