University of Muenster Direct Exchange

History

Academic Overview

Participants of the exchange program enroll full-time as “exchange students” at the University of Muenster (as opposed to degree-seeking students). As exchange students, participants take regular university classes and enjoy the same privileges as degree-seeking students. These benefits include access to university library and computing facilities, university housing, student organizations, sporting clubs and special events. Student Financial Aid will continue to be administered by the University of Washington.

In general, German universities place a greater emphasis on independent learning than most undergraduate programs in the United States. In contrast to American universities, where course syllabi delineate the professor’s expectations of the student for each week of the academic term, most German professors rely on the student’s self-direction, research and study outside of the readings to guide the courses of their learning. In this way, the curricula are comparable to graduate programs’ style of scholarship in the United States. (Students in the fields of science or engineering might find their course curricula to be more structured than that of the humanities or social sciences with a strong emphasis on laboratory work.) Students are responsible for their own learning and must be self-motivated and committed to their independent studies in order to succeed.

Student support services at German universities are different from those provided in the United States. Unlike U.S. universities, where a variety of developed, on-campus support structures like student advising offices, career and internship placement, legal services, and personal counseling are available, German investment in student-related services is a concerted effort to make higher education available to all who have passed the Abitur exam. In pursuit of this objective, German universities do not charge students tuition or fees and offer highly subsidized housing and meals. Exchange students are eligible for housing and meals at the same subsidized rates as German students. Although this system of student support is financially appealing, it can sometimes be a source of frustration for American students who are accustomed to the academic guidance offered in the United States. Exchange students must take a proactive role in navigating the university’s bureaucratic circles and resolving academic and personal issues, as German universities provide very limited assistance in this regard. Student-faculty relationships are generally more formal and distant than in the United States.

Faculty office hours are rare, but arrangements for meetings can be made on an individual basis.

There are several course classifications in Germany universities: Vorlesungen (lecture courses); Proseminare (courses taken by students prior to their intermediate exams, equivalent to upper-division courses in the U.S.); Übungen (exercise classes); Praktika (labs). Vorlseungen are generally large classes that may or may not be combined with smaller Übungen. Vorleseungen may or may not require a final exam. If no exam is administered as part of the course, UW students must make special arrangements with the professor to write a paper or take an exam at the end of the term in order to receive UW credit. Seminaire are very similar to courses in the U.S. Class sizes are limited, attendance is required and a written or oral exam is taken at the end of the term. Übungen are similar to seminars in that they require attendance, exams and/or papers. However, they are more oriented to practical skills than an in-depth discussion of a specific topic. Pratika are the equivalents of lab courses in the U.S. At some universities, Deutsch als Fremdsprache classes designed for international students are offered with a focus on German language and cultural studies.

German universities issue course certificates (Scheine) rather than transcripts. In most cases these Scheine are graded. Grades are assigned on a 1-5 scale with “1” representing the highest grade possible and “5” representing the lowest (that is, a failure). UW students participating on an exchange are required to return to the UW with a minimum of 8 graded Scheine (4 courses per semester).

The German academic year is divided into two semesters: Wintersemester extends from mid-October to mid-February; Sommersemester goes from mid-April to mid-July. The “spring break” (mid-February to mid-April), is often used for examinations between terms, independent study and Sommersemester course preparation.

For more information about the study environment at German universities, we encourage you to visit the UW partner institutions’ websites, read the evaluations of previous exchange participants and review course catalogs. Evaluations and catalogs are available in the IPE reference library.

Program Housing

Students are responsible for securing and funding their own housing in Germany but are encouraged to apply for accommodations through the German Studentenwerk. As the Studentenwerk provides subsidized housing and meals for students, the costs of accommodations and board are very reasonable. Aside from the financial benefits, student housing is an exceptional way to meet German students.

Program Cost

The University of Washington’s direct exchanges operate on a home-tuition basis whereby students pay regular UW tuition and fees and no tuition or fees to the host university overseas. Students who study abroad for one semester pay 1.5 quarters of UW tuition; students who study abroad for the full year pay 3 quarters of UW tuition. Housing, living, travel and other miscellaneous expenses are the responsibility of the student.

In addition, students are required to pay a UW IPE fee of $600 for the year ($300/semester). The fee includes:

• Concurrent enrollment;
• Financial aid and scholarship eligibility;
• Graded UW credit for coursework completed abroad;
• Pre-registration privileges at the UW;
• Continued deferment of school-related loans;
• Satisfaction of residency graduation requirements;
• Eligibility for UW Accident and Sickness Insurance (optional).

Courses and Credits

The University of Washington has an exchange agreement with the University of Muenster. This agreement specifies that the UW will recognize the credit of the partner institution overseas. Although credit is guaranteed, the type of UW credit awarded is not determined until after the exchange year has ended and the appropriate UW department has evaluated the coursework completed abroad. For this reason, it is advisable that students communicate with their regular UW academic advisers before and during the exchange period to determine the courses best suited for credit in their degree programs. All grades for courses completed abroad must be reported on the host university’s Scheine and the student’s UW transcript regardless of the final mark or need for credit. In general, students earn the equivalent of 36-45 UW credits per year for coursework completed in Germany.

Terms and Eligibility

To be eligible for the exchange program, you must:

• Be enrolled as a regular, degree-seeking UW student;
• Have Junior standing or above by the exchange's beginning;
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0;
• Completion of GERM 302 or above.
• Be flexible, independent and willing to conform to cultural customs that differ significantly from those of the US.

Application Instructions and Deadlines

By the appropriate deadline, please submit your complete application to the IPE office with all of the following:

References