Prospective Students

Students who do not come from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland generally require a visa. This means that you must apply for a visa in your home country if you wish to study in Germany.

You can apply for a visa for study purposes at the German embassies or consulates general in your home country. It can take several weeks for a visa to be issued. Find out about the necessary documents at the embassy and apply for a visa in good time.

You can enter Germany with a visa. After entering the country, you must register with the immigration authority responsible for your place of residence and convert the visa into a residence permit. You must register with the foreigners authority within a certain period of time.

Applicants who have not yet been admitted to a German university can apply for a student applicant visa. The residence permit for study application can be converted into a residence permit for study purposes after admission.

Students in Germany usually live either in student halls of residence or in a shared flat (Wohngemeinschaften = WG).

Students at Film University Babelsberg can apply for a place in a hall of residence at the Sttduierendenwerk West: Brandenburg. Places in the halls of residence are limited. If you are interested in a place in a hall of residence, you should apply to the Studierendenwerk West: Brandenburg as early as possible. If you do not get a room in a hall of residence, you will have to look for an apartment or shared flat privately. The housing market in the Potsdam and Berlin region is very tight. You should therefore start looking for accommodation in good time, not least because proof of residence is a prerequisite for your residence permit.

Please check the offers on the housing market for scams.

When obtaining your student visa, you must prove that you can finance yourself for the duration of your studies. Proof includes:

• Blocked account: As things stand at present, at least 11,904 euros per year at a German financial institution. The account may only allow the withdrawal of a certain amount per month.
• Scholarships: It is advisable to apply for a scholarship before arriving in Germany. Declaration of your parents' income and financial circumstances: Your parents hereby undertake to provide you with the necessary money.
• Declaration of commitment from relatives/acquaintances living in Germany: These persons undertake to cover the costs for you and must prove to the immigration authorities that they can meet their obligation.
• Income from your own employment: Can also be used as a contribution to financing. However, please note the employment law restrictions that apply to students with a student visa.

The average cost of living for students in Germany is around 870 euros. You should expect the following costs: semester contribution, health insurance and living costs, which include rent, food, clothing, books, telephone, etc.

Here you will find an overview of our study programs.

Film University does not offer scholarships. To find a suitable scholarship, you can use the DAAD scholarship database.

Students pay one fee per semester, i.e. twice a year. As the Film University is a state university, all our degree programs are financed by the state. The semester fee is therefore not a tuition fee, but a “contribution” that covers the cost of insurance and the ticket for public transportation. You can find out about the exact amount and composition of the semester fee here.

There are no additional fees for international students.

It is not possible to transfer from another university to our university, which would allow you to start studying with us in a higher semester.

Although you can apply for a transfer of academic credits, you can only be exempted from individual courses, not skip an entire semester or even an entire year. If you are interested in transferring credits, you must go through the regular application procedure. After you have been accepted to our university, you can apply for a transfer of academic credits. The application for transfer will be reviewed by a specialist committee. Each case is assessed individually.

All our degree programs are open to international students with the appropriate aptitude.

Applications are possible once a year, for admission in the winter semester of the same year. Please take our application deadlines into account in your planning.

As part of their application, international applicants must submit a language certificate as proof of German language proficiency and, in certain cases, a transcript of records (Vorprüfungsdokumentation = VPD) of their international educational qualifications. Special regulations apply to applicants from India, China and Vietnam. Apart from this, the

application guidelines for international applicants do not differ from the general application guidelines.

General application documents must be submitted in German. References and certificates must be submitted in either German or English translation. Work samples and other artistic parts of the application may be submitted in English - only after prior consultation with the relevant degree program.

Please note that there are significant differences in the application guidelines of the individual degree programs. It is therefore important that you know which degree program you wish to apply for before submitting your application. Please take a detailed look at the application guidelines for the relevant degree program and plan your application accordingly.

The detailed application guidelines can be found on the page of the respective degree program.

Please note that the complete application must be uploaded via the Film University's application portal. The application does not run via Uni-Assist. The link to the applicant portal can be found in the application guidelines of the individual degree programs. Registration with Uni-Assist is only necessary if you have to apply for a VPD.

If you successfully pass the pre-selection, the next step in the selection process is the artistic aptitude test, which takes place on site at our university in Potsdam Babelsberg. You must travel to Potsdam for this purpose. You must ask the respective degree program whether it is possible to take part in the artistic aptitude test without your personal presence, for example via video link. For better planning, you can find the dates of the aptitude tests here.

Studienkollegs (preparatory colleges) are educational institutions in which applicants are prepared for studying at a German university if they do not have a sufficient university entrance qualification.

A Studienkolleg is only relevant for applicants whose foreign university entrance qualification is not recognized as equivalent to the German Abitur.

This is the case, for example, if the school career up to the acquisition of the higher education entrance qualification in your home country is less than 12 years. If this applies to you, you may have to complete a Studienkolleg before you can apply to us.

You will need a Studienkolleg if you wish to apply for the following Bachelor's degree programs: Digital Media Culture, Film and Television Production, Sound Design for Audiovisual Media and Set Design.

Applicants for all other degree programs do not need a Studienkolleg and can apply with their school-leaving certificate as specified in the application guidelines.

We accept all preparatory colleges throughout Germany where you can take the

state-recognized Feststellungsprüfung as a final examination. We recommend that you choose a Studienkolleg with a focus on the G-course.

Depending on the degree program, German language skills at level B2 or C1 are required. When applying, you must provide proof of your German language skills in the form of a language certificate. An application without a language certificate is incomplete and will not be considered in the further application process. If you do not have a language certificate at the required level by the application deadline, you can apply with a language certificate at level B1.

After you have been admitted to study with us, you must submit a language certificate at the level required by the degree program by the start of your studies.

Information on the required levels, the certificates recognized by the Film University and exceptions can be found here.

An application fee is due for each application. Payment must be made in good time by bank transfer to the account specified here. No other payment methods are offered. International certificates

Transcripts and certificates must be submitted in either German or English translation.

For all Master's degree programs, as well as for some Bachelor's degree programs, applicants with a foreign university entrance qualification must have their certificates checked and evaluated by Uni-Assist before applying.

Please inform yourself about the certificate check by Uni-Assist.