Incomings
Welcome to Freiburg University’s Department of Political Science! We would like to give you some advice on how to organize your stay in Freiburg once you are a registered exchange student.
Please notice:
If you are registered as a regular (i.e. non-exchange) student, there is another contact person for you. ►
If you are a free-mover or an international student from outside the EU, you get all information about your possibilities to study at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität here ►
| General Info | Courses | Getting started in Freiburg... |
EU Office & International Office
The International Office(for non-Erasmus students) and the EU-Office(for Erasmus students) are your first point of contact for all administrative issues that are not directly related to the Department of Political Science.
In order to help incoming students organize their exchange semester, the EU-Office has created a podcast series called "Decide - Apply - Enrol", which provides some helpful information on a variety of topics such as: How do I apply for studies? Where do I find a place to live? And do I matriculate at the University of Freiburg?
For further information about your Erasmus exchange, you can also have a look at the Incomings website of the EU-office.
Erasmus Departmental Coordinator
For any questions concerning your Erasmus+ Learning Agreement and how to choose your courses, you need to get in contact with the Erasmus coordinator of the department of Political Science.
Mr Julian Schärdel, M.A. Room 0013 |
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Mr Andreas Sandtner Room 0004 |
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Please direct all your questions concerning your Learning Agreement to erasmus@politik.uni-freiburg.de.
If you only need a signature, you can also send your documents to: julian.schaerdel@politik.uni-freiburg.de.
Course catalogue
- Short overview of all courses offered by the Department of Politcial Science: [winter 2016-17], [summer 2016], [previous]
- Short overview of courses taught in English: [winter 2016-17], [summer 2016].
- To find courses in other academic fields, please go to the university course catalogue: link.
Our courses can be found as follows:
Philosophische Fakultät > Seminar für Wissenschaftliche Politik > Gesamtverzeichnis der Lehrveranstaltungen
Important note:
Courses change every semester. This means that courses that were offered in the winter semester 2015-16 (or any other previous winter semster) will most likely not be taught again in the winter semester 2016-17. Instead, other or new courses will be offered. The same is true for courses offered in summer semesters.
In order to find out which courses you can actually choose for your exchange semester, you will have to wait until the new course catalogue is published. The course catalogue for the winter semester 2016/17 will be published at the end of July 2016.
However, there are certain introductory seminar courses and lectures that are offered on a regular basis, i.e. every or every second semester. An overview of these courses is provided in the following table:
| Course title | Type of course | Offered in: |
|---|---|---|
| Einführung in die Politikwissenschaft | lecture course | winter term |
| Grundlagen der Vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft | seminar course | winter & summer term |
| Grundlagen der Politischen Theorie | seminar course | winter & summer term |
| Grundlagen der Internationalen Politik | seminar course | winter & summer term |
| Einführung in das politische System der BRD und in die vergleichende Politikwissenschaft | lecture course | summer term |
| Einführung in Geschichte und Entwicklungslinien politischer Theorie | lecture course | summer term |
| Einführung in die Internationale Politik | lecture course | winter term |
| Introduction into International Relations | lecture course | summer term |
| Einführung in das politische System der EU | lecture course | winter term |
Types of courses and areas of study:
This section provides some general background information on how the academic course system is organized at the Department of Political Science in Freiburg.
Generally, we offer three different types of courses:
- Vorlesung / lecture
- Proseminar / intermediate seminar course
- Hauptseminar / advanced seminar course
Vorlesungen (lectures) are open to all students and are usually accompanied by tutorials, which are intended to give students the opportunity to discuss the topics of the lecture and help preparing them for the exam.
For seminars, the number of participants is limited to 25 and some places are always reserved especially for exchange students. In seminars, active preparation and participation are expected. Students who have been studying for at least one year can enrol in seminar courses of the intermediate level (Proseminar), whereas Hauptseminare (advanced level) are usually reserved for master students.
The studies of Political Science at the University of Freiburg consists of three different areas of studies:
- Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft / Comparative Politics
- Internationale Politik / International Politics
- Politische Theorie / Political Theory
German students have to cover all three areas. As a foreign student, however, it is advisable to check in advance for which courses/exams you will be given credit points at your home university. The course programme and a reading list is often included in the course description, which can be found via the course catalogue.
ECTS Table
The regulations by which ECTS-Points are awarded are the same for all courses offered by the Department of Political Science.
The number of ECTS for a course varies depending on how much work you are prepared to do. For example: A Proseminar can give you between 4 and 10 ECTS.
In the table below, you can look up what you have to do for a certain number of ECTS. The standard option for each type of course is highlighted in blue. The lecturer will normally suppose that you are choosing the standard option. However, if you want to obtain more ECTS-points, you should talk to the lecturer in the first session and make arrangements with him.
| Type of Course | Performance | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| Vorlesung | ||
| Regular attendance and preparation + simplified written exam or essay (5-7 p.)* | 4 | |
Regular attendance and preparation + written or oral exam | 6 | |
| Proseminar (intermediate level) | Regular attendance and preparation, presentation + essay (5-7 p.) | 4 |
| Regular attendance and preparation, presentation + course paper (10-12 p.) or written exam | 6 | |
Regular attendance and preparation, presentation + course paper (15-18 p.) or written exam + essay (5-7 p.) | 8 | |
| Regular attendance and preparation, presentation + course paper (10-12 p.) and written exam | 10 | |
| Hauptseminar (advanced level) | Regular attendance and preparation, presentation + course paper (20-25 p.) | 8 |
| Regular attendance and preparation, presentation + course paper (25-30 p.) | 10 | |
| Regular attendance and preparation, presentation + course paper (30-35 p.) | 12 | |
| Tutorat (Tutorial) | Regular attendance and preparation Tutorials will not be awarded any ECTS points as they are part of the exam preparation at the end of the lecture (Vorlesung) |
0 |
* The essay option is only availbale for the following lectures: "Introduction Into International Relations" and "Einführung in die Politikwissenschaft" (lecturer: Haas). For theses lectures, writing an essay may be recommendable instead of taking the exam, because the resit exam normally takes place at the beginning of the following semester, at which point most exchange student have already returned to their home universities.
Examples:
- To receive credits for a Proseminar, you will have to participate in group work, give an oral presentation about one topic the course deals with and write an essay of about 5-7 pages (4 ECTS). If you write a course paper (10-12 pages) instead of a short essay or take an equivalent written exam, you will be awarded 6 ECTS-points. Furthermore, 8 ECTS-points can be obtained if you write a lengthier course paper (15-18 pages) or take an equivalent written exam and write an essay of 5-7 pages. If you write a course paper (10-12 pages) and take a written exam, it is worth 10 ECTS-points.
- Vorlesungen (lectures) are worth 2 ECTS-points to attend and 6 ECTS-points to attend and write the end-of-term exam. You will get 4 ECTS if you hand in an essay (5-7 pages) upon agreement with the lecturer. Lectures and the introductory courses usually also offer tutorials that are free for you to attend as they help you prepare for the written exam but no ECTS-points will be awarded.
Learning Agreement
You can send your (provisional) Learning Agreement to erasmus@politik.uni-freiburg.de in order to get it signed by the Departmental Erasmus coordinator.
Case 1: Course catalogue for exchange semester has not yet been published
If your home university requires you to hand in a signed Learning Agreement before the course catalogue for your exchange semester has been published, we recommend to make a very general course choice based on the areas of study, in which you plan to take seminars and lectures. For example: Proseminar in International Relations.
Case 2: Course catalogue already published
Then you can work out your choice of courses based on the courses that will actually be available during your exchange semester. You can change your courses within the first four weeks of the teaching period if you wish.
It is also possible to attend courses of other departments (e.g. Law or Economics). If you intend to do so, please contact the Erasmus-Coordinator of the respective department. A list of all Erasmus coordinators at the University of Freiburg can be found here [PDF].
Course registration
In order to take part in seminars and lectures, you have to register for your courses online with your university account. Registration is organized over the HISinOne platform. If you have received your university account already, you can simply choose your course in the course catalogue and register online.
For further information about the registration process you can have a look at this website, where you can find a step-by-step instruction.
Important notes:
- Registration for lecture courses should always be possible during the registration period. For seminar courses it might be the case that online registration is not possible because the course is already full. Since some places are always reserved for exchange students you will still be accepted for the course. Just go to the first session and tell the lecturer that you are an Erasmus student. In order to be correctly registered for the course you need to fill in this form and...
either send it via mail to: astrid.haehnlein@politik.uni-freiburg.de | or hand it in personally: Sekretariat der Professur Riescher, Rempartstr. 15, Room 4308. |
- You should only register for a course, if you really want to attend, otherwise seats are blocked for other students. If you don't want to attend a course you registered yourself for, please unsubscribe again.
- In any case, you should attend the first session of the course and talk to the lecturer about your attendance and the requirements to obtain your desired number of ECTS-points.
- Unlike regular students you don't have to register for your exams in the first weeks. Please discuss everything concerning examination with the academic staff of your courses.
Transcript of Records
In order to get a transcript of records, you need to fill in this document with your personal information and all the courses you attended and send it to erasmus@politik.uni-freiburg.de.
As soon as we receive all certificates of your completed courses ("Scheine"), we will sign your transcript and send you an email so that you can pick it up during our office hours. In case you already left Freiburg, we will send your transcript via mail to your home university.
Important: Please make sure that we receive all certificates for your courses ("Scheine"). Normally, your lecturers should send your "Scheine" directly to us via email. To be on the safe side, however, it is advisable to kindly remind your lecturers of this and send them a blank "Scheine"-form. If you are given a "Schein" in paper form, please hand it in during our office hours.
Accommodation
Since the housing situation in Freiburg is tense, we strongly recommend to apply for a room in a student residence hall. Deadlines for submitting your housing application are:
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Overview of student accommodation provided by SWFR (Student Services Freiburg): Link.
Application form for Erasmus students: Online Form, alternatively: PDF-Form
Further Information: International Office and EU-Office.
Language courses
During the semester, the Language Teaching Centre (SLI, Sprachlehrinstitut) offers free language courses for Erasmus students (these courses are marked with "-P" at the end of the course title). They deal with German grammar and writing, but also German history, society and culture. You can find further information here
During the instruction free period of the universtiy term, the SLI offers three different intensive language courses in German as a foreign language. They include courses of language and culture as well as a variety of extra curricular activities. For the three week introductory language courses in March, August and September please check the website of the SLI
Important: The free German courses for Erasmus students are very popuar. Therefore it is advisable to register for these courses as soon as possible.
Buddy Programme
Get a Buddy!
The Buddy Programme is an opportunity to promote cultural exchange and international understanding. It should help exchange students to integrate into their new life in Freiburg.
The idea is to pair an international student with a local student at the beginning of the semester. If you’re interested in the program we will do our best to find a buddy for you. Every match is different, so how much time you will spend together depends on you and your buddy. There are only some basic rules:
- To simplify the communication both buddy and guest agree upon exchange and efficient contact method – telephone, e-mail, etc.
- Your buddy will pick you up at the railway station and will help you to find your way to your new accomondation. If you arrive with the car you can arrange a meeting-point beforehand
- Your buddy is available for you if you have any questions concering the life in Freiburg or your studies
You want a Buddy?
Fill in this form and send it to buddy@politik.uni-freiburg.de until 31st of July for the winter semester and 31st of January for the summer semester.
We're looking forward to your arrival in Freiburg!!!