Application for one or more exchange semesters

What are the deadlines for a semester abroad at Hochschule Hannover - University of Applied Sciences and Arts? What are the first steps? Here you will find everything you need to know about applying!

Attention! Important information!

Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts fell victim to a cyber-attack in October 2023. The IT infrastructure was shut down to a large extent and has since been gradually put back online. For a while, the Incoming Team was not available via email or telephone.

We are now available via email again, please send an email to hsh-incoming(at)hs-hannover.de and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Alternatively, we are still also accepting general enquiries and questions via our Instagram 'internationals.hsh', which can be found by clicking here.

Are you a student at one of our partner universities? Do you want to come to us via the ERASMUS programme? Then you must first be nominated by your university.

The nomination deadlines are:

Winter semester:
01 May for nomination

Summer semester:
15 October for nomination

To do so, please contact the International Office at your university.

After you have been nominated by your home university and after the nomination deadline, you will receive an email from us explaining the next steps. Because after the nomination you would have to apply through our application form.

You can find out how to apply in the section below "Application".

Students who study at a university abroad with which Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts does not have a partnership programme and who would like to come to us for a semester abroad are called "Freemovers".

Freemovers are not nominated by their university, but apply directly to Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts. If you are interested in spending a semester abroad with us as a freemover, please write us an email at hsh-incoming(at)hs-hannover.de

for the winter semester till 1 May
for the summer semester till 15 October

The email should include the following information: full name, email address, subject at the home university and semester, intended subject to study at the Hochschule Hannover.

You should also find out here about the courses offered by the faculties at Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts and contact the relevant International Faculty Officer at our university to discuss your course selection.

After you have notified us of your interest, we will contact you after the deadline (i.e. from 1 May or 15 October) and inform you about the next steps of your application.

Important: Please do not apply without first registering your interest by email (hsh-incoming@hs-hannover.de) within the deadline as described above.

How to apply can be found below in the section "Application".

Applicants for the International Class - Photojournalism and Documentary Photography

You will be asked to hand in the following documents:
1.            A digital portfolio of previous works (2-3 stories/ series; each story/series containing 12-15 photographs).
2.            Motivation letter (500 words) describing why you want to avail this programme.
3.            A letter of recommendation, and preferably further references, if available.
4.            A complete CV of yours.

If you have any questions about the study content of the International Class and the requirements for the above-mentioned documents, please contact international(at)fotostudierende.com.

Are you a student at our partner university Zhejiang University of Science and Technology (ZUST) and would like to join us via the 2plus3 or 3plus1 programme?

To apply for this, please contact your faculty at ZUST or the International Office there. If you are nominated, selection interviews will take place in consultation with your university before you apply via our application form.

If you are selected and meet the required conditions, we will contact you and inform you about the next steps. For further processing, you will then need to complete your data via our application form.

You will find information and assistance on this in the following chapter.

Application through our application form

For exchange studies at Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts you have to apply via our application form. This form will be sent to you via email after receiving your nomination and after the nomination deadline ends. We strongly recommend that you acquire a language level of B2 in English or German before joining us at the Hochschule in order to be able to follow the course content.

The academic year is divided into two semesters:

the winter semester begins on 1 September each year (ending 28 February)
the summer semester begins on 1 March each year (ending: 31 August).

Detailed semester dates of Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts can be found here.

Application deadlines (hand in of the application form):

Winter semester: until 15 May

Summer semester: until 1 November

Application documents

Please enter all your personal data truthfully and completely.

You must hand in the following documents by email till the application deadline to complete your application:

Letter of motivation
Transcript of Records
Portfolio (only for Design and Media)
Pre-selection International Study Programme (only for Faculty III; document will be sent by email)

You will find condensed information on the application in our Fact Sheet.

Enrolment

Matriculation (enrolment) is valid for one semester.

After you have submitted your application documents (see above) in full and after the application deadline, your application will be reviewed by our respective faculty for which you have applied. You will receive an answer about the acceptance or rejection of your application via email approximately two weeks after the application deadline.

If you have any questions about the specific answer to your application, please contact the relevant International Faculty Office at our university. The International Faculty Officer of the respective faculty can give you details about the reasons for a possible rejection of your application.

You will be enrolled once your stay has been confirmed by our university and you have provided all the necessary documents:

Proof of health insurance
Transfer receipt for the payment of the semester fee

Health insurance

All students must provide proof of health insurance that is accepted in Germany. Contact a German statutory health insurance company in time for them to send us an electronic notification of your insurance status (M10). Either the German health insurance company will confirm to us that you already have an existing health insurance that is valid in Germany or - if your health insurance from your home country is not sufficient - the health insurance company will arrange a valid health insurance for you. In any case you have to contact a German health insurance company.

Please quote our university submission number H0000380 for this purpose.

Further information as well as contacts to health insurance companies can be found here: https://www.studentenwerk-hannover.de/en/internationale-studierende/erste-schritte-in-deutschland (step 4).

Semester fee

Please note that some international banks charge an additional fee for the transaction to Europe.
Please take this into account and choose a correspondingly higher transfer amount.

If you have submitted your documents by the deadlines and transferred the semester fee, you will receive your CampusCard and your certificate of enrollment at the Student Center (Office of Academic Affairs, https://www.hs-hannover.de/ueber-uns/organisation/akademische-angelegenheiten/ ) after your arrival.

If you would like to stay at Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts for a second semester, then please contact us (hsh-incoming(at)hs-hannover.de).

The steps you need to take to plan your stay after you have applied and been accepted by our university can be found on the page "Planning your stay".