Hochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz

About Hochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz

The Hochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz (HöV) is a specialist public-sector university founded in 1981 and located in Mayen, in the Mayen-Koblenz district of the Vulkaneifel region of Rhineland-Palatinate. It operates as an internal state university (interne Hochschule des Landes) under the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Interior and is the primary competence centre for public administration training in the state.

The HöV offers dual bachelor's programmes that combine 21 months of academic study in Mayen with 15 months of practical training in state or municipal administrations, or at Deutsche Rentenversicherung Rheinland-Pfalz. Programmes are offered in Administration (Verwaltung), Administrative Business Economics (Verwaltungsbetriebswirtschaft), and Administrative Informatics (Verwaltungsinformatik). A postgraduate MBA in Public Administration is available as a distance-learning programme.

The institution also provides continuing education (Fort- und Weiterbildung) for existing civil servants at grades A7–A15, and operates jointly with the Zentrale Verwaltungsschule (ZVS) Rheinland-Pfalz from the same campus. The historic campus building, a tuff-stone structure from 1891, served as the Landratsamt des Kreises Mayen until the 1970s.

Key facts

Founded: 1981
Students: 946

Specialist public-administration university — the only HöV in Rhineland-Palatinate

Founded 1981; ca. 946 students enrolled (WS 2024/25)

Dual study model: students receive a civil-service trainee salary throughout the programme

Three bachelor specialisations: Administration, Administrative Business Economics, Administrative Informatics

Postgraduate MBA in Public Administration available as distance learning

Historic 1891 tuff-stone campus building in Mayen, Vulkaneifel

Admissions & costs

Tuition & fees

No tuition fees are charged for the dual bachelor's programmes; students receive a civil-service trainee salary (Anwärterbezüge) throughout their studies paid by the employing authority. The MBA in Public Administration (distance learning) is a continuing-education programme for which fees apply; specific amounts are not published on the official website.

Admission requirements

The HöV is an internal civil-service training institution. Admission is not open to the general public in the usual sense: prospective students must first be recruited (eingestellt) by a state or municipal authority or by Deutsche Rentenversicherung Rheinland-Pfalz, which then registers them with the university. Applicants must hold at least a Fachhochschulreife (technical college entrance qualification) and meet civil-service eligibility criteria under Rhineland-Palatinate law. In practice this means non-EU nationals face significant structural barriers, as civil-service appointment in Germany is generally restricted to EU/EEA citizens. There is no direct APS or IELTS/TOEFL requirement in the formal admissions documentation, because the recruiting authority, not the student, initiates enrolment.

Languages of instruction

German only. All programmes are taught exclusively in German; no English-medium programmes are available.

Campuses & locations

Campus Mayen

Single campus in Mayen, Mayen-Koblenz district, Rhineland-Palatinate. Houses both HöV and the Zentrale Verwaltungsschule (ZVS). Historic 1891 tuff-stone building.

Living in the city

Mayen is a small city of roughly 19,000 inhabitants in the Vulkaneifel region of Rhineland-Palatinate, approximately 20 km south-west of Koblenz. It is characterised by its volcanic basalt landscape, medieval old town with the Genovevaburg castle, and proximity to the Nürburgring and the Rhine Valley. Public transport connections to Koblenz are available by regional train.

Student life & support

The HöV campus in Mayen offers a library, cafeteria, student secretariat, psychosocial counselling (psychosoziale Beratung), support for students with disabilities, and a mentorship programme. Students have access to an eCampus digital learning platform and the SMAYL mobile app for study resources. Erasmus+ opportunities for international internship placements are available. Because students are civil-service trainees rather than conventional university students, campus social life is relatively compact compared to large research universities.

Accredited Programmes

Bachelor/Bakkalaureus