Yes, this is generally possible but not recommended in terms of workload.

As the name suggests, the study plan (to be found in the study and examination
regulations) is exemplary. However, it makes sense to take the modules of the
disciplinary area in the given order, since they build upon each other. For the
modules of the interdisciplinary elective area, as well as for the internship, you
can decide freely when to complete the necessary credits.

Freie Universität provides resources for students with chronic illnesses including counseling, compensatory arrangements for admission to studies, compensation for disadvantages during studies and examinations, structural adjustments, study financing and housing search, additional needs and aids due to disabilities, and other measures. Students interested in these services should contact the Office for Students with Special Needs at Freie Universität Berlin ("Beratung für Studierende mit Behinderung und chronischen Erkrankungen") by e-mail, telephone or in person at any time. For contact information as well as additional resources, please visit their website here.

In order to stay enrolled, you need to re-register at Freie Universität every semester. You have to re-register university by paying the semester fees.
Please see here for information on how re-registration at FU works.

This website tries to summarise all the important information for you. Feel free to click through it first. There is also a presentation of the degree programme on the Department of Earth Sciences website and the Human Geography Department website.

All important information on the programme's structure is summarized in the study and examination regulations (“Studien- und Prüfungsordnung”). Here you find the Study and Examination Regulations (in English, unofficial preliminary translation), and here the official German version.

Please reach out to our staff via email on global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de after checking whether your quaestion has already been answered in one of our 3 FAQs here or on the rest of this website. You can expect to be supported by a student assistant / cohort mentor or one of our lecturers. You can also register directly with who you would like to talk to during their Office Hours slots.

Apart from this, here is a website with additional contact and acameic advising by the department. Here you finde the website of the Student Council Initiative (FSI) Geography (German only) or its instagram page.

No. There are contingents available for the departments of political and social sciences, economics and history and cultural studies.

You can freely select any courses not offered by a geography department, as these electives are intended to be taken across different disciplines. You do not have to limit yourself to the FU and can also take courses at all other universities and colleges. Unfortunately, language courses are not recognized. Nevertheless, these regulations should not prevent you from taking courses that interest you, even if you cannot receive academic credit. Courses that are not included in your overall grade can still be listed on your final diploma.

Yes, but Master students can only apply to the contingencies provided by the Department of History and Cultural Studies. For this purpose, there is a contact form and separate application periods; more information can be found here.

It depends on the course, as there is no specific regulation for this in our study regulations. However, if the course you are taking allows you to choose, you can decide whether you would like to receive a grade that is reflected in your overall final average.

For this, you need your original certificates of achievement or the corresponding printouts from Campus Management. You have to hand them in together with the completed form "Anrechnung von Leistungen" to the professor of our department. The respective professor determines whether the elective modules can be recognized and, if they agree, they sign the form for you. Either they forward all documents directly to the examination office or you must take care of this last step yourself.

Attention: In the form under "Recognized for", be sure to enter "Interdisciplinary elective"!

There are two possibilities:

1. If it is a course at the FU, you can contact Ms. Zech / Ms. Nardozza (pruefungsbuero@geo.fu-berlin.de) from the Examination Office so that they can manually enter the course you have taken into Campus Management. The lecturer of your elective module can then enter your grade or a "pass/fail" as per usual, after the course has been completed.
2. Alternatively, you can also have a written certificate of achievement, the so-called "Leistungsnachweis", handed out on paper. Especially if you have taken a course outside the FU, this is the usual procedure. The certificate of achievement is usually issued by the faculty where you are taking your course.

To accredit electives or courses completed abroad for the Master's programme, please use this form. Toni Schmiz is the contact person for the Examination Board. For enquiries in this regard, please contact humangeoexam@geo.fu-berlin.de.

There are several Scholarship programs, such as the PROMOS Scholarship for studying abroad and the Fulbright Scholarships for studying or researching in the US.

If you are planning to study or do an internship within Europe in one of the Erasmus+ Programme Countries, you can apply for Erasmus+ funding.

Erasmus+ Partner Countries (worldwide) is primarily aimed at researchers and employees. However, there are some subject-specific funding opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Balkan countries.

PROMOS also offers funding for final theses and group trips (for study projects e.g.) abroad.

The DAAD annual scholarship enables students to either study abroad for a full academic year or to combine study with an internship semester. It usually covers tuition fees, living expenses and travel expenses and is based on academic performance, motivation and aptitude. Exact conditions vary depending on the programme and host country. Further information can be found on the DAAD website.

International BAföG (Auslands-BAföG) provides financial support for students who wish to complete part of their studies abroad. It covers the additional costs of tuition fees, living expenses and travel expenses while abroad. The funding depends on the individual needs and financial circumstances of the student as well as the destination country of the stay abroad. Further information and application forms are available from the BAföG Office. Auslands-BAföG and Erasmus can be combined, with the former offering additional financial support. Conditions can vary depending on the country and situation, so students should contact the BAföG Office or the Erasmus coordinators at FU.

Yes, it is possible to apply for a semester-long leave of absence (“Urlaubssemester”) under certain conditions. For more information on how to apply for a leave of absence at FU, please see here.
Please note: Taking a leave of absence can have an impact on various bureaucratic matters (e.g. on grants or scholarships, social insurance contributions, tax matters, child benefit and allowances, …). If you need more information or advice on whether or not taking a leave of absence is a good choice in your specific situation, please contact FU's student advisory services.

You can spend a maximum of one year, meaning up to two semesters, abroad in each of the exchange formats. The 3rd and 4th semester are best suited for this.

Please note: The semesters at foreign universities often start earlier, so that our current semester overlaps with the semester abroad.

You have the choice between different Erasmus programs and the so-called direct exchange.

All important information can be found summarized here.

Both exchange formats also offer regular office hours, as well as information events on selected days:

• Direct Exchange Programs office hours: Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 am - 12:30 noon and from  2:00 - 5:00 pm.

• Erasmus+ office hours: Tue: 2.00 - 5.00 pm, Thu: 9.30 - 12.30 am (and by appointment)

The adress is:

International Student Mobility

Student Services Center
Iltisstr. 4
14195 Berlin

Yes.

Until September 30, 2025, previous jobs as student assistant or others done in topics/organizations connected to our field will be considered. After that deadline, you should apply and execute a new internship during the Master’s to have your credit points registered. If you are not sure about a specific situation, please reach out to us via email on global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de.

If your search is not successful, please reach out to co-students. If this is not of success, too, please contact your professors/teaching staff.

You are free to chose any organization in relevant fields for the Master’s program. You don’t need to register prior to the internship at FU. You just need to be certain that the internship suits the requirements in terms of time commitment and content. If you are not sure about a specific situation, please reach out to us via email on global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de.

240 hours. It is not regulated in which period these hours must be completed, but it can for example be done in 6 weeks by working full time (40h/week) or 3 months by working half-time. Please hand in a certificate (“Praktikumszeugnis”), stating the amount of hours or length of work period, specified as full time or part-time, to proof this amount. The field of work should be described, too.

Positions and/or organizations related to any topic of our Master’s program can be considered. Examples of those can be research institutes, NGOs doing local work, social movement’s associations, international organizations, public institutions, development agencies, and others. If you are not sure about a specific situation, please reach out to us via email on global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de