Mobility specification

Country:Germany

Institution:European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

City:Frankfurt an der Oder

Program:Erasmus+ for study

Activity type:Study

Academic year:2024/2025

MU faculty/department:Faculty of Law

Study level abroad:Master

🎓Hit the books! How do you rate the university experience?

Can you enroll in a course where you can learn the local language?yes

Does the university offer enough courses in English?manageable

Are your credits converted?no

Was there anything in the teaching methods that surprised you?Unfortunately, I was unpleasantly surprised by the chaotic and inconsistent information I received about studying at the university in the first week. While international students can enroll in all courses at the local law school - however, prerequisites are often not defined for courses, graduation requirements are not clearly communicated, the faculty has a generally small selection of required electives, and almost no courses in English. In the opening week, I took the liberty of contacting the law school's student coordinator about her recommendation of courses suitable for international students, who did not advise me and was probably as confused by my email as I was by their organization of the law school, and informed me that law students do not receive any credit, which duly disconcerted me. I was only able to get useful advice from the students themselves. To this day, the law school has been unable to confirm my Learning Agreement, in which, through their fault, I originally entered a different amount of credits. I know that the introduction of this answer was a bit beyond the scope of this question, on the other hand, I wanted to introduce you to the administrative environment of the law school at this university, as it cost me not a few nerves, emails and unnecessary visits to offices where nobody knew anything. As for the teaching itself - especially the teaching of "PVP", whether in German or English, I cannot say a bad word about the teachers. They were very kind and welcoming to me, as often the only Erasmus student, the teaching was of high quality and enriching, they were patient with my German and took my language skills into account during the exams, which I appreciate.

Does the university offer international students' programs and activities outside of lectures and seminars to help them integrate more quickly?Yes, the orientation week was full of diverse activities, whether it was the activities of the International Students' Organization (ESN) or the individual faculties. At the same time, even later in the semester, the university offered a variety of extracurricular activities - such as trips, barbecues, parties, runs, tandem meetings, lectures, screenings with discussion, and cinema.

In which areas does the university offer support for students with special needs and strive to be inclusive?Psychological counseling
Barrier-free access to classrooms and dormitories

💸Did you have to rob the bank?

Try to take a guess at what your monthly expenditures were:14000 CZK/month

Did you stay in dorms?yes

What about unexpected expenses? Did anything surprise you?Yes, the school requires you to pay a €300 matriculation fee before you start your studies, part of which (about €160) is used to pay for the Semesterticket, which saves on transport, but even so, in my opinion this information should be communicated to students during the school selection process so that they are prepared for this expense. Furthermore, the expense of textbooks for language courses is something to be expected, but it is true that some teachers have given the information inconsistently - at the beginning they required you to buy textbooks for about 30 € and then suddenly another teacher provided you with a "pdf" for free. Another unexpected expense was getting my own modem, as the shared wi-fi is not stable and reliable at all, so I got a modem in Poland with a Polish SIM card, which I recharged monthly using a mobile app.

Do you have any tips on how to save money?I definitely have a great tip - live in Poland, cheaper dorms (admittedly of lower quality), but for less rent you have your own room with a bathroom, you don't have the additional expense of radio broadcasting (which is 19€ per month), or the administrative hassle of reporting/checking out of your stay and radio fees. In Poland, food is cheaper overall, but I wouldn't worry too much about German prices, as some healthy and quality products are often cheaper than in the Czech Republic. I definitely recommend carrying your Studentenausweis with you, you can get a discount on it for entry to events and/or even food in some places.

🗺 Learn the ropes in a new city

How well did you manage to communicate in English?almost without problems

How does public transport work in the city?neutral

And what about transport outside the city?I've seen better

Where to find connections? How to buy a ticket?DB Navigator, Google Maps. Especially around train stations there are ticket machines, but you can also buy them online after registration, but I didn't have to deal with that because I had Semesterticket from school.

Did you deal with any health issues during your stay?yes

How do you rate the availability of healthcare?mostly fine

🤠Help create the perfect bucket list

What is a must-see in the city?Odra, Odra riverbank, Holy Kebab in Słubice. It's a really good place to run, so I recommend it to all runners.

What are the must-visit trip destinations?Berlin, Cottbus, Potsdam, Zinnowitz, Dresden, Liepzig - but there's a lot of options with the DB-ticket, I definitely recommend making good use of it. And don't forget the cute little Polish town of Słubice.

Share your best experience:A trip from Frankfurt (Oder) to Salzburg (you can get there for free with a DB-ticket, you just have to pay by the time you drive) to visit a friend on her Erasmus. Also a very good kebab in Słubice and May 1st in Berlin.

💅A nugget of wisdom to make the life easier

Did you need to handle a visa?no

How did you get to the place?Train
Bus

Is there anything to watch out for before the trip?On the Deutsche Bahn - a journey lasting 7 hours will easily make a journey lasting 9 hours.

Can you pay by card?neutral

What not to forget when packing?Your own dishes, iron, hairdryer, if you have a portable mini-modem at home, pack that too. Always ask the dorms what they offer and what they don't.

🥳Summary

Whew, what a ride! 😮‍💨 Thanks so much for taking the time to complete our survey and for sharing your unique experience. Just one last thing. 🙏 How would you summarize your trip in one or two sentences?Challenging (especially administratively), but rewarding on the other side (especially in terms of experience and friendship).