University of Bamberg

English Programs:

Bamberg offers a wide variety of programs taught in English - including Computer Science, Software Engineering, Economics, Business Administration, Statistics, Political Science, Communication, Sociology, Philosophy, Psychology, Literature, Linguistics, and German. Exchange students are allowed to take courses from different faculties, as long as they satisfy any prerequisites. 

Bamberg also offers a 3 week pre-semester course with intensive German classes, worth up to 6 ECTS. There is an extra cost (approx 250 euro). 

Please see Bamberg's "what can I study" page for exchange students for all the types of courses on offer, including both English and German language courses. To find detailed information in the course catalogue, look in the Lehre section under either Vorlesungsverzeichnis or under Lehrveranstaltungen einzelner Einrichtungen.

German-taught Programs:

All of the programs taught in English are also available in German. In addition, some programs are taught only in German, including Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, Archaeology, Art History, History, Asian Studies, Geography, and Germanic/Romance/Slavic Studies. 

Course Information:

Students at Bamberg typically take 24-30 ECTS credits per semester. 6 ECTS credits = 3 UCalgary units (1 standard semester course).

Course registration is done online upon arrival in Bamberg, once students have registered on site. In the German grading system, 1 is the best grade and 4 is the lowest passing grade. Marks are not on a pass-fail system.

Bamberg's academic year is divided into 2 semesters. Semesters in Germany are named after the season they end in, rather than when they start (like in North America):

• The "Winter" Semester (equivalent to UCalgary Fall Semester) runs from early October* to late February/early March
• The "Summer" Semester (equivalent to UCalgary Winter Semester) runs from early April* to late July/early August
  *an optional 3-week pre-semester German language & cultural program starts approximately one month before semester start. See FAQs for details.

Students are typically not able to finish "Winter" courses before January, so full academic year or "Summer" semester study is recommended. 

Bamberg has guaranteed accommodation. Students can choose from single, two or three bedroom apartments in one of Bamberg's Residence Halls. Rent varies from €350-€450 per month. The University recommends that exchange students stay in residence as there is a shortage of private rental accommodation in the city. 

Average cost of living is roughly €700 per month (including rent). 

Student Tips: "My residence was called Pestalozzistrasse and it was older. I didn’t have a roommate and there was enough space for me. There was a bathroom, a kitchen, a working space and a bed. My residence was about a 15-minute bike ride/20 min bus ride to my classes in the city centre. There was a bed (provide your own sheets/pillows) and shelves. Sometimes students leave old dishes, but I still bought my own. There were two tables and two chairs. There was an internet cable that could only be used by being plugged into a laptop. Therefore, we had to buy internet routers (25 euro TP LINK) in the mediamarkt (about 30 min bus ride from residence). There were many cafeterias in the city. The closest one was about a 10-minute walk from the residence. There were a few restaurants down the street from the residence along with many in the inner city. There were about 5 or 6 grocery stores close to the residence (5-7 min walk). Almost all the neighbours/students in dorms are willing to help you out. I would recommend my housing arrangements because they were close to grocery stores, there are many bike racks and it was only a 15-minute drive to the city. The bus is located right beside the residence and it was nice to have a mix of exchange students and foreign students residing together. I would also recommend the residence called COE because there were many exchange students there and it seemed to be a newer building with more recreation facilities/shared kitchens for social events, although it was a little farther from the city/ grocery stores."

This exchange is open to regular, full-time students in any faculty at UCalgary who have completed at least 1 full year (10 courses) at the post-secondary level, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 (B-).

We recommend students have completed a minimum of German 204 before participating in this exchange, and for taking studies in German, 4 semesters of German study (two at 300 level or above) are required (a B2 level according to the CEFR).

Do I need to speak German?

For studies in German it is required. In daily life English speakers are able to function fairly well in German society with a basic knowledge of the language for shopping and eating out, but it can be more difficult in terms of navigating housing or filling out forms. Bamberg recommends a B2 knowledge of English or German for this exchange, according to the CEFR.

Is there a pre-semester German language program?

Bamberg offers incoming exchange students a special 3-week preparatory German course )worth 6 ECTS credits (1 UCalgary half course) in early-September or early-March, which includes 60 hours of intensive German, an orientation program, excursions and other activities. The program comes strongly recommended, and successful applicants are able to speak to their academic advisor about transferring the extra half-course credit back to their UCalgary program. 

Student Tips: "There were many field trips organized by the school for exchange students. My professor also took us on many weekly trips around the city where we got to learn outside of a classroom. The courses were obviously not available at UCalgary and were very interesting!"

What's so special about Bamberg?

The university offers a highly recommended tandem (buddy) program, and excellent modestly-priced excursions for exchange students - in the past this has included day trip and weekend visits to various palaces and abbeys, a samba festival in Coburg, Berlin and Potsdam, Walhalla and Regensburg, Weimar and Buchenwald, hot springs in Bad Staffelstein, Christmas markets, Neuschwanstein Castle, Lake Chiemsee & Salzburg, ski trips, and more!

Uni Bamberg also offers excursions in summer and winter semester.

Watch these videos to get a better impression of Bamberg and the regions: Video 1 © Tourist Office Bamberg , Video 2 © Antenne Bayern (Bavarian radio station)

Are there accessibility resources available?

Unfortunately due to historical infrastructure, Bamberg is not suitable for students or staff with mobility concerns. For any other concerns, they do offer support for students with disabilities and/or chronic diseases. For information on accessibility and support services of campuses across Europe, please check out Inclusive Mobility. For city-specific services and places in Europe, the Jaccede interactive platform (website and/or smartphone app - both Android and iOS) also provides a searchable user-built database to identify important accessibility information of public places and locations.