Information for ERASMUS Incomings

ERASMUS Coordinators

For all of LMU: International Students Office
For Media Informatics: Alexander De Luca

Welcome to the Media Informatics Group
Requirements for Studying Media Informatics
First Steps
Application at LMU
University Matriculation
The Student ID Card
Accommodation
The Academic Year at LMU
Lectures at the Media Informatics Group
The LMU Grading System
German Language Courses
Post-Arrival Orientation Course (Einführungskurs)
Online Forum For IT Students
Re-Registration
Withdrawal (Exmatriculation)

Welcome to the Media Informatics Group

Thank you for being interested in studying at Munich Media Informatics Group! We would like to give you a short impression of the Media Informatics Group and some practical information for organizing and enjoying your stay.

Requirements for Studying Media Informatics

You want to study Media Informatics at our university? Good choice :-) There are some requirements that you should meet. First of all, you need to be able to work in a practical and application-oriented way. Additionally, a good understanding of theoretical basics is necessary. An interest in art, music and design can be very helpful.

Understanding and speaking English and German is essential for most of our courses. Although most of the material provided during courses will be in English, many lectures will be read in German.

First Steps

Once your own university has acknowledged that you are going to participate in its ERASMUS programme, you should contact the ERASMUS coordinators of the University of Munich (LMU):

Jean Schleiss and Andrea Blei (ERASMUS coordinators)
ERASMUS-Koordination / International Office
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
80539 München, Germany
Phone +49 89 2180 3807, Fax +49 89 2180 3136, E-Mail

The International Office will send you all the information you need for your application to the LMU. You will also receive information packages (about the city and university) as well as accommodation reservation forms for a number of student accommodation facilities here in Munich.
Alexander De Luca is the ERASMUS coordinator for Media Informatics. He will be happy to help you with questions specific to Media Informatics, for example questions about our lectures, about possibilities for Software Engineering projects, etc. He cannot process ERASMUS applications, this is only done by the International Office. You can also contact Max Maurer or take a closer look at our complete team.

Application at LMU

Please make sure to return your application (to Jean Schleiss, address mentioned above) as soon as possible in order to meet the following deadlines:

For the winter semester: July 15
For the summer semester: January 15

Apart from the application, do not forget to send the following documents:

Your admission to the ERASMUS programme
A passport-sized photo of yourself

The LMU provides more information about Semester Dates & Enrollment for International Students.

University Matriculation

Once your application at the LMU was successful, matriculation will be your next important step. The matriculation dates can be found in your Letter of Admission. Usually, the registration for the Winter Semester takes place in October, for the Summer Semester in March/April. If, for any reason, it should be necessary for you to matriculate at an earlier date, please contact the International Students Office to make an appointment. Do not forget to take all the required documents with you! They will be listed in your Letter of Admission. Note that no other person but you will be authorized to complete the matriculation, so please appear in person.

Unless instructed otherwise, you should go to:

International Office
Rooms G 020 and G 024
Ludwigstr. 27 (ground floor)

The LMU provides more information on matriculation for international students.

The Student ID Card

You will receive your Student ID Card after a successful matriculation at LMU. Until you receive the final ID and the matriculation certificates (they will be mailed to you before the beginning of the semester), you will have a provisional one. These official papers are valid documents for various authorities, or entitle you to pay reduced entry fees, e.g. for public transport in Munich, at theatres or LMU parties.

Accommodation

To be honest, housing in Munich is hard to find. It is also pretty expensive compared to other German cities. However, there are several ways for international students to find a room for a reasonable price.

The Studentenwerk (student services) offers a limited number of rooms, some of them are guaranteed to international students. You will receive an Antrag auf Zimmerreservierung (request for room reservation) from the International Office along with their letter of admission. Please make sure to send it back by July 15 for a room in winter semester, or January 15 for a room in summer semester. If you receive an assignment, the Studentenwerk will send you information about your room, a rental agreement and instructions.

If your request for room reservation was not successful, or if you prefer private housing, the LMU provides helpful information on housing in Munich for you.

The Academic Year at LMU

The academic year is divided into 2 semesters:

The winter semester (WS): October 1 to March 31
The summer semester (SS): April 1 to September 30

Classes are held during the lecture period, or Vorlesungszeit, and term papers are usually written afterwards in the semester breaks. There is no set exam period. The lecture periods are as follows:

Winter semester 2007/2008: 15.10.2007 to 09.02.2008
Summer semester 2008: 14.04.2008 to 19.07.2008
Winter semester 2008/2009: 13.10.2008 to 07.02.2009

Lectures at the Media Informatics Group

A large number of different courses are offered by the computer science department and the Media Informatics Group, which is a part of CS. An overview of the modules and lectures is available. This also includes information on ECTS credits, examinations etc. For further questions, please contact our ERASMUS coordinators.

A section containing information about the current lectures by the Media Informatics Group is available. Selecting one of the listed lectures will take you to teaching material, important dates and news. Be sure to also have a look at the lectures offered by other computer science units.

Lectures

Lectures (Vorlesungen, often accompanied by exercises sessions or Übungen) are the most common type of teaching. The aim of a lecture is mainly to give the students a theoretical knowledge of the subject. Registration to attend is not required most of the time, the number of participants is not limited. Credit points will be obtained in written examinations (Klausur). The number of credits depends on the number of academic hours (academic hour = 45 min.) per week (Semesterwochenstunden, SWS) of which the lecture consists. Normally a lecture consists of two to four SWS.

Tutorials

Lectures can be supported by tutorials (Tutorium, plural Tutorien). Tutorials will help the student to deepen the topics taught in a lecture under supervision. There are no assessments.

Seminars

Seminars (Proseminare or Seminare) will train the ability to apply theoretical knowledge to problem solving. Normally, registration to attend a seminar is required, the number of participants is limited. Deadlines for application are indicated in course descriptions. Assessment is based on different kinds of assessments, like essays, class presentations and written exams.

Practical Courses

A practical course (Praktikum) is a course, often in a specialized field of study, that is designed to offer students a supervised practical application of a previously studied theory. It consists of two parts, general meetings and practical training. During the meetings, the knowledge necessary to solve the assignements is presented. During the practical training, groups of three to five students will work on complex problems.

The LMU Grading System

The German scale of grades is from 1 to 5:

1 = very good
2 = good
3 = satisfactory
4 = sufficient
5 = unsatisfactory

If a course is graded with 4 or above then you have passed and will receive credits for the course.

International University Club Munich (IUCM)

German Language Courses

The International University Club (IUC) organises pre-term courses as well as courses during the winter semester. Please consult the Students' Guide or the IUC website for more details. The fee for both the beginners' and the advanced course is 100€.

Post-Arrival Orientation Course (Einführungskurs)

For newly enrolled students who start with the bachelor course in the winter semester, useful information is provided on the pages of the student representatives (Gruppe Aktiver Fachschafter). Among other things, an orientation phase takes place a few days before the start of the semester. During this phase, new students learn to find their way around the university.

Alternatively, the International University Club (IUC) offers a post-arrival orientation course in the first two weeks of October. Please consult the Students' Guide or the IUC website for more information. The fee for this course is 110€.

Online Forum For IT Students

If you have any questions about courses or the university in general, you can visit the student-run discussion forum of the Department of Computer Science die-informatiker.net. Hundreds of students are active in this forum and will be happy to help you, no matter what your questions are. The forum language is generally German, but you can post your questions in English as well - use the "LFE Medieninformatik" section.

Re-Registration

If you plan to stay at LMU Munich for more than one semester, you need to renew your matriculation each semester before the previous semester ends. Just pay your student services fee (Studentenwerkbeitrag), and you are re-registered. Your enrolment papers provide information on deadlines and procedures along with a bank transfer form to pay the fee.

Please look for detailed information on re-registration on the LMU website.

Withdrawal (Exmatriculation)

Before you return to your home country, remember to officially withdraw from LMU München. To do this, go to the registrar (Studentenkanzlei):
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 (main building)
Room E011, 1 & 2

You will need:

A filled-out exmatriculation form, available at the Studentenkanzlei
Your matriculation book (Studienbuch), except for exchange students
Your student ID card (Studentenausweis)
If you have completed a program or degree, some certification

Alternatively, you can exmatriculate by mail, sending copies of the above documents to:
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Referat II A 2 - Studentenkanzlei
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
80539 München

The LMU website provides more information on exmatricaulation.