Every university and every funding agency has their own forms which you can download or fill out online. Fill out the forms carefully: Make sure to correct spelling mistakes and typos and avoid ambiguity.

Tip: When searching for relevant forms and information, note that universities often distinguish between international students and exchange students/non-degree seeking students/visiting students/occasional students. International students are generally students who are seeking a degree at the host university, while the other terms refer to all applicants who only want to enroll for a limited time.

In addition to comprehensively listing the stations of your life up to the day of submission, your curriculum vitae should also depict who you are as a person. The curriculum vitae should not contain any gaps and should include your school and university degrees and any professional experience.

Additionally, it should contain

• longer stays abroad with a short description of how they personally benefited you
• leadership roles on university boards, in youth organizations and political organizations, etc.
• other activities which show that you are active outside of your studies and have “soft skills” – the ability to work in a team, adaptability, flexibility, intercultural competencies, readiness to assume responsibility, etc.

In general, your curriculum vitae should be in tabular form and comprehensive. This means it should not only include key terms and bullet points, but also detailed information on relevant points as well as provide a more complete picture of who you really are as a person. Don’t hold back too much, but don’t exaggerate either.

The most important part of the application is having a good reason for why you want to go to this particular university in this particular country and describing which academic goals you aim to achieve by studying abroad. Only academic arguments count! Therefore, you should describe the following.

• Why did you choose this particular university to study abroad at? Mention the array of subjects and courses available at the prospective host university as the basis for your reasoning and how they play into your overall objective. For example, describe the special fields of research or knowledge taught at the host university which you cannot pursue at your home university in that combination or to that extent, but which would supplement your program of study in a particular way and/or support you in preparing for your continuing studies, your upcoming exam, or your career goals. Your study plans should describe the goal of the stay abroad in detail and take into account the courses offered at the prospective host university. Make sure to refer to specific courses, not modules, as our modular structure is largely unknown abroad.

• How will the study abroad period fit into your entire degree program and serve your career goals? In order to be able to argue this point, you should find out which study and research fields are offered at your prospective host university. It is also important to demonstrate the requirements you meet and basic level of knowledge you already have that prepare you for success in your program of study.

• What have you focused on in your program of study up to this point (only mention relevant topics!)? How will your prospective stay abroad serve as an academic continuation? How can you integrate your experiences into the remainder of your program of study once you return (e.g., within the scope of a final thesis)?

Your study plan should be as individualized as possible and demonstrate your motivation for studying abroad, so it is advisable to be well-informed about the courses offered at your prospective host university. You can find this information either on your prospective host university’s website or through firsthand reports online.

Many universities require a letter of recommendation written by a member of the teaching staff. This could be a professor or lecturer at JGU, or a university teacher from another university you have studied at. We have prepared a template for letters of recommendation (German/English).

When preparing your letter of recommendation, consider the following.

• Choose the person you will ask for a letter of recommendation or who you will list as reference with care. It should be someone who has had the opportunity to get to know you in courses and who can make a nuanced and positive judgment about your abilities and strengths.
• Check whether the letter of recommendation has to come from a professor or if it can be from any academic staff member.
• If the host institution or the funding organization has a specific form for the letter of recommendation, send it to the person writing the letter of recommendation.
• It’s a good idea to meet with the person writing the letter of recommendation ahead of time. Bring along documents like your transcript of records, information on the degree program, and your curriculum vitae to help them gain a better idea of who you are.
• If the letter of recommendation is to be submitted to the host institution, it should be written in their language of instruction. If it isn’t, have it professionally translated – every language has its own particular turns of phrase for letters of recommendation.
• The letter of recommendation must be submitted to the International Office directly to ensure that it has not been manipulated.

Tip: The letter of recommendation and the language certificate should not be from the same academic staff member.

For academic applications, an academic record (Leistungsübersicht) is generally required alongside officially certified copies of certificates such as your Abitur or school leaving certificate or other examination certificates. The academic record reflects which courses (with course type and title) you took, what subject you took them in during which semester, how many semester hours per week they required, and what your results were as shown in JOGU-StINe. The record is not only meant to show your grades, but to provide an overview of your program of study up to this point. Therefore, ungraded courses as well as courses taken outside of your subject of study should also be listed. Based on this academic record, the host institution can assess your level of knowledge in your subject and therefore find it easier to place you (e.g., as undergraduate or graduate student).

Request your academic record in English from your student advising office (for prospective teachers: HPL) and make sure that both headings and course titles are translated into English.

Please note: The student advising offices and the HPL will issue an original of your academic record, not an officially certified copy, as this is what you are required to submit for your application.

Tip: Along with your application, include a list of the courses that have not been graded or completed yet in order to provide a more complete overview of your program of study.

Tip: If needed, your student advising office can also issue a diploma supplement which contains an overview of the content of your degree program.

Certificates and diplomas generally need to be submitted as certified copies with a translation, depending on the requirements of the host university. The issuing office (e.g., student advising office) can generally issue and/or certify copies. If the application material from the host institution doesn’t explicitly state that the translation must be carried out by a state-certified translator, you can translate the document yourself. For certification of your documents, a university stamp (institute stamp, or certification from the International Office) will generally suffice.

Nearly all international universities will require a language test to show that you are proficient enough in the local language or the language of instruction to succeed at their university.
We have prepared a template for providing proof of language proficiency (German/English/Spanish).

There are generally two ways to provide proof of language proficiency:

Email aussereuropa@international.uni-mainz.de to get a list of who carries out the tests for JGU students. Download the templates for providing proof of language proficiency (German/English/Spanish).