Your Medical Studies at the University of Würzburg!

Since it is important that medical students have contact with patients and since all exams at our Faculty will be held in German, having a good command of German is a prerequisite for studying with us. You will have to have reached the required minimum level of German language proficiency, which is level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), by the start date of the semester at the latest. Please be aware that you will have to submit an official German language certificate to us along with your admission documents. It is ok if your certified level of German is just below the required level of B2. However, if that is the case, you will have to attend the intensive German course offered by our Language Centre in the month before you commence your studies with us.

The Language Centre at the University of Würzburg offers preparatory intensive German courses in September and March, i.e. in the months before the start of the winter semester and the summer semester. In addition, there are a range of language courses that you can take during the semester. These courses are a great opportunity to further improve your language skills and earn some additional ECTS credits at the same time. You will receive 5 ECTS credits for the intensive course and between 2 and 5 credits for the semester-long courses. And we haven’t even mentioned the best bit yet: As an exchange programme student, you can attend our language courses for free!

The sooner you start working on your language skills, the better you will be prepared for your study abroad experience. And the better your German is when you arrive here, the more relaxed and stress-free your stay with us will be.

Another great way to improve your language skills and meet new people while you are here is our face2face programme. The programme will pair you up with a language partner, and the two of you will help each other learn.

The academic year at the University of Würzburg is divided into the winter semester (October - February) and the summer semester (April - July).

Lecture periods – You can find an overview of the lecture periods at the University of Würzburg on our Dates and Deadlines page.

At our Faculty, exams are usually held towards the end of the semester. Your exams will be over and done with two weeks after the end date of the semester at the very latest.

First, you will have to be selected and nominated by your home university for the exchange programme with the University of Würzburg. If you are interested in studying with us as an exchange student, simply get in touch with the Erasmus coordinator at your university and then submit your application for an exchange place to your home university. If you are selected for a study abroad experience at the University of Würzburg, your home university will nominate you to us.

Once we have received your nomination from your home university, you will receive important information about the admission process, accommodation and language courses from our International Office.

Information about admission to the University of Würzburg as an exchange student can be found on the pages of our International Office.

The next step will be for you to submit an application for admission to the University of Würzburg and to apply for a place at a student residence. The deadlines for doing so are:

15 June for the following winter semester
15 January for the following summer semester

At the same time, you will also receive discipline-specific information from the Faculty of Medicine, which is important, for example, for selecting the courses that you want to take here.

As mentioned above, the courses from semesters 5 to 9 are open to you if you are spending one or two semesters with us as an exchange student. You can pick courses from any of these semesters and can thus create your own personal timetable for each semester that you are spending with us.

ECTS credit list

The best way to find out what courses we offer, how many ECTS credits you can earn for each course if you are registered for it and pass the exam and how many contact hours each course has in total is to check our ECTS credit list.

If you are only staying for one semester, you can take all courses that normally run over two semesters - with the exception of internal medicine and infectiology - within a single semester.

Timetables

Check the timetables for the individual semesters to find out when the individual components of the courses will take place.

5th semester
6th semester
7th semester
8th semester
9th semester

What do the different colours in the timetables mean? Courses marked in orange are mandatory courses, courses marked in sky blue are voluntary.

It is very important that you keep in mind that your mandatory courses must not clash. Wherever possible, you should also avoid signing up for clashing lectures, as the material covered in the lectures will be examinable; however, your access to the lecture slides will help you here.

Course contents

To find out what material will be covered in the individual subjects, follow the links below and click on the subjects that you are interested in taking:

Lists of course contents in German language (found in the 'Scheinvergabekriterien im Klinischen Abschnitt' section)
Lists of course contents in English language (still incomplete)

Other or interdisciplinary courses

• Electives: You can take one seminar elective (1 ECTS credit) per semester; if there are enough places available, you may also be able to take more than one.
• The courses offered by our Teaching Clinic provide lots of hands-on experience. The Teaching Clinic offers both curricular and voluntary courses.
• You need some additional ECTS credits or want to take some additional courses online? Check out the courses offered by Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern (vhb), the Bavarian virtual university, as part of their vhb Classic or Open vhb programmes! They have medical courses, language courses and a whole lot more! If you want to take a vhb course, you will have to sign up for it directly on the vhb website.
• Want to boost your intercultural skills? Our GSiK (Global Systems and Intercultural Competence) project team is offering some great courses in this field!
• The INSIGHTS (Interdisciplinary Studies in German History, Tradition and Society) programme is aimed at students from all disciplines. The courses offered as part of the programme are taught in English and provide a great opportunity to learn more about Germany.
• Courses on academic writing and good academic practice offered by the JMU Writing Centre: German universities attach great importance to students being able to independently produce work that meets academic standards. Our Writing Centre offers courses on academic writing, good academic practice and much more.
• Language courses in German and other foreign languages. Of course, studying abroad is also a great way to improve your foreign language skills! Check out the pages of our Language Centre. They offer courses in a wide range of languages.

Learning Agreement

You have read all of the information provided above? Then it’s time to get started on building your timetable for your winter and/or summer semester and preparing your Learning Agreement, which we will sign either electronically (EWP) or, if you wish, in PDF format. Although we will not set you a deadline for the submission of your Learning Agreement, we would advise you to start thinking about which courses you want to take as early as possible.

Of course, you can write or call us at any time if you have a question or need assistance. If you need help with a more complicated issue, you can also email us at Moll_b@ukw.de to make an appointment for a virtual advising session.

Registering for your courses

We will register you for your requested courses - you won’t have to do anything in this respect! We will let you have all the relevant information about your registration for your courses about two months before the semester starts.

Please be aware that if you want to take a course, you will have to take the complete course. You will not be able to take only the practical components of a course and have them listed on your transcript of records.

Exams

Each course will end with an exam. All exams will be written (except for the one in microbiology, which will be oral) and held in German. When you are registered for a course, you are automatically registered for the exam as well. Once you are enrolled, you can check the WueCampus portal for the exam dates.

The rules and regulations governing exams are the same for exchange students and regular students - with one welcome exception: Exchange students are allowed to use a dictionary.

The Institutes and Clinics will forward your grades to the Office of the Dean of Studies. As soon as they have been entered into the system, you will be able to access and print out your grades via the WueStudy portal.

At the end of your study abroad experience, only the following courses can be listed on your transcript of records: complete courses at the end of which you took an exam as well as language courses, courses taken at our Teaching Clinic, vhb courses and any similar additional credits for which we have received the respective certificates.

Transcript of records

As soon as you have received all of your exam results and as soon as you have received all of your credit certificates (Leistungsnachweise) and forwarded them to us, we at the Faculty of Medicine can issue your transcript of records.

Confirmation of your study abroad period

You can contact either the International Office of the University of Würzburg on Hubland Campus or the International Office of the Faculty of Medicine to obtain a confirmation of the duration of your study abroad period (start and/or end dates). You will usually receive a confirmation form for your arrival and departure from your home university. Please complete this form and forward it to us for signature.

You are worried about the hassle of finding accommodation? Good news: If you are coming to the University of Würzburg on an exchange programme, you are guaranteed to receive a place at one of the twelve student residences in Würzburg, provided that you apply for it within the applicable deadlines!

More information about the student residences in Würzburg

The student residences on Josef-Schneider-Straße and Straubmühlweg are located in the immediate vicinity of the University Hospital campus.

More information about student accommodation terms and conditions can be found on the pages of our International Office and of Studierendenwerk Würzburg, the operator of the student residences in Würzburg.

Please remember that you will have to apply for a place at a student residence within the prescribed deadlines - these deadlines are the same as those for applications for admission:

15 June for the winter semester
15 January for the summer semester

Here are a couple of good places to go if you are looking for opportunities to connect with your peers in Würzburg:

Activities & Friends

Get information about events, spare time activities (sports, music etc.) and meeting people in Würzburg.

University Catholic Community (KHG) and University Protestant Community (ESG)

The University Catholic Community (KHG) and the University Protestant Community (ESG) offer spiritual guidance, spare time activities and great social activities - and joining them is also a great way to meet lots of new people. The two organisations are also there to help in difficult situations.