Language preparation: Even if you may not necessarily need German language skills for your courses, they are always helpful for your stay in Germany. One way to improve your German language skills before you arrive is, for example, the free online language training offered by duolingo.

Intensive German language course at TU Dortmund University: The zhb - Department of Foreign Languages at TU Dortmund University offers a free 4-week intensive German course for exchange students at language levels A1-B2 in September and March. Students who successfully complete the course can earn 7 ECTS credits. The courses take place Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 13:00. Absence from the course is only possible on two days in total. If you are interested, please contact the International Office.

Cultural preparation:
On the following pages you will find information about Dortmund, the Ruhr area and "the" German culture.

• Visit Ruhr Area
• Visit Dortmund
• German Culture

You are usually responsible for finding and booking accommodation, but you can ask your academic supervisor if they can help you with this.

You can find an overview of different accommodation options here. General information on what you should bear in mind when looking for private accommodation can be found in this Housing Guide.

If you are interested in a room in a hall of residence at the Studierendenwerk Dortmund, your supervisor can clarify with the Studierendenwerk Dortmund whether a room is available during your stay. The rental prices for short-term rentals are up to EUR 500 and an additional deposit of EUR 700 is required to finalize the reservation. Please note that the minimum rental period is usually four months and that shorter rental periods can only be offered on request in exceptional cases. The contact person for your academic supervisor at the Studierendenwerk Dortmund is Ms. Sandra Nierth.

From Dortmund Central Station, you can reach TU Dortmund University in just a few minutes on the S1, which runs every 20 minutes.

Dortmund Central Station is also connected internationally by various train and bus connections.

The nearest airports are Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS) and Dortmund Airport (although Dortmund only has limited international flights). However, there are good train connections to Dortmund from most German airports (such as Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg or Amsterdam in the Netherlands).

During your stay at our university, you will be enrolled as a program student.

Further information on the process and the required documents can be found on this website.

Enrollment brings the following benefits:

• Accident and liability insurance for events that occur in connection with the internship
• discounted prices in the campus cafeteria
• reduced admission to museums
• reduced prices for university sports courses
• "Student" status in Germany
• the "Deutschlandsemesterticket" ticket, which allows free travel throughout Germany in the respective semester (excluding the use of express trains).

There are no tuition fees for enrollment, but there is a semester fee of approx. 300 EUR per semester. The winter semester begins in October and ends in March, the summer semester begins in April and ends in September. If you are not staying at TU Dortmund University or in Germany for a full semester, you can apply to the AStA for a pro rata refund of the fee for the Germany semester ticket (part of the semester fee) at the end of your stay.

When you enrol, you will receive the Deutschlandsemesterticket, which allows you to use public transport (with the exception of high-speed trains) throughout Germany (more information on this can be found above under "Enrollment").

If you come to Dortmund before the start of the semester, e.g. to take part in the German Intensive Course, you can use one of the following tickets.

Deutschlandticket
If you are not enrolling, we recommend that you buy the Deutschlandticket. This ticket allows you to use public transportation (with the exception of high-speed trains) throughout Germany. The Deutschlandticket costs EUR 58 per month and is a subscription that must be actively terminated at the end of your stay. The Deutschlandticket can be purchased online or on site at a Deutschebahn Service Center anywhere in Germany.

Four-trip ticket (4-trip ticket)
If you do not live far from your workplace, a four-trip ticket may be sufficient for your needs. It costs between EUR 14.70 and EUR 75.60 and is valid for four journeys, each of which costs slightly less than the normal price. You can purchase all tickets in 5 different price categories, depending on how far you want to travel within the VRR area. Further information is available at one of the DSW 21 Service Centers (one Service Center is located near Dortmund Central Station: Kampstraße 46, 44137 Dortmund) or online.

If you want to leave the Ruhr area by express train, there are some special tickets available on the VRR website.

Here you will find three helpful links for timetables and all other transport-related questions:

• Dortmund public transport map
• Fares, information and timetables for VRR local transport
• Fares, information and timetables for national/international trains

To make contact with other students, we recommend attending events organized by the Erasmus Student Network Dortmund (ESN): https://dortmund.esn-germany.de/