Application for an exchange place with the Global Exchange Programme

All regularly enrolled students of the University of Göttingen.

For the upcoming summer semester: June 1

For the upcoming winter semester: December 1

Note: You can only apply to the following colleges in the winter semester:

• Amherst College (USA)
• McMaster University (Canada)
• University of Colorado Boulder (USA)

Submit the application online via the Mobility portal. The form will be online from May 1 and November 1 respectively.

Please only use your @stud.uni-goettingen.de address to register in the application portal.

The following application documents must be submitted in PDF format with the online form:

• Motivational letter (English.)
• Curriculum Vitae (English)
• University entrance qualification
• University degree certificate, if applicable
• Performance overview (English, e.g. FlexNow excerpt with percentile rank)
• Language certificate/s
• Proof(s) of professional experience, student jobs and/or volunteer work, internships, etc. (if shown in resume)
• Proof(s) of teaching experience (only for applications to the following universities: Amherst College (USA), University of Colorado Boulder (USA))
• Passport photo (optional)

The motivational letter should be written in English, one to two pages long and should explain why you are a suitable candidate for the tuition-free exchange place. You should answer the following questions:

• What interests you most about your university of choice?
• How does the curriculum or courses at the desired university fit with your Göttingen curriculum or how does it offer supplemental subject areas that cannot be studied in Göttingen?
• Are there certain courses that you absolutely want to take?
• Which university, language and country are you already familiar with?
• What are your professional goals and personal aspirations with respect to the semester abroad?
• Do you have a requirement to complete a stay abroad (compulsory semester abroad) for your study programme?
• What interests you most about the destination country?

If you are applying to several universities, we advise you to focus primarily on your first choice. If you indicate other universities of your choice, we recommend that you also briefly introduce them.

Font, font size and line spacing should be based on the usual standard (Times New Roman, 12, 1.5 line spacing). You do not have to address the letter to a specific person.

You can select up to three universities in your application. This increases your chances of getting an exchange place. We cannot guarantee that all successful applicants will be nominated for their first choice.

As a rule, the Global Exchange Programme allows for stays of one semester. If necessary, the stay can be extended.

At universities that offer a language assistant position, only one-year stays are possible.

You should find out about the academic courses offered and the academic calendar of your chosen university well in advance. You can find initial information on our websites. In addition, we strongly advise you to research the websites of the partner universities.

At the time of application, it must be clear to the selection committee that you already have the required language level to be successful in your studies at the partner university and that you will be able to provide evidence of it by the appropriate deadline.

University entrance qualifications (not older than 2 years), evidence of passed language courses or the "Sprachnachweis für Auslandsaufenthalte" (“Language Certificate for Study Abroad”) from ZESS e. g. are sufficient for the initial selection.
If recognised by the university of your choice, you can also submit a certificate of the Duolingo online test with your application for universities with English as the language of instruction. This also aplies for Spanish through SIELE (International Assessment Service for the Spanish Language), for example.

Further information on the required language level can be found under partner universities.

If you do not have a language certificate yet, the Zentrale Einrichtung für Sprachen und Schlüsselqualifikationen (ZESS - Central Institute for Languages and Key Qualifications) can advise you.

In addition to formal criteria such as study or language skills, your explanation of your personal and, above all, professional motivation is particularly important. A compelling statement increases the chance of a positive evaluation in the selection process.

Your academic achievements also count in the assessment by your faculty. Some partner universities – such as Fudan University (China) or Seoul National University (Korea) – require very strong academic achievements.

Professional experience, student jobs as well as social and/or socio-political commitment is also evaluated. For instance, school activities or extracurricular activities (tutoring, sports, etc.), care for elderly people, volunteer work in student representative organizations (eg, student council), work with refugees, commemorative work...

Your application documents will be evaluated internally by the faculty and a selection committee, which meets in early July or mid-January. After the selection committee meets, all applicants will receive feedback in a timely matter.

Students of the Faculty of Economic Sciences are also invited to a selection interview in June/December. Students who are interested in a stay in North America will be invited to a short interview in December.

If you are nominated, you will receive an offer letter. You must confirm your acceptance of the offer by promptly signing and submitting the acceptance letter.

You must then prepare the application to your target university. The Study Abroad Advising Team will invite you to an individual counselling appointment.

You may also need to submit additional applications for funding. You can find more information on this under Funding opportunities.