Exchange Students

Advising

The International Office is delighted that you have decided to complete a part of your studies with an exchange scholarship or a study program at the University of Freiburg.

As you prepare for your stay abroad, you will of course be thinking about what you need to take care of before you leave and what is awaiting you here in Freiburg. We would be happy to help you in the organization process and look forward to advising you before and after your arrival in Freiburg.

Contact:

Dunja Groß
International Office
Rektoratsgebäude, Fahnenbergplatz
Ground Floor, Room 00 028a
Friedrichstraße 39
79085 Freiburg i. Br.

Tel.: ++49 (0)761 203-4373
Fax: ++49 (0)761 203-4377
E-Mail: dunja.gross@io.uni-freiburg.de

Office Hours:
Mon., Tues., and Thurs. from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m.
Wed. from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

UNIKOS (Studierende betreuen Studierende)
International Office
Fahnenbergplatz
79085 Freiburg i.Br.

E-Mail: unikos@verwaltung.uni-freiburg.de

Before you arrive in Freiburg, make sure to file an application for admission and apply for a room for your stay in Freiburg.

Application for Admission

Your Application Form for Exchange Students [PDF 359KB] must be countersigned by the exchange coordinator at your home university. Upon submission of this application, you will be admitted to short-term studies. Only in exceptional cases can this short-term admission status be extended for longer than the semester or year for which it was granted. However, it is possible to apply for admission to full-time studies if you wish to earn a degree at the University of Freiburg after the end of your exchange studies. In order to do this, you must go through the usual application procedure and fulfill all of the required prerequisites (e.g., language test).

Short-term students may register for courses and earn course certificates or credit points in the same way as regular students. However, they may only take intermediate and final examinations after having been granted admission to full-time studies.

Your application for admission should indicate the exact dates on which you intend to arrive in and depart from Freiburg, especially if you intend to stay for less than two semesters. This is also important for your application for a room at a student dormitory.

The applicant is responsible for being informed as to regulations concerning the transfer of credit points to his or her home university. There are no special forms for credit transfer at the University of Freiburg, but the university will issue transcripts upon request (including credits according to the European Credit Transfer System - ECTS).

If your department at your home university has an exchange agreement with the corresponding department in Freiburg, you do not need to submit evidence of your coursework in this field of study to the University of Freiburg. If you wish to apply to complete a particular project at the University of Freiburg or take courses in several departments, you must submit a copy or authenticated summary of your previous academic work. This is especially important if you wish to apply for graduate courses (stage II studies), which require basic knowledge in the field of study in question.

Visas

After the University of Freiburg has received your application for admission, you will receive a letter of acceptance. You will need this letter of acceptance in order to apply for a visa for study purposes (residency permit for study purposes) at the German Embassy or the German Consulate in your native country. Citizens of EU countries as well as of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the USA do not need a visa to enter Germany. Instead, citizens of these countries must apply for a residency permit upon arrival at the immigration office in Freiburg or in the city in which they reside in Germany.

In no case should you enter Germany as a tourist! A tourist visa cannot be changed into a visa for study purposes after your arrival in Germany.

Applying for a Room

The International Office provides rooms for exchange students at one of the student dormitories upon request.

In order to apply for a room at a student dormitory, please send the Housing Application for Exchange Students [PDF 414KB] (not ERASMUS) to the International Office, Fahnenbergplatz, 79085 Freiburg. Please note that the application deadline is May 15th for the winter semester and October 30th for the summer semester.

Registration

All applicants who are admitted to studies will be notified as to the dates of the registration period [DE PDF 75KB] and the documents they need to bring with them. The registration periods are usually in the first half of October (for the winter semester) and April (for the summer semester). The exact dates are included in the letter of acceptance. However, it is often necessary to arrive in Freiburg earlier because the preparatory courses for the German Language Test (DSH) take place in March and in September and because it might take time to find a room or an apartment.

Before you can register, you must go to the Resident Registration Office to register yourself as a resident as well as to the Immigration Office of the City of Freiburg in order to receive a resideny permit. EU citizens (but not citizens of EEA countries) only need to go to the Resident Registration Office, which will issue a certificate confirming your right of residence in Germany as an EU citizen.

If you live outside of the city limits of Freiburg, you must register as a resident with the municipal authorities (town hall) of the town in which you live. In this case, your residency permit will be issued by the district administrative office of the district in which this town is located. For towns in the greater Freiburg area, this is generally the immigration office of the district administrative office of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald.

In order to register, you must also submit a certificate providing evidence of health and nursing care insurance coverage. You may request this certificate from your health insurance agency.

Students who acquire their own health insurance in accordance with international health insurance agreements or are covered internationally on a family health insurance plan in their native country are exempt from the health insurance requirement. Up to now, such students generally had to apply for an exemption by filling out form E128. However, this form is no longer valid. It was replaced by the „European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)“ on Juni 1st, 2004 (alternatively it is possible to submit form E111). For citizens of several countries outside of the EU and the EEA there are special forms for providing evidence of foreign health insurance coverage.

The validity of foreign health insurance plans in Germany must be confirmed by a public health insurance agency in Germany on the basis of the EHIC (or form E111) or a special form for countries outside of the EU and the EEA. Public health insurance agencies are open all day Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, some health insurance agencies are open only in the morning.

Exchange students do not have to pay the tuition fee (Studiengebühren) or the administrative fee (Verwaltungsgebühr). But as all students, you have to pay the student fee for using services of the Studentenwerk. Therefore  you must submit a receipt to prove that you have paid your 46.00 euros in student fees (entitles you to take advantage of all services offered by the Office of Student Services: cafeterias; accident, personal liability, bicycle, and cloak room theft insurance; social and psychotherapeutic advising; day care; credit bank; job search service) and 19.00 euros for the initial contribution for the semesterticket.

During the registration period, you may pay these fees (a total of 65.00 euros) directly at the university cashier’s office in the administrative building (Fahnenbergplatz, 1st floor, room 01008). Before or after the registration period you cannot pay the fees at the cashier’s office. Instead, you must transfer the sum to the following account: Baden-Württembergische Bank, Acct. No. 4407334400, Bank Code No. 680 200 20. Please indicate the semester the fees are intended for on the bank transfer.

Language Courses

Most courses at the University of Freiburg are held in German. Only a handful of courses are offered in English. If you want to improve your German before starting your studies, you have the opportunity to take German courses at the universities Language Teaching Center in September or March. In addition, you can also improve your German in the international summer courses in August. For more information on these courses, visit www.sli.uni-freiburg.de/ or send a message to sprachkurse@sli.uni-freiburg.de. The Language Teaching Center also offers language courses for international program students during the semester at no extra charge.

Transcript

Official Transcript of Record

Most international students require an official transcript of record for their home institution to document their academic performance at Freiburg University.

ERASMUS students: Please contact your ERASMUS-study advisor.
AYF, CYF, UMass, IES, and Colgate students: Please contact your resident director.
All other students: Please follow the procedure outlined below.

1. Explain your situation to your teachers and professors (exchange student, transcript needed before departure…) and request in a timely manner they issue you a Schein as quickly as feasible. If necessary (and possible), ask them to provide an English translation of the course/seminar/lecture title.
2. Download and complete the transcript form [PDF, 86KB]

3. Come to the International Office during office hours with the Schein(e) and a printed transcript form in hand. We will check and certify the transcript.

Address:
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
International Office
(room: 007, ground floor)
Fahnenbergplatz
D-79085 Freiburg

Office Hours:
Wed: from 1:30  to 3:30 p.m.
Thurs: from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m.

Important Dates

See Dates and Deadlines of the University of Freiburg

Downloads

• Application Form for Exchange Students [PDF 359KB]
• Notes to Be Read with Application Form for Exchange Students [PDF 452KB]
• Anmeldung zur Einführungsveranstaltung mit Stundenplan (DOC [208KB], PDF [58KB])
• Housing Application for Exchange Students [PDF 414KB]
• Application Form Baden-Württemberg-Scholarship Program [PDF 364KB]
• Baden-Württemberg-Scholarship Program [PDF 30KB]
• DAAD-Sprachzeugnis [PDF, 52KB]
• Transcript [PDF, 56KB]
• Notes to Be Read with Transcript [DE PDF 89KB]