Starting your placement and language courses

A smooth start

Do you have a placement at FAU? Congratulations! Before settling into daily life and starting your placement at the University there are still a few things that you need to do and take into account so as to ensure that your stay in Erlangen and Nuremberg goes smoothly and successfully.

You can find the most important information in the Important Information section.

Language courses

International placement students have the opportunity to learn or improve their existing knowledge of German at FAU. You can either take part in an intensive language course before the start of the semester (subject to a fee) or take a free German course during the semester. It is important that you attend the course from the first session. It is not possible to join a course after it has started.

In order to take part in a language course, you will require confirmation of your status as a placement student from the Central Office for International Affairs (RIA). You cannot take part in a course without this confirmation.

You can find further information on German courses on the Language Centre’s website.

If you would like to take a course in another language (subject to a fee), you may do so by registering as a guest student at the University.

A wide range of language courses are also available at the Volkshochschulen (adult education centres) in Erlangen and Nuremberg. More information is available here: