Press Release 75/2026
Summary of the Application Phase for the Country Doctor Quota
All 32 study places for the 2025/26 year are filled
For the sixth time, many young people have applied for a place to study human medicine through the country doctor quota in order to work as a country doctor in Saarland in the future.
“I am pleased that, despite the ongoing nationwide expansion of general practitioner support programs, we were able to fill all the study places for the next cohort in Saarland. This shows that our federal state is an attractive place to study and live for young people from all over Germany and that many young people from Saarland also want to settle long-term in rural areas,” explains Health Minister Magnus Jung.
Of the students in the next semester, 18 come from Saarland, four from Rhineland-Palatinate, three from Baden-Württemberg, two from Hesse, and one each from France, Berlin, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Among them are 14 men and 18 women.
In April of this year, the number of study places under the country doctor quota was increased from 7.8 percent (about 23 places) to 10.8 percent (about 32 places). The expansion is part of a long-term strategy by the state government to ensure medical care. Demand planning already shows today that there is a risk of undersupply in numerous regions, especially in rural areas.
Background
Since the winter semester 2020/2021, study places for human medicine at the University of Saarland have been allocated within the framework of the rural doctor quota. The number of study places to be allocated in this way is always based on the total number of places filled in the previous year (winter semester).
The quota reserves a portion of study places for applicants who commit contractually to working in general medical care in the underserved and at-risk rural regions of Saarland for ten years after completing their studies and specialist training in general medicine.
