Application Process and Approval of Program Achievements (Erasmus)

Before Your Stay

The better your study time at the foreign partner university (PU) is planned, the better your chances to obtain a place at your favored university. Courses should be chosen in this way that you can transfer about 30 ECTS to your study program at University of Konstanz (UKon). As adverse conditions can force you to change a course or in case you fail one, the International Office at UKon (IO) can decide to approve ECTS-workload down to a minimum of 18 without problem - please plan accordingly! In order to find matching courses at the PU, read the course descriptions at the PU of the respective / actual study year and compare them with courses at UKon. Curricular as well as elective courses can be approved.

Be aware:
To substitute curricular courses, you need the permission of the lecturer of this course at UKon in advance. Contact the lecturer, send him/her the course description available from the PU and get the approval by email (cc to the Departmental Erasmus Exchange Coordinator (EEC) Sascha Beneke: bio.international@uni-konstanz.de).
Advice about and acceptance of elective courses (scientific & key qualifications) will be handled by the departmental EEC Sascha Beneke.

Important:
Ensurances (liability-, health-) have to be organized by yourself in general (check out the DAAD webpage).

(Apply for a Leave of Absence, so that you have not to take part in exams during your stay abroad. There is a form available on the webpages of the Student Service Center SSZ and you need the Erasmus Coordinator to sign it.)
<=> This information is irrelevant for students that are not compulsory registered for exams!
 

Mobility Online

The Exchange Platform at UKon for the Erasmus+ Program is Mobility Online (MobOn). It is very important that you take part in the introduction to this system! At the moment, two application processes are implemented: EWP (Erasmus Without Papers) and non-EWP. EWP allows for exchange of forms without printouts including online-signatures in case you have the required software. Otherwise you have to download the form, sign it and upload it again to MobOn.

Process of Application and Approval

You start with the application for an Erasmus Study Place at a PU by informing yourself about the different PUs on their respective websites (you find a list for download on the right side). Be aware that their study terms differ most likely from UKon ones. Pick a PU that fits best to your interest and your planned time schedule. You might want to discuss this with the EEC. If you are sure about the PUs you want to apply for, application is online via the new application process implemented by the IO, deadline is end of January/begin of February. You can apply for 4 PUs within one study year, independently for winter, summer or full-year term.  If you have successfully applied, you should think about picking courses now at latest. For the further application process you can follow the instructions in MobOn. The final study plan will be laid down in the Learning Agreement (LA). The LA also defines which course at the PU will substitute which course at UKon, if applicable. This is the latest time you should contact the respective lecturer. The LA will be signed by you, the EEC at UKon and the EEC at the PU. The signed LA has to be uploaded before you leave Germany for your study at the PU.

Necessary changes to the LA due to unforeseen circumstances have to be discussed with the EECs and deposited on MobOn after signing by all three parties.

(Other exchange programs might not need a LA)

Approval of Achievements

In order to get your achievements approved, you have to follow this process:
After you left the PU, the PU will send you a Transcript of Records (ToR) about the courses you took and your achievements (i.e. course titles, grades, respective ECTS). To secure timely transfer of ECTS to your „study account“, apply for it using the form available at the Download section (pls. use the appropriate form). Fill out the form (guidelines are found on the first page of the form) for each course you took at the PU up to the point “ECTS at UKon”. Also, grades will be transformed by the EEC with the help of the specific Notenumrechnungstabelle (table for calculation of grades) of the Biology Department (might vary from other departments). Please send the completed form (has to include signatures from UKon lecturers of curricular courses), the ToR and official / meaningful course descriptions of the PU to the EEC of the Department of Biology Sascha Beneke. Transfer of the ECTS should be done latest in the last months of the semester you had been abroad (Fall: March; Spring: September), if possible. This might be important if you plan to finish your academic studies directly after your time abroad in order to avoid unnecessary extension of your study time. Achievements obtained at a foreign university will be specifically indicated.

(ECTS obtained by different exchange programs might undergo country / university specific adjustments)