Course Selection Guide
Dear Exchange Students,
NGU Nürtingen-Geislingen University aims to be welcoming to international students. Recognizing language concerns, we've created a Course Catalog with around 100 lectures taught in English for exchange students from our more than 100 global partner institutions. Language should not be a barrier as both students and professors communicate in English on campus. For daily life, we provide German language courses to enhance your experience. Some courses include corequisites, along with details on prerequisites and offered semesters, all available in each course description. Keep in mind that the course selection is regularly updated and subject to changes.
Contact: andrea.heissler@no spamhfwu.de, +49 7022 201 436
Exchange Subjects
The course catalog for exchange students offers diverse bachelor's and master's level courses, including Finance and Accounting, Management-Innovation-Sustainability, Marketing, Economics, International Business and Management, International Management and Organizational Behavior, German Society and Culture, Business English, as well as Landscape Architecture.
Geislingen Campus welcomes exchange students, but it's recommended to select courses within one campus. Selecting courses across different campuses is discouraged due to potential challenges such as travel times, schedule overlaps, and exam conflicts.
Academic Level
Within our course catalog for exchange students, a spectrum of English-taught courses is available at both bachelor's and master's levels, spanning across diverse schools, degree programs, and semesters. Bachelor exchange students are granted the opportunity to enroll in master's level courses, provided their academic standing permits participation. It's crucial to note that there are limited slots for exchange students in master's level courses, allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
Prerequisites
Prior to enrollment, it is expected that all exchange students have completed introductory courses in Business Administration, Business Calculus, and General Education. Additionally, a foundational understanding of MS Office programs such as Excel, Word, and ideally Power Point is required as well as English language skills with at least B2 level.
Contact Hours and Workload
Our courses do not follow a uniform number of contact hours per week, although many typically entail 2 hours of weekly instruction. Variations exist as some courses need additional time for preparation and self-study, while others may require less. This distinction is indicated by the European Credit Transfer System, enabling students to measure the workload required to successfully complete a course. Each ECTS corresponds to 25 hours of work during the semester. For instance, a course with 2 hours per week and 4 ECTS demands a total workload of 100 hours, with 25 hours allocated to classroom instruction. In contrast, a course with 2 hours per week and 2 ECTS requires a total workload of 50 hours, including 25 hours of classroom time. All courses featured in our course catalog specify the contact hours per week, the total workload per semester, and the associated ECTS. It is imperative to note that for exchange students, a non-negotiable required minimum workload is set at 20 ECTS. Students benefiting from grants (e.g., Baden-Wuerttemberg Stiftung) are subject to additional requirements, such as 24 ECTS and 100% attendance.
Timetable
Given that English-instructed courses cover various schools, semesters and diverse degree programs, the likelihood of encountering scheduling conflicts is high. Hence, it is advisable to choose more courses than required to ensure flexibility in accommodating your university's requirements.
Attendance
In the German system attendance is only required for some few courses. This is extremely challenging for international students. Therefore, we highly recommend 100% attendance. NGU has an attendance requirement of at least 80% for all exchange students. All NGU lecturers who teach courses in English have a list containing the exchange students' names and will take attendance.
Assessment
There is a variety of assessments at NGU. However, the most common assessment is the written exam at the end of the semester. Here is an overview of feasible assessments according to §9-12 of „Studien- und Prüfungsordnung der Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt Nürtingen-Geislingen Allgemeiner Teil für Bachelorstudiengänge vom 19. Dezember 2012 in der Fassung der 13. Änderungssatzung vom 17. Juni 2020“:
German name | English name | Acronym |
Klausur | Written exam | K |
E-Klausur | Written electronic exam | eK |
schriftliche Arbeit | Paper | S |
Mündliche Prüfung | Oral exam | M |
Referat / Präsentation | Presentation | R |
Studienarbeit | Coursework project | StA |
Combinations are possible, e.g. K30 R means that the students will take an exam of 30 minutes during the examination period and give a presentation during the semester. In a written exam, students should demonstrate that they have the necessary specialized knowledge and that they are able to work on topics and solve tasks within a specified time period, with limited aids and using the common methods of their subject. A written electronic exam is an exam whose preparation, performance, and evaluation is computer-based (except for open questions). A written electronic exam is feasible if it is useful to prove that the examinee has mastered the contents and methods of the module in the essential contexts and is able to apply the acquired knowledge and skills; if necessary, it can be supplemented by other forms of examination. In case of a written electronic examination, the completion of the examination may be recorded if necessary to ensure that the examination is conducted in accordance with the law. In a paper, students should demonstrate that they are able to research, evaluate and link the information necessary to solve a task or problem in a goal-oriented manner. They should prove that they know and can fulfill the requirements of an academic paper and the principles of scientific work. The timely submission of the work is a prerequisite. In oral exams, students should demonstrate that they have a broad knowledge of the subject and that they recognize the interrelationships of the subject area. In presentations, students should demonstrate that they can solve a task in their academic field and communicate appropriately with the support of media. In coursework projects, students should demonstrate that they are able to solve complex, cross-curricular problems from their professional field. Coursework projects can consist of a written paper as well as a presentation.
Grading
NGU Nürtingen-Geislingen University has a very detailed grading system from 1.0 (very good) to 4.0 (pass) with steps of 0.3 in between. A 1.0 is an extremely good performance that only very few students manage to get. Grades of 2.3 or 2.7 are very common. The partner university decides how our grades on the transcripts will be translated into their grades. Studying in Germany is quite different from the home country. We are convinced that our exchange students will be rewarded by a life-time experience.
German Language Courses
Although many younger Germans speak English quite proficiently, we recommend taking German language courses to acquire the basics for the daily life in Germany. All German language courses, including our highly recommended 'Germany at a Glance' course covering history and politics, are offered free of charge to exchange students.
Classroom based German language courses
NGU Nürtingen-Geislingen University offers at its campus in Nürtingen German language courses throughout the semester. Depending on your pre-knowledge in German you can choose between German for Beginners A1.1, A1.2 and German Intermediate B1.1.
Internet based German language courses
In addition to the classroom based language courses we offer internet based German language courses that complement each other very well. You have the possibility to attend an online course for beginners A1-A2, intermediates B1-B2 and advanced students C1 on certain days. Apart from that, we offer as well an A1.1 German online pre-course with important topics from everyday life during the lecture-free period end of February/March respectively in September. The descriptions of all German language courses can be found in the Course Catalog for exchange students.
Contact and further information
