Guest students

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Guest students

Guest students

Guest students are allowed to attend one or more classes of study programmes offered at Humboldt over a semester (which do not necessarily have to belong to the same module).

Note: The following information does not apply to the School of Medicine! For questions concerning the "Senior Citizens University" there, please contact: phone +49 (0)30 20678415, www.proseniores-berlin.de.

What does the term "guest student" mean?

It covers two different categories of students: "guest auditors" and "visiting students".

Find the relevant regulations at §§ 55 and 57 of Fächerübergreifende Satzung zur Regelung von Zulassung, Studium und Prüfung der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Nichtamtliche Lesefassung inkl. elfter Änderung ohne Anlagen, Verkündungsstand 01.06.2021, PDF).

guest auditors (Gasthörerinnen*)	visiting students (Nebenhörerinnen*)
As an guest auditor you are not enrolled at a university and you do not need to submit a secondary school leaving certificate (Abitur). The number of courses you can attend is not limited, provided the lecturers agree to your participation. As an guest auditor you are not eligible for taking examinations. Instead you may be given a certificate of achievement. Certified achievements of guest auditors will not be recognised for entering a full-time course of study at Humboldt, (i.e. they are not a way to circumvent the numerus clausus or to obtain a degree). What Humboldt offers to guest students is to be found online in the Vorlesungsverzeichnis (Course Catalogue) of Humboldt-Universität > Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildungsangebote and in a brochure.	As a visiting student or Nebenhörerin* you are supposed to be a student enrolled at another higher education institution. The number of classes you take at Humboldt should not exceed six weekly hours per semester. This restriction does not apply to students of the "Berlin University Alliance" (FU, TU, Charité), provided they are not enrolled in a postgraduate Master's degree or doctoral programme. You may obtain achievement certificates and credit points. If the examiners agree you may take exams within the continuous assessment scheme. But you may not legally claim to be examined. Please note that a decision on the recognition of examination achievements gained at HU will be made at your home university. Achievements of visiting students can be recognised for possible later studies at the HU.

guest auditors (Gasthörer*innen)

visiting students (Nebenhörer*innen)

As an guest auditor you are not enrolled at a university and you do not need to submit a secondary school leaving certificate (Abitur).
The number of courses you can attend is not limited, provided the lecturers agree to your participation.
As an guest auditor you are not eligible for taking examinations. Instead you may be given a certificate of achievement.
Certified achievements of guest auditors will not be recognised for entering a full-time course of study at Humboldt, (i.e. they are not a way to circumvent the numerus clausus or to obtain a degree).
What Humboldt offers to guest students is to be found online in the Vorlesungsverzeichnis (Course Catalogue) of Humboldt-Universität > Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildungsangebote and in a brochure.

As a visiting student or Nebenhörer*in you are supposed to be a student enrolled at another higher education institution.
The number of classes you take at Humboldt should not exceed six weekly hours per semester. This restriction does not apply to students of the "Berlin University Alliance" (FU, TU, Charité), provided they are not enrolled in a postgraduate Master's degree or doctoral programme.
You may obtain achievement certificates and credit points. If the examiners agree you may take exams within the continuous assessment scheme. But you may not legally claim to be examined.
Please note that a decision on the recognition of examination achievements gained at HU will be made at your home university.
Achievements of visiting students can be recognised for possible later studies at the HU.

Status: you will be registered and get a guest student ID card. However, you will not be enrolled, i.e. you will not receive student status at the HU, no semester ticket and no student account (also called HU or Agnes account)(see below).

Costs: all guest auditors and those visiting students who are not enrolled at a university in Berlin or Brandenburg pay a fee of 15 € per weekly hour per semester (i.e. 30 € per semester for a double-hour course).

How do you become a guest/visiting student?

1. Course selection

Information on the classes offered, when exactly and where they are held, who is lecturing and if there are special requirements students must meet for entrance can be obtained from the annotated university calendar of the faculties or institutes. If advice is needed on a suitable choice of lectures, please contact the Studienfachberatung (Course Advisory Service) at the faculty/institute of your choice.

2. Consent to participation

You are required to get the consent of the staff member whose lectures or classes you wish to attend. Contact the relevant lecturer via the e-mail address also given in the course catalogue. The register of persons on the Humboldt-Universität website can also be helpful. If there are no free places left, students enrolled at Humboldt will have to be given priority. No deadline must be met for the application, but it is recommendable to attend the first session. The semester usually starts on a Monday in either mid-October or mid-April. The status of guest student will, if agreed upon, be valid until the end of the semester you applied for.

3. Registration as guest auditor/visiting student

Participation must be applied for/approved for each individual course. You apply for a guest studentship by completing a form (with detailed information on how to apply).

Students of the Berlin University Alliance (FU, TU, Charité) can attend special research-orientated "BUA-modules" and register as "BUA"-students. More information and the application form find at hu.berlin/bua.

Note: If you want to attend language courses at HU Language Centre please turn directly to hu.berlin/sprachenzentrum.

4. Studying without a HU account

Without regular student status at the HU you do not have a HU account. This means that you cannot use the platform "Agnes - Lehre und Studium online" to register for courses and examinations or to print out certificates of achievement. Please contact the respective lecturer or examiner and ask for alternative ways.

The lecturers are also contact persons if "enrolment keys" for Moodle courses are not accessible or links for dialing into online courses.

You can access the Moodle learning platform without a HU account by entering an e-mail address.

To be able to use the university library, you must register there.

March 2024