Applied Intercultural Linguistics University of Hildesheim

Courses are held in in German (60%) and English (25%). Students can further select Spanish, French or Russian as elective courses (15%). 

Are you enthusiastic about exploring "foreign" cultures? Are you eager to learn how people from other cultures think, speak and act, and why they do so? Are you interested in studying how people exchange ideas and try to understand each other? How can the society and culture in which people grow up influence their world views, their behaviour and every communicative setting?

This course of study offers you a diversified perspective on communication by teaching you concepts and methods from the fields of applied linguistics, intercultural communication and cultural studies. This will help you understand why people from different cultures act differently, and it will enhance your ability to perform in intercultural settings. It will teach you where knowledge originates, how speech patterns are formed, how these patterns can be analysed and how they differ across cultures and how the media that people use to communicate influences the content of the message. By the end of the programme, you will be able to apply different methods to different types of communication and analyse face-to-face, text-based and image-based communication as well as all other forms of cultural representation.

In the first year of study, courses will mainly be taught in German and English, but later on, you may expand your communicative competence in other foreign languages, such as Russian, Spanish and French. In addition to the linguistic perspective, a few selected courses in information science will offer you insight into how humans process and assess information and how they interact with machines and via machines in complex global information and communication systems.

Domains of study:

• Applied linguistics
• Linguistic action theories
• Speech act theory
• Intercultural communication
• Cultural studies
• Pragmatics
• Multilingualism and multilingual communication
• English as a "lingua franca" (ELF)

For the winter semester: beginning of June until 15 July

For further details, see https://www.uni-hildesheim.de/studium/bewerbung/.

First year: theoretical introductory lectures to the fields of linguistics, cultural studies, information science and intercultural communication as well as methods of academic research and empirical analysis in the respective fields

Second year: advanced courses in linguistics and cultural studies that deepen empirical skills for the analysis of linguistic action in text and discourse and of authentic (intercultural) communication as well as communication in institutions of the economy and the field of education

Third year: semester abroad, project and preparation for the final thesis

All throughout the programme, you will have the possibility to earn 30 of the 180 ECTS in one of our elective courses (business administration, history, information technology, literature, media studies, philosophy, psychology, sociology, political science and translation studies).

Optional: one full semester (instead of studying abroad)

No tuition fees

You will pay a contribution of approx. 420 EUR per semester. This is a contribution to student services, university administration and the student council. You can use local public transport in Hildesheim and Lower Saxony free of charge. You will benefit from discounts on meals at the university cafeteria and much more.

You will need around 934 EUR per month to cover your living expenses:

• Rent, approx. 350 to 700 EUR
• Health insurance, approx. 130 EUR
• Books and stationery, approx. 50 EUR
• Meals, approx. 200 EUR
• Other expenses, approx. 100 EUR

Higher education entrance certification/qualification

German: TDN 4 / DSH-2
English: B2
Spanish, French, Russian: B1 (optional since elective)

For the winter semester: beginning of June until 15 July

For further details, see https://www.uni-hildesheim.de/studium/bewerbung/.

The university offers Lore-Auerbach scholarships supporting especially capable and socially committed students. Students in acute financial emergencies can apply for a scholarship from the Social Fund. The university is also in charge of scholarship programmes like the Deutschlandstipendium (the German public-private scholarship) and the Landesstipendium Niedersachsen (scholarship of the State of Lower Saxony).
See: University of Hildesheim scholarships

Additionally, the International Office offers scholarships that support international students with graduation grants, grants for commitment, the DAAD Prize (funded by the DAAD / Federal Foreign Office, AA), and Rotary Club scholarships.
See: International Office

There are many job opportunities for students on campus (in the different departments, the central administration, etc.) and off campus. You can find part-time jobs here:

• career service
• student and research assistant positions

International students are only permitted to work in Germany with a work permit. The student visa allows a maximum of 120 full days (or 240 half days) of work per year. If you earn more than 538 EUR a month, you will be subject to higher health insurance premiums.

Make sure your study workload and working hours remain balanced.

The International Office offers assistance.

The career service is aimed at students and recent graduates of all degree programmes at the University of Hildesheim in all phases of the transition from study to work. Contact us — we will be happy to support you! During career week, you can take part in workshops specially designed for international students, for example, in application workshops or career talks.

Language tandems, courses in German as a foreign language, centre for academic reading and writing ("Lese- und Schreibzentrum")