Information for faculties and departments supporting exchange and visiting students

Deadline for application at Goethe-University: 15 May (for winter semester); 15 November (for summer semester)

Deadlines: 15 June (for winter semester); 15 December (for summer semester).

The link to the online application form (mobility software Mobility-Online) will be sent directly to the applicant (from the beginning of November on for winter semester; from the beginning of April on for summer semester). Students who have not received a link first need to contact their home university to clarify whether the nomination has already been sent to Goethe University. If so, please contact the Goethe University Global Office before the application deadline ends to receive the link.

Applicants will receive an (English) confirmation of receipt of the application from the Global Office.

Students can find information about the application process here. 

The application for accommodation in a student residence within the allotment for exchange students is part of the application process via the mobility software (Mobility-Online). The application form will automatically be available as a download during the application procedure starting May 16 (for winter semester), or November 16 (for summer semester). The reason for the time frame is that nominations are possible until 15 May/15 November. The application for accommodation in a student residence will only be available once the nomination procedure is completed, so that all applicants have an equal chance of applying for accommodation in a student residence.

The signed application for accommodation must be uploaded by the applicant during the application process (see information on the application procedure below). The distribution is first come, first served based on date and time (hh:mm:ss) of the upload. Admission as a guest student in the exchange program does not guarantee accommodation in a student residence.

Approximately in July (for winter semester), or January (for summer semester), we will  inform the applicants on whether they have received accommodation. The deposit (two monthly rents plus the first monthly rent for September or March) must be transferred to the account of the Studierendenwerk six weeks before the start of the rental period. The applicants will receive further information in the conditional confirmation. Single rooms are approx. €250/month, kitchen and bathroom is shared with other students in the hallway or in three-room flat-shares. Single apartments with own kitchen and bathroom cost approx. €350/month. The rooms/apartments are assigned by the student housing administration (Studierendenwerk) based on availability. Students can specify a preference in the application. Since the number of apartments is limited, we cannot guarantee the preferred accommodation. If students limit their choice to apartments, they limit their chances of receiving accommodation in the student residence.

The student housing administration of the Studierendenwerk only offers standardized rental contracts for exchange students: The standardized rental period starts on 01 September in the winter semester; 01 March in the summer semester. The end of the lease in the winter semester is 28 February; in the summer semester 31 August.

The accommodation is rented for the entire semester, early termination is excluded by the Studierendenwerk. Students are repeatedly informed about these conditions and have to accept them, otherwise accommodation in the allotment is not possible.

In the event of early termination of the stay, for example due to illness, students contact the Global Office so that we can negotiate with the student housing administration whether termination is possible in exceptional cases.

Students need to address applications for accommodation in a student residence of other administrator as the Studierendenwerk directly to the respective student residence administration, as the Global Office currently only has an allotment with the Studierendenwerk.

The allotment is currently limited to 105 accommodations/per year (85 rooms, 20 apartments). Students who have unfortunately not received accommodation need to find private accommodation on their own. The following link might be helpful in the search: https://www.wohnraum-gesucht.de/wohnraumangebot.html. (No liability is accepted for the contents of external links.) Here is the link to the information brochure ↗Finding a place to Live.

We will forward private offers to the guest students, such as sublets of students completing a semester abroad. Please understand that we cannot check these private offers for legitimacy.

Waiting list: 

Students who handed in a housing application, are automatically on the waiting list. If accommodation becomes available, e.g. because someone cancels their reservation, we will contact students on the waiting list via e-mail and offer them accommodation. On average, we have approx. ten cancellations per semester. Students are welcome to contact us to find out their number on the waiting list. This allows them to better assess whether they have a chance to receive accommodation.

We expect the applicants to inform us if they have found private accommodation, so that we can take them off the waiting list, so that when housing becomes available due to a cancellation, we may offer it to students on the waiting list quickly.

Students can find information on "Accommodation" here. 

At the beginning of August (for winter semester) or the beginning of February (for summer semester), applicants will receive admission as guest students (i.e., non-degree seeking student at Goethe University) via e-mail. The letter of admission contains all necessary information regarding enrollment.

Since third-country nationals may have to apply for a visa early on, we can prepare a preliminary letter of admission upon request. Of course, students need to have submitted their complete application, in order for us to be able to prepare a preliminary letter of admission.

Students need to inform themselves early on before the planned study period at the respective German consulate/embassy in their home country which entry and residence regulations apply to them. The processing/approval of visa applications can take up to two months. Dates for the application/submission of documents are often booked weeks in advance, so early planning of the necessary steps is essential. Students can find out which documents are required on the website of the respective German embassy/consulate. Please understand that we cannot provide legally binding information about visas/residence permits. This is the sole responsibility of the respective German embassy/consulate or Immigration Authority (Ausländerbehörde). In case of difficulties/problems in connection with the visa, we will of course support the applicants. Students can contact us directly with their concerns at any time so that we can support them.

Students can find information on "visa" here.

For third-country nationals residing in the EU for the purpose of studying, the eased mobility applies, provided that they have already been granted a residence permit in another EU Member State within the framework of the EU Directive 2016/801 (REST-Richtlinie).

If students wish to study at Goethe University under an exchange program and have already been issued a residence permit for studies in another EU member state, they can come to study at Goethe University without having to apply for a visa for Germany. In this case, they have to submit additional documents to Goethe University (incoming@uni-frankfurt.de). Then, Goethe University can apply for a confirmation for their stay here. Without this confirmation, they are not allowed to come to Germany for studies!

Mobility within the EU is facilitated under the following conditions (not valid for Great Britain, Ireland, and Denmark; students coming from these states have to apply for an entry visa with the German embassy when they want to study at Goethe University.)

• Studies in an EU member state with a residence permit of this EU member state for the purpose of studies
• Studies at Goethe University under an exchange program (ERASMUS, bilateral exchange program [e.g. direct exchange Charles University Prague], departmental exchange program)
• Studies at Goethe University for a maximum of 360 days
• A residence permit of an EU member state that is valid for the duration of studies at Goethe University (if necessary, the students have to extend the residence permit in due time before the mobility!)

Submission of the additional documents to Goethe University by

15 July (for winter term; earliest planned arrival: September)

15 January (for summer term; earliest planned arrival: March).

Note: The complete notification has to be made available to the National Contact Point (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) at latest 30 days before the planned entry into Germany. In order to avoid delays in their arrival, it is the student's responsibility to make sure that the Global Office of Goethe University receives the complete documents by the above stated deadline, in order for the Global Office of Goethe University to have enough processing time to forward the documents to the National Contact Point.

If the documents submitted are incomplete or submitted after the deadline, Goethe University will not be able to apply for a confirmation for the student's stay. In that case, they will not be permitted to come to Goethe University for studies! 

Documents to be submitted:

All documents needs to be submitted in PDF format to incoming@uni-frankfurt.de.

1. Copy of the residence title by the EU member state (issued for study purposes; validity for the duration of the stay at Goethe University)
2. Copy of the passport/replacement passport
3. Proof of participation in a program organized by the EU or other multilateral program entailing mobility and/or the agreement between the higher education institutions
4. Proof of financial resources in the amount of EUR 934/month
   E.g. current print out from the student's bank account or their parent's bank account; in case they receive an additional grant: letter of award from the scholarship donor.
   The proof needs to show that a continuous support is taking place and that the student has sufficient resources to cover the monthly costs while studying at Goethe University (approx. monthly allowance: EUR 934 (Bafög-Satz)
5. Health insurance certificate (copy of EHIC)
6. Admission letter
   Guest students receive the letter of admission approx. in February for summer term, in August for winter term. They may ask for a preliminary letter of admission after the Global Office has received the student's complete application form.

All documents, with the exception of the passport and the residence title, must be submitted in German. Where applicable, the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) can accept easily comprehensible documents in a foreign language, but decides whether the documents submitted meet the requirement.

Additional Information:

Federal Office for Migration and Refugees

Addresses of German Foreign Representation

Entry Requirements

The Learning Agreement should be sent directly to the departmental coordinator. After they have filled it in, it has to be sent to the students or their home university. Please note: The responsible person at the receiving institution listed in the Learning Agreement is the departmental coordinator at the faculty/department and not the Global Office! If guest students have selected courses outside the field of study agreed upon in the cooperation, please inform them that they independently need to contact the lecturer of the field of study outside the cooperation, in order to discuss if participation in courses is possible (e.g., Erasmus cooperation with the department of English and American Studies, student would like to attend courses at the department for German Literature and Didactic.) The Learning Agreement should be signed by the departmental coordinator of the ERASMUS cooperation.

German courses of the "Internationales Studien- und Sprachenzentrum (ISZ)" may be taken in addition to the field of study. ↗Information on the courses offered. Contact e-mail ISZ: deutsch-im-studium@uni-frankfurt.de.

In some cases, Learning Agreements must already be submitted to the sending institution when the course overview for the semester for which the students are applying is not yet online. Therefore, students should look at the current course overview for a general impression on courses offered. Changes to the original Learning Agreement can be made using the Changes to the original Learning Agreement for studies form.

Students can find information about the Learning Agreement here.

All necessary information regarding enrollment can be found in the letter of admission. In order to be enrolled, all guest students need to pay the ↗semester social contribution. The deadline for payment can be found in the letter of admission (usually: 31 August for winter semester; 28 February for summer semester). Cash or credit card payments of the semester social contribution at the University/Global Office are not possible. For the refund of the semester ticket, the regular refund grounds apply (see ↗application form Härtefonds). The statutes of the AStA (the Student Union) do not allow a refund for guest students on the grounds of their study abroad.

Students can find information regarding their enrollment here.

Guest students receive the Goethe-Card from the staff of the Global Office. The date and location for the pick up will be provided via e-mail. In cooperation the HRZ and Global Office issue the Goethe-Card and HRZ-Account for guest students as soon as possible. We advise guest students to arrive a few days before the start of the lecture period so that they may receive the card in time. If students arrive in Frankfurt only shortly before the start of the lecture period, we cannot guarantee the timely receipt of the Goethe-Card/HRZ login. It is not permitted to post the Goethe-Card/HRZ login to addresses outside Germany.

Students can find information about the Goethe-Card here.

As soon as the course overview is online, all guest students will receive an e-mail with the advise to contact the faculty/department directly via e-mail, if they have questions on course registrations. Since guest students may receive their HRZ-account only after arrival, they cannot register via platforms such as OLAT, LSF, etc. We kindly ask you to support the guest students in the course registration. Thank you.

Ideally, students should already discuss with the lecturers/departmental coordinators at the beginning of the semester,  what type of certificate they need (certificate of participation or completion). Some home university do not accept mere participation certificates, but only graded certificates or only courses that have been "passed". Early consultation on topics such as the type and form of work performed for a graded certificate is therefore important. It should also be clarified in advance how many credit points students need so that they can complete the appropriate course work. Since guest students do not pursue a degree at Goethe University , they are not registered in the examination administration. The credits earned are credited towards their studies at the home university. An individual consultation in advance is extremely important.

In order to support the university-wide cooperation, which enables students of Goethe University to complete semesters abroad, we ask the lecturers to contribute the additional effort in advising guest students, to facilitate and ultimately guarantee the recognition of credits received from Goethe University at the home university. We are happy to assist you in providing information, for example, you can send us information on course/examination registration specifically for guest students. As guest students usually cannot register via the usual platforms, the information on assignment (Belegung) in the LSF does not help. We may forward the information and can also inform the guest students about the necessary steps in our consultation hour.

Guest students who are writing their doctoral thesis during their stay need to find an academic supervisor independently. The reason for this is that doctoral candidates may also require certain documents (e.g., transcript of record, attendance certificate) at the end of the exchange. If they do library research at GU throughout the semester, without participating in courses and do not have an academic supervisor, who accompanies the research work, it is impossible to issue these documents at the end of the stay.

Guest students can take part in the German intensive language course for exchange students (DIA), which is free of charge. The registration takes place in connection with the application for admission as a guest student. The pre-semester course takes place four for weeks in September and three weeks in March. During the semester, students can take part in German courses during the semester. The courses are organized by the Internationales Studien- und Sprachenzentrum (ISZ). If you have any questions about the course content and the language level (e.g., A1.1), please contact the ISZ (deutsch-im-studium@uni-frankfurt.de). The course offer can be found ↗here.

Students can find information about the German courses here. 

Guest students can apply for an extension of the study period at the Global Office by the following deadlines:

• 31 December (extension for summer semester) or
• 30 June (extension for winter semester).

ERASMUS: Students should ask for the extension request form from the Global Office in due time.

Direct/Departmental Exchange Program: The following confirmations that an extension has been approved need to reach the Global Office (incoming@uni-frankfurt.de):

1. Confirmation of home institution (e-mail by Global Office or departmental coordinator of home institution is sufficient).
2. Confirmation of faculty/ department at Goethe University (e-mail by departmental coordinator or Global Office (Auslandsbüro) of the faculty is sufficient).

Freemover guest students need to present a letter of invitation from their academic supervisor confirming the extension of their period of study in order to extend their studies.

Scholarship holders (e.g. DAAD) registered as guest students need to make sure that the Global Office receives a letter of award for the extended study period.

The rental period of the student residence is according to the original admission/originally planned study period as a guest student for one or a maximum of two semesters so that subsequent exchange students can receive accommodation in the student residence. In exceptional cases, an extension may be made possible, if an extension of the study period has already been approved and the respective accommodation in the student residence has not yet been reassigned (i.e., before 01 June for winter semester or before 01 December for summer semester). Generally, exchange students are not entitled to an extension of the accommodation in the student residence, when they extend their study period.

Attention: Non-EU nationals studying in Germany must keep in mind their visa status. You are responsible to get an extension in time.

Students can find information on the topic of "extension" here.

The arrival will be confirmed by the Global Office upon enrollment. The end of the study period is the end of the lecture period, unless there is a confirmation from the lecturer that examinations took place after the end of the lecture period (e.g., informal e-mail to Incoming Team Global Office). The attested study period includes (German language course) + lecture period + exam period.

Students can find information on the certificate of attendance here. 

In the download section on the right you will find the template for guest students (Course Certificate for Temporary Students). Exchange students are not registered in the examination administration, as they are non-degree seeking students at Goethe University. The credits earned here are credited towards their studies at the home university. As proof of the achievements, a Transcript of Records is created for the home university. The Transcript of Records is issued either by the faculty/department or by the Global Office. Due to uncertainties in connection with the numerous different forms (Scheine) at the faculties/departments in the various degree programs guest students are often confused which one is the right one to fill out for them. Therefore, the Global Office has created the bilingual certificate template, please use this template for guest students. Thank you.

In order to avoid questions and problems with the issuance of the Transcript of Records, we ask you to make sure that the form is completely filled out. Thank you very much.

The Global Office does not assign ECTS/credit points (CP), this is the sole responsibility of the faculty or department.

Grades are listed in the transcript as indicated on the course certificate. Guest students do not pursue a degree at Goethe University. The credits earned here are credited towards their studies at the home university. To standardize the Transcript of Records, we ask you to indicate the grade in decimal number (for example 1.7), as the home universities are usually not familiar with grade points. The transcript contains an approximate grade conversion table containing the decimal scale.

If the Transcript of Records is to be issued by the Global Office, students must log into the mobility software (Mobility-Online) and complete the following steps in their work-flow (see explanation):

1. Enter the address of the office at the home university to which the Transcript of Records should be sent.

2. Upload all course certificates. Course certificates that are being sent directly from the faculty/department to the Global Office are uploaded in Mobility-Online by our staff. Students can access them as soon as the Transcript of Records steps have been activated in their work-flow. This happens in the week after the end of the semester.

3. Fill in the online form (questionnaire) with all courses (name, work performed, contact hours (SWS), ECTS, grade, etc.).

As soon as all these steps have been completed, we will automatically check the Transcript of Records and send it via e-mail to the home university. If the home university wishes, we can send two copies, sealed via postal mail.

After the students have completed all these steps it usually takes up to one week until the Global Office has checked and sent the Transcript of Records.

If the period of stay is two semesters, the Transcript of Records will be issued for both semesters at the end of the stay.

Usually, the students have a deadline for handing in the Transcript of Records at their home institution. Students should state this deadline when handing in the filled in course certificates so it does not come to delays and sanctions (e.g. recall of the scholarship through the home university) due to belated submission of the Transcript of Records.

In the faculties:

• Law
• Economics and Business
• Medicine

the Transcript of Records is issued by the International Office of the faculty. If there are any questions, please contact the International office of the respective faculty.

In the following study degrees the Transcript of Records is issued by the faculty/department. In case of questions please contact the faculty:

• Sport Science
• Psychology
• History
• Theater, Film and Media Studies
• IMACS
• Informatics
• Mathematics
• Human Geography
• Ethnology
• Cultural Anthropology
• Bio Sciences

If the faculty/department has issued a Transcript of Records, it does not have to be co-signed by the Global Office. It is sufficient if the transcript is signed either by the faculty or the Global Office.

In the download section on the right you can find a template that may be used by the faculty/department when issuing the Transcript of Records for guest students.

Students can find information about the Transcript of Records here.