Frequently Asked Questions

For many companies, experience abroad and language skills are among the most important recruitment criteria.

A semester abroad also contributes enormously to personal development.

A semester abroad is a compulsory part of the Bachelor's degree course and usually takes place in the fifth semester.

A stay abroad can be both a study program and an internship and then

• at a university,
• at an institution similar to a university (e.g. a state or private research institution)
• or in a company abroad.

be completed abroad.

• personal interest
• the quality of the chosen facility
• NOT its geographical location!

The university offers:

• study places at partner universities worldwide for Osnabrück students
• ERASMUS+ study places abroad within Europe without tuition fees
• Financial support for study visits and internships

You have to organize it yourself:

• a study place at a university with which there are no contracts
• Internship at an institution or in a company

Participation in the information exchange in the 2nd semester (especially with regard to DAAD offers) is strongly recommended.

The application deadline for Erasmus and university cooperations is the beginning of February (applies to the following winter semester and summer semester of the coming year).

Further information on the timetable for planning the semester abroad can be found in this  presentation by the Mentoring Team (PPTX, 560 kB).

• Are there specific agreements in my field of study?
• Which countries and which universities are involved?
• What is the university system like in the target country?
• Do I have or how do I acquire the necessary foreign language skills?
• Does the university I am interested in offer suitable courses for my subject?
• Will my academic achievements abroad be recognized here?

In principle, you can also go abroad in the second semester of your Master's degree, but it is to be expected that the study project cannot be completed in this semester, as this usually requires regular personal attendance. If you start the study project in the first semester, it may also be unfavorable to go abroad in this semester, as this would then clash with the second semester of the study project.

However, you can also start the study project in the third semester, which would mean that the final thesis would take place in the fifth semester. So if you want to go abroad, it is likely that you will not be able to complete your Master's degree in the minimum period of study. An earlier start to the study project is conceivable in principle, but is not usually recommended. If there are restrictions on participation, Master's students always have priority.

It is not formally forbidden to bring the semester abroad forward.
However, it is strongly recommended that you (largely) complete the compulsory courses beforehand, as these cannot usually be counted as recognized credits from the semester abroad, but form the content basis for being able to take meaningful further courses during the semester abroad.
As the compulsory courses usually continue into the fourth semester, a stay abroad before the fifth semester is generally not recommended.

Yes, the following options are available:

• Up to 4 ERASMUS+ applications and up to 2 HSPs.
• Or 3 HSPs and no ERASMUS+ application.

However, the application procedures are different:

• For HSP, please contact Beate Teutloff in the International Office.
• For ERASMUS+ applications, please contact the Mobility Office of the IKW.

An internship can also be completed.

The credit points from the semester abroad can be recognized either in the profile-building elective area or, if individual credits are relevant for one of the modules, also in the respective compulsory or compulsory elective area. This is usually done after the semester abroad. To do this, please first contact the module coordinators with the course documents and the examinations office with their signature on the form. Please note that the module coordinators differ in the new and old examination regulations. If you are considering switching to the new examination regulations, make the decision before you have the courses credited. Otherwise you will have to go through the process twice.

To apply for recognition of credits from abroad, you must do the following:

• Fill out and print the form for each individual course to be recognized:
• (EN)  Application for approval of external credits for Cognitive Science (PDF, 170 kB)

• For the recognition of foreign credits in compulsory and elective modules, please contact the person responsible for the relevant module (see list below). Submit the completed form, your course certificate or the foreign transcript of records as well as detailed information about the contents and requirements of the course in question.
• Submit the completed and approved forms, course certificate or foreign transcript of records and detailed course information to the Examinations Office.
• For the elective module ("profiling elective area"), the documents can be submitted directly to the Examinations Office without prior approval.

Responsible modules in the examination regulations 2024

Module coordinators in the 2019/20 examination regulations

In the case of two independent Bachelor's degree programs, recognition of academic achievements in both degree programs is possible upon application.

If you take a leave of absence for the obligatory stay abroad, you can still take examinations in Osnabrück. It is therefore advisable to apply for a leave of absence at the Admissions Office.

The only advantage of remaining enrolled is that you can validate your CampusCard, i.e. when you return you can use the semester ticket and can pay cashless in the canteen (but of course you will then have to pay the full semester fee).

• Makes contact (approx. in July or December)
• Requires various documents: (e.g. Grant Agreement, Learning Agreement (OLA), Certificate of Attendance, Transcript etc.).
• Explanations and deadlines for the return of documents can be found in the approval letter
• Further information can be found on the  website of the International Office. Information on the ERASMUS+ program is also available from the   International Office.

•  CogSci-Mobility Office (ikw-eras@uni-osnabrueck.de: Laura Krieger & Janine Steinke)

DOSNABRU01

 Here.

 Prof. Dr. Sebastian Musslick/IKW

No.

You can obtain a language certificate from IKW by sending an e-mail to  ikw-eras@uni-osnabrueck. Please include your full name and matriculation number.

Alternatively, you can also obtain a "DAAD Language Certificate English B2" from the Language Center without a test.

Yes.

Up to 12 months in one study cycle.

Theoretically, an extension of the stay is possible if both the host university and the school (IKW -  ikw-eras@uos.de) agree and if the number of places at the host university still allows it.

Approval can be obtained by e-mail and must then be forwarded to Laura Rohe. She will then check whether an extension of the funding is possible. Otherwise, an extension without funding would also be possible (this is known as a zero grant and is the difference between the actual length of stay (mobility phase) and the financially supported length of stay (Erasmus funding period).

In addition, a new Learning Agreement or an amendment to the Learning Agreement must be submitted in which the courses for the following semester are listed (another 24 - 30 ECTS per semester). Subsequently - after Laura Rohe has checked the extension of the funding - she will send the amended funding agreement.

The approval and the "Changes to LA" must be submitted at least five weeks before the official end of the originally planned stay abroad.

Students should take out international accident, liability and health insurance.
It is up to the students themselves where they take out their insurance cover.
Within Europe, students are insured with a health insurance card (EHIC). However, the insurance cover only covers the minimum standards in the respective host country, so additional insurance is usually advisable.

In order to get an impression of a possible partner university, it is possible to view various experience reports in the ERASMUS office. These reports often contain information on courses, accommodation, travel, etc., which is very helpful for preparation.

After their return, participants in the ERASMUS program must write a report on their stay abroad. The report must be submitted to the International Office; please also send a version in the form of a pdf file to  ikw-eras@uos.de.

• The Learning Agreement is an agreement (study contract) between the exchange students, Osnabrück University and the partner university.
• In the Learning Agreement, students must enter the courses they are expected to take at the host university before starting their studies abroad (Table A).

• The Online Learning Agreement is created in the ERASMUS+ app or on the   OLA homepage

• The ERASMUS+ app can be downloaded from the App Store or the Google Play Store. Further information can be found on this   website.

• Students enter the courses in "Table A: Study program abroad"
• As "Sending Administrative Contact Person" please enter Laura Rohe from the International Office, as Sending Responsible Person please enter Laura Krieger/Janine Steinke (ola-cogsci@uos.de)
• IMPORTANT: in Table B, enter only the following text:
  CS-BW - "distinguishing elective courses/free electives" (do not enter any courses)
• For "Total" in table B, please enter the sum of the ECTS from table A
• Please do not enter any courses in table B!
• The fully signed Learning Agreement is one of the requirements for the payment of the Erasmus grant and must be received before the start of the stay abroad.

Laura Rohe

 laura.rohe@uni-osnabrueck.de

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Musslick

o la-cogsci@uni-osnabrueck.de

 ola-cogsci@uos.de

Please always include this e-mail address in the "Sending Responsible Person" field.

In the standard case, students enter the courses in "Table A: Study program abroad" and only the following text in Table B: "distinguishing elective courses/free electives". Enter the sum of the ECTS from Table A in "Total" in Table B.

The recognition of courses in compulsory elective modules is usually carried out after the semester abroad. See "Recognition of credits in elective, compulsory or compulsory elective modules" for more information.

• As a rule, the EU requires students to complete 30 ECTS credits per semester.
• Our profile-building elective area (CS-BW) comprises up to 33 ECTS, which means that the planned 30 ECTS abroad can be completed in full.

Irrespective of this guaranteed recognition of courses attended abroad in the profile-forming elective area, individual courses can also be subsequently upgraded in the compulsory elective area in accordance with the previous recognition practice. To this end, students' documents must be checked by the colleagues responsible for the individual areas of Cognitive Science.

In addition, students can obtain a syllabus in advance for individual courses at the foreign university location that they would definitely like to include in the compulsory elective area later and submit this to the colleagues responsible for the individual areas of Cognitive Science for review, so that they can assign corresponding compulsory elective modules and credit points in advance, which will be recognized later.

If you only discover on site that there is a course on offer that you would like to have recognized, you must complete a "Changes to the LA". Afterwards, you can then use a   form to have your achievements abroad recognized (  How to get approval of foreign university credits (e.g., from your semester abroad).

This (provisional) course selection must be signed by you, your host university and the IKW.

Please enter   ola-cogsci@uos.de as the recipient. The Mobility Office and Uwe Meyer can access the inbox.

• One to two weeks after the application deadline
• We will then nominate you to the partner university
  (you will be kept up to date by email)
• The nomination by the IKW Mobility Office does not replace the later official application/registration at the partner university!

• the timing varies from university to university
• a little patience is required
• some universities do not send out registration links before May/June

For the completion of the Erasmus mobility

Please hand in all documents to Laura Rohe at the International Office. She also requires a Transcript of Records (TOR) from IKW in which the courses completed abroad must be entered. Before the courses can be entered in the transcript, they must be recognized. The necessary steps are described in the section "Recognition of courses from the semester abroad for compulsory, elective and optional compulsory modules", as well as in the FAQs of the respective examination regulations.

•  Database exchange places
• Scroll down
• Set "School" to "International Office (university level)" - is the last one at the bottom
• Contact person is   Beate Teutloff at the International Office

• Applications are made directly via the University's International Office.

•  Website of the International Office

• The application deadlines for the coming academic year are expected to be at the beginning of February 2026; exact dates will be announced in the fall.

• Yes
• A   form (PDF, 127 kB) must be submitted and approved by   emailbefore departure

• Yes.
• Further information on the  Internship subpage and at the   CogSci Mobility Office

Whether you are doing an internship in Europe (via ERASMUS+) or outside Europe, the following conditions always apply:

• The internship can be completed at a university or a research institution comparable to a university.
• The duration should be 3 - 6 months (at least three full calendar months without interruption or 12 weeks).
• Scope of work: 30 working hours per week
• You must obtain approval for the internship before starting. To do this, please use the "Request for Approval of Semester Abroad (PDF, 181 kB)" form at
  and send it to:  ikw-eras@uos.de
• All deviations (e.g. internships at companies, shorter duration, etc.) must be approved on a case-by-case basis. Approval is usually granted if the relevance for the course content in the subject Cogsci is evident. Please note the deviation from the conditions on the RoA. We will then take care of the approval.

IMPORTANT!
An internship in another European country can be funded via ERASMUS+. Please contact us.

• Osnabrück University does not sign internship agreements that may be required by foreign employers/institutions.
• Internship agreements are bilateral contracts to which the UOS has no connection.
• If an agreement cannot be waived, then we at UOS have drawn up our own agreement, in which we merely take note of the internship.
• This agreement can be requested from the   International Office.
• You could contact your host institution and ask them whether the document can be used as a replacement.

A self-organized internship requires a high degree of initiative. Think about where and with whom you would like to do an internship and for what professional and possibly personal reasons. Write to the person in question and ask about the possibility of an internship. A transcript or letter of recommendation from one of your local professors may be requested before you are accepted.

• What do you need the letter for?
• Is a pdf sufficient or does it have to be uploaded to a portal (please provide the link)?
• Name a date by which you need the letter of recommendation (allow time for both sides).
• If you have a transcript, attach it (otherwise write a grade overview yourself).
• Why did this internship offer arouse your interest? What qualifies you in particular?
• Which cognitive science modules are you particularly interested in?
• What else do you do? Tutoring? Member of a committee? Voluntary activities such as Welcome Week, taster studies etc.)? Voluntary work?
• Experience (e.g. second degree, completed degree, additional qualifications, vocational training, internships, awards, scholarships, ...)

At the end of your internship, the host organization must sign the "Request of Approval" and, if possible, stamp it. You   send the form back to the Mobility Office after your return.

•  General information
•  Preparation
•  Funding incl. application documents

Studies:
The necessity of the thesis must be clearly evident from the topic of the thesis. In addition, one of the two reviewers must be from the host university. Since the thesis does not have a scope of 24 - 30 ECTS, additional courses should be taken at the host university.

Internship:
This should be a full-time internship of 30 - 40 hours per week.

If you are planning this, please make an appointment with the Dean of Studies.

Only 1 letter of recommendation needs to be uploaded. This is automatically linked to every application - just like the CV, the transcript and the other documents. Only the letter of motivation differs and should be tailored to the respective projects.

Students can find Life Science, for example, under Biology and click on it. In the next text field, students can then specify the exact subject.

If the transcript is issued in English by the university, the electronically issued transcript can simply be uploaded without notarization. Notarizations are only necessary if applicants have to prepare a translation themselves. However, this is not the case at Osnabrück University.

By applying to RISE Worldwide, students apply for specific projects and for the scholarship. If they are successfully assigned, they automatically receive the scholarship.

Also important in connection with the scholarship:

The "Deutschland"-Scholarships and the RISE Weltweit scholarship are not compatible, i.e. the Deutschlandstipendium must then be suspended.