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English-Speaking Program in Asia

1. Program Description

The Free University Berlin will prospectively offer spots at the following Asian partner universities:

1.1. Bachelor students:

China
 India Indonesia Japan Korea Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand

1.2. Master students:

China India Indonesia Japan Korea Taiwan

2. Application

Students of the Free University can apply for a spot in the general English-speaking Asia program; a ranking of the preferred partner universities can be made in the online application form.

2.1. Application deadline

For the academic year 2025/26: December 3rd 2024

2.2. Duration

Information about the possible duration of your exchange (a semester or full academic year) can be found on the sites of the respective partner universities. The academic year usually starts in late August or early September and ends in May or June the following year.

For semester spots, students can apply for a stay of one or two semesters; for academic year spots, students can only apply to go abroad for the full academic year.

2.3. Prerequisites

  1. Application is open to fully enrolled students of the Free University Berlin, who at the time of their application should be
    a) in their 3rd semester of their Bachelor
    b) in their 1st semester of their Master
    c) in their PhD (only Erasmus+ worldwide spots)
  2. Applicants should have a very good level of English proficiency – please read below for further information.
  3. Applicants should have very good academic standing.
  4. Restrictions
    a) Students cannot take courses in the departments of medical schools as well as pharmacy.
    b) Students will have limited access to courses in clinical psychology, journalism and business administration.
    c) Students of law could apply for the direct exchange under certain conditions: https://www.jura.fu-berlin.de/international/studierendenaustausch/outgoings/zentrale_progr/index.html
  5. Applicants with Chinese citizenship may not participate in exchange programs with the PRC. They may only apply for Taiwanese universities. Chinese citizens are eligible to be nominated for only one semester at a Taiwanese university.

2.4. Application documents

Please submit your application documents as early as possible to clarify potential questions or issues in time. Feel free to come by our office hours for a personal consultation.

The following documents should arrive at our office on the day of the application deadline:

1 - Online application form

You will find the link to the application form here; it will be online about 4 weeks before the application deadline.

2 - Certificate of enrollment

With details of your study program and your current semester (Fachsemester). You can download your current certificate of enrollment from the student’s administration website (Zedat Portal).

3/1 - A print-out from Campus Management (only BA and MA)

“Leistungsübersicht über begonnene und abgeschlossene Module” – available in your Campus Management under the tab “Noten & Punkte”.

3/2 - Copy of your diploma (only MA and PhD)

In English including a transcript of records; the copy does not have to be certified.

For non-german undergraduate certificates: please also submit the grade conversion document from your uniassist procedure.

3/3 - Offical admission to the PhD program (only PhD)

Official document proving the admission to a PhD program at the Free University Berlin.

4 - Motivational Letter

A detailed explanation of your study proposal in English, no longer than 2 pages.

Please include the following in your letter:

Academic interest
What made you choose your program of study? Why do you want to study in Asia? What classes would you like to take at the partner university? Which area of study in your field would you like to focus on during your time in Asia and why? What advantages can you take from this direct exchange for your studies here at Free University?

Preference list of partner universities
Please explain your choice of universities in the preference list you gave in the online application form. Briefly explain your top 3 choices. Why are these universities the best universities for your particular area of study? To help you, feel free to check our partner universities’ websites for further information. (Your preference list and explanations will only be seen by our selection committee and not by the partner universities).

PhD students schould outline their research project in 3-4 pages.

5 - Letter of recommendation

Two letters of recommendation by lecturers in English. At least one letter should be written by a lecturer of Freie Universitaet Berlin, for doctoral students from the supervisor of the dissertation. Graduate students who are new at Freie Universitaet Berlin are exempted from submitting a letter of recommendation by a lecturer of Freie Universitaet Berlin, in this case both letters of recommendation may be written by lecturers from their previous university. All referees should use our form.

Please have the reviewer fill out the form linked here and send it as a PDF document directly to the Office for International Student Mobility. After the application process has been completed, the letter of recommendation will remain with us; it will not be returned to the applicant or forwarded to offices outside of Freie Universität Berlin.

6 - Proof of language proficiency

It is necessary for applicants to have a very good knowledge of English in order to be able to follow the classes while abroad. Some universities require official language tests like TOEFL or IELTS. Language certificates may not be older than 2 years, the relevant date concerning this is the application deadline of the program. Please see a detailed description of the language requirements under the link of the partner university.

Proof of language proficiency can be handed in up to two weeks after the official application deadline.

TOEFL (official score report)
We only accept the official score report of the internet based TOEFL (iBt). When booking a TOEFL appointment, please make sure to provide the institution code of Free University Berlin-Student Exchange Office (C507) in order for the test results to be sent directly to our office. You will receive an examinee score report and can view your test scores online.

Should you have passed one of the language proficiency test within the past 2 years, please submit a copy of your test result with your application. Please note that without a test result, you are not invited for an interview

IELTS (test report form)
We only accept the official test report which is sent directly to our office; you will additionally receive a copy of your score results. Please see details under the link of the partner universities.

2.5. Submission of applications

Please name each document as follows: YourLastName_DocumentTitle (e.g. Schmid_MotivationLetter). All documents (except for the letter of recommendation) should then be sent as separate PDF-documents within one zip folder (also titled with your last name) and sent to auslstud@fu-berlin.de.

You will receive a confirmation of receipt within a week of submitting your application. In case you don't receive an E-Mail from us after a week, please get in touch with us. However, please refrain from sending several emails after having submitted your application, as this slows down our working process.

3. Further information

3.1. Tuition waiver

A nomination by the Freie Universitaet for one of our partner universities always includes a full tuition waiver; further information can be found on the pages for each partner university. 

3.2. Financing

The partner universities offer nominated FU students a full tuition waiver. Some partner universities grant an additional scholarship to cover living costs; please find more detailed information under the links of each partner university.

It is possible to apply for additional funding at the DAAD or PROMOS. Please note that the DAAD only has one deadline per year.

Further information on financing can be found here.

3.3. Enrollment as non-degree student

Our exchange agreements always include an enrollment as a non-degree student for the duration of your stay. It is not possible to graduate from the partner universities.

3.4. Credit and grade transfer

Whether you will get credit at the FU for the classes you take at the partner university will be decided by your department. We recommend talking to the responsible parties before going abroad. 

3.5. Leave of absence

Students have the option to take a leave of absence for one or two semesters.

3.6. Up-to-dateness of the published capacities

Please note that because the exchange is based on reciprocity, the final number of spots available at each partner university can only be published shortly before the application deadlines.