Applications must go to the local Erasmus Coordinator at your home university, who will make the selection and nominate you for participating in the exchange program if your applications meets the requirements

Once you have been nominated by your home university and also been accepted by Freie Universität Berlin, you will receive all information via email starting about one term prior to your stay. Do not expect preparatory mails for the summer term before autum nor for the winter term before April. It is also only in these months that our FU distributed campus portal will be accessible to you.

Until then you may find relevant information here.

Orientation days are organized at the beginning of April and October.

At FU Berlin, the academic year is divided into two parts, called semesters:

• Winter semester / winter term:

  The lecture period of the winter semester starts mid-October and extends to mid-February.

  Officially, the summer semester spreads from 1st of October to 31st of March.

• Summer semester / summer term:

  The lecture time of the winter semester starts mid-April and ends around mid-July.

  Officially the summer semester spreads from 1st of April to 30th of September.

• Semester break:

  Sometimes (follow-up) exams are written in the first weeks or last weeks of the semester break.
  A number of courses are offered as blocks between terms during semester breaks. Pre-semester intensive language courses are also offered in these breaks.

Course Language

Only the Master Data Science is an English degree program. Here, however, the number of students admitted in general is very limited (currently it is 25 per application round) and so will be your chance to join the courses in this degree.

Level of Competence in German

German B1 as a requirement.
We however urgently recommend a higher level.

Level of Competence in English

English B2 as a requirement.
English C1 is much preferred – to your own benefit and the rest of the students' wishing to attend a successful lecture.

How to Find English Courses

The course language of each lecture is specified in the course catalog. It is specified in the course descriptions under the term "Unterrichtssprache/Course language".

• chose:

• click "Show Ancillary Courses" (nothing else)
• click "View"

• In the following list, filter for the status "Published" 

Useful Links

• Language requirements for ERASMUS incoming students
• German language courses prior to and during the semester offered by the FU Language Centre

• German skills for application and registration for degree programs

Exchange students are invited to attend all lectures and seminars which fit into their curriculum.

• for the winter term is usually available only in September, 

• and for the summer term in late March. 

Some courses are given annually, some every two years, but there are also courses which are given only occasionally or merely once.

Check the Course Cataloge here:

You find the most comprehensive course descriptions (including ECTS credit points) in the
MyCampus Course Management / Curriculum System (MVS = Modulverwaltungssystem) of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

By clicking on the courses that interest you, you may get information about their contents and their ECTS credits (LP = Leistungspunkte).

Module descriptions / Further details as to the courses' contents

In the following documents you find the module descriptions of our degrees so that you may check for yourself whether they meet your needs:

• BSc Computer Science -- module description as of page 9
• MSc Computer Science -- module description as of page 9
• MSc Data Science -- module description as of page 14
• MSc Computational Sciences
• BSc Mathematics
  
• MSc Mathematics
  

Other Ways of Checking the Course Catalog

Alternative but less informative ways to check for courses are via:

• the course catalog of the entire university
  In this view you may filter for the level of courses, such as BSc degree or MSc degree.
  Possibly check the Guide on how to use the course catalog before clicking through it.

• the course catalog of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science in a different format

1. General Professional Skills Courses (ABV) for BSc Students

These general professional skills courses (marked as ABV in the course catalog) may provide you with interdisciplinary skills in different areas to improve your career prospects:

• information and media
• gender and diversity
• organization and management
• communication
• sustainable development
• subject-related additional qualifications

2. Courses for International Exchange Students: European Perspectives on Berlin and Germany

Exchange students may sign up for special courses on “European Perspectives on Berlin and Germany" (Berlin- und Deutschlandstudien, BuDs).

Different modules cover key aspects of German history, culture or society, and help you acquire useful skills for a German academic environment.

• Orientation in Berlin and Germany
• Central Aspects of German and European Society and Culture
• Key Issues of German and European Culture
• Film, Art and Literature in a Social and Cultural Context
• Aspects of German and European Culture
• German and European Politics
• German Media – Media in Germany
• German History in a European Context
• Economy and Economics in Germany and Europe

3. German Language Courses

The FU Language Centre offers German language courses prior to and during the semester:

• the six-week intensive pre-semester courses may be booked for a reduced participation fee by exchange students
• courses during the semester range from 4–8 hours per week and are free of charge

4. Courses Offered by Other Berlin Universities

Students are very welcome to attend courses at

• Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU)
• Technische Universität Berlin (TU)
• Universität Potsdam

First learn about ECTS (LP), modules and courses

• You have to finish ENTIRE MODULES to receive ECTS
• ECTS = LP
• As a rule, classes with 4+2 hours (4 hours lectures and 2 hours exercises) typically have 10 ECTS, sometimes less, classes with 2+2 hours or seminars with 2 hours have typically 5 ECTS.
• You have to pass both, the criteria for the exercises (usually based on regular participation, and submitting exercise sheets) and for the lecture (typically an exam) to get the credits for the module
• There are also so-called seminars, in which the participants prepare a presentation based on studying the literature provided.

Then check the amout of ECTS for your courses

There are two options to check the ECTS credits of courses at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science:

First, go to https://mycampus.imp.fu-berlin.de/mvs2/
→ Course Planning (Planung)
→ Longtermschedule (Langfristplanung)
→ Course-oriented Schedule OR Module-oriented Schedule (see below)
→ Faculty: Mathematics and Computer Science
→ Department/Fachrichtung: Mathematics / Bioinformatics / Computer Science

Then either chose:

1. Module-Oriented Schedule

Select your study program:

• 0086e: 2023, BSc Informatik (Mono), 150 LPs for BSc Computer Science students

• 0089c: 2014, MSc Informatik (Mono), 120 LPs for MSc Computer Science students

• 0084e: 2024, BSc Mathematik (Mono), 120 LPs for BSc Mathematics students

• 0280c: 2018, MSc Mathematik (Mono), 120 LPs for BSc Mathematics students

• 0260d: 2023, BSc Bioinformatik (Mono), 150 LPs for BSc Bioinformatics students

• 0262c: 2019, MSc Bioinformatik (Mono), 120 LPs  (+1. Änderungsordnung 0262c: 2021 MSc Bioinformatik) for MSc Bioinformatics students

Example: If at home you study in the computer engineering department at the undergraduate level, it is the regulation "0086e: 2023, BSc Informatik (mono), 150 LPs" you need to choose at FU Berlin to see BSc courses.

2. Course-oriented schedule

The leftmost column under the heading "Modules" shows one or several "module keys".

• Select the module key with the prefix of your study program according to the above list and click it (e.g. 0086e).

• A subwindow will open, in which you find the ECTS credits in the box with the heading "LP".

For Bioinformatics, the course-based view is incomplete because many courses are given by other departments.

As a student of Mathematics or Computer Science, you need to enter modules into the lines of the OLA:

• If a module consists of several items, as is usually the case, enter the CODE number for both items on one line, e.g. 19303701+19303702 or 19303701 + 02.
• For the SUBJECT, it is sufficient to name the subject of the lecture and add "and practice seminar". 

Notice:The Distributed Campus portal recommends to enter "only individual courses (seminar, lecture, exercise, etc.)", but at our department the above applies.

At the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science you need to register in two systems before the semester starts to be able to attend classes and receive ECTS credits:

1. Registration in Campus Management (CM)

Register all courses you wish to take and agreed upon in the Learning Agreement in Campus Management (CM).

Only by doing so you may earn credit points and grades. CM is the official platform where all your grades will be uploaded at the end of the semester. You need to register in CM to „prove“ that you are enrolled in a class.

Modules sometimes consisting of two courses belonging together

In CM you have to you have to find the course via the module. Pick a module from a selection of modules that is available for your study program, and within that module, you have to select the course. The course name is the title with which you are familiar.

A course may be associated to several modules, because it belongs to different study programs (for example, Computer Science and Bioinformatics) or several classes are associated to the same generic module.

Some classes have several parts, typically "Vorlesung+Übung" (lectures + exercises/practice seminar). You need to register for both parts in order to get a grade.

You may use the same form for late module registration.

Return it to the

Department of Mathematics/Computer Science and Physics
Examination Office
Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin
maria.koekenhoff@fu-berlin.de
http://www.imp.fu-berlin.de/fbv/pruefungsbuero/index.html

2. Registration in Whiteboard

Secondly, register in Whiteboard, our Learning Management System at the department.

Whiteboard is the platform used to share documents, exercise sheets, register for tutorial classes etc.

1. Print a grade report showing your achievements in Campus Management. For a how-to guide read the reference guide to using CM as of page 17.
   
   
2. Complete the ToR request form (English version / German version) by providing ALL information asked for, thus listing all courses as agreed upon in your last learning agreement:
   • those you have attended, including
   • your German language courses,
   • courses for International exchange students,
   • lectures from other departments, or
   • from other Berlin universities
   • Do not forget those courses you have not attended but agreed upon in your LAs!
   In the last colum of the ToR request form, enter the ECTS you actually achieved, not the possible ECTS you might get for a course!
3. Send both the ToR request form and the grade report via email to international@mi.fu-berlin.de. Adhere to the email etiquette, please.

• The ToR can only be issued once you have collected ALL your grade certificates. Should this not be the case before your departure, then please wait patiently with the request until you receive the certificates or grades from your professors.

• There is no such deadline as the final day of the semester for issuing the ToR and thus no deadline for any lecturer here in Berlin to grade your exams by this day.

  Please understand that it is necessary to check ALL exams first to set up the benchmark for the individual grades. Also consider that there is a lot of other work piling up on our lecturer’s desks. We would thus appreciate you patiently await the normal process without putting too much pressure on those responsible. You may kindly ask them in person or via mail for a speedy entry of your grade into CM once all grades are given, but this is all you may do. 
  
  Thank you for your understanding.

• We cannot issue more than one ToR, thus no temporary transcripts will be issued.
• There is no deadline for requesting and issuing the ToR for you from our side.

Upon completion, the transcript of records will be sent by email to your home university with a carbon copy to you.
The original paper document will follow per postal service to the address you specify in the ToR request form if your home university needs a paper version.

Should you need a certificate of arrival, a confirmation of stay or attendance certificate at the start or end of your stay, please request it via mail from incoming@fu-berlin.de.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the mail address of the student mobility office of your home university?
2. When did you arrive in Berlin?
3. Did you participate in the pre-semester German course?
4. Did you participate in the orientation days?
5. On which day did you have your last class @ Freie Universität Berlin?
6. On which day did your last written or oral exam take place? 

→ The incomings team will send the confirmation directly to your home university and cc you.

Find information about our student advisory center on https://www.mi.fu-berlin.de/en/stud/beratungszentrum/index.html and do not hesitate to turn to one of our student mentors to help ypu finding your way at a German university.