International

Self-or­gan­ised study vis­it

The blue sky and clouds are visible. In the bottom right corner, you can see a piece of a house.
How about a little blue-sky thinking? As a “free mover”, any destination is possible, in principle. When organising the study visit, there are, however, several points to consider. Photo: Julia Baier

Your university or country of choice is not represented in the HU programmes and partnerships? Then you still have the possibility of organising your stay abroad yourself as a so-called free mover. There are some points to consider here.

On the part of HU, there are no limits to your international study plans. If our numerous partner universities do not include the university you would like to go to or the right country of destination for you, there is the possibility of planning and carrying out a study visit abroad on your own initiative. Below you can find information on planning such a study visit, tuition fees, recognition of study credits and advisory services.

Please note: tuition fees

In the case of a free mover study visit, you are independently responsible for the application and organisation of the study visit. You do not have to make any arrangements with the International Department. Please note that, for a semester abroad as a free mover, you will have to pay any tuition fees charged by the host university abroad yourself.

Planning a free mover study visit

  1. If you do not yet have a particular host university in mind, find out online about suitable universities in the country in which you wish to study. The country information provided by the DAAD can be of help here – you can find information on the higher education system of your destination country, an overview of the largest universities there and related links. Please also speak with professors and lecturers from your department: they can often pass on recommendations for suitable universities.

  2. As soon as you have found a host university, contact their International Office. Enquire whether it is possible to complete a semester abroad as a self-paying student without an existing university partnership. Many universities offer special programmes for this purpose under the headings “free mover”, “visiting student” or “non-degree-seeking student”.

  3. Seek advice from the academic consultation service or the examination office of your faculty or your institute at HU about the selection of courses at the host university and the possible transfer of credits for your studies.

  4. Apply to the university abroad.

  5. Obtain information from us or in the DAAD scholarship database about suitable funding programmes for your study visit and submit your application for a scholarship in good time.

Consulting for a free mover study visit

At the International Department, we are happy to provide advice on our partner universities worldwide and on available financing opportunities for stays abroad. If you are interested in a university abroad, which currently has no partnership with us, we are unfortunately not able to advise you on the application process – in this case, please contact the host university directly.

Additionally, there are several organisations that provide support free of charge in the planning of free mover study visits. These organisations maintain their own partnerships with universities abroad and connect German students with them as self-payers. Some providers that have already been used by our students are IEC Online and College Contact – you can enquire there about advisory services.

    • 03.07.2025

      17:30 — 20:00 ​

      Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil in Berlin, Wallstr. 57, 10179 Berlin

      Berlin University Alliance

      Net­work Re­cep­tion Brazil for Stu­dents and Re­searchers

      The BUA maintains close ties with Brazil. Together with the Brazilian Embassy, it invites students and researchers from Brazil, their academic hosts, as well as BUA researchers collaborating with Brazil to a networking event on 3 July.

      Go to event page