Recognition of foreign courses


The Study Abroad Advisory takes care of course recognition from foreign courses taken abroad. You can either check the recognition of courses before your study abroad semester or apply for recognition of foreign courses which you have already acquired in previous studies.

  • Recognition of foreign courses before studying abroad: When participating in an exchange semester within the programmes from the university, we will advise you on your course choice and the recognition of these courses before your exchange semester starts. If you are planning to study abroad as a free mover, you can also contact us for advisory in advance.
    Please note: We highly recommend to get advisory on your courses well in advance in order to avoid problems with recognitions afterwards. Subsequent recognition of courses cannot be guaranteed.
  • Recognition from foreign courses which were already completed: If you wish to recognize courses which you have already completed at a foreign University, you can apply for recognition at the Study Abroad Advisory as well.



When planning to study abroad you can contact us about your course choice and recognition in advance of your semester abroad. We will check all previous recognitions in the recognition database in FlexStat. All courses, which have not been recognized yet, will be listed as “under appraisal” in your learning agreement and you can submit applications for recognition.

If you have already taken courses abroad and wish to transfer them to your study programme in Göttingen, you can also check previous recogntions in FlexStat. Already recognized courses can be directly transferred by the examination office. If there are no previous recognitions available, you can apply for recognition.

Please note: Recognition is only possible at the same academic level according to the General Examination Regulations (APO): Bachelor students can only accredit bachelor courses, master students can accredit master courses. br>


Please fill out the recognition form as detailed as possible. Additionally, an official syllabus with literature references is required for each course (in English or German). The syllabus needs to prove the academic level (bachelor or master). Please add your learning agreement or Transcript of Records as well.

Please save all required documents in one PDF file and send it to auslandsstudium@wiwi.uni-goettingen.de.

More information about the required documents:

  • Recognition form: Please fill out the recognition form as detailed as possible. You can fill out and sign the document digitally.
  • Syllabus: The syllabus needs to be an original document from your University and should include detailed information about literature and assignments of the course. If you don’t have access to an original documents, you can also submit a website link. The syllabus needs to be submitted in English or German. If the original version is not available in these languages, you may translate the content yourself.
  • Signed Learning Agreement (before the mobility) or Transcript of Records
  • Description of study programme: A description of your study programme including the overall credits and regular length of studies. This is only necessary to calculate the conversion from local credits into ECTS (please check questions four).




Under "Preferred recognition for" you indicate for which Göttingen module or for which area of your studies you would like to apply for the recognition. Here you have the following choice:

  • Equivalent recognition: The foreign course is recognized 1:1 to a module of the Faculty of Business and Economics. The contents as well as the workload must overlap for the most part. In this case, you will receive the ECTS points that are awarded for the Göttingen module and you can include the foreign course in your study programme analogous to the module number of the Göttingen module.
  • Recognition for an area in your study programme : If the content of the foreign course does not overlap with a Göttingen module, but still fits into a focus or specialization area of your study programme, you can apply for recognition for a specific area. Examples: Specialization areas with focus in the Business Administration and Economics Bachelor's degree; Economics core curriculum in the 2-subject Bachelor's degree in Economics; Specialization areas with focus in the individual Master's degree programs, elective areas in all degree programs. In case of recognition in a specific area, foreign credits will be converted into ECTS and added to that area. How to convert non-European credits into ECTS is explained in the next step.




Non-European credits are converted into the ECTS system with a conversion factor based on the regular credits requirement and regular study length of the foreign study programme . A list of conversion factors from many foreign universities as well as information about the conversion of grades can be found on the examination office’s website.

Any questions, please directly refer to our colleagues at the examination office: wiwipa@uni-goettingen.de


We check your application documents for completeness and forward them to the responsible colleagues for your study programme. They evaluate the contents and make a decision about the recognition. Evaluation can take up to six to eight weeks.
The decision will be forwared to the examination office and the recognition will be added to the FlexStat recognitions database. Afterwards, you will receive an email by the examination office about the result of your application. The recognition is valid for five years.

If the application for recognition is denied, we will contact you and advise you on alternatives.


Once your courses were successfully recognized, you can submit your Transcript of Records at the examination office for credit transfer. Your courses will be added to your FlexNow account.




Questions? Please contact us via email or visit our weekly office hours.