Our general German language courses are designed to accompany academic studies and are intended for enrolled students and staff at the University of Cologne, as well as for faculty members and visiting scholars from abroad and their family members who wish to learn or improve their German.

Our preparatory German courses are designed for persons with refugee status who wish to begin a German-language university program in Germany and already have a good command of German (at least at the B2 level).

Depending on your status group, there are different ways to register for a general German language course. Erasmus and exchange students should contact the Center for International Relations (ZiB) at their respective faculty. Exchange students from partner universities will be informed about the course offerings and the registration process during the application process. Students in the Studienstart International program should register through their coordinators. Students in English-language master’s programs and international doctoral candidates should register using the registration form for master’s and doctoral students. International researchers and their family members should register through the Welcome Center.

Current students should register for a follow-up course directly through the DaF Department. At the end of the semester, an informational email will be sent to all participants with details on how to register for courses in the next semester, along with the registration link.

Students do not need to register for a general German language course through KLIPS. The course and the grade will be recorded in KLIPS by the instructors only after the course has been successfully completed. You do not need to take any action on your own. If the course is not passed (for example, due to failure to meet the attendance requirement or failure of the final exam), the course will not appear in KLIPS and no grade will be recorded (not even a “Fail” notation).

To register for a preparatory German course, please contact the Academic Refugee Support Service at RefugeeAcademicSupport@verw.uni-koeln.de. Please note the application deadlines (August 15 for the course starting in October and February 15 for the course starting in April).

When registering for our language courses, participants’ existing German language skills are assessed through a digital placement test. If participants have no prior knowledge of German, they are placed in an A1 course. If participants already have some knowledge of German, we—or the relevant staff members at the ZiBs (Center for International Relations)—will send them a link to the placement test, which will be accessible for a specific period of time. The placement test is a C-test (fill-in-the-blank test) and is used to determine your current level of German. Depending on the test results, participants are assigned to levels A2 through C1.

We offer courses at all proficiency levels (A1–C2). We divide the B2 level into two courses: B2.1 and B2.2. All other proficiency levels are offered as a single course.

Yes, if you realize early on that the language course is too difficult, you have the option of switching to a lower language level. To do so, please send an email as soon as possible to daf@verw.uni-koeln.de and indicate your request to switch. The DaF team will then process your request and offer you a course at a lower level.

No, since the placement test reliably determines your actual language proficiency level, it is not possible to be placed in a higher-level course.

Yes, attendance at the German classes must be at least 70 percent. A minimum attendance rate of 70 percent is also required to take the final German exam.

You can find the course fees in the fee schedule on the website.

You will receive the invoice by email approximately two weeks after the course begins. Please pay the course fee by the specified deadline.

No, in order to take a final exam, you must enroll in a course and attend at least 70 percent of the class sessions.

Yes, if you do not pass the final exam, you will have to retake the entire course.