For International Students

...about the Erasmus Program at the School of Business and Economics of the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB)

1 Application Procedure

2 The Faculty of Business and Economics

3 Timetable

4 The Structure of Studies

5 Information about Courses

6 Selecting and Attending Courses

7 Examinations, ECTS Grades and Credits

8 Transcript of Records

1 Application Procedure

The School of Business and Economics of the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) has Erasmus exchange agreements with more than 30 economics and business departments in Europe. If you would like to study business or economics at the FUB for a semester or a year, first ask your local Erasmus coordinator whether your department has an exchange agreement with the FUB-department.

If such an agreement exists and you are elected as an exchange student, your local Socrates-Erasmus coordinator will pass on the application to the central  Erasmus Office at the FUB. From there you will receive information about registration, student housing, etc. It is not possible to apply directly at the School of Business and Economics of the FUB. If you want to apply outside the Socrates-Erasmus program, please check the information for international students on the FUB website.

2 The School of Business and Economics

The School of Business and Economics at the FUB consists of a number of institutes that belong to the two main divisions of business and economics. You find a list of the institutes on the faculty's website.

The department buildings are located in Berlin-Dahlem, a residential area in the southwest part of the city. Besides providing extensive classroom and lecture hall capacity, the main building at Garystr. 21 also houses the economics library, the faculty's academic computer center, as well as the offices of the dean and the faculty administration. There is a small cafeteria in the basement.

The university library is only a block away and the Mensa is about a one minute's walk from the main building of the faculty of business and economics. Nearby are the law faculty and the political science faculty. Between the main building, the Mensa and the law faculty is a large grass courtyard offering a place to relax between lectures that provides students additional opportunities to meet or work together.

Two computer labs provide ample opportunity for students to use personal computers. In addition, students are also able to work in the excellent reading room of the library for business and economics with its extensive collections of books and periodicals. Both rapid transit and bus lines (see Public Transport in Berlin) provide convenient and fast access to the business and cultural offerings of downtown Berlin. The closest subway station is U-Bahnhof Thielplatz on the line U 3.

3 Timetable

The FUB has a semester system. The teaching period in the winter term starts around mid-October and ends around mid-February. The teaching period of the summer term is mid-April until mid-July. You find the exact dates on the FUB website.

Examinations for most courses take place in the 2-3 weeks after the end of the teaching period. Please take this into account when planning your studies at the Faculty of Business and Economics of the FUB!

All necessary information concerning courses, dates, registration and events you will be able to find on Distributed Campus, after you have been accepted at School of Business & Economics. Please take into consideration, that payment of an Erasmus grant is connected to the duration of your Erasmus stay.

4 The Structure of Studies

The School of Business and Economics offers several programs at the BA and MA level. You find more detailed information on the BA programs and the MA programs on the faculty's website: http://www.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/en/index.html

Bachelor Programs

You can also download brochures about the programs here

B. Sc. in Business Administration:

BWL-Bachelor-Brochure (pdf)

BSc. in Economics:

VWL-Bachelor-Brochure (pdf)

These brochures also contain a proposed curriculum (Studienverlaufsplan). Since all programs start in fall/winter term, you can figure out which courses are typically offered in the winter and summer term, respectively.

Even more detailed information can be found in the regulations (Studien- und Prüfungsordnungen) of the programs. These also contain descriptions of the content of all modules in the program.

5 Information about Courses

An overview of all current courses at the FUB can be found on the FUB website. Here also the courses in economics and business are listed. Unfortunately most of these courses are in english. You can take any of the courses from the Bachelor BWL or Bachelor VWL. If you want to take part in courses of other faculties than the School of Business & Economics, you have to contact the Professor and ask for permission.

These web pages are regularly updated between the teaching periods. The typical forms of teaching are:

V (Vorlesung): These are lectures.

Ü (Übung): These are recitation sessions or tutorials, where the material of the lecture is reviewed and exercises are solved. In many cases a course consists of a combination V/Ü.

S (Seminar): These are seminars. Besides regular attendance, a typical seminar requires the student to write a thesis and to present the thesis in the classroom. Seminars typically require registration and some preparation during the semester break. Therefore, it is advisable not to plan to attend seminars in the first semester of your visit.

PG (Project Gruppe): These are small groups that require the participating students to work on some project. Project groups typically require registration and some preparation during the semester break. Therefore, it is advisable not to plan to participate in a PG in the first semester of your visit.

6 Selecting and Attending Courses

You should select your courses in coordination with your supervisor at your home university and prepare a Learning Agreement. You can find a description of the modules in the Studien- und Prüfungsordnung. Before sending the Learning Agreement to your home university please let it stamp and sign first at the International Office of School of Business & Economics.

International Office

Sandra Hallscheidt                                                       

c/o Marketing-Department

Otto-von-Simson-Str. 19

14195 Berlin

Tel: +49(0)30/838-52548

Email: Sandra.Hallscheidt@fu-berlin.de

Office hours: on appointment

Assistant:

Lisa Strüven

Email: LisaMalena.Strueven@fu-berlin.de

You can always get advice and information at the International Office.

You need also a second signature from Erasmus Office.

At the main entrance in Garystr. 21 you find an announcement board with information about the location of courses and last minute changes.

You have to register for selected courses in the beginnig of the semester on Campusmanagement! If you want to attend courses from other Departments please contact the Professor who is teaching the course you selected. He has to accept your participation in his course.

7 Examinations, ECTS Grades and Credits

You have to register for exams in the beginnig of the semester under Campusmanagement (see also Merkblatt des Prüfungsbüros)! Examinations for most courses take place in the 2-3 weeks after the end of the teaching period. Please take this into account when planning your studies at the School of Business and Economics of the FUB!

The ECTS System allows you to transfer examinations at the FUB to your home university. (Please ask your local supervisor to what extent ECTS credits and grades are acknowledged at your home university.) Per semester you should acquire about 30 ECTS credits. To each course in the BA and MA program a specific number of "Leistungspunkte (LP)" is assigned.

One LP is equivalent to 1 ECTS credit. According to the study and examination regulation for Bachelor and Master Studies of the School of Business and Economics at Freie Universität Berlin 1 ECTS is equivalent to 30 working hours.

Even more detailed information (but only in German) on LP can be found in the study and examination regulation (Studien- und Prüfungsordnungen) of the programs. 

FU Berlin Grading Scale - ECTS Grades

8 Transcript of Records

Please request your Transcript of Records before you leave Berlin! In order to do that, you need to fill in the form and hand it in in the examinations office.

All courses that you take and for which you perform work during your stay at the Freie Universität in Berlin are listed on the Transcript of Records. Within the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), courses are assigned a certain number of credits which reflect the work load required for the course. Please keep in mind that for exams that you did not pass (result 5.0) you will get no credit points. As soon as all grades are received we will prepare your final Transcript of Records.

Please consider that the Prüfungsbüro will provide you a Transcript of Records only if you completed at least 3 courses at School of Business & Economics. In case you received many "Scheine" and Grades from other Departments, they have to be given to the Erasmus-Office. In this case the Erasmus – Office will prepare your final Transcript of Records.

To receive the Transcript of Records from the Freie Universität in Berlin after completion of your studies you need to download the transcript application form here:

Application Form (Deutsch)

Application Form (Englisch)

Please fill out the form completely with Name, Surname, Birth Date and Home University. Mark with a cross if you want to pick up the Transcript of Records personally or in case you leave Berlin give the address it can be send to.

During the office-hours you can pick up your Transcript of Records personally at the Prüfungsbüro of the Department of Business and Economics. Please write the exact pick up date.

Please submit your transcript application form completely filled with all important documents and all academic achievements (ABV, Language courses, grades from other Departments) at the Prüfungsbüro of the Department of Business and Economics. If you did not receive any "Schein", fill out the list with the name of the Professor and the original course name. The Transcript of Records can be written only in German.

Necessary documents

• Certificate of enrolment
• Copy of the passport with biometric picture
• All academic achievements (ABV, Language courses, "Scheine" from other Departments)
• Information about registration at Campus Management

Prüfungsbüro

Freie Universität Berlin
FB Wirtschaftswissenschaft
Prüfungsbüro
Garystr. 21
14195 Berlin

Telefax: (030) 838 52383

E-Mail: pbwiwiss@fu-berlin.de