Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Department of Social Sciences

Course Registration

In general, most courses are open and accessible for exchange students. However, to some extent their capacity is limited, particularly for courses taught in English. For this reason, exchange students should register for courses as soon as practicable over the electronic course catalogue AGNES. In case this is not possible, students should get in contact with course leaders by email before the start of the course.

Please note: the course catalogue is newly published every semester, which means the course offering changes every semester!

Some courses are neither aimed at nor recommended for exchange students. Included here are, for example, MA-project seminars due to their length (two semesters) and the amount of work required. Furthermore, participation for exchange students is not possible for BA courses for Fundamental and Methods Modules (M1 to M10). On the one hand, it is expected that exchange students have already covered the theoretical and methodical fundamentals at their home university prior to their period of study abroad, and on the other hand these modules are required for regular students, who receive priority as a result. Exchange students may attend the fundamental lectures, however, the course requirements can be fulfilled with an exam.

Students can register for courses from September or March until the end of the first week of the semester. This is done with a HU account over AGNES. Students are recommended to register for all courses in which they are interested, in order to be able to try them out in the first week. Students must then deregister from the courses that they do not intend to complete within the required deadline.

One course normally runs over one semester (around 16 weeks in autumn and 14 seeks in spring/summer) and is comprised of two hours per week (2 SWS, hours of study per week). Advanced seminars are an exception to this rule, as they are usually comprised of 4 hours of study per week (4 SWS).

Apart from the guidelines above, the Department does not require exchange students to take specific courses. It is however important to discuss course choice with the student’s home university, in order to ensure that the courses chosen will be recognised and signed off on the learning agreement from both sides during the first week of the semester.


Furthermore, it is possible to take courses in other faculties of the HU (except the Faculty of Language, Literature and Humanities) and other universities in Berlin and Brandenburg (Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Universität Potsdam). Each university has its own course catalogue and attendance is to be agreed independently with the course leader, as is the proof of fulfilment of course requirements.

Furthermore, the Humboldt-Universität offers an interdisciplinary programme in English and German for international students of all faculties, the Berlin Perspectives Programme, which has a specific focus on Berlin and on questions focused on the city.  Participating students can take a free German course composed of 4 hours per week (4 SWS) at the Language Centre of the Humboldt-Universität.