HWR Berlin Language Centre

Since 2020, the Language Centre and some of the modules coordinated there have been accredited by the UNIcert® quality seal. This allows the awarding of university-specific foreign language certificates, which list in detail the foreign language skills acquired at HWR Berlin and assess them with a grade.

Currently, we can award such certificates as part of participation in the Business English (FB1) series at the UNIcert® II (equivalent to CEFR level B2) and UNIcert® III (equivalent to CEFR level C1) levels. The integration of other departments and foreign languages is planned.

While the mentioned series is curricularly integrated into various study programs only at Department 1, it is also available to students from the Lichtenberg Campus as an additional offer if there are enough remaining places available. Please contact us if you are interested in taking up the offer!

Please note that in order to be awarded a UNIcert language certificate, you must fulfill various conditions. One of the most important rules is that all modules of a language level (B2 or C1) must have been completed in full (8 SWS in total). Only in cases of a correspondingly higher placement is the last 50% of the series (4 SWS) sufficient for the acquisition of a corresponding certificate. The complete regulations can be found here.

The Language Centre of the HWR Berlin is an accredited test centre for the computer-based placement test onSET.

Please note that we can only offer this test to students of the HWR Berlin!

Since the test involves costs that are covered by the HWR Berlin, HWR students can also take this test for specific purposes only:

• As part of your application for study abroad at the International Office. If you do not have any other proof, you will receive an invitation to take the test from us shortly after the application deadline. 
• As proof for an application for exemption from modules in the area of languages/key qualifications (FB1 Business English), if you have already reached level B2 in the placement at the beginning of your studies. The test for this is offered once a semester in May and November. If you are interested in taking it, please contact sprachenzentrum@hwr-berlin.de.

Otherwise, there is no possibility to take the onSET placement test at HWR Berlin.

Are you studying at the HWR Berlin and applying for a DAAD scholarship? You need to provide proof of language proficiency for your application, but you do not have any of the supporting documents recognized by the DAAD? This is how you can obtain proof:

All languages - with courses at the HWR Berlin:

If you have already completed a language course at the HWR for a certain level, we can issue you a supporting document on this basis. If you are currently attending a course but have not yet completed it, you can ask your lecturer for their assessment. In any case, please first enter the information you need on the appropriate form and then contact either your instructors first or the Language Centre directly. For forms issued by teachers, you may subsequently receive a stamp from the Language Centre. Please send the completed document to sprachenzentrum(at)hwr-berlin.de.

English - without a course at the HWR Berlin

If there are no English language courses in your degree program or if you have not attended any so far, we usually have to test you first. Dates for this are flexible in terms of time and can usually be arranged at short notice - but please contact us at least one week before the end of the relevant DAAD period, only in this case can we ensure timely issuance. sprachenzentrum(at)hwr-berlin.de.

Other languages - without a course at the HWR Berlin

For languages other than English, we unfortunately do not currently have the capacity to test you if you are not already enrolled in a course in the language. In this case, if you need a language certificate for a DAAD scholarship, you may be able to take a test at other Berlin universities (for a fee) and have the corresponding certificate issued there. This is possible, for example, at the ZEMS of the TU Berlin.

If you want to work on your language skills independently of courses - what better way to do so at an international university than to join forces in a language tandem? Our tandem exchange helps you find a partner who speaks the language you want to learn and who, in return, can help you with a language you know well. From our Moodle pages, you will also find many useful tips and activities for learning together!

The language tandems are available to all members of the HWR Berlin, explicitly including faculty and staff.

In cooperation with the International Office of the HWR Berlin, the ZEMS of the TU Berlin and the Berlin University of Applied Sciences, the Language Centre organizes intensive courses in German as a foreign language at various levels for international guest students at the HWR Berlin before the beginning of each semester (March & September).

In addition to acquiring or expanding knowledge of German, these courses serve as preparation for the upcoming semester abroad at the HWR Berlin and make it possible to quickly establish contacts with other international students.

Registration for the courses takes place during the application process at the HWR Berlin via Mobility Online. Up to four weeks before the start of the German courses, subsequent registration or deregistration is possible via e-mail.

German for studying: free German lessons at the HWR Berlin for refugees from Berlin or Brandenburg who want to study or prepare for a professional career.