FAQ

In principle, you can apply for a place at any of your faculty’s partner universities. At some partner universities, there are additional restrictions (e.g. to certain study programmes or to bachelor’s or master’s students). The International Office will be happy to advise you on this.

Applying at a partner university has many advantages:  You do not have to pay tuition fees, you will be supported in finding accommodation (or a place in a dormitory) and, in the case of long-standing collaborations, you can be almost sure that courses taken at the partner university will be recognised for your studies at HSBI. Maybe there are a university and a country which you might like that you didn’t think of at first?

However, if you cannot find a suitable partner university, you can apply at any university abroad as a so-called “Freemover” for one or two semesters. This can lead to higher costs (because you have to pay the local tuition fees) and more personal effort in organising your stay abroad for you. In some target countries, applications are only possible or practicable through certain intermediary organisations.

These are the fundamental selection criteria:

1. Academic achievements
2. Knowledge of the language of instruction at the favourite university
3. Motivation for choosing the favourite university

Depending on your faculty and the universities, there may be additional criteria. Students in the Faculty of Design and Art must, for example, submit a portfolio when applying to the target university.

The selection committee consists of representatives of your faculty and employees of the International Office. The final decision as to whether or not you will be admitted to the university lies with the partner university.

This question cannot be answered easily. Among other things, it depends on how many places we have at your favourite university per year (usually between 1 and 10), how many students apply for these places this year and how good your academic achievements are compared to the other applicants.

Using tactics (“I'm sure everyone wants to go to Canada – I don’t have a chance anyway”) often doesn’t work, because the number of applicants varies from year to year. Apply for the universities that interest you most. You can specify up to three favourite universities. If none of the three are possible, we will suggest another alternative. Until today, no one has had to stay at home because there were no open places at all.

We use the online application portal Mobility Online to process applications for places at our partner universities. Please find the link to the portal in the call for applications for study places/scholarships and on the International Office’s website.

The motivation form is automatically created from three text fields in our online application portal. In the first field, you should describe your plans in one or two sentences. The second field is the most important one; here, you should describe your reasons for applying to a particular university and the added value that this will bring for you personally, academically and, if applicable, professionally. There is no minimum length – what matters is that you explain your motivation clearly and convincingly.

In the third field, you should enter which courses you wish to attend at the host university. You should think about this in advance and, if necessary, talk to your faculty’s adviser.

No. In your application, please refer only to your first choice.

You should create your CV and motivation form in English or, if the language of instruction at your favourite university is French or Spanish, in that language.

If you can see a green check mark in the “Application submitted” field, your application has arrived.

As a rule, you will receive feedback on your study place within four weeks after the application period has ended. It may take a little more time for us to tell you whether you will also receive an Erasmus+, PROMOS or other grant.

Please clarify with your faculty in advance whether and to what extent your academic achievements can be credited towards your studies in Germany. As a rule, the chair of the respective examination committee is responsible.

Before you leave, you will record which modules you would like to attend abroad and what will be recognised at HSBI in a Learning Agreement (LA). You, the chair of the examination committee and the person responsible at the host university will sign the LA. If you wish to change your choice of courses abroad, you must clarify this with the chair of the examination committee and record it in the LA.

HSBI students do not have to pay tuition fees if they spend their semester abroad at a partner university. However, a semester contribution like that at HSBI may have to be paid.

You will have to pay for everything else (flight, accommodation, cost of living, etc.) yourself. How much you will have to pay depends on travel costs, the accommodation you choose, current exchange rates and local cost of living. Please find money-saving tips in the experience reports written by students from previous semesters (ILIAS: Repository > Zentrale Angebote > International Office). You will also find information on the cost of living in other countries on DAAD’s website: www.daad.de/laenderinformationen/de/

• Erasmus+ and PROMOS: no
• Erasmus+ and Mobility Grant: no
• PROMOS and Mobility Grant: yes

As a rule, you can apply for as many scholarships as you want, but if you are accepted for more than one scholarship, you will have to inform the International Office about it. For example, you cannot get more than one grant from EU funds for the same stay abroad, and a full scholarship (e.g. from DAAD) is generally not compatible with other full or partial scholarships. If you have a question about a specific scholarship, the International Office will be happy to advise you.

Applying for “Auslands-BAföG” can make sense even if you do not receive BAföG in Germany. The BAföG office in Bielefeld is not responsible for your application. It depends on your destination country which one is. Please visit this website to find out: https://www.bafög.de/de/ausland---studium-schulische-ausbildung-praktika-441.php

In principle, it is possible to extend from one to two semesters. The International Office will be pleased to inform you whether there is still a place available for your second semester and whether or how you can apply for a scholarship again.

You will also have to apply for the extension at the host university; please make sure to ask for the deadline there.

You can modify your Learning Agreement in the online application portal. Please enter the new courses and any other necessary changes. They will then have to be confirmed by the chair of your examination committee and by the host university.

If your stay is part of an Erasmus+ partnership, you should receive the transcript of records from your host university within five weeks of the announcement of the last exam results.