FAQs

The application deadline is November 30th each year.

To apply, please register for the online application platform and upload all documents there. You are not required to send any hard copies.

You will be notified before December 24th if you have been selected and whether you fulfil all formal requirements prescribed by the University of Freiburg. You will further receive a preliminary letter of acceptance (which can be downloaded via the application platform) so that you can start you visa process right away. The waiting list usually remains open until end of February/beginning of March.

If you are not a native speaker, you need to submit proof of English language competence. This can be either a test certificate, such as TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Certificate etc., a diploma where it is explicitly stated that English was the medium of instruction of your programme, or a certified letter by the examination office of your programme stating so. Note that a letter by a professor or head of department is not sufficient.

Please state the range of the grading scale used in your educational institution from the highest mark to the minimum pass mark. This serves as a point of reference to the grade of your degree.

Different examples of grading scales used globally would be (non-exhaustive):

• A – D 
• 100 % – 59 % 
• 4.0 – 1.0

You have to submit all of your documents by the application deadline November 30th.

If you are not finished with your Bachelor’s degree at the time of sending your application or if you do not have your official diploma yet, please submit an official interim certificate issued by your university before November 30th. The certificate has to state that you completed your Bachelor’s degree or that you will do so before April 1st (beginning of first GSP semester). The official diploma, or a certified copy thereof, must then be presented when enrolling at the University of Freiburg (Immatrikulation).

The diploma is the most essential part of the application for the formal admission at the University of Freiburg.

If you studied in the United States or Canada and you have not received a diploma at the end of your studies, you need to submit a transcript of records stating your degree was conferred, the date of conferral and your grade. 

If you studied in a country that is not the United States or Canada and you have not received a diploma at the end of your studies, please find out from your university whether you can request your diploma now. Please inform us as early as possible: gspinfo@mail.uni-freiburg.de

Your diploma and transcript of records have to be translated (by a certified translator) if they are in a language other than English or German. Always submit certified versions of both the original and the translated documents.

Note that all other parts of the application have to be in English.

Your application is ranked according to your Bachelor grades, your letter of motivation and your essay. Note that incomplete applications cannot be considered.

The letter of motivation (approximately 600 words) is one of the most important elements of your application. The motivation letter should elaborate on your study intentions as well as your professional intentions, and it should very clearly convey your motivation for the program. Rather than elaborating on your personal biography or making abstract statements, we recommend focusing on clear and specific reasons for your application, for example by highlighting the links between your academic background as well as your non-academic experiences and the GSP curriculum. You can also include work experience, internships, volunteering, independent projects, etc.

Please follow these guiding questions when you compose your motivation letter:

• Why do you want to participate in a Social Sciences programme with a global
  orientation?
• How do you relate to one or more disciplines that are part of GSP?
• How do your experiences (work, study, volunteering, stays abroad etc.) relate to GSP
  and its curriculum?
• What makes you want to study in an interdisciplinary and international programme?
• What academic questions do you want to pursue in relation to GSP?
• Which issues/problems/questions incite an academic passion in you?
• What achievement or experience do you think makes you particularly suitable for GSP?
• Why would GSP enrich your academic career?
• What goals do you have that GSP can help you achieve?

If you have a place on the waiting list, there is still a chance you will get a place in the Global Studies Programme. Whenever someone declines their participation, the next student on the waiting list takes their place. For this reason students can move up on the list up until end of February/beginning of March.

If you already have a Bachelor and a Master degree, please upload both of your diplomas and both of your transcripts into the application platform. The documents from your Bachelor are crucial for your application since they formally qualify you for our programme. The documents from your Master provide further insights on your academic profile, but they are not as relevant for the formal admission process.

For the online application we prefer scans of the original documents. If you have been accepted to the programme and need to enroll at the University of Freiburg in person you then need to present either the original document or a certified copy.

An official certified copy means you have to obtain a verification of your document from an official administration authority such as your university, embassy or another public authority. This authority has to compare your copy with the original document and verify the authenticity of your copies. The verification may include a signature and/or stamp made directly on the copy by the authority.

Even if you already created an account for HISinOne before, you will need to create a new account on the platform. The accounts are only valid for one application period.

If you are using a mobile device, we recommend trying a computer or laptop instead. If this is not the problem, please first take a look at the help-documents provided by the platform. If your problem is not discussed in these documents, you can write an email to gspinfo@mail.uni-freiburg.de and describe your problem in detail. If possible, please also send along a screenshot so that we can better help you solve the issue.

If you forgot your password, you can write an email to gspinfo@mail.uni-freiburg.de, stating your name and application number. We can re-set your password for you. If you have not yet started your application or you are not very far yet, you can also just create a new account and start again. 

For your application you are required to submit an essay addressing a specific topic. This topic changes every year. For reference, the topic for the 2026 intake was:

Discuss the impact of globalization with reference to empirical developments of the past 4 weeks. Whether you discuss phenomena at the local, regional, national, or supranational level is up to you.

This task is intended to assess your independent thinking and ability to apply concepts to real-world developments. Since this is a Social Science program it might be beneficial to choose a topic that is related to one of the topics that we cover in the program. That way you can also show the members of the selection committee your knowledge about the discipline.

When reviewing your essay, we will pay particular attention to the originality of your ideas. We encourage you to include references to personal experiences, and expect you to support your argument with academic literature.

The essay should be maximum 800 words in length, excluding references. Please include a word count at the end of the document.

Do not use generative AI tools to produce your answer as this will not fulfil the assignment’s requirements. Please be aware that we receive a large number of applications every year. Across these applications, stark parallels in topic selection and phrasing often render AI use visible or will, at the very least, prevent your application from standing out.

Due to the unique structure of our program with the two compulsory terms abroad, it is unfortunately not possible to transfer credits from a previous degree and to be admitted into a higher semester.

This only concerns applicants from China, Mongolia, India, and Vietnam. Unfortunately the APS needs to be submitted until the application deadline on November 30th. We cannot accepts the APS certificate at a later point.

No. We only require a proof of English proficiency (equivalent to B2 or higher). Knowledge of German is not required in order to study the Global Studies Programme. For living in Germany during the first and last semester it is nevertheless useful if students learn some basic German.

For some visa applications students need to specify whether they have an “unconditional” or “conditional” letter of admission. If you encounter this question, please select “unconditional”.

Please check our website first. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: gspinfo@mail.uni-freiburg.de . We are also happy to connect you to one of our current students so that they can tell you more about their personal experience.

You can contact the GSP Office via email for all questions regarding the application process. If necessary, we can arrange a call to answer your questions.

Dr. Joana Hofstetter (Interim Programme Director) offers online consultation hours for interested applicants and prospective students on request. 

Please contact the GSP office gspinfo@mail.uni-freiburg.de or Dr. Joana Hofstetter joana.hofstetter(at)soziologie.uni-freiburg.de via email.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to postpone your studies to a later point in time. If you are unable to take up your studies after being offered a seat, we encourage you to apply again during the next application period and to indicate on the application form that you have been admitted before. If your application is again ranked highly, we can admit you once again. We understand that lengthy and unpredictable visa processes are common and may disrupt your ability to start your studies on time. If you are notified of extended wait times for a visa appointment but have met all other requirements, please reach out to us immediately.  

No, the program only begins in the summer semester (April of each year). The application deadline is November 30^th each year.

International students matriculate (= enrol) at the Admissions Office of the Student Service Center (Sedanstraße 6). Please visit their office during the matriculation period indicated in your letter of acceptance. You will be able to download your letter of acceptance directly from HISinOne once you are accepted in the Global Studies Programme.

There are 42 seats in the Global Studies Programme each year.

GSP alumni pursued a variety of careers. There are three main career paths, namely academia, international organisations (such as the UN or NGOs) and development cooperation. Several other alumni are now working in the fields of media, coaching, consulting, politics and many others.

An overview of the estimated costs and fees can be found on this site. All amounts are estimates and will be confirmed in the course of the program.

Please note: The tuition fees for non-EU students are currently 1.500,00 € per term at the University of Freiburg.

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide any scholarships at the moment. Nevertheless, GSP can provide a letter of eligibility for external scholarships. In the past, many Global Studies students successfully applied to scholarships from the DAAD or the Deutschlandstipendium.

For your assistance we prepared a register on available scholarships from German organisations for studying in Germany and abroad.

Student accommodation will be provided in New Delhi and Bangkok. For the semesters in Freiburg there will be a limited number of rooms available for international students. For Buenos Aires and Cape Town orientation on how to find accommodation will be provided by the staff at each location.

The federal state of Baden-Württemberg currently charges tuition fees for all non-EU students while they are enrolled at a university here (1.500,00 € for each term). This also applies to the Global Studies Programme at the University of Freiburg. This means that in order to complete our programme you will need to pay the fees at the University of Freiburg for two or three terms (depending on your Master thesis timeline), in addition to the fees at our partner universities.

For further information on the tuition fees charged by the federal state, see the tuition fee website.

Please note: The terms at our partner universities (2^nd and 3^rd term) are not affected by the German university fees for international students (since you will in most cases not be enrolled in Freiburg during this time), here the tuition fees stay the same (please see the details on costs & fees).

Students might be able to apply individually for a deferment, waiver or reimbursement of the tuition fees at our university’s admission office. For further information on which requirements you need to fulfill, please see the tuition fee website.

Yes, it is a compulsory component of the Global Studies Programme to spend the second and third term at our partner universities. It is not possible to replace a term abroad through classes in Freiburg.

Students should put some time and thought into their decision before specifying their preferred study location during the application process. During the decision-making process you can take the characteristics of each location into account as well as personal factors.

Concerning the characteristics of the locations, applicants are encouraged to take the information into account that we provide on the GSP semesters at each location (University of Cape Town, FLACSO Argentina, Chulalongkorn University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University). For many applicants the following points are important to consider: the extent to which they can choose classes themselves, the amount of contact with local students, the focus of the methodological training, the student-teacher ratio, the location of the dorms in relation to the campus, and the general academic focus of the departments. Personal factors might be your degree of (un)familiarity with a certain country, your language skills, and your interest in certain regions

All applicants need a study visa and are responsible for their own visa application process. As there are different visa regulations from country to country, we cannot keep track of all information relevant to our students. Please contact the German consulate closest to you and find out about the application requirements pertaining to your case.

General rules:

• Do not enter Germany on a tourist visa. You need a study visa. It depends on your country whether you can get a visa for the whole two years or separate visas for the first and fourth semester.
• As soon as you apply for GSP – or even before you apply – get an overview of the application process for study visa in your country.
• If you need an interview appointment to apply for a study visa, find out about the time frame needed in order to have your visa and travel to Germany in the beginning of April.
• As soon as you have a (provisional) admission letter, apply for your study visa.

We can provide:

• a confirmation of (prospective) study
• visa experiences from former/current students

You can find further details on the visa processes for our partner universities on the respective pages (University of Cape Town, FLACSO Argentina, Chulalongkorn University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University).

We understand that lengthy and unpredictable visa processes are common and may disrupt your ability to start your studies on time. If you are notified of extended wait times for a visa appointment but have met all other requirements, please reach out to us immediately.

In order to prepare students for their professional life, an internship of at least three weeks is a compulsory component of the curriculum. The internship should be in one of the prospective areas of later employment. For many students it actually becomes the stepping-stone into professional life.

At least three weeks, if you want to receive credits for your Master’s programme. The internship can be conducted remotely or part-time as well. We support students who want to do longer internships or several internships.

To get credits for your internship you have to fill out the internship form, write a report and present your internship in our internship forum during your 4th semester.