Outgoings Bachelor General information

Before you start preparing to take part in a Summer School or an exchange programme at a partner university, you have to get a declaration of consent from your company (study-abroad application form; can be accessed in the Download section of E-Services). It is solely up to your company to decide whether or not the application will be granted. Speak to your student support officer and explain the advantages and your own personal motivation for wanting to study abroad. It is customary for students to use part or all of their annual vacation for the study-abroad period.

Please note that the dates for the upcoming academic years of the universities have not yet been set or published at the time of reaching an agreement with your company – and in some cases at the time of applying at HSBA. However, the dates generally only deviate minimally from the current semester dates. Therefore, please use the dates for the current academic year and communicate this to your company accordingly.

You can find further information on the individual application process when you look at each exchange option (Erasmus, Other Partners, Summer Schools, Free Mover).

In order for us to check whether the grades you obtain at your university of choice can be credited to your HSBA degree, you need to fill in an application for recognition of grades not obtained at HSBA ("Antrag von nicht an der HSBA erbrachten Studienleistungen") and send this via e-mail to the International Office in good time (we recommend approximately six months beforehand) together with the module descriptions of your chosen courses. We will check your application and get back to you as soon as possible. In addition, we would like to point out that in particular in the case of an exchange semester course or schedule changes at the host school may occur shortly before or after arrival.

Read the following main steps and conditions on the recognition of grades obtained abroad:

Equivalent competencies
In principle, all subjects can be recognised provided they are not significantly different in terms of the competencies to be acquired; this has to be substantiated by means of module descriptions from the foreign university.

• Step 1: You should compare the courses of your study programme with those at the guest university and make your preferred choice.
• Step 2: Identify from our sample modules list if your course choice has already been checked for credit transfer.
• Step 3: For all remaining courses you should make sure on the basis of the module descriptions of both the foreign university and HSBA that the courses match.

Please note:

• You may obtain generally up to 30 ECTS per semester. For a semester abroad, a minimum of 25 ECTS is required (does not apply to Summer School programmes).
• In principle, courses from the semesters before or after your semester abroad can also be credited.
  Exams that have already been successfully completed at HSBA, cannot be replaced by an exam abroad.
• In case of course changes upon arrival at the host institution you must inform the International Office of the HSBA immediately. We will then do our best to consider your amended course choice as soon as possible.
• Please note: Subsequent crediting without prior approval is not possible.

The application process depends on whether you would like to do an exchange at a ERASMUS partner university, another university, as free mover or participate in a summer school.  

Insurance Cover

It is important that you check your insurance cover for your stay abroad. This relates in particular to health, third-party liability, accident and disability insurance. Before your study-abroad period, you should check to what extent your insurance covers you while you are abroad. For example, in most cases it is worth getting private health insurance because special and unusual services, such as repatriation in the event of illness or injury for example, are generally only covered by additional insurance. Consequently you should obtain the relevant information from your existing health insurer before you commence your journey.

Sufficient health insurance cover is necessary in order to be admitted to the partner university. Each student is responsible for organising his/her own health insurance. If you have statutory health insurance, the insurance cover provided by your health insurance generally also extends to the rest of Europe for the duration of your studies. Your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) number is generally sufficient proof of cover. Please make sure to clarify this with your health insurer. If your insurance cover does not cover your destination country, you will need to take out private additional insurance (e.g. international health insurance from HanseMerkur, Allianz).

If you have private health insurance, you should clarify how long the insurance cover is valid for periods spent abroad, as most insurance policies have a three-month limit. Students with private health insurance must also obtain confirmation from their insurance providers that they are covered in the rest of Europe. Ideally this confirmation should be provided in the language of the destination country.
Students receiving an ERASMUS+, EU or DAAD grant may be covered by the DAAD Group Insurance.

Visa

A visa application is required for some countries. Please find out in good time about the rules for your destination country. If your company has a branch office in the region/city of your target university, please note that in most cases you are not allowed to work with a student visa.

What happens if you have already moved abroad and the course you selected is not taking place after all? If changes are made at short notice abroad, please discuss these as soon as possible with HSBA’s International Office.

Do you want to have the grades obtained abroad credited to your HSBA study programme? If so, please provide us with your transcript of records, including an explanation of the grades at your host university, after your return. In addition, please state your request for recognition in writing (an e-mail is sufficient).

A grade obtained abroad is converted as you can see here.

Participants in the ERASMUS programme must submit the documents stated on the check list.

Last but not least, we would be delighted if you shared your experiences with your fellow students in a variety of different ways. Create a podcast, talk about your stay abroad on instagram or present your experiences at one of our regular information events. The international committee is also always glad to welcome new members!