Studying at ASH Berlin

ASH Berlin is a research-active and practice-oriented university with interdisciplinary study programs and diverse career and further education prospects in the fields of social work, health and education. In the study programme overview you will find all degree programmes offered at ASH, on the German version of this website you will find all programmes open to exchange students.

English-taught courses are only being offered in our bachelor programme Social Work. You can find the International Curriculum of the current and past semesters down below.

Exchange students will be nominated by their home university for a specific degree programme (e.g. Social Work) provided an exchange agreements exists between your home university and ASH Berlin. If you are interested in doing an exchange semester at ASH Berlin, you should first contact your home university. They will give you the details of how to apply for a semester abroad. If you have been selected by your home university for a semester at ASH Berlin, we will be informed by your home university and will send you information on how to proceed.
The nomination deadlines are June 15 for the winter semester and December 15 for the summer semester.

English courses and Language of instruction

The majority of courses at ASH Berlin is taught in German. English courses (for exchange students) are only available in the Social Work programme within the so-called "International Curriculum". Advanced German and/or English language skills are thus a requirement for a successful stay in Berlin and at ASH Berlin.

English-taught courses / International Curriculum

The so-called "International Curriculum" in the Social Work programme offers English, and at times also Spanish courses. The exact English (and Spanish) courses may be subject to change every semester, but we guarantee that courses worth at least 30 ECTS will be offered every semester. Usually, the International Curriculum consists of approx. 10-15 courses (e.g. "International Social Work", "Racism and Migration" or "Social Work Practice Methods"). You can access the International Curriculum course lists and descriptions of the current and past semesters below. The exact course details will be published 2-3 weeks before the start of the semester via the LSF portal.

ECTS and Learning Agreement

ASH Berlin uses the ECTS system to describe and define the course workload. One ECTS credit equals 25-30 hours of work.

A study programme at ASH consists of different modules. A module comprises several course units of related content. In the bachelor programme Social Work for example, the module “Diversity Studies” consists of two units: Unit 1 “Racism and Migration” and Unit 2 “Gender and Queer Studies”.

You can find the contents of the courses and modules in the module handbooks of each study programme.

You can find more information about the content of each module in the module handbooks of each study programme:

Please note: the Social Work bachelor programme started in a revised version in summer term 2022 and will replace the old version semester by semester, i.e. during summer term 2023, 1st to 3rd semester level courses will be offered from the new version and 4th to 7th semester level courses from the old version.

B.A. Social Work (module handbook for the old study version (until 2022) / course overview for the new study version (from 2022))
B.A. Erziehung und Bildung in der Kindheit (German only)
B.Sc. Management und Versorgung im Gesundheitswesen (German only, until 2020 B.Sc. Gesundheits- und Pflegemanagement)
B.Sc. Physiotherapie / Ergotherapie (German only)
B.Sc. Nursing (German only)
M.A. Praxisforschung in Sozialer Arbeit und Pädagogik (German only)
M.Sc. Management und Qualitätsentwicklung im Gesundheitswesen (German only)

Some modules run for more than one semester so you might not be able to complete the whole module during your stay at ASH. In most cases this will not be a problem. Please also consult the course and ECTS manual for exchange students which you'll receive with our first e-mail to you about the application process.

Learning Agreement

The Learning Agreement is an essential part of your application and serves to put together a list of courses which you would like to attend during your stay. In order to find out about the courses offered in English in the past, please refer to the course lists of the English-taught courses in our International Curriculum of the current and past semesters (see above). For more information about the courses, please also check the course and ECTS manual for exchange students which you'll receive with our first e-mail to you about the application process. For the contents of courses and modules, you should consult the module handbooks (see above).

The courses you mention on the Learning Agreement will usually be your binding course choice. If necessary (e.g. in case of a time clash or if a course is not offered during your exchange semester), we can change your Learning Agreement and your course choice again together in the beginning of the semester.

If you'll study at ASH Berlin within the Erasmus+ programme, your home university will provide the access to your Online Learning Agreement or the Learning Agreement form for you. If you have any questions about your Learning Agreement or if you wish to get it signed by ASH Berlin, please contactincoming@ash-berlin.eu.

On the Learning Agreement, you will probably have to mention the following details: 

  • Erasmus code of ASH Berlin: D  BERLIN05
  • Start and end date: Your start date will be the first orientation day. As your end date, please mention the last day of the teaching and exam period (see further below for the academic calendar). For students who are doing an internship in Berlin, the start and end date correspond to the start and end date of the internship, unless you also complete courses at ASH Berlin.
  • Contact person: Marion Fuchs, the contact details  such as e-mail or telephone can be found in our contact section.
  • Responsible person: The responsible person depends on your study programme:

If you'll study at ASH Berlin within a direct exchange programme ( = you're a student from one of our non-EU / non-Erasmus+ partner universities, e.g. Switzerland, Colombia or Mexico), your home university may provide you with a Learning Agreement form. If not, you can use our template "LA direct exchange".

Final course choice and course registration

As explained above, the courses you mention on the Learning Agreement will usually be your binding course choice. At the time when you have to prepare your Learning Agreement, the exact course times and details haven't been published yet. Therefore, you may be required to change your course choice again after the start of the semester (e.g. in case of a time clash or if a course is not offered anymore). Depending on your study programme, you have two weeks time before or after the start of the semester to put together your final course plan and to sign up for your courses electronically.

The exact course times and details will be published in the course catalogue ("Vorlesungsverzeichnis") 3-4 weeks before the start of the semester via the LSF portal. Once you have put together your final course plan before or after the start of the semester, you also need to sign up for your courses electronically via the LSF portal (see below). Before the start of the semester (e.g. during the orientation days), we will explain the course registration procedure to you in detail, but you can also consult our step-by-step instructions for using the LSF portal. 

The deadlines for course planning, course registration and Learning Agreement changes differ - depending on your study programme:

We will hold a webinar about course registration in the BA Social Work in mid-September for the winter term or mid-March for the summer term. Please make sure to attend this webinar! If you cannot attend the webinar live, please make sure to watch the recording afterwards. We will offer online counselling hours after the webinar in case you have further questions. The link to the webinar, the recording and the online counselling hours will be published in our Moodle course for exchange students

Further information will be sent via e-mail to all exchange students.

During our orientation days we will explain in detail how to put together your course schedule and how to register for your courses.

Exam registration

If you are doing an exam in a course or in a module, you need to sign up for the exam online via LSF (depending in your study programme). Exam registrations via LSF will open approx. six weeks after the start of the semester – and will be available until the end of the semester. Depending in your study programme, you can sign up for all or most of your exams via LSF. If you're only attending a course, but you're not taking the exam, you do not need to sign up for the exam via LSF.

More information about exam registration

Style of studying and teaching at ASH Berlin

Studying at a German university is likely to differ from the academic system at your home university. As a student in Germany, and particularly at ASH Berlin, you will probably have more responsibilities to take care of on your own, but at the same time, you are often more independent and free in your choices. This concerns your choice of courses, but also the way students write essays and research papers. Past exchange students have often remarked upon the fact that seminars at ASH Berlin often involve or even require a very active and lively student discussion. Therefore we encourage you to take part in seminar discussions – this way you will get more out of your studies at ASH and it is also a great way to get to know your fellow students and, depending on the language of instruction, practise your German or English skills.

Further information

Moodleis ASH Berlin's e-learning platform. Via Moodle, you can download course material and communicate with your fellow students and the teacher. If you've signed up for a course electronically via LSF, the course will automatically show on your Moodle website (usually within max. 24h after course registration on LSF). You can log in on Moodle with your usual ASH Berlin student account.

According to §6 a of the general study and examinations regulations at ASH Berlin ("Rahmenstudien- und Prüfungsordnung", document only available in German), there is no general attendance policy at ASH Berlin. The attendance policy may be regulated individually within a certain study programme or module. We will inform you about the attendance policies during the orientation days. If you will miss several course sessions, please inform your lecturer beforehand anyway.

Plagiarism means using other people's ideas or quotes for your exam without referencing your sources. This counts as fraud in the sense of the general study and examinations regulations at ASH Berlin (Rahmenstudien- und Prüfungsordnung, article 21, paragraph 4). If you plagiarise, you will fail the course and you will not receive any ECTS credits for your course.

According to the general study and examinations regulations at ASH Berlin (Rahmenstudien- und Prüfungsordnung), the grading system is as follows:

  • 1,0 - 1,5: very good - an outstanding achievement
  • above 1,5 - 2,5: good - an achievement well above average requirements
  • above 2,5 - 3,5: satisfactory - an achievement in line with average requirements
  • above 3,5 - 4,0: sufficient - an achievement which satisfies basic requirements
  • above 4,0: not sufficient / fail - an achievement which no longer satisfies the basic requirements due to severe shortcomings

ECTS grading scale:

ECTS Grade

% of successful students normally achieving the grade

Definition

A

B

C

D

E

FX

F

10

25

30

25

10

-

-

EXCELLENT - outstanding performance with only minor errors

VERY GOOD - above the average standard but with some errors

GOOD – generally sound work with a number of notable errors

SATISFACTORY - fair but with significant shortcomings

SUFFICIENT - performance meets the minimum criteria

FAIL – some more work required before the credit can be awarded

FAIL – considerable further work is required

Academic calendar

The academic calendar of ASH Berlin is divided into two semesters: the winter term and the summer term. Each semester consists of a teaching period (including exams) and a non-teaching period (often called "semester break") which most students use to complete research essays or practical placements. It is mandatory for exchange students to attend the orientation and teaching period during their semester at ASH Berlin, afterwards they may leave Berlin.

Each semester usually also features a so-called block week (“Blockwoche”) (students of BA Social Work (Faculty 1) have two block weeks) which is mainly used for extracurricular activities, excursions or to make up for any cancelled seminars.

You can find ASH Berlin's academic calendar here.

  • Orientation period: 25th to 26th of September 2024, details will follow, attendance is mandatory!
  • Teaching period (incl. exams in the last week): 1st of October 2024 - 14th of February 2025
  • 1st block week: 11th - 15th of November 2024
  • 2nd block week (only BA Social Work): 3rd - 7th of February 2024
  • Semester period: 1st of October 2024 - 31st of March 2025
  • Public holidays and closing time: see dates and deadlines
  • Orientation period: 26th to 27th of March 2025, details and programme see orientation days, attendance is mandatory!
  • Teaching period (incl. exams in the last week): 1st of April 2025 to 18rd of July 2025
  • 1st block week: 19th - 23rd of May 2025
  • 2nd block week (only BA Social Work): 7th - 11th of July 2025
  • semester period: 1st of April 2025 to 30th of September 2025
  • public holidays and closing time: see dates and deadlines

Disabilities and special needs

ASH Berlin continuously works on making studying here more accessible for students with disabilities and special needs. The International Office supports exchange students with disabilities in planning their stay and can help prospective exchange students get in touch with our university’s and the studierendenWERK’s resources.

To plan your stay at ASH Berlin it is recommended you apply early and communicate your needs in your application. In cooperation with the International Office you will create an Individual Needs Assessment that will help us plan the scope of the support you want. This could mean finding accessbile housing, suitable medical support, technical aids or personalised assisted study (provision of a person who can support you in writing, reading or library research). ASH Berlin employs a student assistant whose focus is accessibility and who counsels students with disabilities and/ or chronic illnesses.

All rooms and facilities of ASH Berlin can be accessed through one of three elevators. Furthermore our library features bigger computer screens as well as seeing aids for people with sensory disabilities. The closest accessible dorm is about 10 km from ASH Berlin and can be reached within 15 minutes by public transport without transfer.

Further support and information is available on the "alice barrierefrei" website. Please contact us if you have any questions or need support when planning your semester at ASH Berlin.

Students with children

As a certified family-friendly institution, ASH Berlin provides multiple options and facilities to support students who are caring for a child / children, such as free childcare for children aged 6 months to a maximum of 12 years, free lunches for children up to 6 years or organized networking for students with child(ren). You can find further information, support and links at "Family at ASH Berlin".

Back to top

Student services and further support

ASH Berlin offers a variety of service and support facilities for students. On the 2nd floor, you will find the IT Centre (Computerzentrum) which features the computer lab in room 218 and 219 with scanners and printers as well as IT support and you can borrow laptops and further hardware. At the Media Workshop (Medienwerkstatt ) you can borrow various media equipment and cameras  to produce films and videos.

  • You can find current events at ASH Berlin at Events.
     
  • You can find support and counselling for women* and trans* students, the career service, psychological counselling and much more at Guidance and Support.
     
  • You can find the library, the IT Centre/Computerzentrum, the language department, the Media Workshop/Medienwerkstatt and much more facilities for students at Service Departments . 
     
  • The EmpA project "Empowerment, awareness and anti-racist institutional opening of ASH Berlin" aims to use an empowerment approach to improve the study conditions of international students, students with a refugee background and students of color*.
     
  • You can find the ASH Berlin sports courses at Alice gesund or self-inscribe to their Moodle course.
     
  • You can find the different workshops like the aesthetic practice workshop, our music room, the collection of theatre props and costumes and more at Workshops.
     
  • Information about getting involved in university politics and much more is available at University life (Hochschulleben).
     
  • At ASH Berlin and all over Berlin you can find  student cafeterias (called "Mensa") which are run by the studierendenWERK BERLIN and offer various warm and cold meals and drinks. You can buy food or drinks from the Mensa with your Campuscard, cash payments are not accepted.

Back to top

Psychological counselling

Psychological counseling is available in German and in English by the studierendenWERK BERLIN. The counselling is free of charge and confidential.

Back to top

Contact

Ms. Marion Fuchs

Incoming Student Coordinator

International Office

From October 2024 until the end of February 2025, I am on a leave of absence. Please contact Karoline Mendonça instead.

Ms. Marion Fuchs

If you wish to apply as a regular degree-seeking student, please contact the general student counselling or check the overview of our study programmes which include English- and Spanish-taught Master programmes.

Back to top