Interesting Facts about Studying with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses
This website provides a wealth of information, facts and figures on the subject of studying with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Further information is linked. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, suggestions or requests!
Facts and Figures
In recent years, students with disabilities and chronic illnesses have been asked about their study situation in various surveys. The most important results of the investigations can be found below. You can find the detailed examinations on the website of the Information and Advice Center for Studies and Disability (IBS) of the German Student Union.
21st Social Survey by the German Student Union
The following are the most important results of the 21st Social Survey (2016) by the German Student Union. This summarizes the health impairments and the associated study difficulties. The entire study and previous studies can be found on the official webpage of the Social Survey and at IBS.
More and more students state that physical, mental or sensory impairments make their studies more difficult.
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11% of all students state one or more study-related impairments. This means an increase of 57% compared to 2012 (2012: 7%). The absolute numbers have almost doubled (2016: 264,000 students, 2012: 137,000 students).
- 6% of all students state that their impairments have a strong or very strong impact on their studies. In 2012 it was only 1.8%. In relation to the group of students with disabilities, the proportion of students with (very) severe study difficulties has more than doubled compared to 2012 (2016: 57%, 2012: 27%).
- 55% of students with disabilities state that they have a mental illness, making them the largest group in 2016 (among the study-relevant disabilities; increase of 13% compared to 2012 with 42%).
- Students with a mental illness that affects their studies indicate that this affects their studies, 63% of them state that they have a (very) severe study difficulty.
Students with disabilities compared to their fellow students ...
- interrupt their studies much more often (and for longer) (2016: 32% vs. 13%; 2012: 27% vs. 8%)
- change courses more often (2016: 31% vs. 21%; 2012: 28% vs. 16%) or the university (2016: 22% vs. 16%; 2012: as in 2016)
- often study longer and have completed more than 10 university semesters (2016: 36%, 2012: 28% vs. 2016: 22%, 2012: 18% without impairment with more than 10 HS)
- see the financing of their livelihood as secure less often (2016: 49% vs. 70%; 2012: 53% vs. 70%).