Our students have full access to university services. A broader overview of these can be found on the general university website. Here is a shortlist of services that will be particularly relevant:
Courses and materials
The university’s course catalogue is available online through UnivIS—to change the language, click the UK flag in the upper right corner. Students will also receive the schedule of their degree courses at the beginning of each semester. You are welcome to attend language and soft skill courses in addition to these. You can usually also attend lectures by other faculties and programmes as these are normally public in Germany. Lectures are marked with ‘VORL’ (for German Vorlesung) in UnivIS. If you wish to attend seminars or other courses, you should contact the respective lecturer in advance and ask.
Course materials are usually made available through StudOn. Once you are enrolled, you will get access to this platform. Unfortunately, we cannot make material available to non-students.
Office for international affairs
The Central Office for International Affairs offers a variety of services specifically for international students to assist them with practical matters relating to studying and living in Germany. They organise orientation courses, culture and film nights, intercultural courses, job application training, and other events. They have collected information for prospective students, which will also be helpful for newly admitted students. The Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Theology, to which the M.A. Human Rights belongs, also provides support for incoming students, such as a general orientation course, international afternoons and career services. They also coordinate a buddy programme matching international and German students.
Contact details can be found online for the university wide and faculty specific offices.
German courses
Even though the programme does not require students to know or learn German, they are free to do so. Students can enrol in the courses offered by the university’s language centre. This includes the possibility to take part in an intensive course offered during the semester break in September or March. More information can be found here.
Outside of the university, German courses are offered by, for example, a “Volkshochschule” (public adult education institutions) or various private language centres.
Academic writing in English
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the university’s services for improving their academic writing, particularly non-native English speakers. There are courses offered by the language centre, which can be found in UnivIS, as well as individual counselling offered by the learning lab.
Computer and library services
Computer Services at the university are offered by the RRZE (Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen). Information on internet, email and computer access at the university can be found here.
Information on library services can be found on their website. Students have full access to the university library’s database of books and journals, as well as a number of external databases. If students are interested, the programme also organises a short seminar on researching these databases offered by library personnel.
Public transportation
The Nuremberg-Erlangen area is well connected by a public transportation network (VGN). VGN and the student union of Erlangen-Nürnberg offer a semester ticket for students that is valid in the entire area covered by VGN. The ticket consists of a basic ticket that is mandatory for all students to buy, and that is valid only at night (7 pm to 6 am) and on the weekends, and an additional optional ticket that extends the validity to 24 hours every day. Further information can be found on the university’s webpage and the VGN’s webpage.
Career service
FAU’s career service offers special courses and individual consultations for international students and recent graduates (up to one year after graduation). More information and contact details can be found online at the career service’s website.