Study abroad

Every student is entitled to study abroad for one semester. Students at the Faculty of Engineering benefit from the Faculty’s close-knit web of partner universities. Our academic staff also maintains contacts with many universities worldwide. 

Programs and partner universities

• Erasmus-Programm
• EUCOR programme
• Partner universities at the Department of Microsystems Engineering
• Partner universities at the University of Freiburg

In any case, it is recommended to read the following website and attend the information session "Going abroad" held several times per semester by the International Office.

An internship abroad can also be useful to gather professional experience for your later career.

Contact persons

Leave of absence (Number of semesters, Attendance of classes, Completion of examinations)

During your stay abroad you have the possibility to taking a leave of absence from the University of Freiburg. During your leave, your number of semesters remains the same.

However: During your leave of absence, you are not allowed to attend classes or complete examinations, not even repeat exams.

Important! If you have to retake an exam and have applied for a leave of absence, please contact the examination office of the TF so that we can postpone the compulsory registration to a coming semester.

Because semester times abroad rarely match those at the University of Freiburg, you will need to thoroughly consider whether taking a leave of absence is suitable for you.

You can apply for a leave of absence at the  Student Service Center.

Examination overlap

Because the semester times abroad are different than those in Germany, it automatically leads to an overlap in the examination period. Every exam is offered every semester at the Faculty of Engineering. Students who want to do a semester or internship abroad have the following options:

1. Because every exam is offered every semester, you have the chance to complete your examinations during the exam period after your study abroad or internship. Your academic performance in the prior semester will be recognized, of course. In this case simply register for the respective examination upon your return from your study abroad.
   For those who study abroad, they have a lot of arrangements to make (accommodations, flight…) and are distracted by such things during exam preparation. You may wish to strongly consider whether this option might be better for you. From a time perspective, it shouldn’t be an issue because semesters abroad generally begin earlier and you tend to return in the middle of the following semester. For that reason, you have at least one and one-half months for exam preparation.

2. Should variation 1 not be an option for you, then you have the following choices:

• To apply for an early examination,
• To complete the exam simultaneously at the foreign university.

You have to apply for both options at the Board of Examiners. Please fill out our form for this purpose.

In the event you wish to complete the exam on site, you must first contact your foreign university and ask if it is possible and who would take on the role as on-site exam supervisor. Please note that some universities require a fee to offer such services that you would need to pay on site.

The examination form does not change for an early examination. If the actual examination is planned in the form of a test, then the early examination must be taken in this form. Due to capacity issues, the responsible examiner may not be able to provide you with an early examination. Obtain the examiner’s approval. By signing the form, the examiner declares his or her willingness to test you early.

It could also be that the examiner does not approve of your taking the exam on site at the foreign university. The reason could be that a possible time zone issue would make it impossible to arrange or the process might be too much work for the examiner.

Submit your completed form to the examination office. You will also need the following documents of proof: 

• Confirmation from the foreign university about your acceptance into their exchange program