Each academic year consists of two semesters. The winter semester (often abbreviated as WS) officially starts on October 1st of each year with lectures commencing in mid-October. The summer semester (SS) officially starts on April 1st with lectures commencing in mid-April. The exact dates for the current lecture period can be found here.

Although the academic year consists of two semesters, these are independent of each other, with most courses offered twice. It is therefore possible to  start either in October or April. Please note that exams may be scheduled after the officialend of the lecture period.

International students are recommended to participate in the appropriate pre-semester language course, which normally starts one month (September 1st/ March 1st) ahead of term. More information can be found below.

We therefore stronlgy urge all students friom abroad to arrive in Cologne well before the beginning of semester in order to carry out all administrative tasks in time. An information email concerning the relevant dates and the start of your stay will be sent upon your acceptance.

Enrolment

The enrolment form (application form for admission) will be sent to you by the University of Cologne as soon as your home university has confirmed your selection for the ERASMUS or respective exchange programme in Cologne. You can find the application form for matriculation here.

Please complete the form and send it to the address stated on the document no later than July 15th for the winter semester or January 15th for the summer semester.