General Information for Applicants and Doctoral Students

If you consider applying for the Graduate School of the Cluster “Languages of Emotion” or after having been accepted, you will almost certainly have many questions about living and studying in Berlin. Dahlem Research School of Freie Universität Berlin offers a rather comprehensive information brochure, available as PDF-document. Here you will find answers to any question you might have about the visa procedure, residence permit, health insurances, admission at Freie Universität Berlin, accomodation, public transport, even leisure. Please refer to this document to learn about these things in depth. The following paragraphs are only meant as a first and brief introduction.

Visa

1. Nationals of the European Union (EU) and citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland:

You do not need a visa to enter Germany. After arriving and obtaining housing, you simply need to register residence in Germany with the appropriate office of the town hall for the district in which you live (Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Hellersdorf-Marzahn, Hohenschönhausen-Lichtenberg, Köpenick-Treptow, Neukölln, Mitte-Tiergarten-Wedding, Pankow-Prenzlauer Berg-Weißensee, Reinickendorf, Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Spandau, Steglitz-Zehlendorf). The registration office is called the “Meldestelle” which is a division of the “Bürgeramt” within your district town hall).

2. Non-EU nationals: a) Nationals of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States

• You will need a residence permit, but you may obtain it within three months after entry into Germany. After arrival and obtaining housing, you must first register residence in Germany with the appropriate office of the town hall (as indicated above, at the “Meldestelle” located in the “Bürgeramt”) before you can apply for a residence permit for study purposes at the immigration office (“Ausländerbehörde”) which is a separate government office located at Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin (U-Bahn 9, station “Amrumer Straße” or S-Bahn 4, station “Westhafen”).
• You must make an appointment in advance for a personal appointment at the immigration office. The relevant phone numbers are 90269-4102, or -4103, or -4101. If you want to conduct your meeting in English, please indicate this as you make your appointment.
• At your appointment, please be prepared to present the following documents:

          -documents proving that you have been accepted by the GraduateSchool of the Cluster “Languages of Emotion” (confirmation letter by the director and/or “Bewilligungsbescheid” confirming your scholarship funding),
          -document proving your acceptance as a doctoral student by the relevant department (“Fachbereich”) at the Freie Universität Berlin,
          -document proving your registration or matriculation at the Freie Universität Berlin (see below),
          -your health insurance policy or health insurance identification card. If you do not have health insurance that covers your stay in Germany, please contact the Graduate School as soon as possible.
          -your university degree certificates in the original,
          -proof of German language skills,
          -proof of sufficient financial resources during your stay (“Bewilligungsbescheid” confirming your scholarship funding),
          -60 Euro for a residence permit which will be valid for over a year.

2 b) All other nationalities

• You will require a visa before entering Germany. Therefore, you must submit an application for a national visa for study purposes (student visa) to the respective German mission in your home country.
• As a rule, you will have to present the following papers and documents to the relevant German mission abroad (e.g. embassy or consulate in your country):

          -documents proving that you have been accepted by the Graduate School of the Cluster „Languages of Emotion“ (confirmation letter by the director and/or “Bewilligungsbescheid” confirming your scholarship funding),
          -document proving your acceptance as a doctoral student by the relevant department (“Fachbereich”) at the Freie Universität Berlin (see below),
          -document proving your registration or matriculation at the Freie Universität Berlin (see also below),
          -health insurance policy or health insurance identification card. If you do not have health insurance that covers your stay in Germany, please contact the Graduate School as soon as possible.
          -your university degree certificates in the original,
          -proof of German language skills,
          -proof of sufficient financial resources during your stay (“Bewilligungsbescheid” confirming your scholarship funding).


Please note: Your visa-application may take several months to process; you should therefore submit the required paperwork well in advance. Make absolutely sure that you are applying for the appropriate visa (visa for study purposes/student visa). A “tourist visa” or “language course visa” cannot be subsequently changed into a “student visa”. If you have the wrong visa, you will unfortunately have to leave the country again. Please also take care to ensure that your passport is still valid. If your identity documents have expired, you will have to travel back to your home country to have them extended there.

For further information regarding visa application, see the website of the Auswärtiges Amt.

In general, you will have to pass two consecutive procedures in order to enroll as a doctoral student at the Freie Universität Berlin. Please read the following carefully because enrollment is a precondition for the payment of your scholarship.

1. Admission: Although you have already been accepted by the Graduate School of the Cluster “Languages of Emotion”, you have to apply for admission at the Graduate Studies Office (“Prüfungsbüro”) for the discipline in which you are conducting your doctoral research (see list at the end of the text). Applications are usually delivered by the applicant in person. However, in cases where this is not possible and/or you have to apply from abroad in order to get a visa, applications via mail are generally accepted. If you have to apply via mail please contact the GraduateSchool first.

For your application, you will also need the following documents:

• your university degree certificate, including marks (original plus one copy which will remain on file at the Graduate Studies Office/“Prüfungsbüro”. If you are applying from abroad via mail, do not send originals but rather two notarized copies),
• a signed curriculum vitae,
• certificate of the “Abitur” (Germany) or comparable certificate qualifiying you for university matriculation (original plus one copy or, as above, two notarized copies),
• document that proves your acceptance by the Graduate School of the Cluster “Languages of Emotion” (confirmation letter of the director and/or the “Bewilligungsbescheid” confirming your scholarship funding),
• a workplan/schedule for the dissertation,
• a statement of support from future primary advisor indicating his/her intention to supervise your dissertation,
• a brief statement in case you plan to write your dissertation in English.

Please note: The admission procedure may take up to four weeks. Be sure to submit the required paperwork well in advance.

2. Registration or Matriculation:
After having received formal notification about your admission at the department (“Fachbereich”), you must contact the Student Registration Office (the “Immatrikulationsbüro” which is part of the Admissions Office of “Studierendenverwaltung”) in order to be matriculated or registered at the Freie Universität. As a doctoral candidate, you can choose between “registration” and “matriculation” Registration is free of charge. A regular matriculation costs a fee of about 250 Euro per semester, but includes a ticket covering all public transportation in Berlin.

Registration can be done via mail. In this case, you will have to send copies of your university degrees and of the Graduate Studies Office’s (“Prüfungsbüro”) notification that you have been accepted as a doctoral candidate by the department.

Matriculation must be done in person. You will have to present your university degrees and the notification of departmental registration sent to you by the Graduate Studies Office (“Promotionsbüro”) in the original.

Please note: Registration/Matriculation has to be taken care of within four weeks after admission by the department (“Fachbereich”). Both procedures should be completed by September 15th at the latest.

a) from a country in which no visa for entering Germany is required

You might either come to Berlin early enough to take care of admission and registration/matriculation in person, or apply for admission and register at the Freie Universität Berlin via mail.

b) from a country where a visa before entering Germany is required

You should apply for admission (Graduate Studies Office/”Prüfungsbüro”, Department/”Fachbereich”) and register via mail.

Please note: Since it will be necessary to include the notification of admission and registration into your application for your visa and getting the visa will also take some time, it would be best to initiate the university registration process as soon as possible after receiving notification of your acceptance to the Graduate School of the Cluster „Languages of Emotion“.

Since the regular student dormitories in Berlin accept only undergraduate students, you will have to find your room/apartment on the free market. However, this shouldn’t be difficult – the housing market in Berlin is quite relaxed these days.

If you do not have a friend or relative in Berlin with whom you can stay for the first weeks, it might be best to rent a room in advance via internet, and to look for long-term housing on-site. Please note that the typical form of sharing an apartment is called “WG” (for “Wohngemeinschaft”) in German. Here are some useful addresses:

• http://www.easywg.de/index.aspx (WGs)
• http://www.wg-gesucht.de/wg-zimmer-in-Berlin.8.0.1.0.html (WGs, only in German)
• http://www.rooms-in-berlin.com/ (WGs and apartments)
• http://www.sabbatical-housing.de/
• http://www.studentenwerk-berlin.de/en/wohnen/woanders_wohnen/index.html

Documents

• Your passport, which should be valid for the time of your stay in Germany,
• additional passport photos, if you have some available,
• your visa, if necessary,
• your letter of admission to the GraduateSchool of the Cluster “Languages of Emotion”,
• your “Bewilligungsbescheid” (notification of your scholarship funding) as proof of your financial status,
• originals of university degree certificates,
• your driving license, if you plan on driving. If possible, get an international license before leaving.

Clothes
Since Berlin has a continental climate, you should be prepared to encounter marked seasonal changes. Winters can be very cold (down to minus 20 degrees Celsius), with rain, snow, and strong wind, whereas summers can get really hot, until 32 or more degrees Celsius over several weeks.

Getting Around
The cheapest and most convenient way to get around in Berlin is by U-Bahn, S-Bahn (Underground/Metro), trams, and buses. The public transportation system in Berlin is managed by the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG). Under http://www.bvg.de (English version available) you will find useful information regarding routes, timetables, fares etc. Ask your future landlord or your future roommates for the U-Bahn or S-Bahn station nearest your residence and you can print your individual route from the airport (Tegel or Schönefeld) to your new home. You may also like to check your future neighbourhood and the best ways to your new home on a map. To do so, a very useful online application is provided by www.stadtplandienst.de .

At the airport you will, of course, also find taxis. However, a trip from Tegel to the inner city will cost at least 30 Euro, and if you arrive early in the morning or late in the afternoon the rush may make going by taxi far more time-consuming than combining bus and U-Bahn. Same applies to the transfer from Schönefeld which may be yet more expensive, depending on your destination in Berlin.

Please note: Regardless of what means of transportation you use, you will need cash and, even better, small change. You should make sure that you carry some EUR-notes and coins with you.

Bank Account
If you are from abroad, you should open a local bank account as soon as possible. The Graduate School needs your German bank details for the transfer of your stipend. Normally, it suffices to bring a valid passport, together with proof of your current address in Berlin.

Please note that in order to pay your rent and other regular costs, you should arrange a standing order for money transfer (“Dauerauftrag”).

Useful adresses at the Freie Universität

General information

• http://www.fu-berlin.de/sites/en/inu/drs
• http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/studium/index.html
• http://www.fu-berlin.de/studium/bewerbung/formulare/index.html

Graduate Studies Office (Prüfungsbüro)

Please note: Since there is no single Graduate Studies Office (“Prüfungsbüro”) for the different disciplines of the Cluster, the Graduate Studies Office (“Prüfungsbüro”) responsible for you is determined by the discipline your dissertation project is related to, and – following from this – the department of your primary advisor at the Freie Universität Berlin. Further information about the opening hours, phone numbers and e-mail addresses are given on the homepage of the faculty your advisor is affiliated to.