All Business and Engineering exchange students (these are students from partner universities studying for a limited time in Pforzheim) will have to send the relevant application material (see below) to the International Programs Office at Pforzheim University. 

Design exchange students have to apply at the Design Faculty and will find more information here. Please do note the different deadlines! 

Step 1: Nomination 

Exchange students have to be nominated by the responsible coordinator of their university. 

Nomination deadline spring:                   October 1st

Nomination deadline fall:                        May 1st

After the nomination deadline the nominated students and the coordinator will be informed about the application procedure and requirements. 

Step 2: Application 

After the nomination you will receive an email with the request to create an account. After creating the account, you can upload the requested documents in Mobilty Online and complete your application.  You will be notified about the application process and missing documents. Please provide an email address that you check regularly. The contact will only occur via email. 

A complete application comprises:

•  the completed and signed
•  a short CV
•  1 passport photo in jpg format
•  transcript of records (grade sheet)
•  a sufficient TOEFL score or an equivalent official English certificate, proofing a B2 level
• a Learning Agreement: 
  Most probably you have already filled a learning agreement from your home university. We will continue the approval process with this learning agreement, you do not have to submit an additional one.
  
  In case you did not fill and submit a learning agreement so far:
  > All ERASMUS students please use the ERASMUS+ learning agreement either the .doc-file  or the pdf 
  > Overseas/non-Erasmus students: please use this learning agreement form

Application deadline spring:                    October 15th

Application deadline fall:                         May 15th

Course selection

• The Bachelor Exchange Program ISP can be found here (exchange students of the Business School and of Engineering and Management)
• The Master Exchange Program IMEP can be found here
• Information about German courses can be found here (all exchange students)
• For the course of in the School of Design, please contact Barbara Dofek

Step 3:  Acceptance

After the International Programs Office has assessed your admissibility, the Letter of Acceptance will be issued and sent to you after the application deadline.

Afterwards, you will be informed via email about the further steps you will need to take.

Step 4: Preparation to arrival phase: 3 - 1 month(s) before arrival

After you have been accepted, you will need to arrange further preparations before arrival.

Accomodation:

Please note that you have to look for apartments, student residences, shared flats etc. on your own, but we are, of course, always willing to assist you, if needed. If you are interested in a place in one of the student residences, you are supposed to apply very early (3-4 months in advance). 

A list of student dorms you will find here.

Health insurance: 

All international students have to provide evidence of adequate health insurance for the study period in Germany. Therefore, a health insurance policy should cover all costs for medical treatment in Germany. The costs for the health insurance may differ by age, gender and home country.

You can find further information here. 

Visa:

Depending on their country of origin, people wishing to enter the Federal Republic of Germany are subject to different entry requirements. Every exchange student is responsible for her or his visa application her- or himself.

Students from countries requiring visa have to apply for a student visa in their country of origin, or the country of their home institution, before entering Germany. For enrollment a study visa is required (a tourist visa cannot be converted into a study visa)!

EU citizens and EFTA citizens (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) do not need a student visa. After enrollment, they need to register at the residents' registration office.

Citizens from the following countries do not need a student visa either, they need to apply for a German residence permit at the respective Foreigners’ Registration Office in Germany:

Australia •  Israel • Japan • Canada • New Zealand • South Korea • USA

Important notice: Whether you need a visa or not is determined by your nationality. It does not matter in which country you study, i.e. where your home institution is located. If you study in a different country than your country of origin and have a residence permit for this country, you still need to apply for a student visa for Germany. Please inquire about visa regulations concerning your country of origin as soon as possible.

More detailed information can be found here.

Step 5: Enrollment

To complete the process of enrollment at our university (immatriculation), we will request the following documents:

• copy of your visa for the study abroad period (in case it is required)

• a transfer for "Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe" (student service fee) and for the student ID

• proof of adequate health insurance 

Step 6: Arrival

Students are required to arrive at Pforzheim University on time for the orientation session some days before the course start (ISP Program). Pforzheim University organizes an introduction period for new (international) students at the beginning of each semester. During these days you will meet your fellow students.