Index

I have admission to the master’s program but the waiting period for my visa is very long. What should I do?

We grant you the possibility for late arrival until May 15 for the summer semester and November 15 for the winter semester. If you are unable to travel to Erlangen until this deadline, you cannot join our program in the respective semester anymore. In this case, you must deregister from the semester you are currently enrolled in (please find the deregistration form on the website of our Student Records Office). If you deregister until May 15/November 15 the semester will not count towards your studies. However, you will not receive your semester fee back.

After you have de-registered from our program you can re-apply to our master’s program for the following semester. In order to do so, you must apply within the official deadline, submit all required documents again and, aditionally, upload your previous admission letter. Once you are done, please send an email to zimt-qfv[at]fau.de and inform our officers of your re-application to accelerate the process.

If you received your first admission letter in winter semester 23/24 or later, we will admit you again – without you having to retake the digital admission test.

 

Is there a support service for international students?

Your study advisor will be happy to help you with any question you might have concerning the Medical Engineering program. In addition to that, various introductory events are held at the beginning of every semester to provide you with general tips and information about your studies. We highly recommend that you attend those events, as the knowledge provided there is oftentimes the decisive factor in whether international students study successfully and obtain their degree (or not).

If you have questions that are specific to your status as an international student (e.g. regarding your visa situation, specific working conditions for Non-EU students etc.) you are welcome to contact our International Office.

Student Services (“Studierendenwerk”) have a specfic officer who advises international students on general life problems, such as housing, visa issues, managing studies and work, battling loneliness and integration into Geman society etc. You can find her open consultation hours here.

Moreover, FAU offers a “buddy program”, in which international students are assisted by an experienced student volunteer from their faculty. Your personal “buddy” can help you with small everyday problems, such as finding a cheap used bike, selecting the best phone contract, getting to know the city etc. and hopefully will become a good friend! You can apply for this program here.

Our student body representatives, who participate in various committees of the university and help shaping the study conditions at FAU, also have a working group for international students. If you would like to become a member of this group or are just looking for support, please contact them here.

I have sent an email to a university staff member but have not received an answer from them. What should I do about it?

First of all, if the waiting period between the sending date and the current date is less than 7 days, you shouldn’t do anything but just wait until the 7 days have passed. Our staff receive hundreds of emails everyday, therefore it is perfectly normal that they cannot get back to you right away. Just be patient! This statement holds even more true if there were public holidays or school holidays in Bavaria since you sent your email. Please inform yourself about those holidays online and deduct them from the 7 day-rule if applicable.

After the 7 regular days (non-holidays) have passed, you can send a friendly reminder to the recipient and ask them whether they already found the time to look into your email.

What else could be the reason you don’t receive an answer?

  • What you are asking about has already been explained elsewhere (on a website, in a StudOn course, in a lecture or at an information event). Therefore, the recipient sees no need to reply to you.
  • You have not selected a helpful subject for your email. A good email subject primes the reader for the topic of the email and helps them to decide if/when to read it or to whom to forward it. “Question”/”inquiry”/”need help” are not good subjects. “Problem with registration for exam 1234567” is.
  • Your email doesn’t address the person with their name and title, you have spelled their name wrong or used a wrong name.
  • You have addressed the person with the wrong gender (for example “Dear Sir” for a female recipient).
  • Your email was generated with the use of ChatGPT and therefore transmits to the recipient that you are not willing to put any effort in your communication with them.
  • Your email was too long. As a rule of thumb, your email should not be longer than 3 – 5 sentences maximum and you should get to the point right away.
  • You message was not understandable for the recipient. You can check this by putting yourself in the recipient’s spot: Does somebody who doesn’t know your current situation understand what you are talking about? For example, if you talk about “my exam” without giving any specific information, the recipient will not know which exam you mean. It should be possible for the recipient to understand your request without asking you any questions back for clarification.
  • You have not signed your email with your full name (first name(s) and last name(s)) and student number.
  • You have not added an apropriate salutation and a thank you to your email.
  • There are a lot of spelling and/or grammar mistakes in your email, which makes it hard to read.
  • Your email contains severe formating errors, which makes it hard to read. A normal font size for emails is 11 or 12, your text should be left-aligned or in a block setting, never right-aligned, when writing in English or German.

You can greatly improve your chances of receiving an early answer if you check for the above aspects in any email that you send.

What happens if I cheat in an exam or in a paper?

If you use unauthorized aids in an examination, copy from fellow students or communicate with them, the examination will be graded with a 5.0 and the case of cheating will be reported to our Examinations Office. The same applies to plagiarism and missing or incorrect citations in seminar papers and the master’s thesis.

If several attempts at cheating are reported to our Examinations Office, you will be de-registered from the study program.

What happens with my residence permit for study purposes when I graduate?

You stay an enrolled student until the end of the semester in which you graduate. Hence, your residence permit for study purposes also stays valid until the end of the semster in which you graduate. If you want to stay in Germany after graduation, you need to apply for a job-seeking visa (duration: 18 months) in due time before you graduate! If you receive a job offer, you have to apply for a work visa at the immigrations office.

I have finished my first round of exams and only received unsatisfying grades so far. What should I do?

Many (international) students are surprised or even shocked when they receive their first exam results. If you received several grades between 3,0 and 4,0 it means that you are struggling with your studies. It is not uncommon for students who join a completely foreign academic system to find out that their lecturers’ expectations and exam design differs extremely from what they are used to. If this “shock” has happened to you once, it is time to adapt your strategies for studying and exam preparation:

  • Go to the exam inspections of all of your exams and find out where you made mistakes and what you can improve in the future. Ask the tutors of the exam inspection any question you might have.
  • Make it a habit to attend all of your courses physically and regularly. If you need to work a lot alongside your studies to finance yourself and have trouble attending your courses physically, choose fewer courses (20 ECTS) that do not clash with your work schedule and invest your full energy in those courses.
  • Start preparing your courses from the first week of the lecture period on. Prepare each course session by looking up the material that is available in StudOn and writing down questions. Attend the physical lecture and ask your questions there. It is important to know that our lecturers love it when their students engage in class and ask questions (if this is different in your home country, actively adopt this new mindset of “asking questions is showing interest and respect for your lecturer’s work”). Sit down after every course session and revise the contents. If you are still unsure about some topics, look them up online or get additional literature from the library. You can also ask your lecturer for recommended literature. Always attend the last course session of the lecture period, as your lecturers will sum up the course content and oftentimes will give you hints regarding the exam.
  • If your lectures are accompanied by additional exercises and/or tutorials, attend them regularly and use this time to clear your doubts. The tutors are literally being paid for helping you with your questions.
  • Observe the other students in your lecture and find out who seems to have a good understanding of the topic. Approach those students after class and suggest to form a study group. Important: You cannot be passive and expect your study buddies to be your teachers, you have to do your part, too. But studying in a group can help you to stay motivated and to compare your learning progress with others. Go through the lecture slides on your own and meet up weekly or bi-weekly with your study group to work through old exams, which you can get from the study association for Medical Engineering (FSI MedTech). Increase your study sessions as the exam date approaches.
  • Make a time schedule for your exam preparation. For example, you can plan to study from Monday to Friday for 6 hours each day, but rest on the weekend. Use your online calendar and mark in advance on which day you are going to study for which exam for which amount of time. Develop a strategy to prepare for several exams in parallel. It can help to study for one exam in the morning and for the other one in the afternoon or to study in the library for one exam and at home for the other etc. Map out how many topics/lecture slides you need to revise for each exam and estimate the time you will need to complete each task. Start studying early! As a rule of thumb, you should start at least 8 -12 weeks before the exam dates. Organize your study time in chunks – the pomodoro technique has proven to be very helpful for many students and can also be facilitated via several online tools. Be consistent but also plan in time for breaks and unforeseeable events such as illness etc. When in doubt, rather plan in more time so that you can stay ahead of your schedule and don’t experience time pressure.
  • Talk to fellow students who have already passed the exam you are studying for. Ask them about their experience, how they prepared for the exam and how much time in advance they started studying.
  • If you feel stressed or anxious and these feelings are keeping you from studying, make an appointment with our psychologists early on. The earlier you tackle this problem, the more successful you will be in your studies.

If you have adapted your exam preparation strategies according to the above tips but your grades are not improving and you feel that your studies are torturing you, start thinking about an exit strategy:

  • With a grade average between 3,0 and 4,0 you will have a hard time finding a supervisor for a master’s thesis as well as applying for a job in Germany/Europe. If you are planning to return to your home country after your studies anyway and believe that your grade average will be considered acceptable on your local job market, you can take the risk and continue your studies. However, it will still be very problematic for your to find a master’s thesis, which will prolong your studies and worsen your financial burden. Therefore, it may still make sense to look into the options outlined below.
  • Start looking for English-taught master’s programs at German Universities for Applied Sciences. They are less theory-based and teach with a more hands-on approach. Therefore, our FAU students usually find that they receive better grades when they transfer to a University of Applied Sciences. They can also usually transfer a significant amount of credits from their FAU study program to the new program. Moreover, master’s programs at Universities of Applied Sciences are shorter (3 semesters), which will save you time and money. Study programs at Universities for Applied Sciences are more structured and students are usually guided more by their professors regarding their course selection, their final thesis etc. Final theses at companies are especially encouraged, which will give you the chance to gain money while working on the thesis at the same time. You can find an overview of all German Universities of Applied Sciences and their study programs in this database. We can especially recommend these programs at these Universities of Applied Sciences close to Erlangen: Applied Biotechnology (Hochschule Ansbach), Artificial Intelligence for Industry Applications (OTH Amberg-Weiden).
  • If your main goal is to work in Germany you need to develop a different plan of action:
    • Take German classes every lecture period (for free) and in every lecture-free period (with a fee) to improve your Germans skills. Make it your top priority to learn German fast. Being an enrolled student at FAU is the last time you will get German courses for free or at a low fee. Your German skills are going to be one of the crucial criteria for your job hunt.
    • Improve your programming skills in C/C++, Java, Python and Matlab as much as you can. Take any course you can find at FAU and VHB to improve your skills in this area.
    • Consult with our officer of the German Employment Agency (michael.huemmer[at]arbeitsagentur.de) about your chances to enter the German job market. Use your remaining study time to acquire the necessary skills and qualifications. With the help of Mr. Hümmer’s advice, apply for jobs based on your bachelor’s degree, German skills and solidified programming skills. It might not be necessary for you to finish your master’s degree in order to find a well-paid job in the STEM area.
    • Consult with Mr. Hümmer about options to join an apprenticeship program at one of our local global players (Siemens, adidas, DATEV etc.). The German apprenticeship system is highly renowned worldwide and offers you attractive career options. To start an apprenticeship in Germany, usually German skills on B2 level are required.
  • If you are having a hard time taking a decision about your academic and professional future, our psychologists are here to support you.

How does the German healthcare system work and what do I do if I need to see a doctor?

Generally speaking, you should find yourself a general medical practitioner (family doctor or primary doctor, “Hausarzt” in German) close to your place of residence as soon as you arrive in Erlangen. Make sure that the doctor speaks English (they might say so on their website or you can assume it if the doctor is of younger age). Make an appointment with them shortly after your arrival (via their website or by calling their practice) and ask them to check if you have all necessary vaccinations that are considered standard in Germany. All those vaccinations are covered by your health insurance, meaning that they are free of cost for you. You can trust that all kinds of medical examinations or treatments your doctor carries out are also free of cost. If you are prescribed medication, you only have to pay a small contribution (not more than 5-  10 Euros) when you pick up your prescription at a pharmacy.

Your “Hausarzt” is usually the first doctor you go to see when you are sick. They will examine you and can prescribe medication. They will also come to see you at home if you are so sick that you cannot leave your house. They will refer you to a specialist or a hospital if necessary. Please note that if you have public health insurance (AOK, TK, Barmer etc.) you generally cannot consult with a specialist on your own without your general doctor’s referral. Exceptions from this rule are dentists, gynecologists and ophthalmologist, whom you can make an appointment with without consulting with your general doctor first. Doctor’s practices are usually open between 8 am and 6 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, often with a short break around noon. On Wednesdays, most practices only open in the morning.

If you urgently need to see a doctor outside of the above consultation hours, but don’t consider your condition to be life-threatening, you can go to the Erlangen Medical Center or one of the Medical Centers (“Bereitschaftspraxis”) in Nürnberg. If you are so sick that you cannot leave the house and need a doctor to come to see you, you can call 116 117 to arrange a doctor’s visit.

All of the above medical doctors/medical institutions can issue you a medical certificate to confirm your inability to participate in an exam if you need to withdraw from a registered examination.

If you find yourself or others in a life-threatening situation, always call an ambulance via the emergency number 112. The costs of the ambulance will be covered by the sick/injured person’s health insurance. You don’t have to fear that you will have to pay for the ambulance yourself. On the other hand, if you see a person in a medical emergency and don’t call an ambulance, criminal charges can be held against you for failure to lend assistance.

Can I repeat an exam that I have already passed in order to improve my grade?

No. The grade that you receive when you have passed an exam (and the date for the exam inspection has passed – regardless of whether you have attended the exam inspection or not) is definitive. Passed exams cannot be repeated.

Can I study part-time as an international student?

If you are a non-EU student with a visa/residence permit for study purposes you are generally not allowed to change to part-time studies because your visa/residence permit for study purposes depends on your status as a full-time student. Exception: Pregnant students with a visa/residence permit for study purposes might get permission from the immigration authorities to study part-time. If this is your case, please consult with your local immigrations office before you change to part-time at our Student Records Office.

If you are a non-EU student but have a residence permit that allows you to work full-time (e.g. work visa) or if you are an EU citizen, you can choose between full-time and part-time studies. More details on the rules for part-time studies can be accessed here.

Do I need to have my class schedule ready before I start my studies?

When you start your first semester in our Medical Engineering program, the answer is no. We will be happy to give you step-by-step introduction on our Master Welcome Day Medical Engineering on how to create your class schedule and what you need to bear in mind when selecting your couses. Definitely make sure to attend the event – you can find out the time and place on the starting page of our Medical Engineering website or from the Student Advisory Service.