Incoming Exchange Students -
Registering for courses at the Department of English

Whether you are studying at Vienna University within one of the many existing Erasmus/LLP programmes, or coming to Vienna from one of the US-American, Australian and Asian universities with which the University of Vienna has set up cooperations in the last years, we at the English Department cordially welcome students from abroad and do our best to accommodate you on those courses which you either need to take and/or are particularly interested in.

We hope that the following information will be helpful. Please read it carefully.

1. CONTACT PERSONS for course registration
2. The new UNIVIS online course registration system
3. Limited space on English Language Courses
4. SEMINAR courses

1. CONTACT PERSONS - Who should contact whom?

ERASMUS STUDENTS coming to Vienna within one of our department's Erasmus programmes should contact their respective departmental coordinator: either Dr Barbara Soukup, Dr Bettina Thurner (American Studies programme) or Mag. Monika Wittmann. 

ERASMUS STUDENTS coming under exchanges with other departments at Vienna University - e.g. the German Department, the Department of Romance Languages, CompLit, Campus Europae, etc., but wishing to study (also) courses at the Department of English - should contact Mag. Barbara Olsson.

OVERSEAS EXCHANGE STUDENTS coming from the USA, Canada, Australia or Asia ("Joint Study", Erasmus Mundus) are welcome to contact Mag. Monika Wittmann.

CEEPUS students: Mag. Monika Wittmann 

Please get in touch with your contact person at least three weeks before the official semester start (no later than 10 September!!). 

2. The UNIVIS online course registration system and the English Department

Almost all departments at the University of Vienna are by now using the UNIVIS online system for course registration. Please set up your UNET/UNIVIS account as soon as you have received all the necessary details from the UoV International Office, and familiarize yourself with the course registration dates of the various study programmes / departments via the UoV Student Information office. (Both offices also provide a host of other useful information, including an Erasmus Welcome Guide.)

The registration system DOES NOT WORK along the FIRST-COME-FIRST-SERVED principle; changes to course choices can be made during the entire registration period (usually one or two weeks). All course choices are processed only at the end of the respective registration phase; a second application period is usually offered, although some 70 per cent of places are usually allocated during the first phase.

In order to make course registration at the English department easier for international students and avoid the problem of prerequisites, all exchange students interested in studying English must write an email with their course preferences (course number and short course title) to their respective contact person (see above) before / by 21 September (2011). Where possible, exchange students will be guaranteed a place, and their names will be forwarded (by the contact person) to the departmental registration team; otherwise the contact person will suggest alternatives. Please note that there will be no extra confirmation of place before all applications have been processed (i.e. end of September); however, you will be able to follow the status of your course registration on the UNIVIS system.

3. Limited space on English Language Courses

Unfortunately, the number of places on English Language Courses which we can offer to exchange students is more limited than in other areas (such as literature or linguistics). According to our study programme, one language course per semester is taken. Please note that our courses start at Level B2 ("independent user" in the European Frame of Reference, which is the official Austrian school-leaving standard) and lead up to C2 (in the MA programme).

• BA Module M-02 (taken in semesters 1 and 2)
  Integrated Language and Study Skills 1 (ILSS 1) (starting from level B2) 
  Integrated Language and Study Skills 2 (ILSS 2)
  We regret that we are unable to admit Erasmus students to these courses as they are examined together at the end of the second course part (ILSS 2). No separete assessment is possible.
• BA-Module M-03.1 (sem. 3): Language in Use 1  [starting at high B2 level]
• BA-Module M-03.2 (sem. 4): Language in Use 2
• BA Module M-04 (sem. 3+) Practical Phonetics and Oral Presentation Skills (1 & 2)
• BA Module M-05 (sem. 5/6): Professional Language Skills (English in a Professional Context etc.)

Most of these modules / courses build up on one another, and therefore only one such course can be taken per semester. Your contact person may be able to help with the course level if you are not sure which course is best suited to you. Please note that Practical Phonetics and Oral Communication Skills 1 is essentially a course helping you improve your pronunciation.
If it is felt that our course levels are too advanced for students seeking a place, the department may refuse to grant a place and may refer them to courses offered by the Sprachenzentrum (the university's Language Centre).

We hardly ever experience problems in admitting exchange students to linguistics, literature, cultural studies and English language teaching (didactics) courses of their choice.

Please note that courses called SEMINARE (abbrev. SE) are very advanced and should only be considered by students who have already gained some experience in writing longer academic papers. Seminar papers usually have a length of 8000 to 10,000 words or ca 20 typed pages. Instead, we recommend students to select courses of the VO, PS, KO or AR types (Vorlesung, Proseminar, Konversatorium, Arbeitsgemeinschaft) when looking for more advanced courses and specialised topics.

Page created by Monika Wittmann on 14 Sept 2008. Last update: 05 September 2011