Global Exchange Program: Applications

• Students enrolled at the University of Bonn are eligible from the second program-related semester onward (bachelor’s students and those preparing to take the state examination) or the first program-related semester onward (master’s students)
• Good to very good academic performance
• Compliance with the application requirements set by the chosen host university/ universities
• Language skills that meet the relevant minimum requirements

Before you apply, please do your own research into the specific application requirements set by your host university, particularly regarding degree programs, average grades and language certificates.

You can find specific admission requirements, study options and other information provided by the individual partner universities in our search portal for exchange programs (only available in German).

The application deadlines are arranged by country group and there is one application deadline per academic year for each. You can apply to up to three partner universities in the respective country group by each deadline. If accepted by the partner university, you will begin studying abroad in the spring or fall semester of the next academic year.

Applications for the 2025/26 academic year (or the 2026 calendar year in the case of Australia) can be submitted taking into account the following deadlines:

North America, Africa and the United Kingdom: November 13, 2024
Asia (except Israel): November 24, 2024
Latin America and Israel*: February 16, 2025
Australia: May 25, 2025

*Applications for a stay in Israel are generally welcome. However, even if you are successful in applying to an Israeli partner university your semester(s) abroad cannot take place if there is still a travel warning from the Federal Foreign Office two months prior to your departure.

Additional application deadlines

Washington Semester Program at the American University, U.S.: March 01, 2025 for the winter semester 2025/26; August 15, 2025 for the summer semester 2026.

* Some non-European universities may observe significantly different semester dates to those in Germany. You can find information on the semester dates at your chosen host university in our search portal for exchange programs (only available in German).

Deadline for letters of recommendation

You will also need a letter of recommendation in order to apply. See the form template and the checklist under Downloads for more details.

You will ideally already have your letter of recommendation to hand by the standard application deadline. If the deadline passes and you are still missing your letter of recommendation but your application is otherwise complete, you will automatically receive a notification and will then have seven days to submit your letter of recommendation.

This means that letters of recommendation for the 2025/26 academic year (or the 2026 calendar year in the case of Australia) must be submitted to the International Office by the following deadlines:

North America and Africa: November 20, 2024
Asia (except Israel): December 01, 2024
Latin America and Israel: February 23, 2025
Australia: June 01, 2025

Applications are submitted via our online application portal Mobility-Online. You will need to upload PDF versions of the following documents as part of your application:

Compulsory

• Letter of motivation*
• Curriculum vitae
• Transcript of records
• Evidence of language skills (see checklist for requirements such as date of issue and type pf test; overview of language certificates)
• Certificate of enrollment
• Letter of recommendation*
• Application checklist*

If relevant

• Proof of higher education entrance qualification, such as the Abitur certificate or its international equivalent (only for bachelor’s students who will not yet have completed their third program-related semester by the application deadline)
• Bachelor’s certificate (only for master’s students)
• Four-page research proposal (only for doctoral students applying for a research visit)

* You can find forms for the letter of motivation and the letter of recommendation as well as the checklist under Downloads. Please only use the templates provided.

If you would like to apply for the Global Exchange Program, follow these steps:

Register with Mobility-Online

Applications are submitted via our online application portal Mobility-Online. To do so, please read the document entitled How to register with Mobility-Online carefully and follow the instructions in the emails that you receive after completing each registration step (also make sure to check your spam folder). (only available in German at present)

Completing your application

Once you have completed your registration, you will be able to add any missing personal details via the Mobility-Online application portal and upload the necessary application documents. You will be able to save your application as you work through it before you submit the final version via the portal.

You will receive an automatic confirmation of receipt after you have sent off your online application. We would be grateful if you could refrain from inquiring about the status of your individual application once you have received this confirmation.

Tips for a successful application

Use the Global Exchange Program web pages and our exchange program search portal to do your research before you apply. Please make sure that you read through the checklist and the FAQs on this page. Contact us during our office hours if you have any other queries.

Apply now! (only available in German at present)

As well as compliance with the essential application requirements (see above), successful applicants will be chosen based on the following criteria:

• Good to very good study achievements
• Academic motivation and justification for your study plans*
• Personal motivation
• Voluntary intercultural, social and/ or political engagement within and/ or outside of the University
• Willingness to serve as an ambassador at your host university (e.g. taking part in study abroad fairs)

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the criteria set by the host university/ universities to which you have chosen to apply are the minimum requirements for your study achievements and language skills. You can find information on these criteria in our search portal for exchange programs (only available in German).

* Please note that you will be expected to attend courses at your host university on a full-time basis. (You may be notified of specific requirements set by your chosen partner university once you have been accepted.) As far as possible, these courses should be able to be recognized as contributing to your degree program at the University of Bonn. As a rule, you should primarily be following a specialized degree program rather than simply taking language courses.

The Global Exchange Program is managed centrally by the International Office. Your first step is to apply via the online mobility portal Mobility-Online.

1. After the application deadline

Once the application deadline has passed, all the applications that were complete and submitted on time will undergo a formal verification by the International Office.

2. Around four weeks after the application deadline

If your application meets the formal criteria, it will be considered by the International Office and professors representing the respective subject in the selection process. They will make their selection either based solely on your written application or by inviting you to a selection interview as well.

Note on the selection process for 2024/25

Applicants for the Global Exchange Program in 2024/25 will be selected solely on the basis of their written application. Selection interviews will only be held if required in individual cases and you will be given ample notice.

3. Around six to eight weeks after the application deadline

You can expect to hear the outcome of your application by the following dates:

North America and Africa: end of December / mid-January
Asia (except Israel): mid-January / early February
Latin America and Israel: late March
Australia: July

Please understand that acceptance and rejection letters in the same country group will not necessarily all be sent out at the same time.

4. What happens next if you are accepted

If you are accepted to the program, you will receive detailed information on what happens next. The International Office will pass your name on to your chosen host university, at which point you will need to submit another application directly to the partner institution.

Note that you are highly likely but not guaranteed to be admitted as the partner university has the final say.

The International Office in Bonn will support you during the host university's application process, assist with other organizational aspects of your stay and arrange preparatory workshops and ambassador training sessions. Your host university will usually take over once you have been admitted, if not before. However, the International Office at the University of Bonn will remain your primary point of contact and maintain regular contact with its counterpart at your host university.

Each partner university has a limited number of spaces available, usually one or two a semester, thought this can vary (slightly) from year to year. As we generally receive more applications than there are spaces, we are forced to reject some applicants. There is no legal claimto on a spot in the program.

Important note: You should be aware that you are highly likely but not guaranteed to be admitted to your host university once you have been selected by the International Office as the partner university has the final say.

Please use our exchange program search portal and the websites of the individual partner universities to do your own research into the study programs that each institution offers (as well as the relevant admission requirements).

Important note: When using the search portal, be aware that the Global Exchange Program is not tied to a specific faculty and is open to students of all subjects. Please do not pick a faculty or subject at the preselection stage.

You can find details of restrictions on individual subjects on the Global Exchange Program website.

If, for example, you are studying for a dual-subject bachelor’s degree program or teaching degree or are enrolled in two undergraduate degree programs at the same time, please always apply with the subject that you’d mainly like to study abroad. Please also list all your other subjects as stated on your certificate of enrollment.

Please also submit transcripts for all of your current subjects regardless of whether or not you are planning to attend any courses in those subjects at your host university.

You will only need a Learning Agreement if you have been selected by the International Office as part of the application procedure and your name has been passed on to the host university.

You will generally not need to worry about drawing up a Learning Agreement until you have been admitted by your host university.

If you have been accepted, you will find out more at the preparatory workshops and from the information sheet on the Learning Agreement under Downloads.

Yes, for the semester in which your are abroad you may apply for a leave of absence at the Student Registry of the University of Bonn. Please note, however, that you will not be able to complete any course work or examinations at the University of Bonn during a leave of absence! Only a repetition of failed exams and the recognition of academic achievements made abroad are possible during that time. Further information, forms and deadlines (!) can be found on the pages of the Student Secretariat.

Student Registry

If you are planning to take exams at the University of Bonn in the semester of your stay abroad, either before, during or after, you might consider a refund of the mobility fee (semester ticket) through the AStA instead of a leave of absence. Further information, forms and deadlines (!) can be found on the AStA pages.

AStA University of Bonn

We will gladly sign the necessary certificates for the stay abroad within the framework of the Global Exchange Program – however, please fill them out with your data as far as possible and submit them to us well in advance of the deadline.

To help you prepare, we recommend the detailed overview with general information on safety precautions compiled by the DAAD (only available in German). As a rule, safe aspects are also part of the orientation at your host university. 

Although you may in principle apply for a stay at an Israeli partner institution at this time, any acceptance for a semster or two in Israel will be conditional until further notice. If there is still a travel warning from the Federal Foreign Office two months priot to your departure, you will unfortunately not be able to study at the chosen host university.

The University of Bonn generally does not prohibit its students from working while studying abroad if you have discussed the specifics with and received appropriate approval from the International Office in advance. The decisive factor is that you devote most of your time to your academic pursuits at your host university and that the work hours required per week do not exceed 20. There may also be other country-specific restrictions (e.g. due to your visa), which must be researched and observed independently.

If you wish to take up a part-time job abroad, please complete this form and send it to globalexchange-outgoing@uni-bonn.de with sufficient advance notice. The subsequent examination and authorization can take up to four weeks.

You are free to apply for other scholarships (annual DAAD scholarship, private foundations, etc.). Please note the relevant application deadlines. If you are awarded another scholarship to fund your stay abroad, you will not be eligible for the one-off grant out of PROMOS funds that is otherwise granted in the Global Exchange Program.

You may also be able to claim financial support via the “Auslands-BAföG” (International BAföG), which you can apply for even if you do not receive regular BAföG in Germany. How much funding you can claim for your stay abroad will depend on your host country and how long you are staying there.

More information on financing stays abroad is also available on the web page entitled “Financing stays abroad.”