FAQ
Primarily, the Internationalization Department of your home university is responsible for support and planning of its members’ mobilities. Upon a request, you should be consulted on if your university (or your department) is currently maintaining a partnership agreement with the Freie Universität Berlin/ the Institute for Latin American Studies or not. Furthermore, you will be informed on the specifics of your agreement; for instance, some mobilities can be realized upon invitation of a lecturer of the guest university, within the framework of the Erasmus+ program, etc.
Given a valid partnership agreement between your university and the Freie Universität Berlin, the most convenient option to come to the LAI is to apply for an Erasmus+ Teaching mobility. In this case, you should hand in following documents with your application:
1. Invitation of a lecturer at the guest university;
2. “Mobility Agreement. Staff Mobility for Teaching” (Please note all required signatures);
3. a CV (with photo).
Our internationalization team will gladly assist you with issuing necessary forms and documents and help you during the application process. For that matter, please contact us at international@lai.fu-berlin.de.
Also note that there are additional alternatives to come to the LAI, for example via international graduate colleges and joint projects, such as Temporalities of Future, Mecila, trAndeS, etc.
You can find information on the requirements and conditions of PhD degree programs at the LAI on the webpage of our Institute. The rules and regulations governing the Doctoral Studies Program “Latin American Studies from a Comparative and Transregional Perspective” is available under this link.
Doctoral students at the Institute for Latin American Studies have the opportunity to go abroad to a cooperating European partner institution with the Erasmus+ program. During academic term 2018/2019, there are available vacancies for pre-, graduate and doctoral students at partner universities in Spain, France, Portugal, Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands. A list with the cooperating institutions is available under this link.
Further information about the application process is available on this page. Please note that the deadline for the academic year 2019/2020 is 31st of January, 2022.
Should you have any question, please contact the Erasmus delegate of the Institute for Latin American Studies, PD Dr. Martha Zapata Galindo (international@lai.fu-berlin.de).
Doctoral students at the Institute for Latin American Studies have the opportunity to go abroad to a cooperating non-European partner institution with the Erasmus+ weltweit program. The complete list of cooperating countries and institutions can be found under this link. Further information about the application process is on the webpage of our Institute. Please note that the due date for the application on January 31st, 2022.
If you are a research associate (“wissenschaftliche/r Mitarbeiter/in”) at the LAI, further options for a stay abroad are recommendable: Erasmus+ Aufenthalt zur Fort- und Weiterbildung and Erasmus+ Teaching Mobility.
• Docs and postdocs who are citizens of the following countries do not need a visa in order to enter Germany: member states of the European Union (EU), member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), Andorra, Australia, Brazil, Canada, El Salvador, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Monaco, San Marino, South Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, or the USA. Upon arrival in Berlin, citizens of these countries (except EU and EEA) must apply for a residence permit.
• Docs and postdocs who are not citizens of the countries listed above must apply for a visa at their local German Embassy or German General Consulate before coming to Germany.
• It is not possible to study in Germany on a tourist visa.
Yes, all doctoral candidates and postdocs must have proof of full health insurance coverage for the planned scientific stay before they can enroll at a German university.
For PhD-candidates from EU / EEA countries and Switzerland
Please bring along proof of health insurance (European Health Insurance Card or temporary certificate) from the health insurance in your home country. This proof of health insurance must then be accepted by AOK (“Campus Point Freie Universität”) or by any other legally approved health insurance company in Germany.
Important: Please make sure that your health insurance is valid for the entire period for which you wish to enroll at Freie Universität Berlin; for instance, the winter semester runs from October 1 through March 31, and the summer semester from April 1 through September 30. If you stay for the entire academic year, you must make sure that your proof of insurance from your home country is valid for two semesters (Oct. 1 through Sept. 30). Without the proper dates, neither the AOK nor any other German public health insurence company will accept your insurance proof and you will not be enrolled at Freie Universität Berlin.
For docs and postdocs from other countries:
Public Health Insurance
If you are under 30 years of age and do not have a private health insurance from your home country you must purchase a legally approved health insurance in Germany. It costs about € 80 per month.
In some cases, it is not possible to acquire the public health insurance. In this instance, we recommend private health insurance policies.
Private Health Insurance
Students who have provided for insurance abroad in their home country, or students holding a German private health insurance contract have to get an exemption from the mandatory German public health insurance at one of the insurance companies' branches in Berlin in order to have their own insurance recognized. In cases of illness, the insurance conditions fixed in your insurance policy contract are effective.
Exemption from German state health insurance are not revocable.
Further information can be found on this webpage.
All exchange and program students are exempt from a German language exam (DSH or TestDaF), which is otherwise required for international students studying at a German university. However, depending on the exchange agreement or the conditions of the external scholarship donor, a certain level of German language skills may be required. Generally, in order to follow courses and complete course assessment satisfactorily, German language skills equivalent to at least B1, preferably B2 (CEFR) are recommended.
