Modalities

​Dates

• Application deadline 1st selection round (Global and Erasmus): December 1st of the respective year

Please inform yourself about application deadlines and start dates at foreign universities. The allocation of a place by the Department of Philosophy is not equivalent to registration at a foreign university. The allocation of a place merely means that you have been nominated by the University of Bayreuth to study abroad at the respective host university. The host university must still approve this nomination. This may require a further application. However, nominations by the University of Bayreuth are rarely rejected by host universities.

General Information

Detailed information on the application process can be found on the website of the International Office. So if you need more detailed information, please use this website first. You can also join an e-learning course offered by the International Office (in German). In addition to helpful presentations and webinar recordings, you will find all the information on the website in a clear and concise form.

Application

As a student at the University of Bayreuth, you can apply for all Erasmus and Global places at the University of Bayreuth. However, there is a special contingent of philosophy places for students of philosophy degree programs. You can find an overview of these places here and by using the search form of the International Office (also considering the B.A./M.A. programs of Philosophy & Economics (P&E)). As a P&CS student, you will be given preferential treatment when applying for a philosophy place (however, as a study abroad is mandatory in the P&E Bachelor's program, those students will be given preference over P&CS students). In return, you might be given lower priority when applying for a non-philosophy place. Applications are made via the International Office's MoveOn platform. You can state a maximum of three preferences for study abroad places (i.e., a maximum of three preferences for the Erasmus area and a maximum of three preferences for the Global area). It is irrelevant whether these are philosophy or non-philosophy places. Please note that all study abroad places are always allocated by the partner universities for a whole year (winter and summer semester). Although you can start your studies abroad in the summer semester, a separate application for studies in the summer semester is not possible.

Binding acceptance of a place

If you have been allocated a place in the first round, you can then accept it on a binding basis. “Binding” means that you give up or withdraw any other applications you may have submitted at the same time and that you have no other reservations. Please also note that the Department of Philosophy only makes a proposal for the allocation of places, but the final decision lies with the International Office and the partner universities. Please inform us of your binding acceptance as soon as possible after the allocation of places. You will then receive all further information from the International Office.

Important: If you have accepted a global place, you will no longer be considered for the allocation of Erasmus places!

Language Skills

For all study places, sufficient language skills in at least one of the teaching languages are a mandatory requirement for a possible allocation. If there are several teaching languages at a university, preference will be given to students who can demonstrate proficiency in all languages. The criteria of the International Office for proof of language proficiency apply. These can be found in the MoveOn Publisher. The language to be proven is the language of instruction at the respective university. This means that you do not necessarily have to speak French or Dutch in Belgium, for example (even if this is noted in the language certificate table), as long as only English is spoken at the respective university. You must check this on a case-by-case basis.

Please take care of the necessary language training in good time and with foresight. Please bear in mind that you can usually only start a language course at the University of Bayreuth's Language Center in the winter semester.​

DAAD-Test

In many cases, a DAAD test is sufficient proof of language proficiency. This can be taken directly at the University of Bayreuth. To find out whether a DAAD test is actually sufficient, please refer to the corresponding language certificate table (see above).

Criteria for the acceptance of applicants (Global)

The allocation of places from the global contingent is carried out centrally by the Presidential Commission for International Affairs of the University of Bayreuth. As the corresponding meeting of the Commission usually takes place in December, the results of the allocation are usually sent to the relevant students before the Christmas break. Two criteria are taken into account in the selection process: Average grade (75%) and letter of motivation (25%).

Use the template provided by the International Office for the letter of motivation.

Critaria for the acceptance of applicants (Erasmus)

The allocation of Erasmus places abroad from the Philosophy & Economics contingent takes place in the first allocation round by the Philosophy department. A selection is only made after the global places have been allocated. The acceptances and rejections of the first selection round are usually not published until February. Three criteria are relevant for the allocation of places: Average grade, the preferences for study places abroad stated in the application, and the planned period of stay. In contrast to an application for a global place, a letter of motivation plays only a subordinate role (e.g., to tip the scales). The above criteria will be weighed against each other for allocation. Basically, the more preferences you state, the greater your chance of getting one of these places. The fewer preferences you state, the greater your chance of getting exactly this place. In this respect, you have to weigh things up accordingly. A better average grade also leads, ceteris paribus, to preferential treatment.