FAQ International Students

The following study programs are offered at our department:

• Bachelor of Arts Altmerikanistik und Ethnologie (as dual or as accompanying subject)
• Together with the Department of Romance Studies: Bachelor of Arts Lateinamerika- und Altamerikastudien (Main subject)
• Master of Arts Anthropology of the Americas
• Together with the Department of Romance Studies: Master of Arts Kulturstudien zu Lateinamerika
• Doctoral program

The Bachelor's degree programs and the Master's program Kulturstudien zu Lateinamerika require very good German language skills (C1 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

No knowledge of German is required for the Master's in Anthropology of the Americas. You will need good English skills. Furthermore, knowledge of Spanish is also an advantage. No German language skills are required to do a doctorate in our department.

Application

Those interested in the Master's program can apply in two application phases per year (winter and summer semester) via the Application portal of the University of Bonn. 

Those are the steps to apply:

1. Prepare the required documents as listed under the "Admission Requirements" section in PDF format. These documents must be translated into English or German by certified or legally recognized translators or interpreters. Certificates in French do not require translation. Optionally, you may also upload a letter of motivation, internship certificates, and a CV to the application portal for a more comprehensive evaluation of your candidacy.
2. Visit the Master's Application Portal website (link provided above). This portal is available in both English and German. Complete all required information to ensure your application is reviewed by the University of Bonn.
3. You will automatically receive an acknowledgment of receipt via email once you have completed the application process through the Master's Application Portal.
4. After a few weeks, you will receive an email with the admission letter for enrollment in the student secretariat. To finalize your admission, you will need to complete the enrollment process.

Further information is provided here.

Enrollment

You will need to enroll (i.e. register) at the start of the semester in order to be able to study at the University of Bonn. Doctoral students can also enroll midsemester. The deadlines will be specified in your letter of admission. Program students (Erasmus, Global Exchange Program, Fulbright, Studienbrücke+, etc.) will follow their own enrollment rules depending on their program. International master’s students and doctoral students will be sent their enrollment information together with their letter of admission, while doctoral students will get theirs from the doctoral office. You enroll online. 

Documents required

• Declaration of enrollment, please do not forget to sign it! (You will find the declaration in the enrollment portal - link above)
• Letter of admission for the relevant degree program
• Identification document (identity card, passport)
• Electronic notification from the statutory health insurance company about your insurance status (you can find more detailed explanations under Insurance for students/health insurance)
• Your bachelor’s certificate and transcript of records (for international students), if this is already available.
• Certificate of deregistration from the last German university (this certificate must indicate which degree programs you were last enrolled for, which program-related semester you are currently in and whether you have already had any semesters on leave).

Further information needed? Click here.

Semester fee

When you enroll, you will be sent an email containing payment details for the semester fee, which all University of Bonn students are required to pay. This is not an enrollment or tuition fee! You can find details of what the fee is used for on the University of Bonn website. You should pay your semester fee by bank transfer as soon as possible. Please ensure that you give your student ID number as a reference when making your bank transfer! 
You must re-register for each semester. You do so by paying your semester fee for the upcoming semester by bank transfer by the deadline indicated on the website.

Uni Bonn App

Once you have received and activated your Uni-ID, you will find your digital student ID and Deutschlandsemesterticket for public transport in the Uni Bonn App, which you can also use to view canteen menus. The University website has instructions on how to activate your IDs and tickets in the app

If you are looking for private accommodation or a shared flat, there are several public portals and apps that you can use to apply for apartments and rooms. You can also ask the student council to let the students of our department know that you are looking for accommodation: fachschaftethno@gmail.com
You can expect to pay between 300 and 600 euros per month to rent a room in a shared flat or a one-room apartment. 

It is also possible to apply for a place in a student dormitory, if you're being enrolled. Rooms in student dormitories are usually somewhat cheaper than private acommodation. Have a look at your options here.

Here's a video with further information on acommodation and other things you should know when moving to Germany: Youtube-Link.

Residence permit

Students from non EU/ EEA countries who will be staying in Bonn for more than three months must apply for an electronic residence permit (eAT) from the city’s immigration authority. If you live in Bonn, it's the Ausländeramt: antrag-auslaenderamt@bonn.de in Oxfordstraße 19, 53111 Bonn.

If your visa covers the entire duration of your stay, then you do not require an eAT. To apply for your residence permit, you will need to fill out the form that you will find on the immigration authority’s website. Once you have submitted your application, you will get confirmation of receipt followed by details of what documents you will need to provide so that your application can be processed. Please note that this can take a relatively long time. That's why it might make sense to start the process before arriving to Germany.

Register with the city authorities

You are required by law to report to the city registration office (Anmeldung). Within the first two weeks after you move into accommodation, you will need to visit the office in person and present a valid address. A valid address in this context is a place of residence where you can receive mail and be contacted in person. Addresses of hotels, youth hostels, etc. do not count. You have to make an appointment (online) at the city registration office in Bonn City Hall (Stadthaus) if you live within the city limits or Citizen Services (Bürgerservice) in Siegburg if you live in the RheinSieg district. If you move within city limits, you have to re-register with your new address (Ummeldung).

As there is a high demand for appointments, it is recommended to book one before you even arrive in the case that you are moving into a room with a valid address as soon as you get here. In addition, canceled appointments are automatically freed up again daily around 07:30 am for later on in the same day, allowing you sometimes to get an appointment spontaneously.

Documents you need to bring to the appointment:

Your ID card (for EU citizens) or passport
Your completed registration form
Your lessor’s certificate (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung)

Broadcasting fee

The radio and TV license fee costs €18.36 per month and must be paid by every household as a basic principle. Once you have registered with the City of Bonn’s registration office, you will receive a letter from “ARD ZDF Deutschlandfunk Beitragsservice” asking you to “anmelden” (register).  Ask the people you are living with, if one of them is already paying, so you can use their number and share the costs.

The University of Bonn offers various opportunities for consolidating and improving your German language skills:

• German courses at A1–B2 level before and during the semester, organized by the International Office
• German courses at B2–C1 level at the Language Learning Center (SLZ)
• Using Rosetta Stone interactive learning software
• Language tandems

More information is avaible here. Or watch this Video.

Your living expenses will run to around €800–€1,200 a month, naturally depending on your individual lifestyle and what kind of accommodation you are in. Aditionally you will need to pay the semester fee to the University twice a year.

There are diffent options to finance your stay in Germany.

Student jobs

Students from an EU or EEA country have free access to the German job market and are treated just like German students, including for internships. Students (including doctoral students) of other nationalities only have a limited entitlement to work while in Germany in accordance with § 16 of the Residence Act (AufenthG). They are permitted (as of March 01, 2024) to work 140 full or 280 half days in a calendar year or be employed as a student assistant or research assistant at the University for up to 19 hours a week. The Immigration Office will indicate this on your residence permit.

The Studierendenwerk and the university each have job portals for students:

Job portal of the Studierendenwerk

Job offers for students at the university

Scholarships

The University of Bonn has compiled various scholarship offers for Master students and doctoral candidates on its homepage.

State education financing (BAföG)

If certain conditions are met (e.g. low income of parents), you can apply for state support under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG). Under certain conditions (e.g. permanent right of residence, settlement permit), persons without German citizenship who are long-term residents of Germany can also receive BAföG as financial support during their studies.

 Advice on BAföG is available from the BAföG center at the University of Bonn, among others.

Housing Subsidy (Wohngeld)

Another possibility of financial support can be housing subsidy. Persons without German  citizenship with a residence title according to the Residence Act can also apply for housing subsidy. An "application for rent subsidy" can be submitted to the housing subsidy office of the place where one is registered. For Bonn, all information on how to apply can be found here.

Freitisch

Recipients of the so-called "Freitisch" (free table) are entitled to the following meals per day/per person from Monday to Friday (except public holidays) in the open catering facilities of the Studierendenwerk Bonn:

1) A breakfast consisting of a maximum of two sandwiches (Brötchen) and a hot drink,

2) one lunch consisting of one main component according to the offer, a maximum of three secondary components according to the offer as well as one drink, alternatively use of one of the offers of the food truck plus drink

3) in the afternoon, use of a savoury or sweet cafeteria offer and a drink.

Any student who, after deduction of the rent obligation of up to 450 EUR and health insurance costs of up to a further 120 EUR, has less than 40 per cent of the maximum BAföG monthly subsistence allowance remaining in the month before the application is submitted, is entitled to receive the benefit.

Eligibility to apply must be proven by presenting the currently valid student ID and a valid identity card or passport. In order to prove eligibility for the free table, the student's own bank statements from the current month and the previous month must be submitted.

Apply via e-mail:  freitisch@asta.uni-bonn.de

In order to obtain a degree from our department, a total of 180 credit points, called ECTS, must be earned in the Bachelor's program and 120 ECTS in the Master's program.

To acquire ECTS, modules must be completed in full. It is worth taking a look at the module handbook to find out what is required to complete the modules and how many ECTS credits each module provides. Usually, a module consists of two or three courses (lectures, tutorials, seminars, excursions, etc.) in which coursework must be completed. In order to pass graded modules, an examination must be taken at the end. This can be a written exam, an oral exam or a term paper, for example. 

In order to receive ECTS credits, it is essential to register for the respective courses and examinations within the designated phases. You can find the registration periods here.

At the beginning of the summer semester 2025, the previous administration system BASIS will be converted to a new system. Until then, if you have any questions about registering for courses and examinations, please contact the degree program management via studiengangsmanagement.altamerikanistik@uni-bonn.de.

Student Registry

The Student Registry is the first point of contact for all interdisciplinary administrative questions about your studies. Among other things, it handles application and admission procedures for undergraduate degree programs, enrollment, re-registration, leaves of absence and changes in subjects and degree programs. 

International Office

The International Office acts as the central point of contact for international students and researchers – before, during and after their time at the University. It also provides support to students and researchers of the University of Bonn in all issues relating to international mobility and cooperation. There is also the International service point which is the central port of call for students, doctoral candidates and employees for questions regarding stays in Bonn, studying and working abroad and exchange programs (e-mail, phone number: +49 228 73-5544)

For further information click here.

Program Management: Katharina Pawlak

If you have formal questions about application procedures and deadlines, language certificates, BASIS problems, registration and examination modalities, please contact the degree program management. You can also discuss content-related questions with the program management. When contacting the program management by e-mail, please always state your matriculation number.

Consultation hours take place by appointment. Please make an appointment by e-mail: studiengangsmanagement.altamerikanistik@uni-bonn.de

Fachschaft (Student Council)

The student council is the student representation of the department. The students who are active in the student council organize, for example, welcome events or student events such as film evenings, barbecues or the Christmas party during the semester. They try to support their fellow students as much as possible and stand up for their concerns. They are happy to help with questions and problems and to implement your ideas. Finally, they also act as mediators between lecturers and students. You can contact them via e-mail: fachschaftethno@gmail.com or have a look at their instagram: fachschaft_lama