Studying in Dortmund as an exchange student

The enrollment documents are provided by the International Office. You will be informed about the enrollment process by e-mail once the application process has been completed.

Please bring the following documents with you so that enrollment can proceed smoothly:

• Your valid passport or identity card (EU)
• Proof that you have paid the semester fee for the current semester
• Proof of health insurance  for enrollment /European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or exemption from compulsory health insurance (the latter if you have private health insurance in Germany or possibly have one from your home country)
• Signed tenancy agreement if you have rented a room in a hall of residence of the Studierendenwerk Dortmund

Once you have enrolled, a student ID will be generated which will give you access to the Online Services for Students (ODS) and the study portal. In line with the motto "We focus on students.", Fachhochschule Dortmund offers its students selected student administration processes online. You can also print out the NRW semester ticket via the Online Services for Students (ODS) or the study portal. The semester ticket is initially valid for one semester after enrolment.

ODS or the study portal will remain open for you for 6 months after you have completed your stay at Fachhochschule Dortmund. This means you can easily print out your transcript of records in your home country.

All Fachhochschule Dortmund students must pay a semester fee of approximately €320 for each semester.

The first fee must be paid before enrolment and proof of payment must be brought to enrolment.

After that, you must pay the semester fee each semester and will be informed of this by the Office for Student Affairs by e-mail to your FH e-mail address - this process is called "re-registration".

Payment of the "semester fee" must be made before enrolment - you must bring confirmation of payment with you to enrolment!

We recommend that you pay the fee in advance from your home country! Please note that additional costs may be incurred for bank transfers from abroad! Make sure that the full amount is received by our university, otherwise you will not be enrolled until the missing amount has been paid.

Cash deposits can only be made at the banks/savings banks - and not at the International Office or the Office of Student Affairs.

After your stay at Fachhochschule Dortmund, you will need proof that you have passed your examinations and completed your coursework. This refers to your Transcript of Records. Depending on your study program, you can simply create the automatically generated document yourself via ODS (online services for students) or the study portal as soon as all your ECTS points have been entered and the document is valid without a signature.

ODS or the study portal will remain open for 6 months after your stay. This means you can easily print out the Transcript of Records in your home country.

We are pleased that you would like to stay longer at Fachhochschule Dortmund than agreed. Please note that exchange students are only enrolled at our university for a limited period of time. The duration of your stay depends on your chosen study program and is determined when you apply. For this reason, the renewal of your stay is not automatic.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to extend your stay abroad at our university. There are only a limited number of places for exchange students - depending on the home university and the academic year.

If you would like to stay longer than agreed at the beginning of your stay, there are important steps you need to take.

• Contact the International Office well in advance - at least one month before the end of your stay and before the official re-registration period begins.
• Ask your home university whether it agrees to the renewal. In this case, the person responsible at your home university must approve the renewal at the International Office of Fachhochschule Dortmund.
• Contact the International Affairs Officer of your faculty and discuss your courses, as he/she will have to sign your Learning Agreement again.
• If necessary, contact the Studierendenwerk Dortmund to extend the contract for your room in a hall of residence. It may happen that there is no more space available and you have to look for new accommodation. In this case, please contact the International Office.
• If the renewal of your stay is approved, you will have to pay the semester fee during re-registration.

Once you have been successfully nominated, we will send you information about reserving a room at the Studierendenwerk via the Mobility online portal. If you are interested in a room, please apply via the link we will send you. Only then can the Studierendenwerk reserve a room for you.

Please note: Recently, the demand for rooms has exceeded the available supply. For this reason, and despite our best efforts, we may not be able to reserve a room for you. In the event of cancellation, your deposit will be refunded. There is no legal entitlement to a room reservation.

The basic equipment of the rooms in the Studierendenwerk includes a bed, closet, desk, chair and a shelf.

The Studierendenwerk also offers a"move-in starter kit". This is suitable for anyone who has just arrived from abroad and has not yet had time to go shopping. It contains essential items such as towels and bed linen. It costs a total of 80 EUR and contains the following items:

• 1x 4-piece cutlery set
• 1x wooden cooking spoon
• 1x drinking glass
• 1x coffee cup
• 1x dinner plate
• 1x soup plate
• 1x dessert plate
• 1x tea towel
• 1x kitchen knife small (paring knife)
• 1x plastic chopping board
• 1x saucepan with lid Ø20cm (suitable for induction)
• 1x frying pan Ø24cm (suitable for induction)
• 1x microfiber bed set (pillow + comforter)
• 1x bed linen set
• 1x fitted sheet (90-100x190-200cm)
• 1x towel 50x100cm
• 1x shower towel 70x140cm

When registering your room with the Studierendenwerk Dortmund, please indicate whether you are interested in a move-in starter kit.

The repayment of the deposit by the Studierendenwerk can take several months. It is therefore likely that you will already be back in your home country at the time of repayment.

If your home country is outside the EU, it is likely that high bank charges (up to EUR 50) will be incurred for the return transfer of the deposit. We would like to point out that the Studierendenwerk Dortmund will not pay these bank charges. This means that either:

• You will not receive the full deposit back, but up to 50 EUR less
• You opt for an online account with banks such as Revolut or N24. Here, the deposit can be transferred back without any additional fees. The decision is up to you, we cannot recommend a bank.

The majority of courses are taught in German, so you should also prepare yourself well for your stay abroad in terms of language skills. German courses are certainly also offered in your home country by the Goethe Institute or other service providers. Make sure you take advantage of such offers. To apply for a German-language study program, you must provide proof of German language proficiency at level C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The certificate must be submitted with the application documents.

In order to welcome even more exchange students to our university, our aim is to provide an English-language or bilingual German-English module offering in all subject areas. This means for you:
As an exchange student, you are not limited to modules from your degree program, but can combine selected modules from different subjects, provided that the content and subject requirements are met.

Even if you are studying in English, you should learn German in order to be able to cope with everyday life in Dortmund.

Please note the following information when selecting modules in the document:

• First select your modules in the faculty of your study program.
• Please make sure to select modules from the correct semester (summer or winter).
• Modules marked in white can only be selected by exchange students of the respective study program.
• Modules marked in yellow are open to students of other technical study programs.
• Modules marked in green are open to students from all faculties.

Please ask the contact person in your faculty about possible further admission requirements.

As the timetables are often not finalized until the beginning of the semester, you may not be able to get a place on all the courses you have selected in advance. However, we will support you in finding the best possible alternative.

A coordinator from your faculty will answer your questions about seminars, projects and weekly semester hours. You will find the contact details of your contact person at the top of this page.

Please make sure that all the examinations you have selected are offered during your period of study. At Fachhochschule Dortmund, examinations are offered in two examination sections. As a rule, the second examination period always extends into the following semester. This examination period is often outside your period of stay, requires you to re-register at Fachhochschule Dortmund and pay the semester fee and overlaps with the start of your studies at your home university.

If you want to add or remove a module in the "Learning Agreement", please use the form provided for changes and remember to obtain all signatures.