Going abroad
Going abroad
Are you enrolled at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and thinking about spending some time abroad as part of your degree program? Do you want to broaden your horizons as international experience is essential for virtually any modern job? There are various possibilities for going abroad.
The most common one is going abroad with the Erasmus programme.
ERASMUS programme
| The ERASMUS programme was created by the EU Commission to promote the mobility of students, staff and lecturers within Europe in 1987. You can also participate in this exchange programme and spend up to two semesters at a partner university of the department CBI. Participants receive a grant for the duration of their stay.
Before you make a decision regarding the partner university, please have a look at the experience reports of our students and staff who have already been abroad.
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ERASMUS Application process
The application process for the Erasmus programme consists of the steps outlined below.
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- Selection of the university
- Application – 1 year in advance
- Nomination
- Registration at the Central International Office (RIA) of FAU
- Application at the partner university
| Photograph and report: Nils (Bachelor CEN), Gabriel (Master LSE) and Jörn (Master CEN), Erasmus semester at National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) |  |
| Photograph and report: Christoph (Master ET), Erasmus semester at University of Ljubljana, Slovenia |  |
| Photograph, report and video: Simon (Master CBI), Erasmus semester at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway |  |
| Photograph, report: Sandra (Master LSE), Erasmus semester at University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic |  |
| Photograph and report: Lukas (Master CEN), Erasmus semester at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands |  |
| Photograph and report: Anna (Bachelor CEN), Erasmus semester at Universidad de Oviedo, Spain |  |
| Photograph and report: CBI-ERASMUS-Coordinator, partner university AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland |  |
The department CBI has the following ERASMUS partnerships:
Depending on the destination, a different language level may be required.
An overview of our partner universities, from which you can select your desired university, is also available here.
Other exchange places (world map) can be found here.
Once you have made your choice regarding a partner university, you can start with the application.
The application must include:
- completed application form
- complete overview of grades
- curriculum vitae (see “3. Nomination”, additional criteria)
- language certificate(s)
- letter of motivation
The letter of motivation (in German) should generally include a list of the courses you would like to take abroad.
Your application must be received by the CBI coordinator, Dr. Hilbig, by January 15 (application deadline) usually 1 year prior to your planned semester abroad.
To do so, please fill out the following online form: APPLICATION
Please read “3. Nomination” to learn about the criteria for the allocation of places. If you are interested in a partner university in Northern Europe, please include the additional criteria listed below in your letter of motivation.
After reviewing all application documents, the nomination is made at the end of February. Since the number of places is usually limited to two seats, students are selected according to their course of study and grades (bachelor’s grade, or master’s grade in case of equality). If the number of applications for a partnership is too high, additional criteria such as volunteer work (social activities etc.), knowledge of the national language, content of the motivation letter, study progress, a-level grade are used.
The CBI Erasmus coordinator informs the applicants about the result and sends a nomination list to the Central International Office (RIA) of FAU.
The Central International Office (RIA) of FAU is responsible for the administrative process of the ERASMUS programme and for the payment of the study grant. The staff members RIA will ask all nominated students by email to register in the online system of the Central International Office. Furthermore, RIA informs the host university about the nominated students as well as the students about the registration modalities of the host university.
After RIA has informed you, you now have to register yourself at the partner university. Adhering to the respective registration deadlines is very important, otherwise no exchange place can be guaranteed!
Other ways to go abroad
Another possibility to go abroad is to do an internship in a foreign company, or a branch of a German company abroad. It should be noted that requests for an internship of only six weeks, for example, are usually rejected.
Further information on internships abroad can be found on the following FAU pages.
You can also spend a semester at a university abroad as a “free mover” outside of existing FAU exchange programmes or cooperations. You can find more information on the FAU website.
You can obtain further information from the following contact points, for example:
- Student Information and Counseling of the Faculty of Engineering
- Study Service Center of the Faculty of Engineering
- IAESTE (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience)
Every semester, the Central International Office (RIA) of FAU organizes a series of informational events on the topic of studying abroad during your studies. An overview of the current presentations can be found here: Information events RIA
Important hints for stays abroad
The possibility of the recognition of study achievements done abroad must be checked before the stay abroad. The following rules apply to this:
Applications for recognition of study credits from abroad are processed at the Department CBI by the recognition officers:
- Prof. Castiglione (StuKo CBI, CEN chairwoman).
- Dr. Anna Hilbig (on behalf of the StuKo)
The possibility of recognition must be checked in the Study Service Centre CBI before the stay abroad.
In addition, the following applies (for modules taken at home and abroad):
- An elective module outside the catalogue (Master’s programmes CBI and LSE) must be requested from the StuKo chair, Prof. Castiglione.
- An elective module subject in the specialization module group A in the Master’s program CEN is applied for with Prof. Engel (responsible for the program CEN, on behalf of the StuKo chair).
For recognition, module descriptions of the foreign subjects have to be submitted to Mrs. Hilbig (for exceptions see above). If necessary, the lecturers of the respective courses can be contacted.
The subjects taken abroad must be entered in the Learning Agreement. The confirmation of the entire Learning Agreement takes place in the Student Service Centre.
After the stay abroad, the achievements you have passed in accordance with the Learning Agreement can be recognized. For this purpose, the Transcript of Records and the completed application for recognition of achievements must be submitted to Ms. Hilbig (by email). The results of the recognition will be communicated to FAU’s examination office at the end. The contact for complaints in connection with the Erasmus+ programme can be found here.
According to ABMPO/TechFak §16 (2), students who are unable to attend the regular date of a written examination due to the completion of a study abroad programme may, in agreement with the respective examiner, request that an oral substitute examination date be scheduled, provided that the change of examination form is compatible with the qualification objective of the module. The decision is made by the examination board.
The application must be accompanied by evidence of the intended study abroad and the written consent of the examiner. Please use the application for substitute examination date in case of a stay abroad.