Study Abroad (ourgoing)
Integrated study abroad, internship abroad or a double degree programme right away?
Regardless of whether a study abroad programme is compulsory according to your degree programme or whether you want to integrate it voluntarily into your studies - it should not interrupt or prolong your studies at the University of Bamberg. At the Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics, and Business Administration we have a great interest in offering students international mobility during their studies. However, the smooth integration of such a stay abroad can only succeed if it is taken into account from the very beginning when planning your studies.
Basically, there are four possibilities to go abroad as a student of our faculty:
- With some partner universities, the University of Bamberg offers double degree programmes. You can find out which programs are currently offered on the double degree pages.
- The programs are fully integrated and lead to several degrees within the standard period of study.
- For many of these programs you will also receive funding from the International Office.
- For some programs you have to apply before you start your studies, others are also open to students who are already enrolled.
- Many partner universities offer places for SoWi-Students, for more information check the homepage of the international office.
- You apply at the Univertisy of Bamberg / with the International Office, independent applications at these universities are usually not possible.
- Tuition fees are usually waived, if the university, that you applied for, is also an Erasmus partner, the possibility of an Erasmus grant is automatically checked.
- There are self-paying programs for which special conditions have been negotiated.
- All universities (except the partner universities) are, in principle, eligible.
- You apply, independently, directly at the respective university.
- Usually, you have to pay the regular tuition fees of the respective university.
- Students look for an internship abroad on their own.
- There are numerous possibilities to support internships abroad financially.
- The International Office assists with funding of the internship.
Plan a stay abroad period
While an internship abroad can be integrated relatively flexibly, e.g. also in the lecture-free period, a study abroad must be planned on the long term and can only be started in the respective winter semester. You will find information on how to apply to a partner university as well as the current application deadline for partner universities can be found on the website of the International Office.
It usually takes at least one year from the application to the departure. Timely planning is therefore very important. We recommend all interested students an initial consultation at the International Office, where you can learn in detail about the application requirements, the application process as well as the partner universities. Current dates can be found in the news ot the internationl office.
In addition to the application, it is very important to plan the study abroad from an academic point of view and to take the study abroad period into consideration, when planning your study programme. An important tool, for integrating your study abroad, is the the recognition of the "foreign" credits in Bamberg. There are various possibilities how this works. Many study programmes (B. Sc. IBWL(72.8 KB, 1 page), B. Sc. EES) have so called Mobility Windows, which facilitate the recognition of credits from abroad. For exceeding credits, students need an equivalence check for each course to recognise foreign credits.
For students planning to study abroad, we recommend to reserve rather general subjects for the study abroad period. This increases the likelihood of finding courses with equivalent content at the partner university.
It is also very important to have the necessary level in the local language (or English) before going abroad. The language is a key qualification that is necessary to have access to the culture and everyday life and thus to build up intercultural competence. In addition, it is of course a lot of fun to grow into an initially foreign society. We recommend that all students who are planning a stay abroad familiarise themselves with the local language from the first semester onwards. The university's language centre is a good first point of contact!
In terms of internationalisation, an integrated study abroad programme is toped by a double degree programme, in which you finish your studies with a degree from the University of Bamberg together with a degree from the foreign partner university. In that case, you do not enrol as a guest student at the partner university, but as a regular student. Coordinators at both universities supervise the academic content and advice the students during their stay at the host university. You can start most double degree programmes only in the first semester, so you have to pay even more attention to the application deadlines and admission requirements and you have inform yourself in good time.
Recognition of foreign study achievements
You can recognize courses that you have done abroad in accordance with the general provisions for recognition (in German only) and thosE specified in the study and examination regulations (in German only) in Bamberg. If partial examinations are planned for modules, these can also be credited. There are some requirements for this, which you should take care of early on.
- Before you start studying abroad (and after you know for sure where you study!), you should organize the recognition agreements. You have to contact the persons, who are responsible for the modules in Bamberg, which shall be replaced by foreign corses.
- It is important to first identify equivalent courses in terms of content which can then be replaced by the foreign course.
- You will usually find information about the documents that you need to provide on the homepages of the chairs.
- If the equivalence test is successful, you can be sure that the University of Bamberg will recognize the courses you attend abroad for your studies.
If your degree programme specifies a maximum number of ECTS credits that can be earned through foreign achievements, there is no limitation to individual subjects. If your study programme has a Mobility Window, the equivalence test is not required under certain circumstances. Please refer to the information provided by the examination board (in German only) responsible for you.
During the stay abroad
A completed Learning Agreement (collection of all your recognition agreements with the chairs) gives you the security of later recognition at the University of Bamberg on complete of the agreed course work and examinations.
Changes may occur during your studies abroad: Planned courses do not take place or are not accessible to you. Maybe other courses are more suitable for your studies. In these cases, you must consult with the respective subject representatives during your stay abroad in order to coordinate changes to the existing learning agreement.
After you have completed your examinations, you must have a Transcript of Records issued by the foreign host university.
After the stay abroad
After your return, you must have your foreign study achievements recognized and credited. To do this, you will need the form "Antrag auf Anrechnung von Studien- und Teilprüfungsleistungen" (Application for Recognition of Study and Partial Examination Achievements), which is valid for your course of study. With this form, the subject representatives confirm the equivalence of the examination achievements. For recognition, you then submit the original together with the foreign certificates of achievement to the examination board.
The conversion of your grades obtained abroad will be converted into ECTS points by the examination board and then forwarded to the examination office.
Information and forms of the examination boards:
Study abroad FAQ´s
For studying abroad it is important that you inform yourself and apply at an early stage! The initiative has to come from you. You have to plan up to one year in advance for the preparation.
If possible, a one-year stay abroad is recommended. In that way, you can immerse yourself in the society and everyday world of the host country and acquire a key qualification that is highly valued in business practice: intercultural competence.
In the case of Bachelor's degree programs, a stay in the 5th/6th or 7th/8th semester is recommended. For Master's programs, the 3rd/4th semester is available for this purpose.
Studying abroad requires a certain level of language skills, not only to be able to follow and successfully complete courses, but also to be able to communicate in the host country.
For studies in Spanish, Italian or French as well as in English-speaking countries, appropriate language skills are a big advantage. However, if you go to a university in Scandinavia, Poland or Hungary, for example, you will not necessarily have a command of the local language, but might want to learn it first. In the decision-making phase, attention should then be paid to whether courses in English are offered and how daily life functions with English.
When applying for an exchange programme at the University of Bamberg, you must prove that you have sufficient language skills. The Language Center offers a variety of language courses, including several business foreign languages. Both the International Office and the Language Center will be happy to help you with any questions!
For your study abroad you usually apply for a holiday semester at the University of Bamberg. You will find regulations for upgrading as well as the upper limits for the recognition of achievements in the Study and examination regulations of the individual study programmes.
If foreign academic achievements are recognized or credited, the number of semesters might be increased accordingly.
You can apply for a holiday semester via the Registrar's Office. Please consult the hompage for further information
The University of Bamberg has agreed on specific exchange programmes with partner universities. These usually also include agreements on the waiving of tuition fees, the provision or arrangement of accommodation, supervision at the partner host school, etc.
The international office coordinates the exchange programmes, with the partner universities inculding the application process. It does guide students through the entire application process and takes over a lot of the adimistrative work in the context of the application.
In principle, however, you can study abroad at any foreign university, even if it is not a partner university. In that case, you will have to organize your study abroad yourself.
There are various funding options for your study abroad programme, with some funding tied to specific regions. The International Office will advise you on the individual Funding options.