Enrolment for an exchange programme
Exchange students are enrolled at the International Office a few days after their arrival.
Prerequisites are proof of valid health insurance and - if desired - payment for the semester ticket.
You will then receive your student ID card, which is also your library card and gives you access to the university's IT services, including Wi-Fi, via the Notebook Café. With the student ID card, you only pay the reduced student prices for your meal in the canteen. You will need to complete a few steps to register at the university and in the city, which your mentor will help you with. All steps are listed on a"routing slip".
Health insurance
All students require sufficient health insurance valid in Germany for enrolment.
If you have a European Health Insurance Card or have taken out insurance for Germany in your home country, this will be accepted here. You then only need to go to a German health insurance company and have them confirm that you are insured. Two health insurance companies have branches on campus in the canteen building, but you can also go to any other health insurance company in Germany.
However, if you do not have a certificate from a health insurance company in your home country that is also valid in Germany, you must take out insurance with a German health insurance company. This costs approx. 90 euros per month.
Semester ticket / Semester fee
Exchange students do not pay tuition fees at Paderborn University.
However, a compulsory semester fee of approx. 350 euros must be paid. The semester fee includes the Asta and social contribution as well as the semester ticket. With the semester ticket, students can use all buses, trams, underground trains and regional trains throughout the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and even as far as Osnabrück and Hanover throughout the semester.
The semester ticket is valid for one semester, i.e. from October to March and from April to September. Newly enrolled students can also use it in the month before the start of the semester (i.e. in March or September).
The semester ticket is highly recommended, also because you need it for many excursions. For example, you can travel free of charge from Aachen to Paderborn via Cologne. Excursions to the Dutch border are also possible free of charge.