Exchange Students

Exchange Semester

If you study at one of our partner universities or as a freemover, you can study at HSBI for one or two semesters.

Application process

For exchange students from partner universities:

If you wish to study at HSBI as part of ERASMUS+ or other university partnerships and exchange programmes, your home university must nominate you in advance. After that, you can start the application process. Please make sure that you complete the application within the respective deadline.

For freemovers:

If your home university is not a partner university of HSBI, you can apply for an exchange semester as a freemover. In this case, too, please follow the online application process described below.

Online application with Mobility Online

Once your home university has nominated you, you will receive an e-mail from the International Office requesting your application. Please note that you must register through Mobility Online to be able to follow the next steps.

Please apply through our online application portal at this link:

Apply for a stay abroad at HSBI

The following documents must then be uploaded:

• Copy of your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)/proof of health insurance during your stay in Germany
• Copy of your ID card/passport
• Learning Agreement (for Erasmus students: course overview)
• Proof of language skills*
• Portfolio (only for students applying for an exchange at the Faculty of Design and Art)
• Letter of motivation (only for freemovers)
• Transcript of records

*Please find information on language requirements in our course overviews.

The International Office will contact you by e-mail approximately 4 weeks after the application deadline has ended. Once you have received your acceptance, you can start to prepare. We recommend you use our English-language HSBI Guide for International Students. It contains useful information and advice for the time before and during your studies in Bielefeld.

ERASMUS+ Charter for Higher Education

The Erasmus+ Charter for Higher Education is the general quality framework for European and international collaboration activities that higher education institutions can conduct as part of the Erasmus+ programme (for the entire document, see download box).

ERASMUS+ Student Charter

The rights and duties of students in the ERASMUS+ programme are described in the “Erasmus+ Student Charter” below (see also in the download box).