Welcome to the information area for international exchange students in History at the University of Vienna

On this website you will find information about your ERASMUS stay in the field of History at the University of Vienna. Please read the information carefully. If you have further questions, please turn to your departmental coordinator who has been indicated in your Letter of Acceptance (see also Contact Information). 

Please make sure you also read the International Office's checklists which are relevant for your period of stay carefully as they provide important general information.

1. Contact persons

Departmental coordinator:

The departmental coordinator (see also Contact Information) is the person who helps you with questions concerning your studies at our department. He/She provides information regarding specific courses, course registration and exams, the Learning Agreement, courses offered in English etc.

The name of the person responsible for you is stated in the first information email (that also contains your Letter of Acceptance), which you received from the International Office after your nomination. If you haven’t received this email, please contact the International Office directly.

In case you will be doing research in Vienna (for example for your master thesis), please discuss this with your departmental coordinator as soon as possible so that he/she can recommend faculty members who can supervise your research at the University of Vienna.

If you have already arrived in Vienna and need advice or signatures for documents such as the Learning Agreement, we kindly ask you to consult the coordinators during their office hours, respectively make an appointment. During semester breaks please make appointments via email.


International Office:

For general information concerning your ERASMUS stay, please visit the website of the International Office. The International Office receives your nomination from your home university and sends you the Letter of Acceptance. They can answer questions regarding your admission and student ID card, accommodation, living in Vienna etc.

 

 

2. Course offers and course choices

Course Catalogue:

The courses offered by our department can be found in the course catalogue under Directorate of Studies 7 - History:

  • Bachelor History
  • Bachelor Teacher training programme: History, Social Studies and Political Education
  • Master Teacher training programme: History, Social Studies and Political Education
  • Master History
  • Master Auxiliary Sciences of History and Archival Studies
  • Master Global History and Global Studies
  • Master Interdisciplinary East European Studies
  • Master (Interdisciplinary) Contemporary History and Media

Detailed course information, such as the language of instruction, first course sessions, lessons per week and ECTS credits are stated in the respective course descriptions. Should you need even more detailed information about a certain course, please contact the departmental coordinator. Please note that in the general MA History programme (066/803) you can also attend courses offered by the specialized MA programmes.

The course catalogue for the upcoming semester is published in August (for the winter semester) or January (for the summer semester). If you need an overview of the offered courses earlier, please refer to the course catalogue of the relevant preceding semester. Please note, however, that courses are not held each semester and that the topics of courses, i.e. guided lectures, proseminars, and seminars (in the MA programme, also of lectures), change every semester.

History courses are offered by six departments:

and are usually held in the main building of the University of Vienna, Universitätsring 1, 1010 Wien, or in the departments on the campus of the University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2–4, 1090 Wien, statt.


Language requirements and courses taught in English:

In order to take up your studies in History you are required to speak and write German at a level of B2 with regard to the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR). ERASMUS students do not need to complete any official language test; however, your home university must confirm the required level during your online nomination. If necessary, you can, with the approval of the faculty member teaching the course, write exams, essays, and research papers in English (in some cases also in other languages).

If you are able to find a sufficient amount of History courses taught in English, you may also take up your studies without any knowledge of German. However, basic language skills in German are strongly recommended in order to be able to find your way around in Vienna, and you will only be able to benefit from the full range of courses offered at the university with a more advanced knowledge of German. The classes available in English only cover a fraction of the diverse topics addressed by the History faculty. We therefore strongly encourage you to attend German language courses in preparation for your Erasmus stay. German language courses are offered by the Language Center of the University of Vienna (“Sprachenzentrum der Universität Wien”) before the beginning and during the semester as well as during semester breaks. You can obtain ECTS credits and a refund of a part of the costs if you pass the course successfully. A three-week intensive course before starting your studies is particularly recommended (which may also help with finding a room and settling down in Vienna). You can find more information, including discounts, here on the International Office website.

In History a number of courses are regularly taught in English (except im Ancient History). They are marked in the course catalogue U:FIND with a blue arrow that has "• en" inserted in it, or you can find them there entering the following command (without brackets, with blank characters):
• For courses taught in English during the winter semester: lang:en SPL 7 [year]W (e.g. lang:en SPL 7 2016W)
• For courses taught in English during the summer semester: lang:eng SPL 7 [year]S (e.g. lang:en SPL 7 2016S)


ECTS and course types:

Please note that the number of courses and the amount of ECTS credits you need to obtain at the University of Vienna depend on your home university’s requirements. This also includes research for MA theses, which the Erasmus coordinators in History at the University of Vienna recommend to assess with at least 15-20 ECTS credits. A full course load is incompatible with research for MA theses.

The University of Vienna offers different course types:
Lectures (Vorlesungen, VO) are courses where regular attendance is not mandatory. There usually is a written or an oral exam at the end of the semester in order to obtain a grade. If you are staying for the whole academic year you have the option of further exam dates for VOs of the winter semester, which are offered at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the following summer semester. For VOs in the summer semester you only have the option of sitting for the first exam date at the end of June.
Guided readings (UE), lectures with training sessions (Vorlesungen mit Übungen, VU), proseminars (Proseminare, PS), and seminars (SE) are courses with compulsory and regular attendance. Assessment criteria vary and can include active course participation, presentations, midterm-tests, papers and written and/or oral end-term tests.

In History course types are:
• lectures (Vorlesungen, VO) with written exams (at the end of the semester, respectively additional exam dates in the following semester),
• lectures with training sessions (VU) where students reflect on and practice methods in the field of History,
• guided readings (UE) where students read and discuss texts on a specific topic from week to week and write smaller essays,
• research techniques and academic writing (UE) where students learn how to write short research papers, book reviews, abstracts, etc.,
• proseminars (PS) where students discuss literature and write and present a short research paper of about 6000 words length (including footnotes and references) (proseminars are suitable for second- and third-year students who already have some experience in writing research papers),
• seminars (SE) where students discuss literature and write and present a research paper of about 10000 words length (including footnotes and references) (seminars are suitable for third- and fourth-year students who already have experience in writing longer research papers).

Be sure to choose a balanced mixture of lectures (VO) and guided readings (UE), proseminars (PS), and seminars (SE). If you are staying at the University of Vienna for only one semester, please note that the first exam date for lectures (VO) usually is in the last week of the semester. You should, therefore, only attend as many lectures as you can sit for exams in a week. Students staying a whole year can also take the exams of lectures (VO) from the winter semester on one of the three other exam dates offered during the following summer semester (see above).

Grades are awarded within a five-digit grading system ranging from 1 (excellent) to 5 (unsatisfactory).

As an exchange student you do not need to take courses from the STEOP module ("Studieneingangs- und Orientierungsphase", i.e. "Introduction and Orientation Phase").  Please, note that you can only complete the courses of the STEOP module in History through a combined module exam.

Advanced students who have been nominated for the Bachelor programme may also attend courses from the Master's programme, especially lectures (VO), if they have sufficient knowledge on the subject. However, this must be discussed with the departmental coordinator first.

If you are interested in following courses outside your own field of study you can find more information on the website of the International Office at "Courses outside the nominated field of study". Please, remember to have the permission to attend these courses confirmed by the coordinators of the other fields of study using the form available on Mobility Online ("Approval form for courses outside your nominated field of study").


Courses for external students in History:

Exchange students who have not been nominated for History but who would still like to attend courses offered by our departments can register for and participate in lectures (Vorlesungen, VO) without having to discuss this beforehand with the course instructor or the departmental coordinator. Participation in other types of courses is only possible if the course instructor grants permission at the beginning of the semester. After you have been accepted into the course and registered for it, please see the departmental coordinator in History responsible for the country of your home university (see Contact Information) who will sign the course in your Learning Agreement. In certain justified cases (for example, if you are enrolled in more than one field of study at your home university), please contact the responsible departmental coordinator in History before the registration phase begins.

3. Learning Agreement / Specific Confirmations

Learning Agreement:

On our part it is sufficient if you provide your Learning Agreement after your arrival in Vienna at the beginning of your ERASMUS stay. Please, contact the departmental coordinator to discuss the details of your course choices and send us a list of the courses you wish to follow via email before your arrival in Vienna. In order to be able to assign you a place in courses with a limited number of participants we will need this list well before registration ends (see below 4. Course registration), i.e. by mid-September for the winter semester and by mid-February for the summer semester.


Confirmation of other courses:

If you wish to attend courses outside History please find out which options external ERASMUS students have in the field of study you are interested in. Further details are available on the website of the International Office at "Courses outside the nominated field of study" and "Further information on the Learning Agreement".

Participation in language courses at the Language Center can be confirmed by our departmental coordinator. Please, submit a registration confirmation or a certificate of a completed course.

Participation in courses relating to Austria (see the list on the website of the International Office at "Courses outside the nominated field of study") can also be confirmed by our departmental coordinator, since these courses are offered for all exchange students regardless of their nominated field of study.


Other study-related confirmations:

In case you need particular documents signed for your home university that include course-specific information such as language of instruction etc., please contact your departmental coordinator. For any documents that, for example, just indicate the dates of your registration or de-registration at the International Office, please contact the International Office.

4. Course registration

Registration Deadlines:

Course registration at our department usually starts at the beginning of September for the winter semester and at the beginning of February for the summer semester. During these registration periods the "first come, first served" principle does not apply. We would, however, recommend sending a list of the courses you wish to follow via email to your departmental coordinator before your arrival in Vienna so that we can save a place for you in the courses with a limited number of participants, i.e. guided readings (UE), proseminars (PS), and seminars (SE) (see above 3. Learning Agreement / Specific Confirmations). The departmental coordinator needs to receive this list before registration ends, i.e. by mid-September for the winter semester and mid-February for the summer semester. Please, contact your coordinator regarding final deadlines.

Please note that it is mandatory to register for a course, even if you are just interested in taking it. It is not possible to attend any course without prior registration.

Course registration is done via U:SPACE. You do not have to be in Vienna in order to register for courses. The International Office will send you an email with your student ID number and the instructions on how to activate your u:account well before the start of the registration period.


Registration process:

In order to register for a course, please follow the registration link in the course catalogue. It is provided in each course's detailed course description in the section "An/Abmeldung" (please note that this link is only active during the registration period!). Please choose ["Erasmus-Modul" or, if not available, "Interessensmodul"] when asked for the module during registration. Further information on course registration at the University of Vienna can be found on the website of the International Office at "Registration and de-registration from courses".

Registration is completed once your status in U:SPACE has changed to "angemeldet" ("registered") after the end of the registration period. If this is not the case, please turn to the departmental coordinator to discuss the situation. Please, note that attendance during the first course session is obligatory. If you don't show up in the first session without an excuse, you might lose your place in the course.

If your status is "Warteliste" (waiting list), you were put on the course's waiting list. In this case, please go to the first course session in order to see whether you can obtain a place.


Deregistration:

Should you decide not to attend a course after all, please deregister from the course via U:SPACE as soon as possible so that we can offer the place to another student. Deregistration is possible until October 31st (winter semester) or March 31st (summer semester). Please, also tell your course instructor about your deregistration. (All this does not apply to lectures [VO] which you can also deregister from later without informing the instructor.)

If you do not deregister from courses (apart from lectures, VO) by October 31st (winter semester) or March 31st (summer semester), you might receive a negative grade in your transcript of records.

5. Exams and Transcript of Records

Exam dates:

The exam dates are usually announced during the first course session at the beginning of the semester. Exams are held at the end of the semester or up to one week after that. If you are staying at the University of Vienna for a whole academic year you can take the exams for the winter semester at one of the other exam dates announced for the following summer semester and use the lecture-free period to prepare your exams.

In order to sit for exams it is usually necessary to register for them via U:SPACE.
Procedure for registration/deregistration:
1) Find the course you want to sit an exam for in U:FIND.
2) Choose the relevant exam date. You will now see information on how long registration is open and up to when you can deregister.
3) Click on "Register/Deregister for this exam". You will be forwarded to U:SPACE where you can register/deregister.
Registration for exams usually starts 1-3 weeks before the day of the exam.
If you decide not to sit for the exam be sure to deregister on time or you might receive a negative grade in your transcript of records.


Transcript of Records / Confirmation of Attendance:

Grades and ECTS credits are usually registered in U:SPACE within one month after the exam. The system allows you to print your transcript of records with a digital signature at least until the end of April (stay in the preceding winter semester) or until the end of November (stay in the preceding summer semester).

In case you do not need a grade or ECTS credits but just a confirmation of attendance for a course, please mention this to the respective course instructor right at the beginning of the semester.