Studying at ASH Berlin

Please switch to the German version of this website to find all programmes open to exchange students. 

You can find an overview of all courses that might be offered in the B.A. Social Work in English in our ECTS and Course Manual. Please note that the courses in the core curriculum (marked in green in the ECTS and Course Manual) are offered every semester, while the other courses are only offered occasionally and not necessarily every semester.

The exact English courses may be subject to change every semester. We guarantee that courses worth at least 30 ECTS will be offered every semester. Usually, the International Curriculum consists of approx. 10-15 courses (e.g. "International Social Work", "Racism and Migration" or "Social Work Practice Methods"). 

The exact course details will be published 2-3 weeks before the start of the semester via the LSF portal via “Courses” > “Course Overview” > “Vorlesungsverzeichnis” > “Social Work B.A.” > “Angebot: International Curriculum”. 

For the B.A. Social Work, you can find more information about the content of each module in the English course descriptions of the B.A. Social Work.

For all other study programmes, the module handbooks are only available in German. Please switch to the German version of this website to access them.

Each degree programme has its own ECTS and Course Manual to help you put together your Learning Agreement. You will receive the ECTS and Course Manual directly from us after your nomination and can also already find it here. We will go into more detail about this document during our preparatory webinar.

Modules: The study programmes at ASH consist of various modules. A module is a ‘building block’ of your study programme and consists of 1-4 courses on a specific topic. The exact content of the courses can be found in the module handbooks / the English course description.

Units: A module often consists of several units (some of which may consist of several parts). Example from the B.A. Social Work programme: The module ‘Diversity Studies’ in the 3rd semester consists of three units: Unit 1 ‘Racism and Migration’, Unit 2 ‘Gender and Queer Studies’ and Unit 3 ‘Dis_Ability and Ableism’.

ECTS: ASH Berlin uses the ECTS system to describe and define the course workload. One ECTS credit equals approximately 25-30 hours of work.

You can also find helpful explanations in the ECTS and Course Manual.

If you'll study at ASH Berlin within the Erasmus+ programme, your home university will provide the access to your Online Learning Agreement or the Learning Agreement form for you. If you have any questions about your Learning Agreement or if you wish to get it signed by ASH Berlin, please contactincoming@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu.

On the Learning Agreement, you will probably have to mention the following details: 

• Erasmus code of ASH Berlin: D  BERLIN05
• Start and end date: Your start date will be the first orientation day. As your end date, please mention the last day of the teaching and exam period (see further below for the academic calendar). For students who are doing an internship in Berlin, the start and end date correspond to the start and end date of the internship, unless you also complete courses at ASH Berlin.
• Contact person: Marion Fuchs, the contact details  such as e-mail or telephone can be found in our contact section.
• Responsible person: The responsible person depends on your study programme:
• B.A. Social Work
  Prof. Dr. Marion Mayer
  function: departmental coordinator
  telephone: +49 3099 245 445
  e-mail: incoming@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu
   
• B.A. Early Childhood Education
  Prof. Dr. Christian Widdascheck
  function: departmental coordinator
  telephone: +49 30 99 245 442
  e-mail: widdascheck@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu
   
• B.Sc. Health and Care Management
  Prof. Dr. Lutz Schumacher
  function: departmental coordinator
  telephone: +49 3099 245 425
  e-mail: schumacher@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu
   
• B.Sc. Physiotherapy / Occupational Therapy
  Prof. Dr. Michael Erhart
  function: departmental coordinator
  telephone: +49 30 99 245 560
  e-mail: erhart@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu 
   
• B.Sc. Nursing
  Prof. Dr. Katja Boguth
  function: departmental coordinator
  telephone: +49 30 99245 242
  e-mail: boguth@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu 
   
• M.A. Research in Social Work and Pedagogy
  Prof. Dr. Luzi Beyer
  function: departmental coordinator
  telephone: +49 3099 245 408
  e-mail: luzi.beyer@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu
   
• M.A. Social Work - Critical Diversity and Community Studies
  Prof. Dr. Jasna Russo
  function: departmental coordinator
  e-mail: russo@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu 
   
• M.Sc. Management and Quality Development in the Health Sector
  Prof. Dr. Dominik Rottenkolber
  function: departmental coordinator
  telephone: +49 30 99 245 157
  e-mail: rottenkolber@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu

If you'll study at ASH Berlin within a direct exchange programme ( = you're a student from one of our non-EU / non-Erasmus+ partner universities, e.g. Switzerland, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Colombia or Mexico), your home university may provide you with a Learning Agreement form. If not, you can use our template "LA direct exchange" (PDF) , also available in Microsoft Word format.

In the ECTS and Course Manual, you will find all English-taught courses that might be offered at ASH and that are open to exchange students. The exact course offer in English varies each semester. If there are any prerequisites for the courses, they are noted in the last line of the module under ‘Requirements’. Often, for example, 60 ECTS or prior knowledge of a subject are required in order to participate in a course.

Exchange students can choose courses from all semesters. Courses from both languages (English and German) can also be combined. However, you can only choose courses from the degree programme for which you have been nominated.

In general, exchange students do not have to complete entire modules, but can also take individual units. Any restrictions are explained under ‘Requirements’.

ASH Berlin offers free German language courses during the semester for all students, usually at the levels A1, A2 and B1. Further information about the German courses and the placement test is available on the website of the ASH Berlin language department.

ASH Berlin also offers a number of other free foreign language courses such as English, Turkish and Spanish. The study programmes Social Work, Early Childhood Education as well as Health and Care Management also feature extra English courses (e.g. English for Social Workers, called "Fachenglisch"). If you wish to attend these, you need to take a placement test before the start of the semester. Please be aware that some topics will also be explained in German in these courses.

Another great way to learn German or other foreign languages outside the classroom and make new friends is the language tandem programme organised by the International Office. In a language tandem, two people with different native languages or very good language skills meet and teach their language and learn the other language at the same time. All interested students can register for the tandem programme in our Moodle course "Sprachtandems / Language tandem". Please log in to Moodle with your ASH student ID number and self-enrol to the course using the password "tandem".

If you are wondering if language courses can be accredited at your home university, please check with your home unversity directly.

Seminars at ASH Berlin often include and require active discussion. We therefore advise you not to be shy and to participate actively in the discussions – this will enable you to benefit even more from your studies, get to know the other students better and, depending on the language of the course, improve your German or English skills.

In Germany, lecturers enjoy what is known as freedom of teaching. The exact course content, requirements and teaching methods can therefore vary greatly. 
Students can always choose between at least two forms of examination. Please find out about the requirements and deadlines for your examinations and coursework at the beginning of the semester for each course.

At ASH Berlin, great importance is attached to non-discriminatory behaviour. To this end, a set of values has been developed and a guide containing recommendations on gender-neutral and non-discriminatory language has been published.

Moodleis ASH Berlin's e-learning platform. Via Moodle, you can download course material and communicate with your fellow students and the teacher. If you've signed up for a course electronically via LSF, the course will automatically show on your Moodle website (usually within max. 24h after course registration on LSF). You can log in on Moodle with your usual ASH Berlin student account.

The LSF course portal is used to publish course times and content. Students register for their courses and examinations on LSF and can view their grades at the end of the semester.

According to §6 a of the general study and examinations regulations at ASH Berlin ("Rahmenstudien- und Prüfungsordnung", document only available in German), there is no general attendance policy at ASH Berlin. The attendance policy may be regulated individually within a certain study programme or module. We will inform you about the attendance policies during the orientation days. If you will miss several course sessions, please inform your lecturer beforehand anyway.

Plagiarism means using other people's ideas or quotes for your exam without referencing your sources. This counts as fraud in the sense of the general study and examinations regulations at ASH Berlin (Rahmenstudien- und Prüfungsordnung, article 21, paragraph 4). If you plagiarise, you will fail the course and you will not receive any ECTS credits for your course.

According to the general study and examinations regulations at ASH Berlin (Rahmenstudien- und Prüfungsordnung), the grading system is as follows:

• 1,0 - 1,5: very good - an outstanding achievement
• above 1,5 - 2,5: good - an achievement well above average requirements
• above 2,5 - 3,5: satisfactory - an achievement in line with average requirements
• above 3,5 - 4,0: sufficient - an achievement which satisfies basic requirements
• above 4,0: not sufficient / fail - an achievement which no longer satisfies the basic requirements due to severe shortcomings

ECTS grading scale:

The courses you mention on the Learning Agreement will usually be your binding course choice. At the time when you have to prepare your Learning Agreement, the exact course times and details haven't been published yet. Therefore, you may need to change your course choice again after the start of the semester (e.g. in case of a time clash or if a course is not offered anymore). Depending on your study programme, you have two weeks time before or after the start of the semester to put together your final course plan and to sign up for your courses electronically.

The exact course times and details will be published in the course catalogue ("Vorlesungsverzeichnis") 3-4 weeks before the start of the semester via the LSF portal. Once you have put together your final course plan before or after the start of the semester, you also need to sign up for your courses electronically via the LSF portal. Before the start of the semester, we will explain the course registration procedure to you in detail, but you can also consult our step-by-step instructions for using the LSF portal. 

The deadlines for course planning, course registration and Learning Agreement changes differ - depending on your study programme.

We will hold a webinar about course registration mid-September for the winter term or mid-March for the summer term. Please make sure to attend this webinar! If you cannot attend the webinar live, please make sure to watch the recording afterwards. We will offer online counselling hours after the webinar in case you have further questions. The link to the webinar, the recording and the online counselling hours will be published in our Moodle course for exchange students. 

Further information will be sent via e-mail to all exchange students.

If you are doing an exam in a course or in a module, you need to sign up for the exam online via LSF . Please remember that you can mostly only do one exam per module. Exam registrations via LSF will be available until the end of the teaching and exam period. Kindly use our step-by-step manual for exchange students about how to register for exams. 

As soon as your teachers have graded your final exam (e.g. your presentation or your essay), they will enter the grade into LSF where you’ll be able to access it. Please give your teachers at least three to four weeks time to read and grade your paper. Some teachers may be on holidays during the semester break so please talk to them about your grades early on - especially if you have a deadline at your home university.

If you're only attending a course, but you're not doing an exam, you do not need to sign up for the exam. Your teachers will simply confirm your participation online via LSF after you've fulfilled the possibly required attendance requirements.

• Orientation period: 29. and 30.09.2025, attendance is mandatory!
• Teaching period(incl. exams in the last week): 01.10.2025 to 13.02.2026
• 1st block week: 10.11.2025 to 14.11.2025
• 2nd block week (only BA Social Work): 02.02.2026 to 06.02.2026
• Semester period: 01.10.2025 to 31.03.2026
• Public holidays and closing time: see dates and deadlines

• Orientation period: 30 and 31.03.2026 , attendance is mandatory!
• Teaching period (incl. exams in the last week): 01.04.2026 to 17.07.2026
• 1st block week: 18.05.2026 to 22.05.2026
• 2nd block week (only BA Social Work): 06.07.2026 to 10.07.2026
• semester period: 01.04.2026 to 30.09.2026
• public holidays and closing time: see dates and deadlines

ASH Berlin continuously works on making studying here more accessible for students with disabilities and special needs. The International Office supports exchange students with disabilities in planning their stay and can help prospective exchange students get in touch with our university’s and the studierendenWERK’s resources.

To plan your stay at ASH Berlin it is recommended you apply early and communicate your needs in your application. In cooperation with the International Office you will create an Individual Needs Assessment that will help us plan the scope of the support you want. This could mean finding accessbile housing, suitable medical support, technical aids or personalised assisted study (provision of a person who can support you in writing, reading or library research). ASH Berlin employs a student assistant whose focus is accessibility and who counsels students with disabilities and/ or chronic illnesses.

All rooms and facilities of ASH Berlin can be accessed through one of three elevators. Furthermore our library features bigger computer screens as well as seeing aids for people with sensory disabilities. The closest accessible dorm is about 10 km from ASH Berlin and can be reached within 15 minutes by public transport without transfer.

Further support and information is available on the "alice barrierefrei" website. Please contact us if you have any questions or need support when planning your semester at ASH Berlin.

As a certified family-friendly institution, ASH Berlin provides multiple options and facilities to support students who are caring for a child / children. You can find further information, support and links at "Family at ASH Berlin".

ASH Berlin offers a variety of service and support facilities for students. 

Rooms:
On the 2nd floor, you will find the IT Centre (Computerzentrum) which features the computer lab in room 218 and 219 with scanners and printers as well as IT support and you can borrow laptops and further hardware. At the Media Workshop (Medienwerkstatt ) you can borrow various media equipment and cameras  to produce films and videos. You can use instruments in the Music Room (Musikwerkstatt) and borrow theatre props and costumes at the Theatre Workshop (Theaterwerkstatt).

• You can find the Library, the IT Centre/Computerzentrum, the Language Centre, the Media Workshop (Medienwerkstatt) and more at Service Departments .
• You can find the different workshops like the aesthetic practice workshop, our music room, the collection of theatre props and costumes and more at Workshops.

Support and counselling: 

• If you need support and counselling for  topics of (gender) equality, anti-discrimination, anti-racism & empowerment, diversity, inclusion, and compatibility and family contact the work area Intersectional Practice and Transformation (InPuT).

Events:

• You can find current events at ASH Berlin at Events.
• Information about current initiatives, events and resources aimed at creating a healthy university community can be found at Alice gesund. You can find the ASH Berlin sports courses offered by “Alice gesund” by self-inscribing to their Moodle course Bewegungsprogramm – Projekt „alice gesund".
• Information about getting involved in university politics and much more is available at University life (Hochschulleben). 

EmpA project:

• The EmpA project "Empowerment, awareness and anti-racist institutional opening of ASH Berlin" aimed to use an empowerment approach to improve the study conditions of international students, students with a refugee background and students of color*. Unfortunately, it came to an end in December 2024 but you can still find materials on the website as well as peer-to-peer counseling for students who have experienced racism.

At ASH Berlin and all over Berlin you can find  student cafeterias (called "Mensa") which are run by the studierendenWERK BERLIN and offer various warm and cold meals and drinks. You can buy food or drinks from the Mensa with your Campuscard, cash payments are not accepted.

Psychological counseling is available in German and in English by the studierendenWERK BERLIN. The counselling is free of charge and confidential.

“Redezeit für dich” ("Speaking time for you") is a low-threshold opportunity to talk about stressful situations with trained volunteer listeners free of charge. However, this is not a substitute for professional coaching or psychotherapeutic counselling.

In emergencies, you can find contact details under our “Overview of emergency contacts”.