Incoming students

Your home university needs to officially nominate you by sending us the filled in Application Form.

We accept nominations:

• between April 1 and June 30 for the winter semester
• between October 1 and December 31 for the summer semester

After the nomination period has ended, we will send you a list of documents you need to hand in to finalise your enrolment at Witten/Herdecke University.

Your application documents must reach us:

• by September 1 for the winter semester
• by March 1 for the summer semester        

Please note: If you need a visa for coming to Germany or if you fall under the so-called “REST Directive” (non-EU students holding a residence permit of another EU member state, except for Denmark and Ireland), make sure to prepare you documents well in advance. You can find further information under “Visa & REST Directive”.

Successful applicants will receive a formal Letter of Admission after submission and approval of the application. Admitted students may submit their Learning Agreement of their home institutions for processing. Information concerning the further steps of matriculation/enrolment will be sent by e-mail.

You can find the curriculum of the faculties and departments in the campus management system UWE. A short guide in English to UWE can be found here. The system is freely accessible.

Winter semester: October 1 - March 31

Summer semester: April 1 - September 30

Download relevant information on the grading system

The University offers a selection of classes in English in all Bachelor and Master courses. The international Master courses Philosphy, Politics and Economics and Strategy & Organization are taught exclusively in English.

International students are required to have a language competence in the language of tuition of level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Psychology students need a C1 level in German.

Language certificate

International students enrolled at partner universities do not have to submit a language certificate with their application.

Freemovers are required to submit the respective proof of language competence with their application.

UW/H offers weekly German courses for non-native speakers in cooperation with the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). The courses are aimed at international students and doctoral candidates (regular enrolment and participants in exchange programmes). The courses take place at RUB and include general language and scientific language courses, language courses for specific purposes as well as courses on selected special topics (e.g. regional studies). You can participate in up to 2 courses per semester (1 general language course + 1 course from another category), provided that you have the required level. The current semester programme can be found here.  General language courses at levels A1-A2 take place twice a week and are worth 4 ECTS. All other courses take place once a week and are worth 3 ECTS. If you are interested in taking German classes, please send your course wishes to international-incoming@uni-wh.de until 1 September (winter semester) or 1 March (summer semester).

All international students who enrol at Witten/Herdecke University must have proof of health insurance that covers their study visit in Germany. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have sufficient health insurance coverage. There are the following possibilities to prove health insurance in Germany:

a) Students from Europe with a compulsory health insurance in their home country:

Students from EWR/EU-countries and students from countries with which Germany has a social insurance treaty (former Yugoslavian states, Switzerland, Turkey, Tunesia) need to hand in one of the two following documents:

• the Form AT/11; E111; E128 (International Foreign Medical Insurance Record Card) issued by your local medical insurance company in your home country OR
• a copy of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by your local medical insurance company in your home country

b) Students from Europe with a private health insurance in their home country & students from non-European Countries:

These students must either obtain a health insurance through a public insurance company (also called “German compulsory health insurance”) or buy a private health insurance for their time of studies in Germany:

• Public Health Insurance (in German: “gesetzliche Krankenversicherung“): It covers all medical and emergency dental treatments and hospitalization – no additional payments necessary.
• Private Health Insurance (in German: “private Krankenversicherung“): It needs to cover your study stay in Witten. Travel insurance is not sufficient.

Attention: Students with a foreign /a private health insurance for Germany need to be released from the German compulsory health insurance requirement. For the enrolment procedure it is extremely important that you send us a scan of your proof of health insurance and the respective form for an exemption from the German compulsory health insurance by September 1 (Winter Semester) or March 1 (Summer Semester) respectively. If you do not send it in time, the issuing of the SmartCard and the Semesterticket might be delayed! Please note that this release from the insurance requirement cannot be withdrawn and is valid for the entire time of study in Germany. Students released from the national insurance requirements must arrange in advance for reimbursement of potentially high medical costs from their private health insurer. Please check carefully in advance which insurance coverage your private health insurer is offering.

Visa

Information regarding visa regulations can be found on the homepage of the German Federal Foreign Office or the local foreigners' registration offices (Ausländerbehörden). The International Office of UW/H is happy to help in questions of visa application and procedures under international-incoming@uni-wh.de.

REST Directive

If you hold a valid residence permit for study purposes for another member state of the European Union, except for Denmark and Ireland, you can study in Germany without a visa for up to 360 days. Please be aware that the residence permit needs to be valid throughout your stay in Germany. This facilitated mobility applies to students who come to Germany within the frame of a university cooperation, such as Erasmus+.  

You need to hand in the required documents at least 40 days before your planned entry into Germany.
You can find a list of the required documents here.

The livelihood of students is considered secured if they have a monthly amount of 934 EUR. Subsistence can be proven as follows: 

• Scholarship
• Payment of a security deposit into a blocked account. The account will be blocked until you arrive in Germany and the monthly amount you can then withdraw or transfer is limited. Further information on blocked accounts, including a list of blocked account providers, can be found here.
• Declaration of commitment, e.g. to be submitted to a German embassy or consulate abroad.
• A written confirmation from the parents (information in the letter: amount, period, date and signature) and a copy of the passport. Evidence of how the student will receive the money (e.g. bank statements with corresponding transfers).
• Bank statements, not older than 3 months.

As Witten/Herdecke University does not have a student dormitory, all students are responsible themselves for finding accommodation in or around Witten. There are mainly two options to find housing while staying in Witten: 

a) Find a room in a shared flat with other students (a so-called “WG” = Wohngemeinschaft)

Most students live in a shared flat with other students. This is a great way to integrate and make friends with local students. You can find current offers for rooms in shared flats here:

• Wg-gesucht.de

https://www.wg-gesucht.de/en/wg-zimmer-in-Witten-Herdecke.139.0.0.0.html

https://www.wg-gesucht.de/en/wg-zimmer-in-Witten.3094.0.1.0.html

• Facebook Groups:

Marktplatz UWH: https://www.facebook.com/groups/161184514022200/

Share & Care Witten https://www.facebook.com/groups/sharencarewitten/

If you are interested in a room that you found online, send a personal message and introduce yourself. Try to make the message as personal as possible. The more personal, the higher the chance of hearing back from your potential future flatmates.

b) Find your own flat 

If you do not want to live in a shared flat, you can also try to find your own apartment. Common websites for searching for apartments are:

• ImmobilienScout24.de
• Ruhr Nachrichten Wohnungsportal:  https://immo.ruhrnachrichten.de/mieten/witten
• ImmoWelt:  https://www.immowelt.de/suche/witten/wohnungen/mieten
• wg-gesucht (see above) also sometimes has apartments.

If you contact landlords directly, please note that you need to write a more formal message. Introduce yourself as a tenant and state how long you plan to be in Witten. Please note that landlords may not necessarily speak English. Nevertheless, you can of course start off by sending out English messages. If you encounter language barriers, feel free to get in contact with the International Office for support.

Please note: The earlier you start with your apartment search, the easier it will be to find a place that suits your needs! If you need any assistance in finding housing, please contact us at international-incoming@uni-wh.de.

Diversity in all facets has highest priority at UW/H. UW/H welcomes all students irrespective of their race, religious beliefs and creeds, sexual identities, physical abilities, political convictions and socio-economic status who subscribe to these core values of respect and acceptance in turn.

International students with special needs are cordially invited to get in touch with the International Office before arrival at Witten. With one exception, all buildings of UW/H are barrier-free.

To be honest, Witten itself may not quite be as exciting as Berlin. However, it boasts a nice student scene in the Wiesenviertel – and is situated in the bustling Ruhr metropolitan area, the third largest agglomeration in Europe with top class concert halls in Dortmund and Essen, a lively pub scene in Bochum, first-rate football clubs in Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen, innovative theatres in Dortmund and Essen – all within easy reach by train and bus within less than 30 minutes. It is centrally located in Germany, with excellent connections to Düsseldorf and Cologne (just over an hour), Hamburg and Berlin (about three hours by train). Further information can be found on the Life in Witten and Erasmus Student Network Witten pages.

If you want to study at Witten/Herdecke University as a freemover (= students from non-partner universities) please send us the filled in Application Form until 30 June (winter semester) or 31 December (summer semester). We will check for availability and get back to you shortly.