Exchange Studies
A warm welcome to the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences website pages for international applicants and international students!
We hope that the content will be useful in answering your questions and help you to make up your mind about studying at our institution.
Should you not be able to find the information you want here, please contact the International Office. We will be glad to assist you.
Preparation and Application
Range of courses available
You will find a complete list of the study courses the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences offers here. To get detailed information about the individual courses, please click on the the course and/or on the button Departments in the navigation bar on the left and then go to the desired department/course. If you do not find the information you are looking for, please contact the International Office to have the name and address of the contact person in the department sent to you. Alternatively, you may want to browse the German pages. To do this, click on the German button left to the logo.
Language requirements
The language of instruction at the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences is German.
You should make sure you have good German language skills (at least level B1 of the CEFR) before coming to study with us, so that you are able to follow lectures easily and successfully complete your coursework.
One possibility to improve your German skills is the online learning platform DUO.
Academic year/Semester dates
The academic year in Germany is split into two semesters - winter and summer.
The winter semester starts on the 1st of October and ends on the 31st of March.
The summer semester starts on the 1st of April and ends on the 30th of September.
Lecture period: Classes run from the 1st of October to around mid February in the winter semester and from the 1st of April to around mid July in the summer semester.
In the last weeks of the lecture period and in some cases also in the first weeks following the lecture period, there will be examinations.
After the examination period up to the end of the semester, there is a so-called lecture-free period (semester break) during which no classes are offered.
The Orientation week for international students is usually about seven days prior to the start of semester. As the orientation is essential for every international student, you should plan to arrive 1½ to 2 weeks before the beginning of the semester.
The most important holidays, on which no classes will be held (and shops and banks remain closed) are:
| Neujahr (New Year) | January 1st |
| Heilige Drei Könige (Epiphany) | January 6th |
| Ostern - Karfreitag und Ostermontag (Easter - Good Friday and Easter Monday) | moveable feast; see semester dates below |
| Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension Day) | moveable feast; see semester dates below |
| Pfingstmontag (Whit Monday) | moveable feast; see semester dates below |
| Tag der deutschen Einheit (German Reunification Day) | October 3rd |
| Reformationstag (Reformation Day) | October 31st |
| Weihnachten (Christmas) | December 25th/26th |
The current semester dates can be found here.
Application
Costs
1. Tuition and semester fee
Studies at the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences are free of tuition fees, except for some postgraduate courses of study.
[An overview of all study courses including information on the liability to fees is available here (DE).
Please note that the university is legally obligated to charge a fee of € 500 per semester if you exceed the regular course duration (Regelstudienzeit; specified in the study regulations for the course) by more than 4 semesters. More information can be found here: Langzeitstudiengebühren (DE)]
Nevertheless, you will need to pay the so-called semester fee (Semesterbeitrag) before each semester for the services of the Studentenwerk (see below), your membership in the student body and for the semester ticket (discount public transportation ticket for students).
On enrolling, you are required to provide proof that you have paid the fee of currently EUR 107,20 in Magdeburg resp. EUR 61 in Stendal (no semester ticket for busses in Stendal available).
Please bear in mind that the semester fee needs to be paid every semester.
The Studentenwerk is an organisation that is independent of the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences and supports students in various ways. Among other things, the Studentenwerk runs most student residences, the student canteens and several student cafés and offers other services such as legal advice.
With your semester ticket you can use all buses and trams in Magdeburg without further costs.
2. Living expenses
The amount of money you will need per month depends very much on your spending habits. However, you should have at least EUR 720 per month at your disposal, even if you may need less in the end.
Information on how much a room or an apartment in Magdeburg will roughly cost is available in the section Accommodation.
This site provides an overview of the general price level in Germany.
3. How much money should you take with you in cash for the first days in Magdeburg?
In order to avoid difficulties upon your arrival, it is essential that you bring enough money with you in cash. In general, you will have the following expenses at the beginning of your stay in Magdeburg or Stendal. (Prices for a place to stay refer to a room in a Studentenwerk student residence.):
- one or two months' rent (around EUR 250 per month)
- deposit for your room (about EUR 160)
- expenses for tram and bus tickets (for the time before the beginning of the semester > once the semester starts, you can use the semester ticket as ticket for tram and buses)
- If you need to take out health insurance in Germany, expect monthly premiums of about EUR 85.
- living expenses for the first days
- semester fee (Magdeburg: EUR 93, Stendal: EUR 51)
- If you need a residence permit (which is mostly the case if you are not a citizen of an EU member state) and you do not receive a grant or scholarship from a European organisation or the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, EUR 110 once for the residence permit.
Accommodation
Visa
Late Summer School and orientation week
Late Summer School
To get your studies off to the best possible start, the University offers the “Late Summer School” every year in September. This two-week programme combines subject-related courses as well as interdisciplinary and intercultural courses with excursions and other free-time activities.
It is an opportunity for you to familiarise yourself with the University, the campus and many of your fellow students even before your study programme begins.
Orientation week
The Orientation week for international exchange students is usually about seven days prior to the start of semester. As the orientation is essential for every international student, you should plan to arrive 1½ to 2 weeks before the beginning of the semester.
The International Office will inform you about the schedule of the orientation week via e-mail.
How to get to...
Support from student projects
Financial support
As an exchange student you can usually receive funding through your respective exchange/cooperation program. Please ask your International Office at your home university.
In cases where it is not possible to obtain funding through the program you can look at the database oft the Deutsch Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) for possible DAAD scholarships.
During and at the end of your stay
Excursions and Events
The International Office and the Buddy Programme regularly organise welcome events for international students. We also offer various excursions over the course of the semester. Information on these is available at the welcome event at the beginning of the semester and on Facebook.
Tips on events at the university can also be found here:The International Office and the Buddy Programme regularly organise welcome events for international students. We also offer various excursions over the course of the semester. Information on these is available at the welcome event at the beginning of the semester and on Facebook.
Tips on events at the university can also be found here:
Facebook-page Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences International
Facebook-page Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences
Learn German at the University
German courses in parallel with your studies: German as a Foreign Language (DaF)
In addition to your main course of studies the university's Communication and Media Faculty offers German language courses throughout the entire semester. Courses are available at levels A1 to C1.
More detailed information on the German course offering is available from Professor Dr. Martina Schwanke. You can also obtain ECTS credits upon successful completion of your German as a Foreign Language (DaF) course.
Re-registration
By re-registering you are notifying the university that you intend to study at the university in the forthcoming semester.
You must re-register every semester by paying the semester fee. This must take place within a fixed period of time. The dates are advertised on the website of the Department of Student Affairs.
Once your payment has been transferred to the relevant account, you will receive your new student ID by post. Your certificate of enrolment can be printed off via the online service for students. If you do not make payment within the specified period, you will be de-registered and cannot continue your studies.
Please note that we must have your current address in order to send you your documents. You can check and amend your address details via the online service for students.
Enrolment certificate
If you need additional prints of your enrolment certificate, please visit following website:
Please enter your user name and password (same as in the ZKI rooms).
If you are not within the University network, for example, you are at home and want to log in, you have to connect to WebPVN (see box of Online-Studierendenservice below). If you have logged in with your user name and password, the log in for the Online-Studierendenservice is made as described above.
By clicking Studentenverwaltung, you will find the enrolment certificates available for printing.
Jobs and Internships
All relevant information on working while you are a student is available from the web site of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
A comprehensive collection of links to miscellaneous job web sites is offered by the Career Center (DE).
Transcript of Records
The Transcript of Records will be issued by the examination office after the end of your stay at the Hochschule. It will be in English language and contain all courses that you have attended to. The original will be send to your home university by the International Office.
To get the Transcript of Records you have to hand in a course list within four weeks after the beginning of the semester to the International Office. In the list please write all courses that you are attending to, also the Late Summer School. Please make sure to use the correct title of the course, and for the language course the correct language level, e.g. GFL Vocabulary B2. The titles of the courses and the course codes can be found in the list provided by the International Office. If a course should not be in the list, please state the correct title of the course, leave the course code field blank and inform the International Office.
Checklist of tasks before departure
