Studying as a Guest at the Center for International Studies

The Learning Agreement (LA) specifies the courses you have attended that you would like to have recognized at your home university. 

Please note:

Signing the LA before your studies with us is always only provisional - this means that you will have to resubmit your LA to us after the start of your studies. We will send you the respective deadlines by e-mail. The LA can be submitted both by e-mail and in person at our office.

The final course offer is usually only determined shortly before the start of the semester. For this reason, in most cases there will be changes to your LA submitted before the start of the semester. Your final LA will therefore only be finalized shortly after the start of the semester when you know whether you will be able to attend all the courses you want - some courses have a limited number of places (e.g. seminars/projects) and cannot be attended by all students.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have about the LA. Please send us an e-mail or use our office hours.

The Center for International Studies offers the interdisciplinary International Relations degree program as a Bachelor's and Master's degree. This consists of the core subjects of international law, international business (economics) and international politics. In each semester, the ZIS offers various lectures and seminars in each of the three areas. Here you will find a list of all ZIS courses:

• Courses of the current semester
• Courses from previous semesters

English-language courses are also offered, especially in the Master's area. Please note that course capacities are limited in many cases and that proof of prior knowledge is required for Master's courses.

• English-language courses at the ZIS

If you are not sure which course you can attend during your exchange stay or if you have any questions regarding the composition of your courses, please contact Ms. Ines Hantke

The timetables for the current semester can be found here.

Explanation of the timetables

© Paul Pflüger

Each subject area is assigned a color in your timetable:

• Courses from the field of international law are marked in blue.
• Courses from the field of international economics (VWL) are marked in yellow.
• Courses from the field of international politics are marked in red.

• Courses that can be credited for several areas are marked in green.

• (V) = Lecture: Examinations are usually written examinations
• (Ü) = Exercise: These are offered to support individual lectures and are compulsory depending on the lecture!
• (S) = Seminar: Examinations are usually (combined) term papers or complex assignments. "Combined assignments" contain an oral part, usually a presentation. "Complex assignments" can contain various written and/or oral examinations.

Each course is awarded a certain number of credit points (ECTS). Please note that you will only earn the respective ECTS if you successfully complete all the examinations required for the course.
As a rule, ECTS are awarded as follows:

• for a lecture with a passed written examination: 5 ECTS,
• for a seminar (with seminar paper): 5 ECTS,
• for a language course with 4 SWS (semester hours per week): 5 ECTS,
• for a language course with 2 SWS: 3 ECTS.
• for participation in a course (with proof of participation, 80% attendance): 1 ECTS

Please contact your home university in advance to find out how many credit points (ECTS) you need to earn during your semester abroad. We recommend between 20 and 30 ECTS per semester.

Online enrolment via OPAL is required for most courses at ZIS.

You will receive help and instructions from your ZIS tutor at the beginning of the semester.

As part of the language training program at TU Dresden, students at TU Dresden are offered free, study-related training in 17 languages - both in general language and in subject-related course formats.

As an exchange student, you may also take these courses. Above all, we recommend that you take the opportunity to improve your German language skills and take one of the "German as a foreign language" courses.

Please register for the language courses via Opal.

Further information can be found on the TU Dresden language training pages. If you have any questions, please contact TUDIAS directly.

Please note: Formal examination registration is mandatory at TU Dresden. Without registration, participation in the respective examinations is unfortunately not possible.

To register for examinations, you must complete and sign the Examination Registration Template for Exchange Students form. Please list all examinations you wish to take (including language examinations).

Language courses must also be registered directly with TUDIAS .

Ms. Hantke will inform you in due course about the exact procedure for registering for examinations (including deadlines).

Examination dates

You can find an overview of the examination dates on the Examination Office website.
The file contains all examinations (Bachelor's and Master's degree programs)

Most examinations take place during the core examination period. You can find out when the core examination period is in each semester in the overview of the TU Dresden academic year: https: //tu-dresden.de/studium/im-studium/studienorganisation/studienjahresablauf

To register your grades, please ask your lecturers to complete the transcript of records for exchange students and send it to you and Ms. Hantke .

General information for exchange students, e.g. on

• application
• finding accommodation
• support services

can be found on the pages of the International Office, where you will also find the factsheet with all the important information at a glance.

Information on the academic year (lecture period, core examination period, lecture-free periods and public holidays) can be found in the academic year schedule.

In the International Tutoring Program of the International Office, experienced students (tutors) help international students and applicants. The tutors provide support before and during the semester. This includes various events, such as a welcome meeting or campus tour. These events prepare you for studying at TU Dresden and offer the opportunity to get to know other exchange students. The tutors can be contacted by email at any time. The contact details for ZIS students can be found here.