How to organize your studies: Departments of Public Administration, Law and Security Management

All exchange students are enrolled as Bachelor-students. No English-taught-Master-level courses are offered.

German language courses

Exchange students can take part in:

• a free-of-charge two-week German Intensive Language Course (3 ECTS) before the start of the regular semester; a certificate will be issued upon successful completion of the course (min. 80% attendance and passed exam)
• given compatibility with the time table: an optional Business German language course (5 ECTS) during the semester at different levels

Winter Semester

Nomination deadline for partner universities
March 1 – April 15

Application deadline for nominated students
April 1 – May 31

Summer Semester

Nomination deadline for partner universities
August 1 – October 15

Application deadline for nominated students
September 15 – October 31

We’re delighted that you have made the decision to study abroad at HWR Berlin. Please note the following information on the application process:

1. Register online on our Mobility Online platform. You will receive the link after your home university has nominated you in our Mobility Online database. It is unfortunately not possible to register without being nominated by your university.
    
2. As soon as you receive the email from us, please apply with your completed documents by the application deadline in Mobility Online (by 31st October for the summer semester and by 31st May for the winter semester).
   
   You must upload the following documents (this may vary depending on the department for which you have been nominated):
   -    Transcript of records (mandatory)
   -    Passport photograph (optional)
   -    Copy of EHIC card (Erasmus students only)
    
3. As soon as you have uploaded all your documents and completed the application, the application will be reviewed by us. You will receive a reply concerning your status and your acceptance letter online about 2 - 4 weeks after admission.
    
4. You will receive all further information on the welcome period, course enrolment and semester fees by email after the application process has been completed. You are also welcome to have a look at the relevant information under “Organisation of Studies” or to contact the International Office at HWR Berlin with general questions.

Students with EU citizenship can easily enter the country on a Schengen visa. If you are a citizen of a non-EU country, please contact the German Embassy in your country for information on entry regulations to Germany. Appointments at the embassy should be arranged in good time to ensure a problem-free entry and a punctual start of the semester. Please note: the International Office has no influence on the processing of visa applications!

All exchange students must have health insurance to be enrolled at a university in Germany. For this you need German statutory health insurance. If you come to Germany with private health insurance, you must obtain a confirmation from a German health insurance company stating you are exempt from your obligation to possess statutory health insurance.

Students at HWR Berlin do not live on-campus in the manner you might be familiar with from your home university. The university has only a very limited number of halls of residence distributed throughout the city. It is quite normal for journey times around the large capital to take up to 60 minutes. These must be planned for. The application for a dorm room is linked to your application in Mobility Online. Should you receive accommodation, we will contact you in good time. Since the number of places is limited we recommend all students look concurrently for private accommodation.

The semester for exchange students begins in September or March with a Welcome Period. Students have the opportunity to arrive before the actual start of the semester and to take advantage of the HWR Berlin's wide range of activities on offer. For starters, there is an intensive German course organised and run by the language centre at HWR Berlin in cooperation with TU Berlin. This is great preparation and means students can get to know other exchange students before the semester gets going. In addition, the International Office organises a Buddy Programme each semester. German students help exchange students on a voluntary basis so that they can get acclimatised to HWR Berlin’s structures as well as to everyday life in the capital.

The Buddy Programme is very popular among students and ensures a rich international exchange experience. It not only helps exchange students, but also offers German students who wish to study at foreign universities the opportunity to make their first contacts in the country of their choice. Furthermore, numerous activities take place in the Welcome Period. These are offered by the International Office and give students a great cultural start to their exchange semesters.

HWR Berlin offer various funding opportunities. However, these are subject to certain bilateral agreements between HWR Berlin and its partner universities. Please check at your International Office whether your university is one of the partner universities which has such an agreement with HWR Berlin. If your home university is one of them, it can nominate you for a scholarship. Unfortunately, independent applications for HWR Berlin scholarships are not possible. Among other things, the following funding opportunities exist:

• Erasmus+ Internationale Dimension,
• various DAAD programmes,
• UAS7 and travel grants (especially for North America)

If your university does not have a scholarship agreement with our university, you can also apply for a scholarship yourself. We recommend the following page of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). Here you can find an excellent overview of scholarship programmes available to international students:

Overview of scholarship programmes