Contact

Exchange coordination, Summer Course

Christine Trappe

+49-441-798-4124

Advisor for international exchange students (during their stay in Oldenburg)

Christine Trappe

+49-441-798-4124

Office hours

Availability by phone
Mondays: 9 -12 a.m. and 14-15.30 p.m. 
Thursdays: 14 p.m.-15.30 p.m.

Online office hours
Tuesdays: 9.30 a.m.–10.30 a.m. in our virtual meeting room (BigBlueButton)

Office hours in presence
Tuesdays: 14.00 p.m.-16.30 p.m. (SSC)
Thursdays: 10.00 a.m.-12.30 p.m. (SSC)

Our team of tutors offers help and support with all general questions and about life in Oldenburg. The tutor team can be reached at

our facebook group International Students in Oldenburg

Exchange studies from A to Z

We very much welcome your decision to spend your exchange studies in Oldenburg and wish for your stay here to be something you will remember fondly for years to come. Pertaining to the academic formalities, studying in Oldenburg can be different to studying at your home university. Below we have summarised some helpful information

Academic calendar

Each semester comprises 14 weeks of courses. After courses end, there is an examination period of two to three weeks. Before the beginning of each semester, the International Office organises a Welcome Week for new exchange students.

Semester dates

"Academic Quarter" (c.t. and s.t.)

University courses usually begin 15 minutes past the hour (for example, at 8:15 am). This quarter of an hour is called the "academic quarter" and is announced with "c.t." (Latin "cum tempore" = "with time" = in this case the additional quarter of an hour). If an event starts at the hour, it is indicated with the addition "s.t." (Latin "sine tempore" = "without time").

A course listed in the course catalogue with duration 8–10 am thus lasts from 8:15 am to 9:45 am or 90 minutes.

Advisory Services, Inclusion and Accessibility

The first important contact point for international exchange students is the International Office at the University of Oldenburg. The International Office provides you with general information about studying, financing and staying in Germany.

In addition, the University of Oldenburg offers you a well-developed network of academic and social counselling services.

Advisory Services

CampusCard

The CampusCard is your student ID card, includes the semester ticket and can be used as a payment card in the university restaurants and for other services of the Studentenwerk. The CampusCard can also be used as a "key" for the lockers of the library.

Exchange students receive the CampusCard shortly after enrolment. The CampusCard is not transferable. If you lose your CampusCard, please contact us immediately.

general information on our university's CampusCard

Course and module: what is the difference?

A module is a content-related group of different courses, which is completed with an overall grade. Individual courses of the module can be ungraded.

Courses can take different forms, for example:

  • lecture (often ungraded)
  • seminar (frequently graded, exam could be a seminar paper)
  • exercise
  • tutorial
  • laboratory work
  • project

Modules are particularly relevant for regular enrolled students of the University of Oldenburg, but also have an impact on the choice of possible courses of exchange students. For example, if you would like to attend only a specific lecture, but not the other courses that belong to the corresponding module, an overall grade is usually not provided. If you attend a seminar, but not the corresponding tutorial and the lecture, the course is worth fewer ECTS than the entire module.

Credit points / ECTS

The workload for a module or course is measured in ECTS (credit points). One ECTS credit point translates into roughly 30 hours of work, of which only a part is spent in the classroom. The workload which regular students aim for is 30 ECTS per semester. An individual course can be worth anything between 3 and 10 ECTS. Usually, students attend courses totaling 30 ECTS per semester.

Credit transfer / Transcript of Records

All exchange students collect Proofs of Academic Achievement for successfully completed courses during their stay at our university. These proofs are later used as the basis for issueing a Transcript of Records at the end of a student’s stay.

Exchange students from the USA and Canada can have an American-style transcript of records issued; this requires an appointment with the International Office.

NOTE: Grades/exams for exchange students are not entered into the electronic examination system (Stud.IP). Please be sure to get your lecturers to sign your Proof of Academic Achievement so you can arrange for credit transfer at your home university.

E-Mail

All students receive a free university e-mail account with the address firstname.surname@uol.de. Because our university is sending official communications to this university e-mail address and we expect it to be regularly accessed, you should do so reliably. Also, some e-mail providers (e.g. hotmail, outlook, live, windowslive,…) might store e-mails sent from university addresses into your spam folder.

Enrolment

Exchange students enrol online in August/September or February/March. The CampusCard and the login data for Stud.IP are then created and are usually available shortly before the start of the semester.

The following documents are required for enrolment and will be requested by e-mail:

Examinations

Attention! Unlike regular enrolled students, exchange students can not register for exams via Stud.IP (learning management platform). You have to take care of the agreement of examinations at an early stage:

  1. In the first week of the semester, arrangements must be made with the respective lecturer for the examination to be taken: What type of examination is provided (written exam, written paper, paper, oral exam)? How many ECTS is the course including the exam worth? When does the examination have to be performed, when does the grading take place?
  2. Prior to the examination, the proof of academic achievement for exchange students must be filled in and handed in to the lecturer. After the exam, the form will be filled in by the lecturer and sent to the International Office.

Grade conversion

Institutional grading system and conversion
Local Grade ECTS Definition German Translation ECTS Grade
1,0 Very good Sehr gut A
1,3 A-
1,7 Good Gut B+
2,0 B
2,3 B-
2,7 Satisfactory Befriedigend C+
3,0 C
3,3 C-
3,7 Sufficient Ausreichend D+
4,0 D
5,0 Fail Nicht bestanden F

 

Library

To borrow books in our university library (BIS) and to use the printing and copying machines, you need a CampusCard. The card also works as a "key" to the lockers in front of the library.

Using the CampusCard in the library

The University Library works in conjunction with the Landesbibliothek at the Pferdemarkt and the Jade Hochschule Library. The user card can also be used for these libraries.

Learning agreement

You should set up your learning agreement with your academic advisor at your home university. In this document, you should state the classes you would like to attend in Oldenburg and send it to the University of Oldenburg. Your departmental coordinator at the University of Oldenburg will then review and sign it and send it back to your home university. Please inform both academic advisors/coordinators about any changes in your learning agreement.

Re-registration / semester contribution

February and July: time for re-registration! For continuing your studies in Oldenburg in the upcoming semester, please transfer your semester contribution to our university's bank account. Cash payment is not possible.

Re-registration

Stud.IP

Stud.IP is our university's online learning platform. Exchange students will receive their login after enrolment. An introduction to Stud.IP for exchange students is organised during the Welcome Week.

Tutors & buddies: support in daily life

Our tutors provide all international students with support in practical and organisational issues concerning studying and daily life in Oldenburg.

Our buddy programme pairs you with local students, who help and support you especially in the early phase after arrival.

Apply for the buddy programme

(Changed: 27 Feb 2024)  | 
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