EXCHANGE-COORDINATORS

UPCOMING EVENTS

The SUMMER SEMESTER 2024 runs from 10th April 2024 (orientation meeting) to 20th July 2024. 

Public holidays:

1st April (Easter Monday)
1st May (Labour Day)
9th May (Ascension Day)
20th May (Whit Monday)

German national public holidays are called „gesetzliche Feiertage.“ On the above mentioned days
German organisations, businesses and doctors are generally closed, but police stations and hospitals are open,
public transport is operating and supermarkets in main stations are open.

The International Office will be your main point of contact for non-academic issues before your arrival and during your time in Berlin.

For the enrolment, please send the following documents as an e-mail attachment to your international office coordinator in charge by the end of February (summer semester) or Mid-August (winter semester) at the latest:

• PDF of your ID or PASSPORT
• Poof of payment for the Semester Contribution - a bank statement or booking confirmation (see section "Semester Contribution").
• Provide us with a postal address, preferably an address in Berlin. The access details to your UdK account as well as access to UdK wifi will be send to this postal adress.

If you provide a postal adress outside Berlin, send us an address in Berlin as soon as possible (include the name on the postbox as c/o if necessary).

The enrolment is only possible with sufficient and confirmed health insurance coverage! (Please read carefully the section "HEALTH INSURANCE")

All students have to pay a mandatory contribution of 245,69 € before enrollment. The contribution is for the Student Social Services, the Student Union, and the German Semester Ticket (Deutschlandsemesterticket - DST).

Exchange student in Art in Context have to pay a different amount, the right amount we will be communicated via email.

Please transfer the complete amount and send us proof of payment by e-mail as JPEG or PDF e.g. copy of bank statement (you can blank everything out apart from name, currency and transaction amount) or a booking confirmation.

Please be aware that outside the SEPA AREA, you have to pay the TRANSACTION CHARGE.

The payment must be made to the account of the UdK Berlin:

Name of beneficiary: Kasse der UdK Berlin
Address of beneficiary: Einsteinufer 43, 10587 Berlin
Bank: Berliner Volksbank
Address of bank: Wittestr. 30, 13509 Berlin
IBAN: DE 72 100 900 00 884 101 50 46
BIC/SWIFT: BEVO DEBBXXX
Option: “OUR“ (i.e. all charges borne by the originator)
Reason for payment: YOUR NAME, YOUR COURSE OF STUDY + EXCHANGE SUMMER24

There is NO POSSIBILITY to pay here on arrival by credit card or in cash!

Depending on your age, the university has to be notified that you have adequate health insurance coverage upon the enrolment.

Students under 30 years old

Students under 30 years old must prove either that they have a statutory health insurance or that they are exempted from the mandatory statutory health insurance to enrol in a German university.

Prospective students from EU, EEA countries or Bosnia-Herzegovina, Great Britain, Macedonia, Montenegro, Switzerland, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey

Students from EU, EEA countries or agreement countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Great Britain, Macedonia, Montenegro, Switzerland, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey) can get their home country statutory health insurance recognize in Germany.

For the recognition, please contact one of the German statutory health insurance company (you can find a list at the end of this section). You will need your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC/ GHIC) or a certificate of entitlement (E-111, AT11, ATN11 or BH6 form) from your home country, the welcome E-Mail from UdK and an identification document (i.d. or passport). By contacting the health insurance company, ask them to transmit your insurance status electronically to the UdK Berlin.

Important! The health insurance card/certificate has to be valid for the entire semester (or academic year) for which you wish to enrol.

Please note, if you work in Germany next to your studies, your home country health insurance is not valid any more. You have to take out a German statuary insurance, which currently costs approximately 120 euros per month.

Prospective students from all other countries

Statutory health insurance

Students, who do not have an adequate coverage from their home country, may obtain a German statuary health insurance (you can find a list of company at the end of this section), which currently costs approximately 120 euros per month. Once you have taken out a statutory health insurance, please ask the company to transmit your insured status electronically to the UdK Berlin.

Private Health Insurance

Students, who wish to bring a private health insurance from their home country or obtain a private health insurance in Germany, have to apply for an exemption from the statutory health insurance (Befreiung von der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherungspflicht). Please note that the insurance benefits must correspond to the minimum benefits of a German statutory health insurance.

To apply for an exemption, you have to contact one of the statutory health insurance companies (you can find a list at the end of this section). Important! Your health insurance has to be valid for the entire semester (or academic year) for which you wish to enrol. If your request will be approved, ask the statuary health insurance company to transmit your insurance status electronically to the UdK. This is extremely important for enrolment, without this step the registration and examination office cannot proceed with your enrolment.

Please note, the exemption cannot be revoked; it is valid for the entire duration of your university studies in Germany.

You can contact any statutory health insurance company. Some are listed here, please choose a provider yourself and contact them directly.

• AOK
• Barmer
• DAK
• Techniker Krankenkasse TK

Here you can find the complete list: https://www.krankenkassen.de/gesetzliche-krankenkassen/krankenkassen-liste/

Students over the age of 30

Prospective students over the age of 30 are not required to provide proof of their insurance to enrol. However, It is compulsory for every resident in Germany to be covered by health insurance. Please inform yourself by your home country health insurance, if you are cover in Germany. Otherwise, you should obtain a German private health insurance.

Important! Students, who have to apply for a visa to enter Germany, usually need to present proof of a health insurance for the application. Please check with the German Embassy or Consulate in your home country.

The semester contribution included the German Semester Ticket (Deutschlandsemesterticket DST). This is a travel ticket, which is valid for all local and regional public transportation around Germany from April, 1st until September, 30th. EC (Eurocity), IC (Intercity) and ICE (Intercity Express) trains are not included. If at the time of the enrollment you gave a German address, the ticket will be sent it to you per post at the German address. Otherwise, you will have to pick up it at the StudyGuide, you will receive an email when the ticket is ready to be picked up. 

Exchange students in Art and Context do not receive the German Semester Ticket.

Our course catalogue for the winter semester 2022/23 will not be published before the end of September 2022.

Probably your home university needs you to get your learning agreement signed and confirmed before the mobility. We suggest to choose modules or general lectures which can be concretized in April. The agreement will be confirmed and signed by the exchange coordinator from your course of study.

We have integrated the Online Learning Agreement (OLA) into our incoming procedures. OLA is a web-based tool, which enables the digital processing of your Learning Agreement. If your home university supports the OLA tool, please use the e-mail address of your exchange student coordinator.

For some students it is essential to get the exact study dates of your exchange at UdK Berlin confirmed.
Please ask your home university for the form and get it signed by the International Office. Please note that the confirmation cannot be issued BEFORE THE LAST WEEK of studies.

Contrary to the system at many other universities, there is no central registration of courses for exchange students at the UdK Berlin. For this reason, neither the International Office nor the Registration Office (IPA) has information on which courses you have taken while on exchange here.
In order to obtain a Transcript of Records, you must collect ECTS points (and grades if necessary) and the signatures of the professors or lecturers you are studying with on the Record of Courses. This form will be provided by the international office. You should start collecting signatures during the last weeks of the semester. After collecting all signatures the form has to be counter-signed  by the exchange student coordinator in your college. Afterward please hand it over to the International Office.
Don’t wait too long however, as the teachers may not be available during the vacation period.

The Transcript of Records then will be issued and sent directly to your home institution within 5 weeks.

At UdK in many programs it is common NOT to award grades. In that case, please speak to your professors at the beginning of the semester. Otherwise the German grading scheme is as follows:

The Studium Generale is not a separate course of study. It is a cultural-scientific and interdisciplinary-artistic basic program integrated into bachelor and art diploma programs of the UdK Berlin.
In each semester there are a number of lectures, seminars and workshops of the Studium Generale to choose from. The courses in the field Cultural Studies offer multidisciplinary approaches to figures of thought, theories and methods. Interdisciplinary artistic practice and theory is the second focus of the Studium Generale. You can learn different art-specific thinking and behavior in interaction with students from other courses of study. A few are offered in English.

The Berlin University of the Arts has its own internet service, called O.A.Se. (Online Access Service).

You will receive your INTERNET ACCESS DATA, as well as information on your personal UdK e-mail-address at the orientation meeting or after individual consultation with your coordinator from the International Office.

It’s important that you activate the UdK e-mail address within 42 days of receiving the letter from the O.A.Se since all future information from the registration and examinations office will be sent to this UdK e-mail account. There is wifi available in all UdK buildings. If you are registered with „eduroam“, you can use your eduroam access details. There is also an unsecure wifi connection which can be accessed with the UdK e-mail address.

Volkswagen-Bibliothek
Fasanenstraße 88, 10623 Berlin
Opening hours
Mon – Fri: 9 am – midnight, Sat: 10 am – midnight

Registration
Mon – Fri: 9 am – 6 pm, Sat: 10 am – 3 pm

Please visit the university library website for up-to-date information on opening and registration hours.

In order to take out books / CDs from the library, you need to register for a library card. The registration desk is to the right of the lending desk on the ground floor.
Please bring your >> student ID, your identity card or passport, certificate of registration of your >> local address and residence permit for non-EU students with you. There is no charge for students registered at the UdK Berlin.

Lockers
The library offers lockers to store your coats and bags. The lockers, however, require a padlock, which can be bought or rented at the bookshop in the foyer or you can bring your own.

The International Office offers free German language courses, which are aimed specifically at exchange students. In the summer semester 2024, the following courses will take place:

Absolute Beginners A1
Mon, 5:00-7:30 pm (starting 15 April)
Bundesallee 1-12, room 341

Course book: Das Leben. A1.1. Kurs- und Übungsbuch. Cornelsen. (ISBN 978-3-06-121966-6)

Advanced beginners A1.2 and A2.1
Tue, 5:00-7:30pm (starting 16 April)
Bundesallee 1-12, room 341

Course materials will be provided by the teacher.

You can earn 2 ECTS for one German course if you attend at least 70% of the lessons. No marks/grades will be awarded for this course.

To register for a German course, please send an email with your name and which course you would like to attend to: jennifer.bartelheim_ @intra.udk-berlin.de

The Sprach- und Kulturbörse (language and cultural exchange), a student project of the Technical University Berlin (TU Berlin), offers German language courses that are not free of charge, but still quite cheap. These courses can’t be recognized as ECTS for your studies. Lessons and costs will be published approximately 6 weeks before the start of each semester.

You can also just go to one of the local Volkshochschulen (Community Colleges) in the district where you live. They offer language courses at favourable prices and you can get to know more people (not only students) that way.

The AStA (Allgemeiner Studierenden- Ausschuss) is the Student Union of the UdK Berlin
It represents the students in the administration, on various boards and in the faculties of the UdK Berlin. The AStA supports and coordinates student initiatives both within and outwith of the various colleges of the university.

The AStA usually holds meetings every week (Hardenbergstraße 33, Room 9), at which students can apply for project funding. Due to COVID-19, meetings are now held online. Please visit the website for up-to-date information.
Foreign students in severe financial distress may also request financial aid.