After you have received a place abroad, you ask yourself a lot of questions in the run-up to studying abroad: What should I pay attention to? How should I register at the partner university? Is my health insurance also valid outside Germany? Should I take a leave of absence for the time being? You will find answers to these and other questions below. To ensure sure you do not forget anything, you will find all the important steps summarised in this checklist.
The Erasmus+ overall learning agreement is the only document that must be submitted prior to your stay abroad. In Part 1, you enter all the courses you intend to take abroad. The learning agreement should include courses totalling 20–30 ECTS credits per semester. The person responsible for your faculty can be found in the learning agreement guide, which you will find below. Please note that the responsible parties may be on holiday during the semester break. The learning agreement must then be forwarded to the foreign university for signature and submitted to the International Office with all signatures (a copy is sufficient).
If individual courses change over time, enter these changes in Part 2 of the learning agreement, have them signed in the same way as in Part 1 and submit them to the International Office.
Some universities require a separate language certificate when registering. The proof can, for example, be provided by an external language test such as TOEFL, IELTS etc. or by a certificate from the Language Centre of the University of Passau. The document to be completed by the Language Centre can be found here. Please refer to the websites of the partner universities to find out whether and in what form the language certificate is to be provided upon registration.
Once you have been accepted to study at a foreign university, you still have to register at the respective university. In most cases, registration takes place online. You will find the necessary information and deadlines for registration on the respective website of the partner university.
The European Commission has provided an online language test for the following 18 languages:
This must be completed in the working language by all students/graduates both after the selection/before the start of the mobility and after the end of the stay. Students can only take part in mobility after passing a language test. Exceptions apply only if there are good reasons for doing so. However, the test is not a selection criterion for funding under the Erasmus+ programme and does not apply to native speakers. After selecting the participants to be supported in Erasmus+, the language test should serve as a placement test to document their current language level. It should take place both before their stay abroad and at the end of the respective stay abroad in order to obtain comparable results and to be able to record any progress made by the sponsored participants in language acquisition.
The systematic, Europe-wide review of the development of individual language competence makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of Erasmus+.
Agreements made between partner universities/institutions in inter-institutional agreements (IIA) and learning agreements (LA) on specific language levels should thus not be confused with online tests. These language skills must be backed up by other evidence when participants are selected.
All important information can be found on the official website.
In addition to the tests, optional language courses are offered.
The OLS language courses offer participants the opportunity to improve their foreign language skills during their stay abroad. After the first language test, participants who have reached a language level from A1 to B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages are automatically invited to a language course. Participants who have achieved a higher language level can optionally take a language course in the national language or in the main working language tested.
Further information can be found on the DAAD homepage.
You can take a leave of absence for the duration of your stay abroad (study abroad or subject-related internship abroad). During this leave semester, which must be applied for, you pay the Student Services Association contribution of currently 72.00 euros. Detailed information on this topic can be found on the website of the Student Registration Office.
Important: During the foreign study semester you can only take repeat exams at the University of Passau!
The apartment in Passau can be rented to foreign students during their stay abroad via the International Office. Detailed information can be obtained from Ms Winterkorn, room 106 at the International Office.
Form to search for a subtenant for the semester abroad.
Room rental for German Summer Courses for the participants of the German Courses Passau in August.
In order to ensure that you can have your achievements abroad recognised for your studies in Passau, you should conclude individual learning agreements with the respective chairs on the selected courses before your departure. The individual learning agreement proves that the coursework and assessments you have completed at the foreign partner university are equivalent to those required by your degree programme in Passau.
To do this, you select the courses in which you would like to obtain a certificate of achievement from the courses offered by the partner university. You present the course description to the responsible professor who teaches the corresponding subject at the University of Passau (module representative). Generally, you will also find a form for the Individual learning agreement on the respective chair website, which you should complete and enclose with the course description. The module administrator will then confirm whether the course can be credited to your Passau programme.
Exception: Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies & Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences: For questions regarding course selection and recognition, including countersignature of individual Learning Agreements, which are included in the module responsibility of the Chair of Political Science (Professor Winand Gellner), the Chair of European Politics (Professor Daniel Göler), the Chair of International Politics (Professor Bernhard Stahl) and the Chair of Political Theory and History of Ideas (Professor Barbara Zehnpfennig), please contact the Programme Coordinator of the Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies & Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences directly.
Exception: Faculty of Law: The programme adviser at the international helpdesk of the Faculty of Law will sign off on the Individual Learning Agreements.
Mr Killer from the Language Centre is exclusively responsible for language courses.
After you have dealt with the issue of individual learning agreements, enter all the courses you take abroad (regardless of any credit) in the Erasmus+ learning agreement. You should earn 20-30 ECTS per semester abroad.
You should take out a suitable insurance policy for your stay abroad. Please note the following: The assignment of a study place at a foreign partner university does not mean automatic foreign insurance. This must be taken out with your health insurance provider. Please contact your health insurance provider.
Students with private health insurance are requested to inform themselves on the website of the Verband der Privaten Krankenversicherung e.V., to contact their health insurance company and to use the form 'Certificate of Entitlement' for proof of insurance cover.
For the development of intercultural competences and as a small preparation for your stay abroad, we recommend the courses of the Centre for Careers and Competencies with a country-specific focus. Please refer to the website of the Centre for Careers and Competencies for information on your possible participation.
Most partner universities offer a language course for foreign students. This can take place both shortly before the start of the semester abroad and during the semester itself. Please check the website of the respective university for the dates and costs of a language course.
A subsidy for language courses can be applied for.
