Application FAQs

Please log in to the uni-assist portal and start your application. Please direct all your questions regarding the application procedure to uni-assist after reading the webpage carefully.

www.uni-assist.de

You should apply as early as possible, especially if you need to obtain a visa for Germany.

It is necessary to be in Weimar when the semester starts as it is difficult to catch up otherwise. If you arrive more than 2 weeks late, you may not be able to join some classes anymore. Before the start of the semester, in order to find accommodation and deal with any official paperwork, so you can focus on your studies once teaching starts.

Your acceptance to the program usually is valid for a full year. This means that if your visa is delayed, you can still start in the following semester. Or you can apply well in advance.

Visa applications are sovereign matters and we are not in the position to interfere. Questions about visa should be directed at the German embassy that is responsible for your visa process.

This can take anything between days and several weeks, depending on the number of things that are being checked. We try to process as fast as possible, but there are several departments involved besides of the Uni-Assist portal.

You can only apply with your final certificate. We need your final grade for the evaluation of your application. If just one final semester is missing please send the academic transcript. But you will have to hand in the complete transcript and final degree right before enrolment in order to start studies.

You need to hand in your proof of English right before enrolment.

German students need to provide their 'Exmatrikulationsbescheinigung' as they can't be registered at two Universities simultaneously.
Foreign students should ask their home University if this proof can be provided. Often your bachelor certificate will be sufficient. If we need further documentation, you will be contacted.

You need the letter of admission (LOA) for your visa application. It is important to know that the scan of the LOA is sufficient for starting the procedure and get a first appointment in the German embassy.

[Similarly: ... apply for the Summer Semester yy, ... enroll for the Winter Semester yy/zz ...]

Of course! We are well aware that, depending on your country of origin and residence, the German visa process can be painfully slow, and new students are sometimes forced to delay their enrolment by one semester. We don't permit a longer delay; two semsesters (over half a year) should suffice for the visa application.

In other words, if you apply for the Winter Semester xx/yy, you can enrol in either that semester or in the following Summer Semester yy. [Similarly: if you apply for the Summer Semester yy, you can enrol in either that semester or in the following Winter Semester yy/zz.]

Please note that in some exceptional cases, we accept students on the stipulation that they take one or two specific courses which were not covered in their previous studies. If these courses are only offered in the Winter Semester, you must start your studies in the Winter Semester. Likewise, if these courses are only offered in the Summer Semester, you must start your studies in the Summer Semester. For example, assuming you apply for the winter semester xx/yy, we will accept your applicaton on the Winter Semester stipulations and allow you to enrol in either the Winter Semester xx/yy or the Winter Semester yy/zz, but not in the Summer Semester in between. If  we accept you on the Summer Semester stipulations, you can enrol in the Summer Semester yy, and only in that semester. [The corresponding rule for Summer Semester applications accepted on  Summer Semester stipulations is obvious.] We stress that this is a rare exception; if we accept an application, we prefer to avoid stipulations, if possible.

The masters program takes a minimum of 4 semesters (2 years). If you are admitted with stipulations of doing additional courses, this might extend your studies depending on the number of extra credits and your speed of studying. With more than one extra course, you will most likely need at least five semesters. Even without stipulations, do not assume you will finish within exactly four semesters, as something can always go wrong (e.g. failing exams and having to redo them, getting sick and needing an extension…).

There are no study fees in Germany. There is only an administrative fee per semester of about 200 € that each student regardless of origin has to pay.

The 4 semesters or 2 years of study are the normal length of study for a full-time student.

You can extend your visa in the Aliens Department of the City Administration Weimar. In the German embassy of your home country you will get a students visa for 3 month. After enrolment in Weimar you can extend this visa depending on the amount of money you can prove for your personal living expenditures.

From the very start of the course, you must be able and willing to work and solve problems independently, without constant supervision. Learning by heart / by rote is not sufficient - you need to be able to think on your own and to be self-organized. This can present a challenge for some of our students.

Later in the program, you will also work in small project-groups and work collaboratively. At the end of the programme, you must be able to work both self-contained and as part of a team. We also expect you to be able to read scientific literature in English, and to write reports according to academic standards.

Yes, the program is taught entirely in English.

These are classes that you need to do on top of the normal program. They should be heard and completed successfully as early as possible. They help you to catch up on topic areas that your education did not provide, but that we consider essential background before taking the more advanced master courses.

German students need to provide their 'Exmatrikulationsbescheinigung' as they can't be registered at two Universities simultaneously.
For German students, it is possible to start studies and to hand in final certificates of the prior bachelor degree up to 1 month after semester has started.