FAQ - questions and answers

“Studies in European Culture” is a cultural studies master’s program that requires students to have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, there are numerous disciplines in the field of the humanities and social sciences considered relevant, including cultural studies, literature, art and media studies, philosophy, history, anthropology, ethnology, political science, European, Regional and Global Studies, as well as disciplines that are similar to the ones listed here.

Application to the program requires students to have a very good knowledge of German (C1). English skills are also recommended. International applicants, who do not speak German as native language, have to demonstrate their knowledge of the German language (level C1 CEFR) in the application process.

Language skills that are relevant for the semester abroad must be demonstrated by the end of the first semester of the program. Relevant language courses and tests can be taken at the University of Konstanz’s Language Institute (SLI).

An official transcript of your current studies from the registrar’s office at your university is sufficient for your application to the “Studies in European Culture” master’s program. If your application is accepted, you will be given provisional admission to the program. Your final B.A. degree certificate must be submitted no later than two months after the start of the first semester (December) to be given final admission to the program. Foreign applicants must provide a notarized translation of their transcripts. If the final grade average of the completed bachelor’s degree should unexpectedly fall below the necessary 2.5 (German scale), then the student will be exmatriculated from the master’s program.

Admissions to the program are awarded based on the decision of the internal admission committee which evaluates whether applicants meet the formal criteria for acceptance in the program. The candidates will be notified of their acceptance at the end of the application period (around the end of July-August). We kindly request applicants to refrain from individual inquiries about the current status of a given application.

Alongside the core curriculum, the area of specialization provides students the opportunity to further focus their course of study. In choosing an area of specialization, students should consider their personal background knowledge as well as what they would like to do after completing the program. Students can change their area of specialization during the first semester of the program. Courses from other areas of specialization can also normally be attended and students may receive credit for such courses within their supplementary area of study.

An internship for professional orientation is not mandatory within the degree program, but is strongly recommended. If the content of the internship is relevant and it lasts at least six weeks, students can receive credit within their supplementary area. Please discuss the suitability of any given internship in advance with a member of the program’s team. To receive credit, students must submit an internship report as well as an internship certificate confirming the length of the internship. The program’s direction and staff make the final decision regarding the recognition of internships for credit, and forward their decisions to the examination office. Students may not receive credit for internships completed before the start of the program.

Mentors are available for a personal consultation meeting once per semester. These discussions are intended to give students orientation within the course of study and with regard to their career prospects. Students profit the most from these conversations when they have specific questions that they cannot answer themselves. In this sense, please prepare for these meetings well and send your mentor a brief one-page summary beforehand that describes your current situation and your most important questions. You can find a list of all mentors in the program as well as their academic specialties on the website.

All students complete a mandatory semester abroad in their third semester at one of the program’s non-European partner universities. Students receive detailed information about the study abroad program as part of the “Europe Parliament” colloquium. Special cooperation agreements have been reached with each partner university that regulate the number of places available each year. These spots are allocated after a personal interview that is conducted based on a letter of motivation in which the students justify their choice of location. An overview of all of partner universities can be found here on the website.

The program’s direction and staff make every effort to ensure that the semester abroad is socially equitable and to obtain scholarships for student exchanges from institutions such as the DAAD. In addition, students have the opportunity to apply for various funding opportunities themselves, such as the PROMOS scholarship or the Baden-Württemberg Foundation scholarship.

The student exchange programs with other universities are based on the principle of reciprocity, which means that the number of students exchanged between universities (incoming and outgoing) should be the same. Because of such agreements, students do not have to pay any additional tuition fees at the host university, which in most cases saves them a significant amount of money. In return, students must remain enrolled at the university in Konstanz and pay semester fees here. According to the University of Konstanz Admission and Enrolment Requirements (§ 12 Abs. 1 Satz 2 ZImmO), students are thus not allowed to take a leave of absence during a mandatory semester abroad.

According to the examination guidelines, you are expected to complete two graded examinations (6 Cr) and one ungraded course (3 Cr) during your semester abroad. To receive credit for this work, you should bring documentation of your completed coursework (usually a transcript of records) to the program coordinator’s office during office hours after your return to Konstanz. The program coordinator will then convert your grades to the German scale and provide the necessary signature on the certification form, which will then be forwarded to the examination office.

The focus of the fourth semester of the program is the completion of the master’s degree. In order to complete the program as successfully as possible, we encourage students to return to Konstanz in good time and to make a concerted effort to reintegrate themselves both institutionally as well as intellectually in the everyday life of the university. The program team will be happy to help you with any advice you may need, or to refer you to relevant scholars at the university that can help you with your master’s thesis.

The registration period for the master’s thesis runs from the 1^st to the 15^th of February for the following summer semester and from the 1^st to the 15^th of July for the following winter semester. The necessary forms can be obtained from the central examination office. We would like remind students that you may have to register for the master’s thesis during your stay abroad.

More information on the final examinations in the study program "Studies in European Culture" you can find in the downloads section.

Please submit your request to the examination office in writing.