FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

If you have questions about studying at our institutes, lectures or seminars, you should contact your teacher. In most cases a brief consultation will help to answer your questions. For all questions that are directly related to the ERASMUS program or that deal with studying in Hannover in general, you can contact the ERASMUS department at any time.  
Alternatively, you will find valuable tips in the information offices of the Institute of Political Science (room V135) and the Institute of Sociology (room V234).   

Even though our lecturers are able to communicate in English, the dominating language at the University is German. You should therefore reflect carefully before your mobility whether your language skills are sufficient for academic life. Generally, an English language competence of the "B1" level under the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" is desirable.  

At the Leibniz University the winter semester usually begins in October and ends in January / beginning of February. Unlike some of our partner universities the LUH has a longer break between the winter semester and the summer semester. Therefore, the summer semester usually begins in April.

The H.I. is located between the main building (Welfenschloss) of the university and the adjacent library, Welfengarten 1A, 30167 Hannover. The nearest subway station is "Leibniz Universität" - Line 4 & 5.

Further information can be found in the guide.

A lecture usually contains a larger number of students (up to 300) and serves primarily to convey information. By contrast, seminars usually have a number of participants between 10-25 people and are more interactive, so there is more communication between the students and the lecturer in seminars.  

No, because generally students are asked to participate more in seminars than in lectures. Therefore, in nearly all cases 4 ECTS credits are awarded for lectures and 6 ECTS credits for seminars.  

A Studienleistung is achieved during the semester and is not graded. It serves as proof that students grappled with the contents of the seminar or lecture. Depending on the type of event, it is possible to work on a Studienleistung in the form of abstracts, essays, presentations, etc. The respective lecturer will give detailed instructions at the beginning of the semester.

A Prüfungsleistung is an examination that is graded and usually takes place at the end of the lecture period. An examination at the ISH / IPW may be an exam, a term paper (essay) or an oral exam.

Due to personal reasons or conflicts with your schedule you may change to a course that has not been recorded in the Learning Agreement. Together we will revise the learning agreement and adapt the new choice to your semester plan. Since there are many partner universities that request a learning agreement, before the semester planning at our university is finalized, we fully understand when changes need to be made in the first few weeks after arrival.  

In order to receive the ECTS credits, students must pass the Studienleistung and the Prüfungsleistung. Both have to be confirmed by the lecturer and submitted to the H.I. To avoid complications, you should ensure regular attendance and participation.  

In order to register for a lecture or a seminar, students need their login details to enter the online portal Stud.IP, where all necessary information about the courses can be found. Students receive their login usually with the acceptance letter from our university. In the unlikely case that you didn't receive any login data, please contact the International Office.   

In most cases, all materials are uploaded onto Stud.IP (in some cases there is an already printed reader). For legal reasons, access to all seminar / lecture materials usually takes place after all the groups have been "closed" and thus are no longer accessible to the general public. This is usually the case during the second week of lectures.  

Along with the acceptance letter students receive their login data for the online system Stud.IP. There they can register for the courses, get further information about course contents, materials or dates and find all courses available in the accumulated course catalogue.

ERSAMUS students do not have to and can not register through the usual exam registration process. Examination registration must therefore take place directly with the instructor of the course examination in question. This registration should be discussed with the lecturer at the beginning of the semester. The rendered Studienleistungen and Prüfungsleistungen are certified on a separate form.  

The ISH & IPW publish information about the seminars and lectures offered about 6 to 8 weeks before the beginning of the semester. In some cases, course offers can be requested in advance at the respective departments.  

It may happen that some students, for example, have to be home in February to continue with their studies at home. If there is an urgent need to take an exam earlier, please contact the person responsible in a timely manner.  

Theoretically, students are allowed to access the entire range of courses offered by the Leibniz Universität Hannover. However, it is required that a minimum of courses are attended at the hosting partner institutions, meaning, at least half of the courses listed in the Learning Agreement should take place at the IPW or ISH (more precisely the Institute you are enrolled in). 

If students are interested in lectures or seminars from other faculties and institutes, it is highly recommended to clarify their selection directly with the specific hosting person/ person in charge of the course.

The DIO is happy to help at any time if some coordination related problems should accrue!

Usually, most seminars and lectures are performed in German, and only a few in English. The curriculum for the upcoming semesters is decisive for the course offer, whereby it depends on different factors and always varies. Thus, no binding statements can be made about future English-language offers. The students should therefore sufficiently investigate the course offer. The courses currently offered in English can be found here.  

At the end of the mobility phase the grades are all recorded on the "Transcript of Records".
In order for the grades to be registered, it is important to have all the necessary Studien- und Prüfungsleistungsbescheinigungen signed and submitted.  

The ToR is issued by the Hochschulbüro für Internationales. At the end of the mobility phase, students have to submit the collected certificates together with an application to the H.I. (for example Anne Höch), where the documents are examined and processed.  

Exam period usually starts during the last weeks of the semester and can last until the beginning of the next semester. If exchange students have to postpone a test for any reasons, this must be communicated with the examiners in time. This is, however, only in individual cases a possibility and is therefore not the rule (it depends strongly on the type of examination).  

The residential buildings of the Studentenwerk offer good and inexpensive housing. On the websites of the Studentenwerk students will find further information and a map of the buildings, the application and an online housing exchange with private housing offers. Generally accommodation and especially shared rooms are available through online exchange platforms, just tip the key words “WG Hannover” and you will find various helpful websites. Plus, if you are still missing some household items or furniture you can rummage through "fairKAUF Hannover", a social department store that offers used items at reasonable prices.

Further tips and addresses can be obtained from the "Zentrale Studienberatung" or the International Office. Additionally, a look at the real estate pages of the daily press (HAZ and NP) can be worthwhile.