Why abroad?

During the theoretical semester abroad, you study for one semester at a host university of your choice. The 6th Bachelor's semester is often chosen as the time for this. Alternatively, it would be possible to choose the 7th semester and combine the semester abroad with writing your thesis (see below). Your first point of contact is the International Office (IO) of the OTH, where you can also find out about scholarships (mostly Erasmus, DAAD). You can find our network of international partner universities here (go to "Exchange opportunities" and filter for "Civil Engineering" under "Degree program"). Once you have found your host university and the courses you would like to take and receive credit for during your semester abroad, please contact the International Office for detailed advice. You should then make an appointment with the International Coordinator to discuss the credit transfer proposal. After obtaining the approval of the subject lecturers, you will then draw up the Learning Agreement together with the IO, which will be sent to the host university and will form the basis for the recognition of your academic achievements there. You can obtain further information from the IO or from the International Coordinator of theFaculty of Civil Engineering.

You can also spend your 5th practical semester of your Bachelor's degree abroad. The International Office (IO) of the OTH can be your first point of contactprofessors, the International Coordinator or professors with contacts abroad (see also impressions and reports below) will be happy to help you. Funding is usually provided by the host company/institution in the form of an internship fee. In some cases, funding for travel expenses is also possible. If required, the IO can provide you with information.

Semesters and internships abroad are also possible in the Master's degree course, but are more difficult to integrate due to the shorter duration of the course. Alternatively, you can combine a semester abroad with writing your thesis. Please coordinate in good time (ideally one semester in advance) with the OTH professor with whom you would like to write your thesis. Ideally, the topic can be combined with the stay abroad in a meaningful way.
The combination of a semester abroad and thesis is also possible in the Bachelor's program.

After consultation with the professor supervising the thesis, the further procedure corresponds to the description under "Theoretical semester abroad".

For research semesters, please contact your supervising professor. Depending on the host country, the IO can also can name suitable funding programs.

For example, to support development projects, there are opportunities to go abroad for a few weeks and put your specialist knowledge into practice. Some professors have contacts with such projects, particularly in the infrastructure construction departments. Please contact your professors directly if you are interested in such projects. Many universities also offer so-called summer courses during the semester break, which also only last a few days or weeks and usually have a thematic focus. For offers, organizational processing and funding programs, the IO is again the point of contact.

Funding is available for lecturers(Erasmus, DAAD) for trips abroad, e.g. to initiate research collaborations. Please contact the IOto submit an application. The International Coordinator is also available to answer questions.