Language Requirements

Visiting students who wish to attend lectures offered in German should have at least B2-level.

Selecting Courses

The Osnabrück Department of Law offers a variety of courses ranging from lectures, practical preparation courses, seminars, colloquia and study groups. Most visiting students will want to search for an appropriate lecture.

Incoming students are encouraged to seek out advice from our office (erasmus@uos.de) before submitting their Learning Agreement.
Many courses are taught in German, and the more advanced courses might not be suitable for visiting students. 

• A list and description of all course can be found here.
• NOTE - courses with German titles are taught solely in German, courses with English titles are normally taught in English.

• A quick overview of courses offered in English can be found on our  Englischsprachige Lehre (courses offered in English) page.

• NOTE - the Law Department also offers courses in Spanish, French, Chinese and Polish as part of its foreign law program (see below). For further information contact the erasmus office.

Incomings and FFA

As mentioned above, the Law Department offers its students a voluntary, supplemental program called the Fremdsprachliche Fachausbildung (FFA) or Foreign Law Program.
This optional 2-year program offers students the chance to learn about a different legal system while improving their language skills. Legal systems covered in this program are the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Spain, Poland and China.

International students are allowed to attend these courses without any additional requirements, as long as they have knowledge of the respective languages.

More information on the FFA can be found on the FFA homepage.

ECTS Credits

Our courses are generally not based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Instead, we have developed a modified system based on Semesterwochenstunden (SWS) or “hours per week per semester”.

How It Works:

• SWS: Semesterwochenstunden (credit hours) is how often the course meets during the semester.
  • 1 SWS: course meets 7 times for 90 minutes each session. This course is usually taught for half the semester or as a block (condensed) course.
  • 2 SWS: course meets every week (14 in total) for 90 minutes each session, although the course could also be offered as a block course.
  • 4 SWS: course meets 14 times for 90 minutes each during the semester. This course usually meets twice a week for the entire semester.

• Point Variation
  • Examination performance (Leistungsnachweis): Attending the course with graded work (written exam, oral exam, presentation, research paper, etc.)
  • Certificate of Attendance (Teilnahmeschein) • No grade, pass/fail only, based on mandatory attendance (80% of the sessions)

• When indicated, for example "2 or 4 ECTS," this means the course normally does not have an exam, and obtaining the higher ECTS points is only possible by arranging a graded work with the instructor. This is usually not a problem, and can be figured out beforehand by contacting Matt LeMieux (mlemieux@uos.de)
• Deviating from the listed ECTS credits may be allowed on the basis of individual agreement with the lecturer and ERASMUS Coordinator (mlemieux@uos.de).
• Some courses might not be suitable for non-law students. If you are a non-law student who wishes to attend one of our courses, please first contact Matt LeMieux (mlemieux@uos.de)
• For questions on courses, academic matters and Learning Agreements contact the ERASMUS Office (erasmus@uos.de) or Matt LeMieux (mlemieux@uos.de)

Types of Exams

Students should discuss with their instructor at the beginning of the semester (or earlier!) what kind of exam they will be expected to pass. Most courses taught in German have a written exam at the end of the semester that is given only in German.

Students may request an English exam (either written or oral) from their instructor at the beginning of the semester, but there is no requirement that such an exam be given.

Exams offered as part of the Foreign Law Program (FFA) can take various forms. Students are encouraged to speak with their instructor at the beginning of the semester to find out what exam possibilities exits.

General information: application, admission, housing, costs, language courses etc

You can find more general information on the website of the International Office of the University of Osnabrück, which is responsible for the general support of foreign students, like in matters of admission, housing, etc.
You may also find further information here.

Furthermore, the Language Center offers general and specific German courses especially for international students.

Semester dates

The general semester dates are as follows:

Winter semester: 1^st October – 31^st March

Summer semester: 1^st April – 30^th September

The lectures will usually start within the first two weeks of the term and end mid-February and mid-July respectively. At the beginning of each semester an orientation week will be offered.
Holidays are at Christmas (two weeks). Please check the exact dates at the homepage of the University of Osnabrück.