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Studying at the Department od Psychology at Bielefeld University with Erasmus+
Welcome to the Department of Psychology
We are happy that you are interested to spend an Erasmus+ semester at Bielefeld University. To help you in your decision-making-process and getting started once you have been nominated, we have compiled the most important information for you on this website about your Erasmus+ semester at the Department of Psychology at Bielefeld University.
The International Portal and the Factsheet summarize important information about Erasmus+ at Bielefeld University.
Help with finding accommodation as an Erasmus Incoming Student can be found here.
A guide to find your way around the campus of Bielefeld University can be found here.
The Department of Psychology consists of 20 research units with different research areas. An overview of the research units can be found here.
An overview of all employees of the Department of Psychology can be found here. You can search for people university-wide in the Directory of People and Institutions.
The Psychology Student Council (Fachschaft) consists of psychology students at Bielefeld University. Their main goal is to represent the interests of psychology students and to connect them with each other. The regular events and meetings are open to all students of the department.
Course selection and language requirements
- Language requirements
In the Department of Psychology, a German language level B2 and an English language level B2 are required to participate adequately in both the Bachelor's and Master's programmes. If these language requirements are not fulfilled, successful study in our department cannot be guaranteed. The participation in a 3-4 week Geman language crash course, as part of the orientation programmme before the start of the semester, offers the opportunity to improve your language level by one, within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. You can also achieve ECTS in that language course. To do so, you must attend regularly, turn in the required assignments, and complete the self-study program that is part of the intensive language crash course.
- Where can I find courses (taught in English)?
The eKVV is the university-wide electronic course catalog. It lists all information about current and past courses at Bielefeld University - the eKVV thus provides helpful information for filling out a Learning Agreement (LA). An overview of courses taught in English in all faculties can be found here.
Please note:
- Seminar = interactive course with usually 20-30 students
- WiSe = winter semester
- SoSe = summer semester
- Which courses am I allowed to attend?
Please note: Bachelor students are not allowed to attend Master courses. Master students may take Bachelor courses after consultation.
You can find an example for the course "270265 Attention and Action in Digital Environments - Course A" (winter semester 2022/2023) below.
1. Search for "270265" in the electronic course catalog (eKVV).
2. click on the course title in column 3 of the table to open the course description.
3. Click on "27-GF-Allg1 General Psychology I" to open the course description (unfortunately only in German). From column 2 of the table you can also see that the course 270265 corresponds to the element "GF-Allg1.3 Vertiefung zur Allgemeinen Psychologie I" of the module 27-GF-Allg1. Please note that one course can be part of different modules, offered by different departments or faculties. However, this is not relevant for you, because you can study at all faculties of Bielefeld University if the course is offered for your program (BA or MA).
4. Scroll down in the description of the module 27-GF-Allg1 to the table "In these study programs the module is used". In this table you can see that the module 27-GF-Allg1 is only used in the Bachelor of Science degree program. Therefore, only students enrolled in a BA program can take course "270265". If by chance both Bachelor and Master programs are listed in the table, both Bachelor and Master students can participate in the course.
- Where can I find the number of credit points (ECTS/ LP) I receive for a course?
The following is an example of the course "270106 Diagnosis, Classification, and Development of Mental Disorders Across the Lifespan" (Winter Term 2022/2023).
1. Search for "270106" in the electronic course catalog (eKVV).
2. Click on the title of the course in column 3 of the table to open the description of the course.
3. Click on "27-GF-Entw Developmental Psychology" to open the description of the module "27-GF-Entw Developmental Psychology", which is part of the Bachelor's programme of the Department of Psychology. In column 2 of the table you can also see that the course 270106 corresponds to the element "GF-Entw.3 Deepening on Developmental Psychology" of the module 27-GF-Entw. Incidentally, a given course may be part of different modules offered by different departments or faculty. However, this is not relevant for you, because you can study at all faculties of Bielefeld University.
4. Scroll down in the description of module 27-GF-Entw to the table "Courses". From this table you can see that the module 27-GF-Entw consists of three courses. The last column of the table informs you about the number of ECTS credits (LP) you can get by taking the courses, i.e. 3 LP in the case of "GF-Entw.3 Vertiefung zur Entwicklungspsychologie".
Are extra credit points possible?
Extra credit points are only possible in exceptional cases and after prior agreement with the lecturers and approval of the Erasmus coordination. In order to receive an additional credit point, additional coursework, e.g. in the form of assignments, presentations or examinations, must be completed, which corresponds to a workload of 30 hours (1 credit point = 30 hours workload). Please be aware that these arrangement have to be made as soon as possible and that they are not mandatory for the lecturers to offer.
Course allocation („Seminarplatzvergabe“)
- Which courses are affected by the course allocation?
In the Department of Psychology, the majority of seminars are affectes by the course allocation, as there is usually a limit to the number of participants. So it is best to save all the seminars you are interested to take in your schedule as soon as possible. Normally there is no allocation of places for lectures, only for seminars.
Please note that it is not guarantee that you get a place in the course you chose, so it would be best to have some alternative courses in mind. Especially seminars taught in German are quite popular and often booked out.
- How can I participate in the course allocation?
After signing into the eKVV with your data, you can participate in the course allocation by saving the courses you want to takt in your timetable (click on the course in the eKVV, click top right "set to timetable"/ „in Stundenplan setzen“).
After that you can additionally rank your courses in “My priorities” in the left side menu, with the courses that are most important to you at the top.
The course allocation is a centrally organised process. You will get the information whether you got into the respective course in the week before the courses start, at the latest.
- What do I do if I have missed the deadline?
You can either contact the lecturer of the course or the person responsible for the course allocation (Sarah Keil). If you want to contact the lecturer, open the course in the ekVV and click on the lecturer's name; a page with contact details will open. If you have missed the deadline, it is recommended to contact the responsible person as soon as possible.
- How do I receive feedback on whether I have been given a place?
