Studying as a Guest at the Center for International Studies

The Learning Agreement (LA) lists the courses you have taken that you would like to have credited at your home institution.

Please note:

Signing the LA before you begin your studies here is always provisional— this means you must resubmit your LA after you start your studies here. The LA must be submitted for validation no later than April 30 (summer semester) or October 31 (winter semester) . No changes can be made after that. You can submit the LA either by email or in person at our office.

The final course selection is usually not finalized until shortly before the start of the semester. For this reason, in most cases, changes will be made to the course selection form you submitted before the start of your studies. Your final course registration will therefore not be finalized until shortly after the start of the semester, once you know whether you can attend all the courses you wish to take—some courses have limited capacity (e.g., seminars/projects) and cannot be attended by all students.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have about your course registration. Please send us an email or visit us during 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.

For most courses at ZIS, online registration via OPAL is required.

We strongly recommend enrolling in OPAL to receive all information and access to documents for your desired course. Some courses—particularly seminars—have a limited number of spots, so you should enroll as soon as possible.

Please note:
For enrollment in Master’s-level courses in Business Administration and Economics, the coordinator’s approval is required BEFORE you register in OPAL. Please be sure to send an email requesting this approval. You may only  register for the desired course in OPAL after receiving confirmation.

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 exam registration is mandatory at TU Dresden. Unfortunately, you cannot take the exams without registering.

To register for exams, you must complete and sign the “Exam Registration Form for Exchange Students.” Please list all exams you wish to take (including language exams) on this form.

Language courses must also be registered for directly through TUDIAS .

Ms. Hantke will inform you in due course about the exact exam registration process (including deadlines).

Exam Dates

You can find overviews of exam dates on the Examination Office’s website.
The file contains all exams (for both bachelor’s and master’s programs).

Most exams take place during the main exam period. You can find the dates for the main exam period in each semester in the TU Dresden academic calendar: https://tu-dresden.de/studium/im-studium/studienorganisation/studienjahresablauf

To submit your grades, please ask your instructors to fill out the course evaluation form 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.