First steps towards spending time abroad

First of all, you should consider how much time you want to spend abroad. If you want to spend six months or a year in another country, studying is a good option for you. If you would like to live abroad for a few months during the semester break, an internship would be one way of doing so, and if you would just like to have a brief taster of the culture in a foreign country you could apply for a language course, or a place on a summer or winter school.

There are several different ways of spending time abroad. Which one is best for you depends on how far on in your studies you are, your language abilities, the period of time you would like to spend abroad and your financial means.

• Studying
• Completing or carrying out research for your final thesis
• Internship, teaching placement, final year of medical degree (clinical rotation)
• Language course for learning the language of the country
• Short subject-related stay abroad: summer school/winter school

Obviously, your planning largely hinges on where you intend to spend your time abroad. Decisive factors when deciding where to go are language skills, partnerships with FAU, the safety of the country in question and your own personal interest in the culture of the host country. The best place to find out which exchange programmes there are and whether your preferred destination is included is your department or faculty. Not every partner university is available for all areas of study. A number of university collaborations, for example in the Erasmus programme, are arranged at departmental level. All students can apply for the direct exchange programmes available to students throughout the University. Decentralised direct exchange opportunities arranged by the individual faculties are only published on the websites of the respective institutions.

If you would like to study at a particular university which does not have a partnership with FAU, you can approach the foreign university directly and enquire whether it would be possible to study there as a free mover.

The success of a stay abroad also depends on the practical aspects and local conditions. Which courses are offered at the host university? Can I have the credits I gain abroad transferred to FAU? Can I coordinate the different semester periods with my studies at FAU? Do I have sufficient proficiency in the language spoken in the country to cope with studying there?

That apart, you also have to meet the requirements expected of you by your host institution and FAU: Do you have to complete a minimum period of study before you can go abroad? Am I sufficiently proficient in the language? Do I have the necessary subject knowledge?

There are a number of different ways to fund your time abroad. Some exchange programmes are automatically linked to funding, for others you can apply for a scholarship to cover travel expenses or the cost of living. Generally speaking, you should still make sure that you have sufficient financial backing even if you do have a scholarship, as scholarships are often only paid once you have actually started your time abroad.

Please make sure you have a clear idea of the opportunities available to you before you approach the relevant offices for a detailed consultation.

• Central Office for International Affairs

  The Central Office for International Affairs does not offer initial advice. You can find a wealth of information on spending time abroad on the going abroad pages. Your first point of contact is always your faculty or your department.

• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology
• Faculty of Sciences
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Business, Economics, and Law
• DAAD