Information for incoming students
WELCOME TO THE PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT
Thank you for your interest in the Philosophy Department at Trier University! On our webpages you will find lots of information about our department, our staff and areas of research, as well as other important and interesting advice.
Teaching staff at our partner universities who are interested in coming to Trier on a Staff Mobility placement, please contact our Departments ERASMUS coordinator Prof. Dr. Kristina Engelhard for further information (engelhard@uni-trier.de).
This specific page provides incoming exchange students with the basic material you will need for planning your semester or year abroad with us in the Philosophy Department.
Please note that all of our classes are aimed at philosophy students.
If you can't find the information you need about the Philosophy Department, please feel free to contact our departmental Erasmus+ coordinator, Prof. Dr. Kristina Engelhard (engelhard@uni-trier.de).
With more general questions about studying at Trier University, please contact Ms Kroener or Mr Proost (exchangestud@uni-trier.de, +49 651 201-4676) in the University’s International Office.
Learning Agreements
Below you will find documents listing the classes which are open to all visiting exchange students, as well information for those who are going to be enrolled at Trier as Master's-level students.
- You are advised NOT to simply copy classes from the learning agreements of previous exchange candidates in Trier: Our classes change every semester and this will lead to unnecessary paperwork with learning agreements and amendment forms.
- We advise students to take classes worth a total of about 25-30 ECTS credit points each semester (these points can be gained in various subjects; you do not need to collect all of your ECTS points with us in the Philosophy Dept!). It is primarily your home university that decides about the number of points you need to collect with us. If varying numbers of ECTS credit points are available for a class, the number awarded will depend on the workload and assessment. Students should negotiate with the individual lecturers before completing their learning agreement.
- You can achieve 10 ECTS points of these 30 ECTS points by attending language courses if you wish and if your home university approves of this. Here is an overview of our language courses. Hence, if you want to learn German or improve your German and study philosophy with us, you may make use of this opportunity and take e.g. 10 ECTS points in attendig German language courses and 20 ECTS by attending our philosophy classes.
- We give the following ECTS:
- Lectures: 1 ECTS point
- Seminars (both on undergraduate and graduate level): Attendance: 3 ECTS points; Attendance + Exam: 6 ECTS points
- Attendance means attending the class each session and includes preparing the course material for each meeting.
Exams are a either a written essay of 10-12 pages (undergraduate level), 15 pages (graduate level), or a written exam of 120 minutes or an oral exam of 20 minutes. There may be further requirements for getting 3 or 6 ECTS in a seminar which are fixed by each professor. - Please ensure that you indicate your language competences on your learning agreement; this will enable us to see whether the courses you propose taking are suitable for you.
- Please note that listing courses on your learning agreement does NOT mean you will be automatically registered for and/or accepted into these courses. Please use Trier University's online platfrom PORTA to register for classes during the registration periods listed there (if you already have a Trier University email address), or email the relevant lecturer if you have missed the registration periods. Normally, it should not be a problem for ERASMUS+-students to be enrolled after the last period has expired.
- With any questions regarding learning agreements, you may contact Prof. Dr. Kristina Engelhard. To have the final learning agreement signed, students should contact Ms Kröner or Mr Proost in the International Office.
Classes
These documents list the classes which are open to all incoming exchange students
Provisional class list for incoming exchange students SS 2024
- Participating in a class means attending the weekly lesson, as well as completing the preparation and assessment tasks. All class types (e.g. lecture, seminar or research colloquium) meet for 90 minutes once per week. Some classes are listed as having more than one ‘group’, but students only need to attend one group of each class, i.e. one lesson of each class per week.
- You should register for classes using the Porta system during the appropriate registration-periods (if you have your Trier University log-in details in time), or email the responsible lecturer to ask to join their class, if you have missed the registration periods. (Please email in German or English, clearly stating the class title and day/time of the lesson and your „Matrikelnummer“). Here are helpful presentations about how to enroll in Trier's PORTA-system and other stuff.
Transcripts
- Students should contact Prof. Dr. Kristina Engelhard (engelhard@uni-trier.de) with any questions regarding transcripts.
- At the end of each semester, once students have collected all of the certificates for the classes they have successfully completed/passed, they should attend Prof. Dr. Kristina Engelhard office hours to organise their transcripts (bringing all certificates with them). Please aim to collect your certificates and contact Prof. Dr. Kristina Engelhard at least one week before you have to leave Trier.
- The Philosophy Dept. does not pay to send transcripts to students’ home universities after they have left Trier. If it is necessary for students to leave prior to having collected their transcripts, they should make arrangements with Prof. Dr. Kristina Engelhard and provide an envelope with a stamp to enable us to post their transcripts.
- Students who do not pass the assessment for a certain class are given a confirmation letter to attest to their successful attendance. These ECTS credits will not be included on their transcript, but the home universities may choose to award credit for attendance.
ERASMUS-coordinator Philosophy Department
Prof. Dr. Kristina Engelhard
Room: B 411
Tel.: 0651/201-2341
E-Mail: engelhard@uni-trier.de
Office Hours
During the semester: Fr 13-14 Uhr in 411
During the semesterbreak: website