The official semester times are:

• Summer semester: 1st March until 31st August
• Winter semester: 1st September until 28th/29th February

The lecture period including exams takes place in:

• Summer semester from mid-March until mid of July
• Winter semester from end of September until end of January

Exchange student are required to be present in Worms for the whole lecture & exam period.

Before the start of the lectures, the mandatory orientation takes place for all new exchange students (usually 2-3 weeks before lecture start).

All exchange students have the option to book an accommodation via our housing portal. We offer private rooms in share appartments or signle appartments in dormitories. You can find further information on our subpage 'Accommodation'.

Depending on the citizenship, students might need a visa to study in Germany. Students should inform themselves in time about the exact requirements at a German embassy or consulate in their home country, as it is a time-consuming process. Students with a valid passport from Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea or the USA, can enter Germany without visa and then register for a residence permit directly at the local foreigners’ office in Worms. More infromtion can be found on our subpage 'Visa and residence permit'.

Yes, you need to have a valid health insurance from outside of Germany or get insured in Germany in order to be permitted to enrol at the university. Your insurance needs to be valid for the entire duration of your studies. You can find further information on our subpage.

You can find information on our subpage 'Course Offer in English'.

The typical student cost of living can be found on our subpage 'fees and expenses'.

The International Center offers an orientation program for all exchange students, which enables them to integrate rapidly into the campus and social life in Worms. Participation in this event is a mandatory first step in their studies at HS Worms. Welcome sessions, information events, campus and city tour, visit at the registration office, and intensive language course are only some of the activities. We also offer a multi-day excursion to Berlin. Students will receive further information in the weeks before the start of the semester.

You will only need to pay a small semester contribution fee, which consists of an administrative fee, a social contribution to the student services and to student committees, as well as a social contribution to the student semester ticket. It is mandatory for all students and can not be waived. Exchange students also need to pay this fee in order to be enroled. Please note that this fee does not constitute tuition fees! Please find here more information on the semester contribution payment.

If you are staying two or more semesters in Worms, you also need to pay the fee for every following semester - the fee then is lower than the initial first-semester fee. Please find more information on this re-registration on the website of our student services department.

Checklist “Before Departure”

After you successfully filled out and submitted the application, please make sure to take care of these steps:

• Check how long your passport/identity card is valid, and if it covers the whole stay
• If you want to apply for housing through the International Center, apply for housing in our housing portal. You can also search for accommodation yourself.
• Get a confirmation of your health insurance (so-called 'Meldung 10').
• Pay the semester contribution fee
• Apply for a visa (non-EU citizens) as soon as you receive the letter of acceptance from Hochschule Worms
• Book flights/trains/buses etc. to get to Worms before the start of the orientation weeks
• Communicate your arrival with your landlord, in order to receive the keys to your accommodation

Checklist “After Arrival”

After you arrived in Worms, you need to take care of certain steps. We will also guide you through them during our orientation weeks.

• Get the confirmation of accommodation from your landlord (necessary for the city registration)
• Register as a resident in Worms (we will organise appointments for all exchange students during the orientation weeks, and you will be accompanied by our Welcome Team)
• If necessary: Open a German bank account (this step can only be done once you received your tax ID from the local tax office, which takes a few weeks after you registered as a resident)
• Get your Confirmation of Arrival signed by the International Center, if applicable (usually only for ERASMUS+ students)
• Create your timetable with the help of our course book and the course management system LSF. Fill out your Learning Agreement in order to fix your course registration.
• Familiarize yourself with the university campus and places such as cafeteria, computer rooms, library, the city etc.
• We recommend the enrolment in a German language course (free of charge), depending on your personal level, in order to promote the integration and a better experience during your semester with us

Checklist “After your exchange/Before leaving Worms”:

• Inform you landlord in advance about your move-out date and discuss the details of you move out process (e.g. final cleaning of the accommodation, refund of the deposit, etc.)
• De-register as a citizen at the registration office by writing them an email, stating your move-out-date, your registered address in Worms, where you are leaving to, and a scan of your passport. This is possible earliest one week before your departure date. We will send you a template email before the end of the lecture period.
• Deregister the broadcasting fee (Rundfunkbeitrag/GEZ)
• Close your bank account, if you opened one and if don’t need it anymore
• Cancel your contracts/memberships (e.g. gym-membership etc.)
• Inform your health insurance company about the end of your exchange at Hochschule Worms and cancel your insurance contract, if necessary
• Get your Confirmation of Departure signed by the International Center, if applicable (applies usually only for ERASMUS+ students)

The so-called "Rundfunkbeitrag" is a contributory fee for all registered citizens in Germany. It is a contribution to the public broadcasting services (public radio and tv). Once you are a registered citizen in Germany, you will receive a letter by the broadcasting services ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio. We will explain to you in detail during the orientation weeks what steps you need to take. The fee can not be waived - all exchange students also have to pay this contribution (currently approx. 18 €/month per household). More information: www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/welcome/englisch/index_ger.html

“Deutsche Bahn” (German Railway) links all of the major and most of the smaller towns locally, regionally and over long distances. It offers a lot of deals and special prices. With a “BahnCard” you can save 50% or 25% on the standard price of any ticket for a whole year. Cheap “Wochenend-Tickets” (weekend ticket) entitle you to use all local trains within Germany from midnight until 3am the following day and take up to four people with you. Since May 2023, there is also the option to buy a Germany-wide ticket for regional transport (so-called Deutschlandticket) for 49 € per month. With this you are allowed to use (almost all) regional trains, busses and tramways etc. There are some exceptions – please inform yourself before taking a trip if the Deutschlandticket is valid in the trains you chose. More information can be found on the website of the DB.

In Germany you also have the possibility to travel long-distance by bus. Normally it is cheaper than to travel by train. There are a lot of different bus services, mainly from Mainz, Mannheim, Heidelberg etc.

An alternative, especially for long journeys, is the “Mitfahrgelegenheit” (carpooling). This is where drivers register offers for those who want to share a ride. The offers are sorted according to destination and date, and you can find out about them online or by phone. You pay a fixed sum based on distance to the driver directly.

Taxis in Germany are relatively expensive. Prices are regulated. You pay a fixed basic price plus a charge per kilometre.

A semester ticket is offered to students by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar (VRN). It provides reduced semester rate passes for all students registered at Hochschule Worms. With this travel pass (currently approx. 180 €, valid for six months) you can use the suburban trains, the tram and buses within the region (NOT through Germany though). 

In Worms itself, the VRN is operating a bus network. Buses run roughly every 30 minutes, depending on the direction and day/time.