German as a Foreign and Second Language Bielefeld University

Courses are held in German.

The Bachelor's programme consists of the following modules:

• Didaktik und Methodik / Theory and Practice of Language Teaching (seminars/lectures, classroom observation)
• Angewandte Linguistik / Applied Linguistics (seminars/lectures)
• Kulturalität und Sprache / Language and Culture (seminars/lectures)
• Zweit- und Fremdsprachenerwerbsforschung / Second and Foreign Language Acquisition Research (seminars/lectures)
• Sprachpraxis / Language Practice (seminars)
• Sprache und Kultur im Kontext von Beruf, Politik und Gesellschaft / Language and Culture in the Context of Policy and Society (seminars)
• Werkstatt: DaF-/DaZ-Praxisfelder gestalten und reflektieren / Workshop: Designing and reflecting on DaF/DaZ fields of practice
• Sprachlehr- und -lernwissenschaften / Language Teaching and Learning Sciences (seminars/projects)
• Praktikum/Internship – DaF/DaZ unterrichten, Kulturvermittlung – Teaching GFL/GSL, Cultural Mediation (seminar, internship)
• Bachelorarbeit / Bachelor's thesis
• Individueller Ergänzungsbereich / Individual studies

We offer the following support programmes for our students:

• a peer mentoring programme for students in their first semester
• writing workshops to support the writing of papers and theses
• semester-accompanying courses and counselling on academic work in our department

International applicants: 15 January for the summer semester and 15 July for the winter semester

Courses take the form of lectures, seminars and tutorials.
Independent work as well as active participation in academic discourse is expected and encouraged.

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Practical experience inside or outside of Germany is part of the programme. Programme advisers will assist students with finding an appropriate internship.

No tuition fees

Since Bielefeld University does not charge tuition fees, every student only has to pay a social fee. The social fee includes the contribution to the social ticket for free public transport in the city and area of Bielefeld and on regional trains and buses in North-Rhine Westphalia for the whole semester.

The current semester contribution is approximately 300 EUR.

Costs for studying in Germany are relatively high due to the living expenses.

• Rent in a room in student halls of residence or a private student hall, in a room or flat comes to approx. 280 EUR per month.
• The expected costs for student health insurance and other medical fees are about 120 EUR per month.
• Depending on your lifestyle, you might spend about 150 EUR on food each month.
• Altogether, monthly costs for food, clothes, leisure activities, social fees, travel expenses, telephone bills, and the other mentioned expenses add up to approx. 850 EUR.

There are several ways of cutting expenses in Bielefeld. For example, it is possible to rent a room in a student residence for about 250 EUR, and a meal at the student canteen (Mensa) costs only about 3 EUR.

Equivalent to German "Abitur"

Good knowledge of German is required and must be documented with

• A TestDaF certificate with at least level TDN 4 in all four exam parts, or a total of 16 with at least TDN 4 in the exam part “Writing”
• A Goethe Certificate C2 ("Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom")
• A DSH certificate ("Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang ausländischer Studienbewerber") with a result of DSH-2 or DSH-3, or equivalent
• A Telc C1 Hochschule.

https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/international/come-in/studium/studium-mit-abschluss/sprachkenntnisse/index.xml

English reading skills are required.

International applicants: 15 January for the summer semester and 15 July for the winter semester

No

Basically, with your residence permit (stamp in your passport), you will receive a work permit for 120 work days per year. This allows you to work 120 full days (eight hours per day) or 240 half days (up to four hours per day). This condition must be noted expressly in the passport by the authorities.

Please try to secure accommodation in Bielefeld as early as possible. In Bielefeld, a broad range of accommodation options can be found at affordable prices. Students residences are run by the public "Studierendenwerk" or private organisations, and shared flats are very common.

Offers of accommodation can be found online by following the links below:

• Studierendenwerk Bielefeld (dormitories)
• WG-gesucht.de (private shared accommodation)

The International Office supports students who are searching for accommodation.

Career planning is a step-by-step development and clarification process that requires individual strategies. Based on a strengths- and resource-oriented approach, we support you in developing your own career prospects.

Depending on your needs, our Career Service at Bielefeld University will accompany you throughout the entire process or in individual steps.

https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/themen/career-service

At PunktUm, our German Learning Centre, we offer a comprehensive range of academic support programmes that are designed to meet the needs of international members of the Bielefeld University. These include the Academic Mentoring Programme for Master's students, the Peer Mentoring Programme for Bachelor's students, and semester-long workshops designed to help all students and researchers with academic writing. We also offer individual consultations on academic writing in German as a Foreign Language (DaF) or German as a Second Language (DaZ).

The International Office provides an orientation programme for all international members of Bielefeld University, including degree seekers (BA and MA), double degree students, Erasmus/cooperation students, doctoral students, scholars, interns, and refugees/preparing applicants. Example of activities include Café International, campus tour, introductions to digital services and administrative procedures.