FAQ for Outgoers

In the Bachelor’s programme as in the Master’s we normally recommend a stay abroad in the final year of the degree programme (fifth & sixth Bachelor semester, third & fourth Master’s semester).
Your stay abroad can, if necessary, be extended in order for you to write your thesis. If the degree programme starts in the summer semester or if you’re planning to study in the Southern hemisphere, it might be more sensible to schedule things differently.

Every study stay abroad improves your language skills. However, for success in your stay abroad, including in the practicalities of everyday living, you should make sure your proficiency in the language is adequate well in advance. Furthermore, good proficiency levels in the language have to be attested when you submit your application in the rule. The specific requirements are determined by the programme coordinator or the host university respectively.
Please remember to start learning the language in good time, and to make use of the courses offered by the Language Centre  to develop your skills in the language used in the host country or at the host university;
Use the opportunity to improve your language skills or even start learning a totally new language. Indeed, knowledge of languages which are less widespread in Western Europe (East European languages, Chinese, Japanese) increases the chances of getting an attractive place to study abroad or a scholarship; it is also a valuable additional qualification for later applications .

Good proficiency in English is taken for granted. Any deficits can be dealt with the course offer in Nürnberg and Erlangen.

In the Language-Duo-Programme of FAU or as a Buddy with us, you have the opportunity before your study abroad to meet international Students at FAU and practise the foreign language. More information on this: Language Skills/ Planning.

Please note in particular the so-called “Sprachstandstests” (free of charge)

It is almost never too late but rarely too early! As the application deadlines are in part a year and a half before the start of the study stay abroad, you should inform yourself right at the beginning of your studies about the various opportunities to study abroad.
Then 9-12 months before the study abroad period is to start, the concrete planning and application phase begins. More on the points to watch out for in the preparation phase: here,  “Allgemeines zum Auslandsstudium”. For those who make up their minds on the spur of the moment, they have the chance to find a place in the list: last minute study places .

It is normally rare to get full financing from one individual source of funding, so “mixed financing” becomes necessary. We recommend you start your preparations early so you don’t overlook any sources of funding. We have all the most important tips and info for you at this link here. Information on scholarships currently available is on our homepage as well as on Facebook.

The International Student Identity Card (ISIC) offers you a lot of benefits abroad. The Student Servies will issue the student I.D. card for a small fee (Nürnberg, Andreij-Sacharow-Platz 1). You have to bring a photo, your student card, and your I.D. card or passport with you.

Yes. Students can take leave of absence for 1 or 2 semesters for their studies abroad. In the case of a leave of absence, the relevant subject semester(important for the designated length of degree programme) will only be recorded after the accreditation of a minimum of 25 ECTS. However, in Nürnberg only resit examinations can be taken during a leave of absence semester. Detailed information on this can be found here.

It is possible, besides taking courses, to complete your final thesis abroad.
The basic question is:

If you want to write your final thesis there AND have it assessed, then you have to have it accredited per Learning Agreement, that means that the Chair which is responsible here for the subject accepts the achievement from the partner university.

or

you do the work there, you investigate, you do your research, and write at your host uni, but stay in touch with the Chair here and have your thesis recorded as a Wiso academic achievement.
It will then be evaluated as normal in line with Wiso-criteria. However, as a student writing your thesis you can, of course, seek advice and support abroad.

Ideally, both Chairs, here and at the host university would communicate with each other in respect of approach and methodology making joint supervision possible. This depends, at the end of the day, on the goodwill of those involved.

Generally speaking, participation in an exchange programme such as ERASMUS, for instance, allows for the accreditation of course achievements abroad. However, this must be arranged in detail with the programme coordinator or the respective subject coordinator per Learning Agreement before the start of your stay abroad no matter whether you are in an exchange programme or have organized your stay abroad yourself. More info on the topic Accreditation of Study Abroad Achievements at the School of Business and Economics Nürnberg here.

No, accreditation is not mandatory. It is your decision whether or not you have your achievements recorded in Nürnberg. Only in the ERASMUS programme 10 ECTS have to be taken as minimum.

From their 3rd subject semester on, Bachelor students have the possibility to have an internship or job as a working student accredited within the scope of the module “Study-related Internship”. This is an ungraded 5ECTS academic achievement which requires an internship of at least 8 weeks or the equivalent part-time as well as an internship report. This can also be done abroad. Detailed info here

Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg maintains contact with circa 500 universities all over the world. The exchange programmes which provide a study exchange abroad are ERASMUS, Direct Exchanges ( centralized and decentralized allocation), CREPUQ, ISAP, and others. Nürnberg students can also apply to many of the places which are allocated centrally.

The School of Business and Economics Nürnberg with over 140 partner universities has by far the largest offer of places within FAU in the areas of Business Studies, Economics, Business Information Systems, Socio- Economics, etc.

Detailed information on all programmes (countries, universities, application, achievements ) here:

The Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst (DAAD) homepage provides extensive information:
Study Programmes and Funding Options.
Furthermore, the DAAD has published “University prospectuses” in the W. Bertelsmann-Verlag (Publisher,Bielefeld) for various countries and regions. These and many other sources of information about studying abroad are available in the Infotheke of the International Relations Office (LG 2.231) and can be borrowed. The individual universities provide the information on regulations, the range of studies and deadlines on their own homepages. In your search for the right university, you’ll find the following also helpful
DAAD Bookmark Directory , the overview of universities worldwide as well as the Higher Education World Atlas and Brain Track.
Further information at Australia and New Zealand, Finland,
Great Britain, Letland, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Sweden, USA
We also have regular information events at the International Office Nürnberg and the RIA Erlangen to inform you about the opportunities to study in many different countries.  You should come!

Yes! You can organize going abroad individually as a “Freemover” – at any university in the world. If you choose this option of organizing your studying abroad yourself, you’ll need to do the research yourself, the financial costs will be higher/it will cost more (tuition fees!) and you will have to´overcome the bureaucratic hurdles yourself, but the advantages are that you will learn more about the country and its educational system and that you will have to demonstrate more self-reliance / organisational skills.
Free-movers can apply for scholarships for studying abroad -parallel to their application to study abroad-primarily to external organisations. further information

ERASMUS is the most important and most comprehensive European student exchange programme.
You’ll find the key facts here.
In addition to the 27 new and old EU-States, the EEA-States Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, Turkey and Switzerland are participants. The ERASMUS-Study-Programme is based on bilateral agreements between European universities, in which the parameters in individual(!) subjects are stipulated for the student and staff exchange. The number of exchange students per academic year and the duration of the exchange(in months) is agreed upon in the respective contract. The minimum is three months (= 90 calendar days), and the maximum is 12 months.

The advantages for students participating in the programme include:
– waiver of tuition fees at the partner university
– mobility allowance (circa €350-480 monthly)
– simple application procedure
– easier accreditation of academic achievements
– Support, culture and leisure programme

You’ll find an overview of the FAU ERASMUS-Partner universities here.
As well as participating in an ERASMUS-Study Programme, you can also do an Erasmus internship. Detailed information on this go here .

For all Wiso partner universities, you apply centrally to the International Relations Office in December. A maximum of 5 ERASMUS target universities can be selected.
The IO nominates the selected ERASMUS-students with their partner universities. Each university has its own registration procedures and deadlines. The specific ERASMUS-documents can usually be downloaded from the website of the partner university. Normally, registration is online, in individual cases, application documents are sent directly to the exchange students. The application process is described in detail here:

The selection criteria differ from Chair to Chair.
what is always important:

• academic grades
• letter of motivation
• language skills
• internships/ social engagement
• CV

The grade is the primal selection criterium.  However, the following applies: You must be able to prove your language skills are adequate, and you should not have exceeded the standard number of semesters for your degree course.

Normally this is not possible, unfortunately.However, if it is a question of related subjects in faculties in Erlangen (e.g. Humanities Fac. Tech.Fac), it could well make sense to submit an “external application”. You should check this personally with the programme coordinator in Erlangen.

YES! Students who have already participated in ERASMUS can apply (an important innovation since beg.2014!!). From now on, every student is entitled to 12 months per study cycle/phase (BA, MA, Ph.D.). A Bachelor student, or instance, do a 3 months’ internship in France + a 6 months’study exchange in Spain + a 3 months’study exchange in Ireland.

In some cases, students can be awarded the Erasmus status of label – student. Label-students are students study abroad within the ERASMUS-programme, but who however do not receive an ERASMUS financial grant. These students must fulfil all ERASMUS requirements (in contrast to 9.4.) and can benefit from all the advantages of the programme (e.g. exemption from tuition fees in the host country). In concrete terms, this means e.g. that a student can, after having spent one Erasmus sponsored semester at a host university, have an extension of an additional semester in which he/she will not be supported financially(because there are no Erasmus grants available) but will still be exempt from tuition fees.

As tuition fees in the USA are traditionally very high, most USA -applicants are dependent on a scholarship or a(partial) tuition fee waiver. At FAU our School of Business and Economics maintains a few exchange programmes with US universities which waive tuition fees.In addition, the Central Office for International Affairs centrally administers Direct Exchange Programme which is also open to students of other Schools. Alongside these programmes, the DAAD awards US scholarships for one year Fulbright Commission offers very prestigious USA-scholarships every year die Please note that the application deadlines for scholarships for countries such as the USA are mostly a year and a half before the start of a study stay! Other good addresses for advice on studying in the USA include VDAC, Amerikahaus Munich or Nuremberg.

Although tuition fees in Canada are lower than in the neighbouring USA, most applicants are dependent on a scholarship or a (partial) tuition fee waiver. FAU offers students of all subjects the chance to participate in CREPUQ exchange programme with the universities of the province of Québec. DAAD awards scholarships for Canada for one year is a further valuable source of info. It might also be worth taking a look at the page Studying in Canada for useful information.

FAU has established partnership contacts with a number of Australian universities, which however are limited to certain study/degree programmes. For students of all subjects, there are the following options: DAAD-Scholarships for Australia and New Zealand as well as BAföG for studying abroad. The organisations representing Australian and New Zealand universities in Germany provide free and excellent direct consultations and support : Institut Ranke Heinemann and GOstralia!. The eight most prestigious Australian universities („Group of Eight”) have their own Information Centre.
Universities places and internships in Southeast Asia are competently brokered by amongst others INAC and Asia Exchange.

Yes! Especially at Scandinavian, Finnish, Dutch, and various middle- and Southeast European universities you’ll normally find there are an extensive number of courses taught in English. In addition to the ERASMUS-Programme, it is possible, particularly in Northern Europe, to study for one or two semesters at many universities as a “visiting student” without paying tuition fees (exception: the very much sought after Swedish unis Stockholm, Lund, Göteborg, Uppsala). You’ll have to expect restrictions in subjects such as Business Administration or Medicine.

In most of the Middle and Eastern European states, even if you don’t speak the language of the country, you’ll usually find many universities have a course offering  in English, and in part also in German especially for international students. A study exchange in Poland, Chechia, Hungary or the Baltics etc. is, apart from the subject-specific aspects of the exchange, certainly an unforgettable cultural enrichment. This applies especially to attractive metropoles such as Prague, Budapest, Krakau, Bratislava or Riga, which are being chosen by more and more students from Western Europa and North America to study abroad. It shouldn’t be underestimated, further, that in the meantime many personnel managers value a study exchange in Eastern Europe as proof of creative curiosity and the courage to embrace the new. To make studying abroad in Eastern European more attractive for German students, there are many special programmes with higher scholarships than the Erasmus grants. Some of these are GoEast, Bayhost und GFPS.