How to organize your studies: Department of Business and Economics

The academic year at the Department of Business and Economics is divided into two semesters. The winter semester officially lasts from October 1st to March 31st. The summer semester takes place from April 1st to September 30th. The specific semester and teaching periods for exchange students can be found in the relevant academic calendar and the fact sheet.

Additionally, you can view the complete range of courses on offer at HWR Berlin in the current course catalogue. The English courses on offer for exchange students at the Department of Business and Economics can be found in our General English Stream.

We’re delighted that you have made the decision to study abroad at HWR Berlin. Please note the following information on the application process:

1. Register online on our Mobility Online platform. You will receive the link after your home university has nominated you in our Mobility Online database. It is unfortunately not possible to register without being nominated by your university.
    
2. As soon as you receive the email from us, please apply with your completed documents by the application deadline in Mobility Online (by 31st October for the summer semester and by 31st May for the winter semester).
   
   You must upload the following documents (this may vary depending on the department for which you have been nominated):
   -    Transcript of Records
   -    Learning Agreement
   -    Proof of your English OR German language skills (at least CEFR B2)
   -    Proof of medical insurance
   -    Passport photo
    
3. As soon as you have uploaded all your documents and completed the application, the application will be reviewed by us. You will receive a reply concerning your status and your acceptance letter online about 2 - 4 weeks after admission.
    
4. You will receive all further information on the welcome period, course enrolment and semester fees by email after the application process has been completed. You are also welcome to have a look at the relevant information under “Organisation of Studies” or to contact the International Office at HWR Berlin with general questions.

The HWR Berlin offers a Double Degree Programme in cooperation with partner universities in Argentina, Brazil, Finland, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Spain. If you have studied at HWR Berlin for one year, you are entitled to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration at HWR Berlin, in addition to the degree at your home university. If you would like to participate in the double degree programme, you can apply for it at your home university. 

As part of the Double Degree Programme, the HWR Berlin is currently cooperating with the following universities:

• Universidad Argentina de la Empresa
• Universidade de Fortaleza
• Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
• Rennes School of Business
• EDHEC Nice and EDHEC Lille
• University of Hertfordshire
• Robert Gordon University
• Edinburgh Napier University
• Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
• Universidad de Zaragoza
• Universidade Complutense de Madrid
• Universidade Pais Vasco

Students with EU citizenship can easily enter the country on a Schengen visa. If you are a citizen of a non-EU country, please contact the German Embassy in your country for information on entry regulations to Germany. Appointments at the embassy should be arranged in good time to ensure a problem-free entry and a punctual start of the semester. Please note: the International Office has no influence on the processing of visa applications!

All exchange students must have health insurance to be enrolled at a university in Germany. For this you need German statutory health insurance. If you come to Germany with private health insurance, you must obtain a confirmation from a German health insurance company stating you are exempt from your obligation to possess statutory health insurance.

Students at HWR Berlin do not live on-campus in the manner you might be familiar with from your home university. The university has only a very limited number of halls of residence distributed throughout the city. It is quite normal for journey times around the large capital to take up to 60 minutes. These must be planned for. The application for a dorm room is linked to your application in Mobility Online. Should you receive accommodation, we will contact you in good time. Since the number of places is limited we recommend all students look concurrently for private accommodation.

The semester for exchange students begins in September or March with a Welcome Period. Students have the opportunity to arrive before the actual start of the semester and to take advantage of the HWR Berlin's wide range of activities on offer. For starters, there is an intensive German course organised and run by the language centre at HWR Berlin in cooperation with TU Berlin. This is great preparation and means students can get to know other exchange students before the semester gets going. In addition, the International Office organises a Buddy Programme each semester. German students help exchange students on a voluntary basis so that they can get acclimatised to HWR Berlin’s structures as well as to everyday life in the capital.

The Buddy Programme is very popular among students and ensures a rich international exchange experience. It not only helps exchange students, but also offers German students who wish to study at foreign universities the opportunity to make their first contacts in the country of their choice. Furthermore, numerous activities take place in the Welcome Period. These are offered by the International Office and give students a great cultural start to their exchange semesters.

HWR Berlin offer various funding opportunities. However, these are subject to certain bilateral agreements between HWR Berlin and its partner universities. Please check at your International Office whether your university is one of the partner universities which has such an agreement with HWR Berlin. If your home university is one of them, it can nominate you for a scholarship. Unfortunately, independent applications for HWR Berlin scholarships are not possible. Among other things, the following funding opportunities exist:

• Erasmus+ Internationale Dimension,
• various DAAD programmes,
• UAS7 and travel grants (especially for North America)

If your university does not have a scholarship agreement with our university, you can also apply for a scholarship yourself. We recommend the following page of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). Here you can find an excellent overview of scholarship programmes available to international students: