FAQ Incomings

Erasmus collaborations do not take place at the university level, but rather between degree programs. Your home degree program has a partnership with Romance Studies. For this reason, you are generally expected to take courses only in Romance Studies.

However, we understand that you might also want to take courses from other degree programs. Therefore, there is a regulation that allows you to take 50% of your courses from any program within the Department for Cultural Studies and the remaining courses from other departments or areas within the faculty or the university.

First of all, ask your home university whether you can submit the document later - they usually agree to that.

If your home university still needs the Learning Agreement now, select courses from an earlier semester. Later on, you can change all courses in the „During the mobility“ section of the Learning Agreement.

We recommend that you let us sign the document before you send it to your coordinators at your home university, in order to be sure that you don't have to make any unnecessary changes. And also, so you won’t miss the deadline.

But in case there is no other way, please make sure you write an email to Sonia López, in order to let her know on time.

Information on ECTS can usually be found in the course descriptions in the LSF (see also the screenshots available under Plan your stay > Course Catalogue (LSF). If no information is available there, please contact the respective course lecturers, as we do not have this information.

You can ask the lecturers if it is possible to get more ECTS. Often it is possible, for example by doing some kind of extra assignment. However, only the lecturers themselves can decide that. 

• Winter term: approx. July
• Summer term: approx. January

You don’t need any login data in order to use the course catalogue. Please refer to the guide available under Plan your stay > Course Catalogue (LSF). 

• Winter term: from September
• Summer term: from March

Please register for the courses as early as possible, as some courses have a limited number of participants. You will need a University ID for the registration. Please also read the information in the section "HHU Card / University ID" on this page.

Yes, you can already register so you can secure a seat in the course. In case one of the courses of the Learning Agreement is not approved, you can cancel your registration afterwards.

Due to technical issues, Erasmus students cannot apply online for an exam or a term paper as regular students do. Please inform the lecturers about this at the beginning of the semester and also tell them that you will need a proof of performance at the end of the semester.

Placement test for German + English courses:
On this page you will find firs infomation about the placement test for German + English courses.
Please address questions about the placement test to the Team “German as a Foreign Language” (German courses) or to the Team “Language Centre” (English courses) as we are not responsible for this and do not have any further information. 

If you want to take a language or translation course from Romance Studies (French, Spanish, Italian) that is not your mother tongue and you already have prior knowledge, please take the corresponding placement test. This allows you to start directly at the appropriate language level. If you want to take a language course for beginners (Grundkurs, A1 level) you do not need to take the placement test.

The placement tests for Romance Studies can be found here in the course catalogue.

Important: These placement tests are not offered in the summer semester. Please contact the lecturers of the respective language course so that you can find a suitable course together.

German courses:
Please address questions about the placement test to the Team “German as a Foreign Language”, as we are not responsible for this and do not have any further information. 

English courses:
Please address questions about the placement test to the Team “Language Centre”, as we are not responsible for these courses. 

Language courses from Romance Studies:
First, please see „Placement tests for courses in Romance Studies“ above, maybe you will find an answer there. And if not, you can contact our Language Lecturers or directly ask the course lecturers.

For the German and English courses, the placement test is mandatory, otherwise you won’t be able to register for the courses. For further questions, please contact the Team “Deutsch als Fremdsprache” for German courses or the Team “Sprachenzentrum” for English courses. 

For languages courses at the Department of Romance Studies, we strongly recommend to take the placement test. If you are unable to take the placement test, we recommend that you contact our Language Lecturers.

For the German courses, the placement test is mandatory in order to register for a course. For further questions, please contact the Team “Deutsch als Fremdsprache” for German courses or the Team “Sprachenzentrum” for English courses. 

For languages courses in Romance Studies, this is partly not possible in the winter term, so we recommend that you take the placement test.

Sometimes the course description states whether you can achieve a BN or an AP. Usually the lecturers inform you about this at the beginning of the course. This information is crucial for you, so make sure to know the difference between those two certificates:

An AP (Abschlussprüfung) is proof that you have regularly participated in a course and have completed an examination (e.g. written exam, oral exam, term paper). An AP always comes along with a grade.

A BN (Beteiligungsnachweis) is proof that you have regularly participated in a course and have performed a minor task (e.g. participation in final test, oral presentation or submission of assignments). By doing the assignments for a BN, students can receive a few ECTS, but usually no grade.

Advice: Talk with the lecturer at the beginning of the semester about the possibility to receive a grade even if you are attending a BN course. Usually this is possible, for example by doing some extra assignments.

Vorlesung: This is a lecture in which the lecturer talks about a specific topic. Usually there are no discussions with the lecturer and the number of participants is not limited.

Seminar + Einführung: The lecturer talks about a specific topic, but the format is more interactive. Discussions with the lecturers and other students play a central role in this kind of courses. The number of participants is often limited.

Tutorium + Übung: Within these courses, the content of a lecture or seminar is repeated and deepened. These classes are usually led by students of a higher semester.

A proof of performance, a certificate that confirms your participation in a course. This certificate also states the number of ECTS and usually the grade you have achieved.

Important: Usually students get this proof of performance online in the Students portal. But as Erasmus students cannot register for a BN or AP online due to technical issues, it is very important that you talk to the lecturers and tell them that you will need a “Schein” at the end of the semester.

Please also read the information in "Exam registration" and "Transcript of Records" on this page.

You have received the document “12 Key Steps” from the International Office, which explains when you will receive your HHU Card/University ID. If you have not received your HHU Card/University ID by the expected date, contact Monika Lent-Öztürk. She can ask the SSC (Students Services Center) to send you the data to activate the university ID by email so that you can register for the courses on time.

For information on this, please see the document "12 Steps to Take", which you received from the International Office.

Please contact Monika Lent-Öztürk and explain which problem you are having with the university ID, so she can refer you to the right contact person.

As soon as you have submitted all certificates („Scheine“) to Sonia López, she will issue your Transcript of Records and the send it by email to you and to your university.

Please also read the section “Transcript of Records” here.

This is not a problem: The ECTS recorded on the final Transcript of Records will be based on the certificates the student presents at the end of the Erasmus stay.

If you wish to extend your Erasmus stay for one additional semester, you have to fill out the “Request for extension” form, which you can find on the website in the List of Downloads of the International Office.

Then you have to send the document to your home university and to Sonia López, so they can sign it. Afterwards, you have to send a copy of the document to Monika-Lent-Öztürk.

You can find the semester dates of the University of Düsseldorf here.

There is no official exam period in Düsseldorf. The dates of the exams are set individually by the lecturers, so you should ask the respective lecturers about this at the beginning of the semester. 

Generally, written and oral exams take place in the last week of lectures or in the following 2-3 weeks. If the exam is in form of a written paper, the deadline for submission will be at a later, individually scheduled date (you do not have to be in Düsseldorf to submit written papers). Please make sure to discuss the exam dates with the lecturers!

The Department for Romance Studies is only responsible for academic questions (Learning Agreement + Transcript of Records).

For non-academic questions please contact Monika Lent-Öztürk from the International Office.

The Department for Romance Studies is only responsible for academic questions (Learning Agreement + Transcript of Records).

For non-academic questions please contact Monika Lent-Öztürk from the International Office.

The Department for Romance Studies is only responsible for academic questions (Learning Agreement + Transcript of Records).

For non-academic questions please contact Monika Lent-Öztürk from the International Office.

On this webpage you will find information about the de-registration from the HHU. 

For further questions please contact Monika Lent-Öztürk from the International Office.