Semester Abroad

Select a faculty and check the experience reports. We will also be pleased to establish contact to students who have stayed abroad.

It may also be useful to download our checklist for a semester abroad.

	Design and Art				Minden Campus
	Engineering and Mathematics				Social Sciences
	Bielefeld School of Business				Health

Already know where you want to go? Then check whether your faculty has a partner university in the country.

Good to know: At a partner university, you will not have to pay any tuition fees, no matter where it is.

Could not find a match among our partner universities? You can also apply to other universities as a freemover.

Once you have found a university, check the following points (Tip: universities often have a special page for international students):

• During which periods do lectures and examinations take place? (They may differ from those of HSBI by several months!)
• Which courses could you attend there?
• In which languages are the courses taught?

You can specify up to three partner universities in your application. Therefore, please make sure to also take a closer look at your second and third choices.

Academic achievements from abroad can be recognised, so that a semester abroad can be fully integrated into your studies at HSBI.

It is best to check with your faculty whether courses attended abroad will be recognised before you apply for a study place. Even if they are not recognised, the courses attended abroad can be listed in your degree certificate.

You should also discuss with your programme director which semester is best suited for a semester abroad and whether it makes sense to postpone modules to a certain semester for the purposes of recognition.

Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics – Information on practical project & BAföG
Students from the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics can replace the mandatory practical project with a semester abroad. If you consider this, please make sure to take into account any effects that this may have on the length of your studies and your entitlement to BAföG (see Merkblatt Auslandsstudium IuM).

We recommend you get a rough overview of the costs of your semester abroad in advance (see checklist).

The good news is that there are many funding programmes and scholarships that offer financial support for your semester abroad. However, do pay attention to the application deadlines!

Some scholarships can also be combined, e.g. Promos + Mobility Grant, Erasmus+ Green Mobility Grant or “Auslands-BAföG” + most scholarship programmes.

Once you have clarified all points, apply for open exchange places at our partner universities.

The application periods are:

• Late November to 31 January for the coming winter semester and the subsequent summer semester
• Early May to 30 June for the coming summer semester

Once you have applied, you will find further information on planning and organising your semester abroad here.