Welcome to our campus – orientation for refugees and asylum seekers

The Academic Advice Service is there to answer all your questions about studying at Passau. Their team of advisers provide information on our degree programmes and subjects offered by the University of Passau, about how your studies will be organised, what qualifications you need in order to take up study and how to apply and enrol for a degree programme.

We will offer advice to all who wish to study at the University of Passau. However, basic knowledge of German or English is required for the guidance interviews.

Our students are keen to help. They will answer your questions and point you to the correct University contacts if you need to discuss specific topics. You can even attend some lectures to see whether studying here would suit you. Please contact us for details.

The Graduate Center is open to all junior researchers at the University of Passau and offers information about starting a doctorate, postdoctorate, and habilitation. It advises doctoral candidates, postdocs and habilitators, junior professors and tenure track professors on funding programmes, among other things, and awards travel grants, publication grants and exposés grants.

The Welcome Centre offers support to all international (guest) researchers and international doctoral students in all non-academic areas and accompanies you before, during and after your stay in Passau.

The scholarship programme "Hilde Domin Programme" of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) aims to support students and doctoral candidates worldwide to take up or continue their studies in Germany in order to obtain a degree or doctorate at a German university.

Students and doctoral candidates from different disciplines can be nominated,

• who can prove or credibly demonstrate a threat to their personal well-being or safety (e.g. physical violence, arrest, denial of civil and educational rights, etc.) to the nominating institution
• who are in possession of educational certificates that enable entrance to a higher education institution and warrant the pursuit of a desired higher education qualification according to the www.anabin.de database
• who, as a rule, have not been staying in Germany for longer than 15 months at the time of the application deadline.

Since 2015 the Philipp Schwartz Initiative supports researchers to continue their work and research at German universities and research institutions. All researchers who are at significant personal threat in their country – irrespective of discipline and country of origin – are eligible for the sponsorship.

Since April 2016, the Studentische Rechtsberatung Passau has been operating a Refugee Law Clinic. Around 50 advisors in 25 teams offer non-partisan, non-denominational and free advice for asylum seekers and refugees on asylum and migration law.

Information on the recognition of foreign study and professional qualifications can be obtained from the IQ Counselling Centre Passau.

Simply send an e-mail request for a consultation appointment or call during the telephone hours.

The Language Centre and the International Office of the University of Passau offer prospective students the opportunity to take an intensive German language course with either the Academic German Semester (AGS), for those who already speak German at a B1 level, and the Academic German Year (AGY) for those who don´t have any previous knowledge. The aim is to acquire the German language skills required for studying at the University of Passau. Both programmes will finish with a German language test for the admission to University. Outside of the courses, you will be supervised by tutors who will help you with questions and problems.

The Protestant Students' Community (ESG) offers free beginner's German courses on a daily basis. These are taught by student volunteers, who do not receive remuneration for their services. One-on-one courses may be available on request for reading and writing instruction, exam preparation or a more advanced level of German. You do not need any particular qualifications to use this service, which is offered free of charge. You would only have to pay a small contribution for the course materials.

The Refugee Programme was designed within the DAAD's programmes INTEGRA and WELCOME to support refugee students. Between 2016 and 2021 it offered an intensive language course for refugees who aimed to study at our University. Currently, the programme focusses on degree success, integration on campus, volunteer work, and preparations for a successful career in Germany and is open to all international students.