5 Steps to Becoming an Exchange Student at TU Graz
-
Nomination
-
Online Application
-
Course Selection and Learning Agreement
-
Letter of Acceptance and Preparation
-
Welcome Events
Course Selection
You can take courses from different degree programmes / fields of study (except for architecture courses which are are for architecture students only).
Minimum: 20 ECTS awarded from TU Graz (Regular semester work load: 30 ECTS)
Please note: TU Graz cannot guarantee a place in courses with a limited number of participants! You are not automatically signed up for the courses in your (O)LA. Course registration starts prior to the semester and how to sign up for courses will be explained during the mandatory Welcome Events.
How to search for courses
Here are three ways to find the courses for your stay at TU Graz:
- Look up the curriculum of the degree programme that you applied for at TU Graz. You will find it on the page of the respective degree programme.
- Find courses in English on www.tugraz.at/go/search-courses
- Read reports of former students from your home university who studied at TU Graz as exchange students and find out which courses they recommend.
Course descriptions are available on TUGRAZonline and you can find the number of ECTS credits for a course if you click on “Status within Curriculum”. Exchange students receive highest number of ECTS credits awarded for a course.
Please note: If you search for winter semester courses, the course list for the upcoming academic year might not be updated yet. Have a look at the current course list. Most courses will be offered in the next academic year as well.
Courses at UNI Graz
You can also take courses at the University of Graz (UNI Graz). Please note the following:
f you are registered to a degree programme offered jointly by TU Graz and UNI Graz (applies to these degree programmes) you are a "NAWI Graz student" and therefore automatically co-registered at UNI Graz. In this case, you can attend as many courses as you like at both universities. After your stay you will receive one Transcript of Records listing all courses at University of Graz and TU Graz.
If you are not a NAWI Graz student, you can still attend individual courses (e.g. German courses) at UNI Graz, but the majority must be completed at TU Graz as the host university. We explain to you in the mandatory Welcome Events how co-registration works. Please note: You will receive a separate Transcript of Records from UNI Graz with all the course you have successfully completed there in addition to your TU Graz Transcript of Records. Please check back with your home university regarding the recognition of courses with 2 separate Transcripts of Records.
Learning Agreement
A Learning Agreement is basically a written understanding between you, your home university and TU Graz. A Learning Agreement is a three-step process:
- Step 1: You select courses from TU Graz that you think could fit in your study programme at home, and sign the Learning Agreement.
- Step 2: Your home university agrees to your course choice, and signs the Learning Agreement. They guarantee to recognise these courses.
- Step 3: TU Graz confirms that your course choice is appropriate to your previous academic background (according to your Transcript of Records that you have submitted in the document section), and signs the Learning Agreement.
Erasmus+: Online Learning Agreement (OLA)
If you are an Erasmus+ student, you will most likely need an OLA. Follow the steps below:
- Select the courses you would like to attend and make a note of the course numbers, titles and ECTS.
- Create and sign your Learning Agreement via the platform your home university uses for OLAs.
- Your home university has to sign the OLA and send it to TU Graz.
- Once the International Office at TU Graz has checked your OLA, it will be forwarded to your Departmental Coordinator (DC) at TU Graz.
- The DC will check your OLA and sign it, or reject it if there is something missing and/or wrong.
Should your OLA be rejected, adapt the one you have already made – DO NOT CREATE A NEW ONE!
Other programmes: Paper-based Learning Agreement (LA)
If you are an OverSEAs or ISEP student or come to TU Graz with BOSE or CEEPUS, you will need to do the paper-based LA.
Therefore you fill in your LA within the application workflow on our Mobility-Online platform. You have direct access to the course offer at TU Graz in your exchange semester and just click on the courses that will be inserted automatically in the LA.
The International Office then checks your course selection and forwards your Learning Agreement to the respective Departmental Coordinator for signature. Then you have to sign the LA and forward it to your home university for signature, then upload the signed LA to Mobility-Online.
Please watch this step-by-step video tutorial on how to create a paper-based LA in Mobility-Online.
Frequently Asked Questions
As an exchange student, you may take any course that is offered in English (or German if you are proficient enough) and for which you have required knowledge. That means you can also take courses from all other degree programmes/fields of study.
The only exception: Architecture courses are for students enrolled in the Architecture degree programme only.
As TU Graz is in Austria, and Austria is a German speaking country, many courses at TU Graz, especially in the Bachelor programmes, are only offered in German.
Students who are advanced in their Bachelor studies (5th or 6th semester), have the required qualifications and sufficient academic background in the field, may take some lower-level Master courses, which are taught in English.
Once accepted, your (O)LA can only be changed after arrival (if need be). We will explain how this is done during the mandatory Welcome Events.
Yes. If you come to TU Graz for your Master thesis, in your (O)LA, instead of (or additionally to) your course selection, please type “Master thesis”, the preliminary topic and the name of your supervisor, and leave the ECTS section empty. ECTS are awarded according to work load. A full master thesis equals 30 ECTS. These ECTS will not show in your transcript of TU Graz. You will receive a confirmation of project instead.
You are a NAWI Graz student if you are registered at TU Graz as a student of the following study programmes:
Bachelor's degree programmes
- Chemistry
- Earth Sciences
- Environmental Systems Sciences / Natural Sciences - Technology
- Mathematics
- Molecular Biology
- Physics
Master's degree programmes
- Advanced Materials Sciences
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine
- Biotechnology
- Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Data Science
- Environmental Systems Sciences / Natural Sciences Technology
- Geosciences
- Geospatial Technologies
- Mathematics
- Molecular Microbiology
- Physics
- Plant Sciences
- Space Sciences and Earth from Space
- Technical Chemistry
- Technical Physics
As Austria is a German speaking country, attendance of a German language course is highly recommended. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn a new language or improve your German skills!
Intensive Course prior to the Semester
Many exchange students participate in the German Intensive course prior to the semester and start to make new friends there. The intensive German language course is organised by treffpunkt sprachen and takes place before the beginning of the winter and summer semesters in September and February. It lasts three weeks every day from 9:00 to 12:15 and earns you 6 ECTS credit points.
Course during the Semester
You can also take a Geman language course during the semester. Upon successful completion of the course, you receive a certificate with ECTS credit points. German courses during the semester start in October or March and are taught on a weekly base. You will receive 3 ECTS for 2 hours a week.
NOTE: You need to register for the language courses directly at treffpunkt sprachen. You will receive further information during the TU Graz Orientation Sessions. If you are co-registered with UNI Graz because you are not a NAWI student, you will receive a separate Transcript of Records from UNI Graz which lists your successfully completed German courses and awarded ECTS.
