1. Program Description

The Free University Berlin will prospectively offer spots at the following Australian partner universities. Please note that there are additional costs, e.g. for health insurance, medical certificates and visa applications, which can be very high, especially in Australia. We ask you to inform yourself in advance. Since July 1, 2024, the Australian government has increased the visa costs. Since then, the visa costs have been AUD 1,600 (equivalent to approximately € 995, as of July 4, 2024). For more information, visit https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/en/plan-your-move/your-guide-to-visas/student-visa-subclass-500. In addition, the visas can no longer be applied for on site: https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/en/tools-and-resources/news/changes-to-student-visa-applications-to-prevent-visa-hopping .

Alternative: There is a Working Holiday Visa (sub-class 417). This allows students to study, work and travel in Australia for up to 4 months under certain conditions. Requirements: Age between 18 - 30 years, adequate health insurance, German citizenship (other recognized citizenships: Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom). Cost of visa: $ 650 (390,93 €, as of July 25, 2024). If you enter with a 417 visa, you cannot convert it to a student visa (sub-class 500) in Australia.

1.1. Bachelor and Master students:

• Australian National University
• Monash University
• University of Melbourne
• University of New South Wales
• University of Sydney
• Western Sydney University 

2. Application

Students of the Free University will apply for a spot in the general Australia program; a ranking of the preferred partner universities will be made in the online application form.

2.1. Application deadline

For the academic year 2025/26: 19^th November 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 July and ends in June of 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 and Hints

1. Application is open to fully enrolled students of the Free University Berlin, who at the time of their application ideally should be
   a) in their 3^rd semester of their Bachelor
   b) in their 1^st semester of their Master
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 (GPA < 2,5).
4. University of Western Australia: Graduate students (Master students) can only study there in the frame of a "post-graduate by course work" Master (e.g. Master of International Relations).
5. The University of Sydney is especially suitable for students of North America Studies.
6. Graduate Students will be placed at Honours Level at the University of Melbourne (which corresponds to the 4th year of undergraduate studies).
7. The University of New South Wales is very suitable for law students.
8. Restrictions
   a) Students cannot take courses in the departments of medical or business schools, pharmacy department.
   b) Students will have limited access to courses in clinical psychology, journalism, and business administration

2.4. Application documents

Please send in your applications documents as early as possible to get potential questions or issues out of the way 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

Here you will find the link to the application form; 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

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

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

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.

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 Australia? 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 Australia 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).

A letter of recommendation

One letter of recommendation (form linked below) written by a lecturer of Freie Universitaet Berlin. 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 the letter of recommendation may be written by a lecturer from their previous university. All lecturers 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.

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. Language certificates may not be older than 2 years, the relevant date concerning this is the application deadline of the program. The following language tests are accepted:

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.

TOEFL (official score report)
We only accept the official score report in the internet based TOEFL (iBt). When booking a TOEFL appointment, please make sure to provide the institution code of Free University (Code: 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 won't be invited for an interview.

Proof of language proficiency can be handed in up to two weeks after the official application deadline. Some universities may also accept other forms of language proof. Please refer to the individual university pages for detailed information.

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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.