Details on the recognition of foreign academic credits by Faculty

As a student of economics, you should discuss the eligibility of your course choices at the foreign university with Torsten Glase. To do this, please have the course descriptions for the courses at the foreign university to hand, along with the desired module group (specialisation) into which you wish to have the courses recognised.

The following options are available:

• If you are spending time in another European country through the Erasmus+ programme, please complete the Digital Learning Agreement (DiLA), which you can find in the downloads section. Once completed, it will be automatically forwarded to us. After the transferability of the courses has been checked and, if necessary, discussed with you and adjusted, we will forward the DiLA to the partner university. You can view the processing status at any time on the DiLA portal. In the unlikely event that the partner university does not accept this digital version of the DiLA after it has been completed, the (old) paper-based Learning Agreement is available; you can find this in the download section under the Erasmus+ programme. Once your stay has begun, you will no longer be able to switch from the paper version to the DiLA.
• For a stay outside Europe, please complete the Learning Agreement (for verification of credit transferability), which you can find in the downloads section under ‘Non-EU Programmes’, and send it by email (processing time approx. 2–4 weeks).

Please note: You can find the courses offered at our partner universities directly on their websites. In some cases, students who have already studied abroad include information about these courses in their experience reports.

Before making any changes to the courses, please consult the DiLA regarding the necessary changes. This consultation ensures that the amended courses can be recognised. Please send an email with the following content: If you do not consult with him, the course change may be rejected in DiLA.

• If you are spending time in another European country with Erasmus+, the online Learning Agreement (available in the download area) must be amended accordingly under ‘before the mobility’.
• For a stay outside Europe, the Learning Agreement (for the purpose of assessing eligibility for credit), which you can find in the download area under ‘Non-EU Programmes’ (processing time approx. 2–4 weeks). Alternatively, please send the following information by email:

- Your study course at Viadrina
- Name of the foreign university
- Course title
- Course description
- Number of ECTS credits (units) for the course
- Viadrina module for which you wish to have the course recognised.

Note: Please use a PC or laptop as a priority when submitting your application. Problems may arise when submitting the application via mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.).

Applications for the recognition of academic achievements and examination results from your period of study abroad must be submitted using the form provided for this purpose. To do this, you must log in using the login details for your student account (euv12345) via the following link:

Application for the recognition of academic achievements and examination results from your period of study abroad

Please note that it may take a little time for your login details to be processed and that there may be a delay before the form opens!

Please note that all fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory and must be completed or selected. Otherwise, the form cannot be submitted at the relevant stages of the process.

We also require,

• the Transcript of Records directly from the partner university (via email, post or via an online system accessible to us). A transcript forwarded by you is not sufficient. You will be notified upon receipt. The original will be returned to you upon request.
• Where applicable, we may require proof of language proficiency (HF exam if an English C1 exemption is requested)
• We may require proof of the academic year in which the credits were earned (if not evident from point 2).

It is not possible

to have academic credits recognised directly by the relevant lecturers.

Processing time: approx. 2–4 weeks. Once your credits have been assessed, your marks will be automatically forwarded to the Examination Office for entry into ViaCampus (HIS portal).

Before you go abroad, you should discuss the possibilities for having your course choices recognised by the foreign university with Ms Katja Herzel. You can either drop by during her office hours or get in touch by email.

Important:
The recognition process begins for you right now! You should therefore find out in good time which recognition options are available to you and what the requirements are.

Required information

In order to assess your options for recognition, we need all the necessary details regarding your foreign courses, as these must be submitted for recognition following your stay (see below). You are also welcome to send these by email.

If there are any changes to your course selection whilst you are abroad, you should discuss this with Ms Katja Herzel.

Required information

In order to assess your options for credit transfer, we need all the necessary details regarding the courses taken abroad, as these must be submitted for credit transfer after your stay (see below). You are also welcome to send these details by email.

To have your studies recognised following your period abroad, you must submit all the necessary documents.
The processing time after all the necessary documents have been submitted may take up to 4 weeks.

Please note:
It is not possible to have academic achievements recognised directly by the relevant lecturers.

Required documents / information

1. Application

Please submit your fully completed on a computer Application for Recognition of foreign academic achievementson both sides (Page 1 = front, Page 2 = back). This can be done either by printing it out and signing the original at the Division of International Affairs or by submitting it with a digital signature via email.

Please take note of the notes and the explanations in the application!

2. Information on courses taken abroad
2.1. Proof of attendance in semester hours per week (SWS) or hours

The transcripts of records usually issued do not generally contain any details regarding contact hours. Often, a workload is specified; however, this includes not only contact hours but also self-study. However, only contact time with teaching staff—i.e. lectures, tutorials, study groups, seminars and the like—counts as contact hours.

If your academic records do not specify the contact hours, you must submit further evidence, e.g. course timetables, confirmation from the lecturer or the Faculty, or a printout from the student portal containing information about the course.

Important: If these documents are not written in German, please submit a German or English translation in addition to the original document.

2.2. Proof of the course content

A description of the course content written by yourself is not sufficient!

As proof, you must enclose an extract from the course catalog, a confirmation from the lecturer, a printout from the student portal or similar.

Important: If these documents are not in German, please submit a German or English translation in addition to the original document.

2.3. Proof of examination results

You must provide evidence of your mark and ECTS credits by submitting your transcript of records (a list of all academic achievements completed abroad), which you will receive from the host university at the end of or following your stay abroad.

Please note:
This document is often sent directly to our division. In this case, we will inform you.

Students on the Cultural Studies (BA) programme and the BA in Recht und Politik (specialising in Politics) must discuss any courses they wish to take at a foreign university with Ms Klück (International Division, AM 209) to clarify whether these can be recognised.

Students on the BA in Cultural and Social Studies must discuss their courses with Prof. Richter (buero-nrichter@europa-uni.de) to clarify whether the credits will be recognised.

Note: You can find answers to many questions regarding recognition in our FAQ. All documents can be found in the downloads section.

Checking whether courses are eligible for recognition:

1. If you are spending time in another European country with Erasmus+, please complete the Digital Learning Agreement (DiLA). Once completed, this will be automatically forwarded to us. Once the eligibility of the courses has been checked and, if necessary, any details have been discussed with you and adjusted, we will forward the DiLA to the partner university. You can check the processing status at any time via the DiLA portal. In the unlikely event that the partner university does not accept this digital version after the DiLA has been completed, the (old) paper-based Learning Agreement is available to you.
2. Important note: Once you have started your stay, you cannot switch from the paper version to the DiLA.
3. For stays outside Europe, please use the following Learning Agreement (to check eligibility for credit) and send it by email (processing time approx. 2–4 weeks).
4. Discuss the eligibility of the courses in person or via email with Ms Klück or Prof. Richter (buero-nrichter@europa-uni.de).
5. Please note the office hours.
6. To ensure that we can process enquiries regarding credit recognition quickly and transparently for both you and us, we require as much information about the courses as possible. In addition to the (digital) Learning Agreement, please provide us with the following information:

- Seminar title and description/seminar content
- Bibliography
- URL to the seminar announcements
- Assessment details (for term papers or essays, please include page numbers where possible)
- Module names for which the course is to be recognised at Viadrina (e.g. Cultural History, Social Sciences, etc.)
- Level of study (e.g. Bachelor’s or Master’s, the year from which the course can be taken)
- Number of contact hours per week (how many hours does the course take place each week?)
- Number of ECTS

Please refer to the courses that have been offered at the partner university in previous semesters. In some cases, the current course catalogues are not yet available on the websites. Before you travel abroad, the DiLA (or LA) must be signed by all three parties. Course changes can then still be made whilst you are abroad.

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

Please ensure you familiarise yourself thoroughly with the questions set out in our FAQ!

Should there be any changes to your course selection at the start of your stay abroad, please consult Nicole Klück (BA Kuwi, BA RuP) or Prof. Richter (BA CuSO) (buero-nrichter@europa-uni.de) by email.

To enable us to check whether the courses are eligible for credit, please include the following information in your email:

• Seminar title and description/seminar content
• Bibliography
• URL to the seminar announcements
• Examination work (for term papers or essays, please include page numbers where possible)
• Module for which the course is to be recognised at Viadrina (e.g. Cultural History, Social Sciences, etc.)
• Level of study (e.g. Bachelor’s or Master’s, the year from which the course can be taken)
• Number of hours per week (how many hours does the course run for each week?)
• Number of ECTS credits

To have your credits recognised following your period abroad, the following documents must be submitted to the Division of International Affairs by email:

1. The completed application form for the recognition of academic credits obtained abroad:
   
   • Form B – for BA Cultural Studies,
   • Form – for the BA in Cultural and Social Studies.
2. The Transcript of Records (your marks from abroad) and, where applicable, the relevant seminar papers
3. Proof of the level of study or academic year in which the credits were earned, should this not be apparent from the Transcript of Records, as well as the information from points 1 and 2.

Ms Klück handles the recognition of credits for students on the BA in Cultural Studies and the BA in Law and Politics with a specialisation in Politics.

Professor Richter (buero-nrichter@europa-uni.de) handles the recognition of credits for students on the BA in Cultural and Social Studies.

Students on Master’s programmes can have their credits recognised by the respective programme directors or coordinators

Once your credits have been recognised, we will notify you and forward the completed recognition form to the Examination Office, where the marks will be entered into ViaCampus; this may take several weeks.

Students on the MES and MASS programmes must first discuss the courses they wish to take at a foreign university with the relevant examination board to clarify whether these can be recognised:

• MES: Ruth Geiger (geiger@europa-uni.de)
• MASS: PD Dr Stephan Lanz (mass@europa-uni.de)

Note: You can find answers to many questions regarding recognition in our FAQ. All documents can be found in the downloads section.

There are two ways to have the eligibility of courses assessed:

1. Complete the Digital Learning Agreement. Once completed, this will be automatically forwarded to us. After the eligibility of the courses has been checked – and, if necessary, discussed with you and adjusted – we will forward the DiLA to the partner university. You can check the processing status at any time on the DiLA portal. Should the partner university, contrary to expectations, not accept this digital version of the DiLA after it has been completed, the (old) paper-based version is available at Learning Agreement.
   Important note: Once your stay has begun, you cannot switch from the paper version to the DiLA.
2. For a stay outside Europe, please use the following Learning Agreement (to check eligibility for recognition) and send it by email (processing time approx. 2–4 weeks).
3. Discuss the eligibility of the courses for credit via email or in person with Ms Geiger (MES) or Mr Lanz (MASS) during their Office hours. Please note the respective Office hours of Ms Geiger and Mr Lanz!

If the partner university’s course catalog is not yet available online, please initially refer to the courses that were offered at the partner university in previous semesters. Often, the current course catalogues are not yet available on the websites. Course changes can then still be made whilst you are abroad.

Should there be any changes to your course selection at the start of your period abroad, please consult Ms Geiger (European Studies) or Mr Lanz (MASS) by email.

To enable us to check whether the courses can be recognised, please include the following information in your email:

• Course title
• Course description
• Module for which the course is to be recognised at Viadrina
• Level of study (e.g. Bachelor’s or Master’s; the academic year from which the course can be taken)
• Number of hours per week (how many hours does the course run each week?)
• Number of credits

For accreditation, the following documents must be submitted to Claudia Casiano (AM 206; outgoing@europa-uni.de) at Viadrina International Affairs:

1. Original Transcript of Records (we will retain a copy; you will receive the original),
2. Application for recognition of foreign academic achievements (Form B MES or Form B MASS),
3. a course description for each course to be recognised, which also specifies the level of study,
4. written work such as essays and term papers.

Ms Casiano deals exclusively with applications for recognition for students on the MASS programme. Students on other KuWi Master’s programmes can only have their credits recognised directly by the respective programme directors or coordinators.

If you have any questions regarding the possible recognition of academic achievements obtained abroad, please contact the relevant examination board (or its representative) for the respective degree programme:

Study courses and subject coordinators:

• Europäische Kulturgeschichte - Prof. Dr Claudia Weber (Professorship for Soziokulturelle Studien)
• Soziokulturelle Studien – Prof. Dr Stephan Lanz
• Kultur und Geschichte Mittel- und Osteuropas - Prof. Dr Werner Benecke
• European Studies - Ruth Geiger
• Sprache - Medien - Gesellschaft - Prof. Dr Nicole Richter
• Digital Entrepreneurship - Dr Björn Plötner
• Literaturwissenschaft: Ästhetik - Literatur - Philosophie - Prof. Daniel Illger
• Geschichte der Moderne transkulturell - Prof. Dr Klaus Weber

Furthermore, students must complete an application form, which can be downloaded from the homepage of the Examination Board of the Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences. In addition to the completed application form, the following documents must be submitted to the examination board (or its representative) for the relevant Master’s study course:

1. Transcript of Records showing the academic achievements
2. Certificate stating the number of weekly seminar hours per semester (if not evident from the Transcript of Records)
3. Evidence of the academic year in which the credits were earned (if not evident from the Transcript of Records)
4. ECTS mark (if not evident from the Transcript of Records)

Further information on ERASMUS programmes

Students on the ERASMUS programme must complete the Digital Learning Agreement (DiLA), which you will receive from the Division of International Affairs, must be signed by your departmental coordinators and the partner institution before your stay abroad