Index

How does the German healthcare system work an what do I do if I need to see a doctor?

Generally speaking, you should find yourself a general medical practitioner (family doctor or primary doctor, “Hausarzt” in German) close to your place of residence as soon as you arrive in Erlangen. Make sure that the doctor speaks English (they might say so on their website or you can assume it if the doctor is of younger age). Make an appointment with them shortly after your arrival (via their website or by calling their practice) and ask them to check if you have all necessary vaccinations that are considered standard in Germany. All those vaccinations are covered by your health insurance, meaning that they are free of cost for you. You can trust that all kinds of medical examinations or treatments your doctor carries out are also free of cost. If you are prescribed medication, you only have to pay a small contribution (not more than 5-  10 Euros) when you pick up your prescription at a pharmacy.

Your “Hausarzt” is usually the first doctor you go to see when you are sick. They will examine you and can prescribe medication. They will also come to see you at home if you are so sick that you cannot leave your house. They will refer you to a specialist or a hospital if necessary. Please note that if you have public health insurance (AOK, TK, Barmer etc.) you generally cannot consult with a specialist on your own without your general doctor’s referral. Exceptions from this rule are dentists, gynecologists and ophthalmologist, whom you can make an appointment with without consulting with your general doctor first. Doctor’s practices are usually open between 8 am and 6 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, often with a short break around noon. On Wednesdays, most pratices only open in the morning.

If you urgently need to see a doctor outside of the above consultation hours, but don’t consider your condition to be life-threatening, you can go to the Erlangen Medical Center or one of the Medical Centers (“Bereitschaftspraxis”) in Nürnberg. If you are so sick that you cannot leave the house and need a doctor to come to see you, you can call 116 117 to arrange a doctor’s visit.

All of the above medical doctors/medical institutions can issue you a medical certificate to confirm your inability to participate in an exam if you need to withdraw from a registered examination.

If you find yourself or others in a life-threatening situation, always call an ambulance via the emergency number 112. The costs of the ambulance will be covered by the sick/injured person’s health insurance. You don’t have to fear that you will have to pay for the ambulance yourself. On the other hand, if you see a person in a medical emergency and don’t call an ambulance, criminal charges can be held against you for failure to lend assistance.

Can I repeat an exam that I have already passed in order to improve my grade?

No. The grade that your receive when you have passed an exam (and have attended the exam inspection to clear any doubts with the exam supervisors) is definitive. Passed exams cannot be repeated.

Can I study part-time as an international student?

If you are an EU citizen you can select between full-time and part-time studies when enrolling and are allowed to switch between the two modalities once per year. More details on the rules for part-time studies can be accessed here.

If you are a non-EU student you are not allowed to change to part-time studies because your visa for study puposes/residence permit for study purposes depends on your status as a full-time student. Only exception: Pregnant students might get permission from the immigration authorities to study part-time. If this is your case, please consult with you local immigrations office before you change to part-time at our Student Records Office.

Do I need to have my classe schedule ready before I start my studies?

When you start your first semester in our Medical Engineering program, the answer is no. We will be happy to give you step-by-step introduction on our Master Welcome Day Medical Engineering on how to create your class schedule and what you need to bear in mind when selecting your couses. Definitely make sure to attend the event – you can find out the time and place on the starting page of our Medical Engineering website or from the Student Advisory Service.

I am enrolled in the Medical Engineering program and pregnant. How does this affect my studies?

In order to ensure your and your child’s safety during your studies, you must inform our Student Records Office of your pregnancy as soon as possible. In order to do so, please send an email to ibz-mutterschutz[at]fau.de . Our study advisor for pregnant students, Ms Susanne Kramarenkoff, will provide you with all the information you need. This concerns the kind of courses you are allowed to take or shouldn’t take (e.g. certain lab courses), the flexibilities you are entitled to with regards to your studies (leave of absence, flexible rules regarding exams) as well as the support services FAU can offer you (childcare facilities, parent-child meetups for students etc.).

I came to Germany with a study visa, now I have a residence permit for study purposes. What does this mean for me?

It is important for you to understand that if your residence permit is for study purposes, is it in most cases tied to your enrollment in a specific study program in Germany (please check the permit in your passport for the respective information). This means that you are only allowed to stay in Germany as long as you are an enrolled student in your study program. Your visa shows a specific period of validity, but regardless of this, it will automatically lose its validity when you lose your enrollment. If you fail an exam for the last time, you will lose enrollment in the following semester and consequently lose your visa status on the first day on which you are not enrolled anymore (i.e. 1st of October or 1st of April of the following semester). If you don’t have a valid visa anymore you become “illegal”, meaning you have to leave Germany and the Schengen area and return to your home country.

Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to you to keep your student status at all times. 

Please be aware that in order to transfer to another master’s program at FAU, you need to formally apply for this alternative program via the Campo portal within the official application period and be granted admission to this program. Therefore, you MUST apply to other suitable English-taught master’s programs at FAU in the semester in which you have your last exam attempt. In addition to programs at FAU, you MUST also apply to programs at other German universities in order to broaden your chances. Please inform yourself early on about the application deadlines! Public universities tend to have earlier deadlines. Private universities (e.g. in Fürth) might offer you the chance to apply until shortly before the start of the new semester, but they charge high tuition fees. If you get admission to the alternative study program, you have a backup plan for the following semester if you cannot continue your studies in the Medical Engineering program.

You have to inform the immigration office when you change your study program. Please note, however, that the immigration authorities will usually only allow you to change your study program once.

Please take this matter very seriously or else you will get into serious trouble with the immigration authorities.

What is the maximum number of semesters I can study in the master’s program?

All master’s students are granted 6 semesters (if you re-register in time by transferring the semester fee). After that, you can get a 7th or 8th master’s semester (and beyond) by applying for it at our Examinations Office (please find the respective form here and submit it before your 7th, 8th etc. semester starts). In order to get the extension, you have to give justified reasons for it (e.g. master’s thesis not finished yet, severe illness etc.).

Please note that the extension will only be given if you can prove a regular study progress (i.e. you took and passed a reasonable amount of exams and were not close to or completely inactive) and there is a realistic chance that you will be able to finish your studies soon if given the extension.

Please note that SS 20, WS 20/21, SS 21 and WS 21/22 were so-called “covid semesters” and count as zero with regard to your official duration of studies.

I was already enrolled during the covid pandemic. Which of my semesters are not counted as regular semesters?

SS 20, WS 20/21, SS 21 and WS 21/22 were officially declared “covid semesters” and therefore count as zero when your official duration of studies is assessed. Please don’t be confused – all semesters are counted in the semester count that you can see in your Campo overview (as well as in your enrollment certificate), but if you studied during the covid semesters you can deduct them from this number. This is also explained in the footnotes of your enrollment certificate.

Example: If you started your studies in WS 21/22 and your Campo account shows 5 semesters you can deduct the covid semester, hence you are officially only in your 4th semester.

 

How can I forward emails from my FAU account to my private email account?

Please log into www.idm.fau.de, go to the section “self-service” – “email” and click on the magnifying glass symbol next to your FAU email address. Enter the private email address to which you want to forward your FAU communication and click on the “update” button.

I was admitted to my master’s program with the condition to submit my official bachelor’s certificate within one year, but I won’t be able to meet this deadline. What should I do?

This is a serious issue! Please note that the deadline for submitting your original bachelor’s certificate (1 year after the beginning of your master’s studies) cannot be extended under any circumstances. This deadline is imposed on the university by the Bavarian law, which means that no person at FAU can change, adapt or overrule it.

If you fear that you might not be able to submit your original degree certificate in time, it is crucial that you apply for several other English-taught master’s programs at FAU as well as for English-taught master’s programs at other German universities so that you have a backup plan. Your residence permit for study purposes is tied to your student status. Hence, if you lose your enrollment status in our Medical Engineering program due to your missing certificate, you will also lose your visa and become “illegal”. This means that you have to leave Germany and the Schengen area immediately.

You can find an overview of all English-taught programs at FAU here. This database contains all study programs taught at all German universities.

Please pay close attention to the application deadlines! You will not be able to apply for another study program last minute. Therefore, it is of great importance that you start doing your research of suitable alternative programs at the beginning of your second semester, even if you still have some hope that you might receive your degree certificate in time. It is better to be safe than sorry!