Recognition / grade transfer processes

How to request credit/grade transfer for courses (not full degree programmes) completed abroad


From request to recognition

Generally spreaking, there are two parts to getting your credits recognised: 

  1. The inital request of recognition
  2. The final accreditation / recogniton of completed modules/courses

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Whether courses that you have completed or plan to complete abroad may be credited to module parts of your studies in Konstanz is subject to approval by the responsible person for recognition in your degree programme/discipline.. Responsible persons are staff members of the departments in our faculty, usually the study advisors of a certain degree or, where a degree includes coursework in several disciplines (courses form different departments) there would be a responsible person per department/discipline. You can find a list of the responsible persons in the blue box on this webpage. 

To request recognition please use the request for recognition template provided in the blue box on this webpage.

This procedure applies to all students of all degree programmes in the Faculty of Humanities, regardless of whether they are completing a stay abroad as part of an exchange programme (Erasmus+, Global) or organising it themselves (Free Mover). Requests for recognition should be handed in before taking courses abroad, so before your actual start of the study abroad period.

How to request recognition

For each course that you take abroad and would like to have recognised for a (partial) module of your degree programme, you have to hand in a request for recognition before the start of the study period abroad, i.e. the request form has to be submitted to the person responsible for the respective discipline (e.g. Literary Studies or History). The aim of these enquiries is to clarify in a binding manner whether achievements from abroad can be recognised for (partial) modules of your degree programme in Konstanz. In this way, you have clarity about recognition in Konstanz before completing your study period abroad and may plan ahead for the time after your return (e.g. when to complete your degree). Requests are handed in by email. 

  • Template request for recognition

The information asked for in the table for recognition requests must be complete. If information is missing, responsible persons for recognition cannot make any definitive commitments regarding the creditability of achievements. If you request more than one course from a single person, please copy and duplicate the tables "Request for recognition" and "Evaluation of request" as often as necessary, fill them in accordingly and send them to the respective person in one email. In order to give you and the responsible persons an overview of your seminar planning abroad, you have to complete the table "Overview of courses to be taken and desired recognition" on the next page. This table serves as an overview for everyone (including you). Titles etc. must of course be identical to the information provided in the recognition request tables and, naturally, you should fill in the overview table following the order you listed the requests in.

In order to give you and the responsible persons an overview of your seminar planning abroad, you have to complete the table "Overview of courses to be taken and desired recognition" on the next page. This table serves as an overview for everyone (including you). Titles etc. must of course be identical to the information provided in the recognition request tables and, naturally, you should fill in the overview table following the order you listed the requests in.

Once you are done, please send the completed requests and the overview to the responsible person(s) by email. Make sure that you contact the correct colleague of your discipline. If you are studying a language (e.g. B.Ed. English), there will always be a responsible person for linguistics courses, one for literature courses and one for practical language courses from the Language Institute (SLI). Responsibilities change so please make sure to look up who is responsible on the Erasmus+ Humanities Website (right hand side menu: www.uni-konstanz.de/international-participation-und-erasmus-humanities/studium/erasmus-studium/outgoings/anerkennung/).

Send requests in one batch (do not keep sending new requests in separate emails) and think carefully in advance about the areas in which you would like to have achievements recognised.

Responsible persons for recognition will either sign the request form (electronically) and send it back to you if they evaluate your request positively, or confirm the possible recognition by email. Either way is acceptable, provided that the e-mail text clearly states which course in Konstanz is to be recognised as which module unit (and with how many ETCS points) in which degree programme.

  • Students of philological/Languages and Cultures degrees (e.g. B.A. British and American Studies, all B.Ed. and M.Ed. majors)

In our interdisciplinary language degrees there is one responsible person per discipline, one in the Department of Linguistics (to be contacted if students would like to request recognition for a linguistics' course to be taken abroad), the Department of Literature, Art and Media Studies (for literature courses), the Langauge Institute (for pracitcal langauge courses) etc. THis means that students of these degrees need to contact several different responsible persons in case they would like to transfer courses from different disciplines. A concise list of the responsible persons per degree programme/major in the Faculty of Humanities may be found in the right hand side menu. Please note that responsibilities may change. The list indicates its latest update.

  • All students (no matter which degree programme they are enrolled in and which exchange programme they are participating in)

In any case, all of our students should discuss their options of credit and grade transfer with the responsible person of their degree programme (or discipline) before starting your study abroad period. Students are of course expected to know the requirments of their degree programmes (see assessment regulations ("Prüfungsordnung"/"fachspezifischer Anhang") and choose their courses abroad accordingly.

Grade conversion and credit transfer of your achievements

Recognition, i.e. the transfer of the achievements obtained abroad to your degree and ZEuS account in Konstanz needs to be requested. You do by handing in your transcript of records from the host institution together with the approved requests for recognition (or Learning Agreement if you were an Erasmus+ student) to the assessment secretary in your department.

As student and former Erasmus+ outgoing of the departments of Linguistics and Literature, Art and Media Studies, please send your

  • Transcript of Records of the host university,
  • Learning Agreement(s)  (Erasmus+ students) or approvals for recognition, and
  • the exact dates of your study abroad period (only the lecture period counts as study period, time spent in a country/city before or after the lecture period may not be included) or a copy of the Confirmation of Stay (Erasmus+ students)

to the e-mail address anerkennung.litlingATuni-konstanz.de. which is managed by Helke Schmal. Your grades will then be converted according to the recommendation for the conversion of grades of the departments, and all your courses will be transferred as approved by the responsible persons  stated in the Learning Agreement, will be entered in your study account.

If you study History, please contact Dr. Agata Nörenberg, forwarding the documents mentioned above + the signed forms "request for recognition". 

If you study Philosophy, please contact Dr. Michael Kieninger,forwarding the documents mentioned above + the signed forms "request for recognition". Additionally, please fill in the "Anerkennungsformular" of the philosophy department and hand it in as well. 

If you study Sociology, please contact Andreas Romer, forwarding the documents mentioned above + the signed forms "request for recognition". The sociology department has a website for requesting recognition, please consult it beforehand. 

If you study Sports Science, please contact Dr. Christiana Rosenberg-Ahlhaus, forwarding the documents mentioned above + the signed forms "request for recognition".

Attention all Erasmus+ Outgoings: Request of recognition are a prerequisit for your Learning Agreements

For students participating in the Erasmus+ programme the request forms and their (dis-)approval form the basis for the so-called Learning Agreement (LA), a document stating which courses a student is taking abroad and how these will be recognised upon their return to their home institution. As such, you have to get your requests signed before submitting your Learning Agreement(s).

Learning Agreement I: BEFORE your mobility (only Erasmus+ Outgoings)

  • Why a Learning Agreement?

If you go abroad within the Erasmus+ programme, the programme requires you to hand in a Learning Agreement (LA) that has been signed by you, your home university and your host university before the start of your mobility. This document is intended to give students planning security with regard to the further course of their studies, i.e. you should know before your stay whether the courses you take abroad can berecognised in modules of your degree programme.
Before you can fill in the LA and have it signed, you must discuss the possibilities for recognition with the persons responsible for this in your degree programme/subjects (see accordion above).

  • How to fill in the LA 

This is explained in the Outgoing Student Guide. The guide is only available in German, if you are unsure, please attend an office hour with the Erasmus+ coordinators Anja Christ and Melanie Hochstätter. 

Learning Agreement II - DURING your mobility (Erasmus+ Outgoings)

  • The Learning Agreement II - during the mobility

As the course catalogue for your semester at the host university is usually only available a few weeks before the start of your stay, but in many cases you have to submit the LA I earlier, you usually have to make a provisional course selection in the LA I based on the course catalogues from previous years. You therefore have 5 weeks after the start of the semester at the host university to make changes to your course selection once. You can delete courses from the LA I if you decide not to take them and add other courses to replace them. You must also request recognition for these new courses beforehand. These changes are recorded in an LA II - during the mobility.

  • How to fill in the LA II

This is explained in the Outgoing Student Guide. The guide is only available in German, if you are unsure, please attend an office hour with the Erasmus+ coordinators Anja Christ and Melanie Hochstätter. 

Proof of recognition for Erasmus+

As an Erasmus+ student you will be asked to submit a proof of recognition after your grades have been transferred. This is a requirement of the Erasmus+ programme/the European Commission, to track the recognition process within Europe. Please download a transcript of records ("preliminary grade overview") from ZEuS, including the transferred courses from abroad. Upload the PDF to Mobility Online and you're done!