Application for studies abroad

If possible, please indicate several universities in the order of your preference. As the information given here applies to both the application for partner universities within the Erasmus programme and for our other partner universities, the universities from both categories can be mixed.

After return, a written experience report of about 3-10 pages has to be submitted.

To apply, please fill in the application form digitally, sign it and send it together with the other application documents as a pdf file to zib-jura(at)uni-koeln.de during the application period.

Alternatively, it is also possible to submit the documents by post (postal address).

Information on application deadlines can be found here.

Language requirements

For London, Birmingham (for stays longer than six months), Amsterdam and Pittsburgh, proof of very good English language skills is required. For more detailed information on the individual requirements of the universities, please refer to the overview pages (London, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Pittsburgh). Proof can be provided by the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), among others; it is recommended to register for one of these tests early. At Duquesne University (Pittsburg), only the TOEFL iBT (Internet-based Test) is accepted for the TOEFL. For the TOEFL, which is now offered in 34 authorised test centres in Germany (including Cologne), this registration can be done online at www.toefl.org; the IELTS was taken over by the Carl-Duisberg-Centren, Hansaring 49, after the dissolution of the British Council in Cologne. Information on this can be found at www.cdc.de. The test result must be submitted with the application to ensure that you will actually be able to start your stay abroad in the event of an allocation. If it is no longer possible to receive the result in time for reasons of time, we would ask you to at least send us confirmation of your participation/registration, stating the specific date of the test and the expected date of notification of the result (January at the latest).

Otherwise, sufficient to good knowledge of the national language is generally required. This varies from university and country to country. Before applying, you should inform yourself about the respective requirements, either independently or at the ZIB office. You can find the required language level on the overview pages of our partner universities. Any kind of certificate attesting to the required level within the framework of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (A1-C2) will suffice as proof (e.g. Abitur certificate with corresponding information, certificate of a language course). If the relevant proof of language proficiency cannot be submitted or can be submitted later, the partner university has the right to reject the student.

Consideration will be given to whether the languages are usually offered in German schools.

In Leuven, Liège, Sofia, Tartu, Clermont-Auvergne, Thessaloniki, Komotini, Catania, Florence, Milan, Rome, Verona, Siena, Akureyri, Zagreb, Vilnius, Skopje, Bergen, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Krakow, Lodz, Warsaw, Coimbra, Lisbon, Bucharest, Uppsala, Fribourg, Lausanne, Bratislava, Maribor, Barcelona, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid (Carlos III), Ankara, Bursa, Istanbul, Izmir, Budapest and Pécs, knowledge of the national language only is desirable and knowledge of English is required. National law is still generally taught in the national language at these universities. At the partner universities in China and India, it is also possible to take courses exclusively in English.