During Your Stay Course Selection
In general, courses and examinations are conducted in German in most subjects, especially at the Bachelor‘s level. However, students will also find a good selection of courses taught in English in a variety of disciplines. A number of Master‘s programs are exclusively taught in English. Here you find information on types of courses and course selection.
Types of Courses
There are three main kinds of courses offered at the university: Vorlesungen, Seminare and Übungen. While Vorlesungen are primarily lecture courses, Seminare require students to participate in discussions and sometimes prepare oral presentations. Proseminare are basic-level classes. Hauptseminare and Oberseminare are designed for students in the second cycle of their studies. In many departments, you must sign up for a Seminar at the start of the semester. Lastly, Übungen allow students to develop specific types of skills (e.g. translation, lab work etc.).
Note: If you are required by your home university to receive credit for a lecture course you can speak to the lecturer and request to submit a paper or take an oral or written test. Most lecturers agree to such an arrangement.
Courses Selection
Exchange students have a relatively free choice in selecting classes they wish to attend. We encourage you to take advantage of the extremely broad spectrum of courses offered.
You can find the online curriculum (current and past terms) on heiCO.
You can find the different departments under “Organization - Heidelberg University”; the current and previous semester programs under ‘Term’. The language of instruction can be selected via the filter function. The course catalogue for the upcoming semester will be available online a few months before the start of the semester.
In addition to basic information like course dates, location and the number of credits awarded, you will also find course descriptions, which provide further information on course content, prerequisites, and/or a reading list. If applicable, additional information for course registration will be specified.
Please have a look at our heiCO course search tutorial which you can find on the right side to get a brief introduction.
Note: In some departments, detailed information regarding course offerings and course registration may be published as a downloadable version on the respective department’s website.
Course Registration
You can register for courses at the University of Heidelberg via heiCO. Registration periods may vary from department to department or even from course to course. Information regarding registration periods can be found in each courses’ information section as well as on the individual department’s websites.
Course registration takes place during the term breaks: February – April for the Summer Semester, August - October for the Winter Semester.
Academic Counselling
Students who wish to obtain advice on course selection can seek help from the relevant departmental advisor or from their exchange coordinator at the International Relations Office.
Additionally, student associations (Fachschaften) within individual departments often provide helpful information on their websites.