FAQs by Faculty

Current FSO

• All BA and MA WiWi students may take a maximum of 30 ECTS per semester abroad (equivalent to 5 courses of 6 ECTS each, or – for IBWL and IBA BA students with language accreditation only – 3 courses of 6 ECTS each plus a 12 ECTS exemption for Unicert II, excluding English). Exception for IBWL students with Unicert III language recognition: max. 30 ECTS (= 3 courses of 6 ECTS each + Unicert III exemption of 12 ECTS for English only). Exception for IBWL and IBA BA programmes with Unicert II language recognition (not English): max. 30 ECTS (= 3 courses of 6 ECTS each + exemption for Unicert II worth 12 ECTS)

• All BA and MA Economics students with a compulsory period abroad – must complete at least two recognised courses (12 ECTS) abroad.
• All BA and MA economics students without a compulsory period abroad – are encouraged to bring back at least 30 ECTS credits, but are not formally required to do so. However, to ensure that the period abroad is recorded on the degree certificate, students should complete one recognised course (6 ECTS) abroad.

Current FSO (for all BA and MA WiWi students)

• Generally 6 ECTS. However, courses worth at least 5 ECTS are recognised. If a course is worth fewer than 5 ECTS, several courses from the same subject area may be combined where appropriate.
• For example, two courses worth 3 ECTS each are combined and counted as one course worth 6 ECTS. Two courses worth 4 ECTS each can be counted as one course worth 6 ECTS, or three courses worth 4 ECTS each can be counted as one course worth 12 ECTS. Combining courses is only possible if the courses are credited within the same module group and there is a thematic connection with that module group.

Note: Under the American points system, 3 units correspond to 5 ECTS credit points. In some (few) EU countries, fewer than 5 ECTS credits are awarded per course. In such cases, please consult Torsten Glase before your period abroad to discuss combining two courses that correspond to the same specialisation into a single course. Please also indicate the combination in your Learning Agreement.

In principle, the adopted Guidelines for the Recognition of Foreign Academic Achievements and Examinations.

For BA students, courses taken abroad in the third year of study are generally recognised, provided they correspond to the Viadrina specialisation modules and do not differ significantly from them. Foundation modules cannot be recognised.

For MA students, recognition is primarily granted for courses from MA study courses or courses taken abroad from the fourth year of study onwards, provided they correspond to the Viadrina Master’s modules and do not differ significantly from them.

Students of Economics should discuss the eligibility of their course choices at the foreign university with Torsten Glase. You can find out how to arrange this on the following webpages.

The Learning Agreement, bearing Torsten Glase’s signature, confirms that you can have the selected course recognised within the relevant module group of your study course.

• On the websites of the partner universities.
  Please note that, just as at Viadrina, course lists are often not published until a few weeks or months before the start of the relevant semester. Use previous course lists as a guide, taking into account the semester in which the courses are offered. The range of courses on offer often remains similar.
• Ask former fellow students who have studied at your host university. You are welcome to contact us via email or use the Viadrina Students Abroad Facebook group. You’ll often find useful information in experience reports as well.

You can find further information on this in the section at the bottom of the following website on recognition.

At Viadrina, the conversion of marks for foreign academic achievements is carried out using the following conversion table.

Approx. 2–4 weeks after submitting all the documents required for recognition, you will receive a message informing you that your recognition application has been forwarded to the Examination Office. Your marks will be entered automatically into ViaCampus. You will receive an email containing your final recognition certificate.

The Transcript of Records is a certificate containing a list of all academic achievements completed whilst studying abroad. Upon completion of your period abroad, it is sent by the International Office of the partner university to the Division of International Affairs at Viadrina, or sometimes directly to the student. When it arrives at Viadrina, you will be notified via your Viadrina email. The Viadrina International Affairs division only accepts the original Transcript of Records, which must be sent directly to the division by the partner university (by post or digitally). Transcripts forwarded by students will not be accepted.

Current study regulations FSO

For the BA IBWL, proof of proficiency in the English module (Council of Europe level C1 / Unicert III) or a second foreign language (Council of Europe level B2 / Unicert II – not English) is deemed to have been met if, during your period of study abroad, you have successfully completed and provided evidence of modules totalling at least 18 ECTS in the relevant foreign language.
If you wish to be exempted from English C1 / Unicert III, you must have completed English B2 / Unicert II before applying for recognition. If, in addition to English B2 / Unicert II, you already hold a B2 / Unicert II in a second foreign language, the Foreign Language module is already fully completed and English C1 / Unicert III cannot be waived on the basis of the 18 ECTS credits from abroad. Furthermore, as a general rule, English B2/Unicert II cannot be exempted in favour of English C1/Unicert III alone.

For the BA IBA, the requirement for the Foreign Language module (Council of Europe level B2 / Unicert II)  is deemed to have been met if, during the period of study abroad, modules totalling at least 18 ECTS in the relevant foreign language (other than English) have been completed and documented.

For all other students, an exemption from the Foreign Language module is not possible.

Please note that exemption from the Foreign Language module does not result in the award of a language certificate, which may, however, be required for Master’s applications to universities.

Compulsory courses that must be completed as part of certain module groups within the Master’s and Bachelor’s study courses may be recognised if taken abroad. This requires a detailed assessment of the course content at the partner university. This ensures that the course meets the standards of the equivalent course at Viadrina. Please specify such an equivalence explicitly in the Learning Agreement. You must also submit a detailed course description showing that the course is equivalent to the one at Viadrina.
Please note!: Foundation courses from the Bachelor’s programme cannot be taken abroad. All foundation courses must be passed at Viadrina.

• Please submit your application for recognition to the Division of International Affairs.
• Following a preliminary formal review, it will be forwarded to the relevant examination board of the Faculty of Law for a decision.
• You will be informed once recognition has been granted and can then collect your certificate from the Division of International Affairs, either during the Office hours or Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 15:00 in AM 207.
• To have your recognised credits entered into viaCampus/HIS, please contact the relevant Examination Office.
• Once all the necessary documents have been submitted, processing may take up to 4 weeks.

• The Learning Agreement, or LA for short, lists the courses you wish to take during your semester abroad (Table A) and the possibility of these courses being recognised at a later date (Table B). In order to verify this, we require the course descriptions.
• The LA must be completed (“Study Programme at the Receiving Institution”) and signed by you before you leave for your period abroad. Once the possibilities for recognition of the courses taken abroad have been checked, the relevant faculty coordinator Prof. Dr Carmen Thiele. Your host university signs last.
• If there are any subsequent changes to your course selection, you must enter these in the learning agreement (“Changes to the learning agreement”). The changes will then be reviewed and signed by all parties.
• Whether digital or paper-based LAs are used depends on the host university.

• You should only submit the application for recognition of your credits earned abroad after your stay abroad. To do this, we require the course descriptions and the so-called “Transcript of Records” from your host university, which lists the credits earned and your marks.

• At Viadrina, the conversion of marks for foreign academic achievements is carried out using the following conversion table.
• Rechtswissenschaft (Law) (1st law examination [state examination] including ‘Bachelor of Laws’):
  For recognition as a core or supplementary qualification (with proof of foreign language proficiency), ECTS credits and the mark are not taken into account, as they are irrelevant. ECTS credits may only be relevant in the context of the LLB.

• Please submit two applications: one for the Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in German and Polish Law, and the other for the Magister of Law.
• Courses that refer to Polish law in the relevant examination regulations and/or are marked with (PL/P) are recognised by the Collegium Polonicum (CP).
• If you have any questions regarding the recognition of these courses, please contact Ms Ewa Szleszyńska.
• If you are undertaking or have undertaken your semester abroad not through the European University Viadrina but through Adam Mickiewicz University, all administrative matters will be handled by Adam Mickiewicz University
• If you have any questions regarding recognition, please contact Ms Karolina Pełka-Gawlik.

Free attempt and extension of the registration deadline

1. The recognition of qualifications obtained abroad for Exemption from the entrance examination and extension of the registration deadline is carried out exclusively by the GJPA in accordance with Section 13 of the BbgJAO. The assessment takes place as part of the application for an exemption and an extension of the registration deadline. A separate, prior application for recognition by the GJPA is not usually required.
2. The work submitted to the GJPA for the exemption attempt or extension of the registration deadline cannot be recognised for your curriculum at Viadrina.

In order for your period of study abroad to be recognised within the Kuwi BA, in accordance with Section 8 of the Programme-Specific Regulations for the Bachelor of Arts in Social and Cultural Sciences (22 October 2014), at least one module must be completed abroad which is recognised at Viadrina as being worth 6 ECTS credits.

No. However, it may be possible to be upgraded in a language if you have achieved a certain number of academic credits in that language. Please discuss this individually with the Viadrina Language Centre.

BA Kuwi and RuP students should discuss the recognition of foreign courses with Ms Klück in advance: either during the consultation hours or by email.

BA CuSO students should discuss the recognition of their credits with Prof. Richter (buero-nrichter@europa-uni.de).

On the websites of the respective universities. Please note that, as at Viadrina, the course lists are not published until a few weeks before the start of the semester. To begin with, please refer to the course lists from previous semesters.

Please submit the following documents by email:

1. The completed Form B.
2. Your Transcript of Records (your marks at the partner university). In addition, if applicable, the term paper, if one was written.
3. Proof of your level of study or year of study, and the number of weekly contact hours per semester.
4. Please send the documents completed on a computer to outgoing@europa-uni.de. First, the Division of International Affairs will carry out a formal review, followed by a substantive review by the examination board of the Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences. As soon as this is complete, you will be contacted directly and we will forward the final credit transfer to the Examination Office, where the marks will be recorded; this may take several weeks.

All course modules may be recognised as specialisations provided that the course taken abroad

• is classified as being at least in the second year of study. Russia is an exception. There, a course must be classified as being at least in the third year of study in order for it to be recognised here as an advanced module.
• it can be demonstrated that the course is not suitable for first-year students. This can be demonstrated by a confirmation from the lecturer or by a copy of the study plan or module description from the partner university, provided that this contains relevant information.

In order for a specialisation module worth 9 ECTS to be recognised, it must fulfil the same requirements abroad as it does at Viadrina (see Subject-Specific Regulations for the BA in Social and Cultural Sciences, §8): one term paper or several essays with a total length of 48,000–60,000 characters (including spaces, excluding footnotes) of plain text, i.e. approximately 20–25 pages. A standard page comprises around 2,400 characters including spaces. The character and page specifications refer to the main text you have written, excluding the cover page, table of contents and bibliography.

Credits from Master’s degree programmes abroad may, in principle, be recognised as a BA specialisation.

The Transcript of Records is a document containing a list of all academic achievements completed whilst studying abroad. Once the semester abroad has ended, it is sent by the International Office of the partner university to the Division of International Affairs at Viadrina, or sometimes directly to the student(s).
As soon as it arrives at Viadrina, you will be notified by email and can collect the Transcript of Records from AM 207.

Recognition of foreign academic achievements within the framework of the BA Kuwi and BA RuP is handled by:

Nicole Klück
Audimax, AM 209
Tel +49 335 5534-2602
outgoing@europa-uni.de

Please note: Please observe the office hours.

Recognition of foreign academic achievements within the framework of the BA CuSO is handled by:

Nicole Richter
Collegium Polonicum (CP)
CP 132
Tel +49 335 5534 16 6845
buero-nrichter@europa-uni.de

• Academic credits from higher education institutions: The external academic credits must have been obtained at a higher education institution authorised to award doctorates (not at a college or similar institution; however, there are exceptions to this, such as our partner universities).
• Academic credits compatible with cultural studies: External academic credits must be from the range of subjects taught at the Faculty of Cultural Studies at Viadrina or be closely related to cultural studies.
• Minimum of 2 semester hours per week: A course must comprise at least 2 SWS of contact time (or a total of 22.5 hours) in order to be recognised.
• Equivalent level of study: External academic achievements must be from courses that correspond to the level at Viadrina (see next question).

• For the Bachelor’s introductory stage, you can have any modules recognised that meet the four criteria listed above.

• If you wish to have a course recognised as part of your Bachelor’s specialisation, the course must be at an advanced level. A course is generally considered to be at an advanced level from the second year of study onwards. For the advanced level of study, proof must be provided: for example, via a Transcript of Records, an extract from the course catalog or the study programme structure of the foreign university showing the course’s classification, or a written confirmation from the lecturer. In exceptional cases, it is also possible to combine two introductory courses to count towards an advanced-level certificate.

The conversion of marks for courses taken abroad is carried out using the following conversion table.

No.

International students (= students from outside the German education system: students who did not obtain their further education admissions certificate in Germany) should not return to their home country. In certain exceptional cases, however, it is possible to complete your studies abroad in your home country. Please enquire with the relevant exchange programme coordinators.

No, neither German nor non-German students can, as a general rule, undertake a period of study abroad at the Collegium Polonicum or in Słubice.

Yes, that is generally possible. You can also take courses at the Faculty of Law and/or the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, provided the partner university agrees. These courses can then be recognised in Module 4, but, like the other courses, should be agreed upon in advance.

No. You can sit exams abroad, even if you have already sat five exams at Viadrina.

As there is no compulsory study abroad requirement for either the MES or the MASS programmes, you do not need to complete any modules abroad. However, if you are awarded a scholarship such as Erasmus+ or PROMOS, you must complete at least one module abroad which counts towards 6 ECTS credits at Viadrina. Otherwise, the scholarship must be repaid in full.

No. However, it may be possible to be upgraded in a language if you have achieved a certain number of academic credits in that language. Please discuss this individually with the Viadrina Language Centre.

On the websites of the respective universities. Please note that, as is the case at Viadrina, course lists are often not published until a few weeks before the start of the semester. In this case, please refer initially to the course lists from previous semesters.

In general, the awarding of ECTS credits is governed by the relevant examination regulations at Viadrina.

For a course to be recognised as worth 9 ECTS credits, it must meet the same requirements abroad as it does at Viadrina. This means a term paper with a total length of 20–25 pages.

The Transcript of Records is a document containing a list of all academic achievements completed abroad. Once the semester abroad has ended, it is sent by the International Office of the partner university to the Division of International Affairs at Viadrina, or sometimes directly to the student(s).
As soon as it arrives at Viadrina, you will be notified by email and can collect the Transcript of Records from AM 207.

Applications for the recognition of foreign academic achievements under the MES and MASS programmes should be submitted to the Division of International Affairs, attention:

Claudia Casiano
Audimax, AM 206
Tel +49 335 5534-2863
outgoing@europa-uni.de

Please note: Please observe the office hours.

• Academic credits from higher education institutions: The external academic credits must have been obtained at a higher education institution authorised to award doctorates (not at a college or similar institution; however, there are exceptions to this, such as our partner universities).
• Subject-compatible academic credits: External academic credits must be from the range of subjects offered within the relevant study course (MASS or MES).
• Minimum of 2 semester hours per week: A course must comprise at least 2 SWS of contact time (or a total of 22.5 hours) in order to be recognised.
• Equivalent level of study: External academic achievements must be from courses that correspond to the level at Viadrina (see next question).

• In principle, you can have all Master’s-level modules that meet the four criteria listed above recognised. You must be able to provide evidence of the level.
• In the case of four- or five-year Bachelor’s programmes, courses from the fourth or fifth year of study may also be recognised as Master’s courses, subject to prior agreement.
• Proof of the level of study must be provided: e.g. by means of a Transcript of Records, an extract from the course catalog or the degree structure of the foreign university showing the course’s classification, or a written confirmation from the lecturer.

The conversion of marks for courses taken abroad is carried out using the following conversion table.

In the MES, it is generally not possible to recognise external achievements in the core modules 1–4.