FAQ – Preparatory German Courses

Courses take place in blended format, which means that they are partly taught online and partly face-to-face on Bielefeld Campus.

To participate in the courses, you must live in the region and be able to take part in face-to-face classes in Bielefeld regularly.

• Access to the Internet
• A laptop/computer that is Internet-ready (you cannot participate via smartphone)
• A camera
• A microphone

Yes. Classes take place daily from Monday to Friday.

We will announce the exact times at the orientation event.

The courses end with an internal university exam at the respective CEFR levels.

You will not have to pay course fees if you attend our courses. They are financed through third-party funds.
However, to participate in the courses, you must enrol at our university as a language course student. Once you have enrolled, you will have to pay the semester contribution (https://www.hsbi.de/studium/semesterbeitrag [German]).

Yes. You must pay the semester contribution. However, you can ask the welfare services that provide for you (Jobcenter/Federal Employment Agency/Social Welfare Office) whether they can cover the costs.

No. The semester contribution must be paid as a whole before the course starts.

No. You cannot obtain a bachelor’s or master’s degree. You will be enrolled in the subject “German” as a language course student. In order to obtain a degree, you must enrol in specialist studies.

Please send us an e-mail at deutschkurse@hsbi.de and let us know.

Yes. Please send us an e-mail at deutschkurse@hsbi.de as soon as possible, but by the start of the course at the latest. Reimbursement of the semester contribution after the course has started is not possible.

Unfortunately, you cannot. You can only apply for a place until the application deadline. Please send us an e-mail at deutschkurse@hsbi.de and we may be able to put you on a waiting list.

Your chances do not depend on when you apply. All complete applications received by the end of the application deadline will be considered. However, we do recommend you apply early.

If your application documents are complete and fulfill all requirements, you have a good chance of getting a place. However, we may have to reject some applications due to the limited number of places in our courses.

The selection is made after the application deadline. You will thus be informed approximately three weeks after the end of the application period.

If you are still waiting for documents at the time of your application, please let us know by sending an e-mail to deutschkurse@hsbi.de. Please note, however, that complete applications are given priority and we cannot admit you until you have handed in all documents.

If you submit all other application documents in their entirety on time, you can hand in your VPD certificate later until 6 weeks after the application period has ended (26 February/26 August) in exceptional cases. Please note that complete applications will be given priority! We will not be able to enrol you until you have submitted your VPD certificate.

Please find information on how to request a VPD certificate on this HSBI website or at uni-assist.

Yes. You can also apply for a place in the preparatory German course from abroad. HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE: Please apply for a start in the semester after the next. This way, you have sufficient time to apply for a visa. You must be in Germany by the beginning of the course. There is no way you can attend classes from abroad.

Please upload your current residence permit. As soon as you have a new residence permit, please send it to us by e-mail at refugee@hsbi.de.

Please ask your last German teacher for a detailed description of your German skills, including statements on the four competences reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Please upload this statement as a PDF file. Please note that complete applications are given priority.

Please check the German Academic Exchange Service's database on admission requirements: https://www.daad.de/en/study-and-research-in-germany/plan-your-studies/admission-database/