Yes, this is generally possible but not recommended in terms of workload.

As the name suggests, the study plan (to be found in the study and examination
regulations) is exemplary. However, it makes sense to take the modules of the
disciplinary area in the given order, since they build upon each other. For the
modules of the interdisciplinary elective area, as well as for the internship, you
can decide freely when to complete the necessary credits.

Freie Universität provides resources for students with chronic illnesses including counseling, compensatory arrangements for admission to studies, compensation for disadvantages during studies and examinations, structural adjustments, study financing and housing search, additional needs and aids due to disabilities, and other measures. Students interested in these services should contact the Office for Students with Special Needs at Freie Universität Berlin ("Beratung für Studierende mit Behinderung und chronischen Erkrankungen") by e-mail, telephone or in person at any time. For contact information as well as additional resources, please visit their website here.

In order to stay enrolled, you need to re-register at Freie Universität every semester. You have to re-register university by paying the semester fees.
Please see here for information on how re-registration at FU works.

This website tries to summarise all the important information for you. Feel free to click through it first. There is also a presentation of the degree programme on the Department of Earth Sciences website and the Human Geography Department website.

All important information on the programme's structure is summarized in the study and examination regulations (“Studien- und Prüfungsordnung”). Here you find the Study and Examination Regulations (in English, unofficial preliminary translation), and here the official German version.

Please reach out to our staff via email on global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de after checking whether your quaestion has already been answered in one of our 3 FAQs here or on the rest of this website. You can expect to be supported by a student assistant / cohort mentor or one of our lecturers. You can also register directly with who you would like to talk to during their Office Hours slots.

Apart from this, here is a website with additional contact and acameic advising by the department. Here you finde the website of the Student Council Initiative (FSI) Geography (German only) or its instagram page.

You don't need to register anything before finding a prospective supervisor. The formal registering of the thesis is only due once the concept is set, and your supervisor can support you with registering. You can find the application form here on the department website.

Once you want to begin with your Master’s thesis, please chose a prospective supervisor and approach her*him in the office hour. Generally, all lecturers in Human Geography with a Phd (Dr.) can supervise Master’s thesis. The formal registering of the thesis is only due once the concept is set, which you will design in consultation with your supervisor.

A secondary correction is also required for the assessment of the thesis. This can also be done by an external person from another department or university, as long as they have the appropriate expertise and academic degree.The person in charge of the second correction can of course also provide advice on content/concepts.

In case you’ve written an above-average thesis, your work can be published in Berlin Geographical Papers and/or Refubium. Apart from this, we’re happy to put your thesis on the website. There is also a broad variety of open access papers that are not connected to out institute, such as Transcience Journal and New Sociological Perspectives, for example.

You can freely select any modules not offered by a geography department, as these electives are intended to be taken across different disciplines. You do not have to limit yourself to the FU and can also take modules at all other universities and colleges; however, it is required that your elective modules are hosted by/belong to a study program at the Master’s level (no Bachelors modules can be accredited toward your M.Sc.). Modules offered within the BUA (Berlin University Alliance) programs can be recognized and accredited as interdisciplinary electives for your M.Sc. Unfortunately, language courses are not recognized. Nevertheless, these regulations should not prevent you from taking courses that interest you, even if you cannot receive academic credit. Courses that are not included in your overall grade can still be listed on your final diploma.

It is important that you complete a whole module, as partial credit cannot be given for completing single classes or seminars within a module. Sometimes a module consists of only one course (such as a seminar, a block seminar, a weekly lab session, etc.); sometimes, however, a module can consist of multiple courses (such as a seminar and a lecture, two seminars, a seminar and a lab session, etc.). In this case, you would need to complete all necessary courses within one module in order to have this work counted toward your degree. What constitutes a module vs. an individual course therein is always laid out in the Study and Examination Regulations for each study program (German abbreviation: StPO)  or the university's/faculty's course catalog. If you're unsure, you can ask the teaching staff responsible for the class you are interested in.

No; you are free to choose any modules that fit the parameters described in the question above. There are contingents available for only the Department of History and Cultural Studies (see question on contingency agreements below). Outside of this contingency agreement with the Department of History and Cultural Studies (German abbreviation: GeschKult), you can complete a full module at any university or college of your interest, provided the parameters listed above apply and the professor/lecturer responsible for each course has agreed to your participation.

There is only one formal contingency agreement with another department at the FU Berlin, and that is with the Department of History and Cultural Studies (German abbreviation: GeschKult). There are five spots available for students from our Master’s program which are given out once a year; usually the deadline for applying for one of these spots within the contingency agreement is in late August or early September. More information can be found here (unfortunately not translated into English; if you require translation assistance, please contact fellow students or our student mentors at global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de) or by contacting the Study and Examination Office (German: Studien und Prüfungsbüro).

After the application deadline, students who receive a contingency spot are reported to the GeschKult department by our examination office. Master’s students are provided with individual modules, and not module packages (this is only the case for Bachelor’s students), therefore, please let the examination office know your specific module requests for GeschKult when you apply. As soon as processing is complete, students can register for their module's courses as usual within Campus Management.

Please see also the following information on the website of the GeschKult department.

The language of instruction and/or examination for these modules does not have to be English. 

It depends on the course, as there is no specific regulation for this in our study regulations. However, if the course you are taking allows you to choose, you can decide whether you would like to receive a grade that is reflected in your overall final average.

There are three possibilities:

1. If it is a course at the FU, you can contact Ms. Zech / Ms. Nardozza (geopruef@zedat.fu-berlin.de) from the Examination Office (German: Studien und Prüfungsbüro) so that they can manually enter the course you have taken into Campus Management. The lecturer of your elective module can then enter your grade or a "pass/fail" as per usual, after the course has been completed.
2. Alternatively, you can also have a written certificate of successful course completion, the so-called "Leistungsnachweis" or “Teilnahmebestätigung”, handed out on paper. Especially if you have taken a course outside the FU, this is the usual procedure. The certificate is usually issued by the faculty where you are taking your course.
3. If you have completed your interdisciplinary elective modules during a semester abroad (i.e., Erasmus, Direct Exchange), your final transcript of records, which shows the number of credits achieved, the names of the modules completed as well as your final grades will serve as your proof of successful course completion. In the case that your transcript does not show a) credit points in terms of ECTS or b) grades that correspond to the German grading system used at the FU, you will have to additionally submit proof of translation of your credits and grades achieved into the German FU system. We recommend that you use the FU-internal grade translation guidelines; these can be found on the FU website here, available unfortunately only in German language, as a link embedded under “hier” in the following sentence on the website (please note that this link can only be opened when logged into the FU wifi or when using a VPN): “Eine Empfehlung zur Umrechnung im Ausland erbrachter Noten finden Sie hier. Bitte beachten Sie, dass diese Tabelle nur zur FU-internen Nutzung vorgesehen ist und daher nur aus dem FU Netz abrufbar ist.”

For this, you need your original certificates of successful course completion as issued and signed by your professor/lecturer, or the corresponding printouts from Campus Management. You must hand these in together with the completed form "Accreditation of Coursework" to the head of the examination board via E-Mail at humangeoexam@geo.fu-berlin.de, once you have all necessary 15 credit points. The head of the examination board determines whether the elective modules can be recognized and, if they agree, they sign the form for you and forward all documents directly to the examination office. The form for the accreditation can be found on the → forms page.

To accredit electives or courses completed abroad for the Master's programme, please use this form. TYou will hand in this form, once you have successfully completed all 15 interdisciplinary elective credits, together with your proof of successful course completion (see question above) to the examination board for our Master’s program. Please fill out one form only for all your completed modules! Toni Schmiz is the contact person for the Examination Board. For enquiries in this regard, please contact humangeoexam@geo.fu-berlin.de.

There are several Scholarship programs, such as the PROMOS Scholarship for studying abroad and the Fulbright Scholarships for studying or researching in the US.

If you are planning to study or do an internship within Europe in one of the Erasmus+ Programme Countries, you can apply for Erasmus+ funding.

Erasmus+ Partner Countries (worldwide) is primarily aimed at researchers and employees. However, there are some subject-specific funding opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Balkan countries.

PROMOS also offers funding for final theses and group trips (for study projects e.g.) abroad.

The DAAD annual scholarship enables students to either study abroad for a full academic year or to combine study with an internship semester. It usually covers tuition fees, living expenses and travel expenses and is based on academic performance, motivation and aptitude. Exact conditions vary depending on the programme and host country. Further information can be found on the DAAD website.

International BAföG (Auslands-BAföG) provides financial support for students who wish to complete part of their studies abroad. It covers the additional costs of tuition fees, living expenses and travel expenses while abroad. The funding depends on the individual needs and financial circumstances of the student as well as the destination country of the stay abroad. Further information and application forms are available from the BAföG Office. Auslands-BAföG and Erasmus can be combined, with the former offering additional financial support. Conditions can vary depending on the country and situation, so students should contact the BAföG Office or the Erasmus coordinators at FU.

Yes, it is possible to apply for a semester-long leave of absence (“Urlaubssemester”) under certain conditions. For more information on how to apply for a leave of absence at FU, please see here.
Please note: Taking a leave of absence can have an impact on various bureaucratic matters (e.g. on grants or scholarships, social insurance contributions, tax matters, child benefit and allowances, …). If you need more information or advice on whether or not taking a leave of absence is a good choice in your specific situation, please contact FU's student advisory services.

You can spend a maximum of one year, meaning up to two semesters, abroad in each of the exchange formats. The 3rd and 4th semester are best suited for this.

Please note: The semesters at foreign universities often start earlier, so that our current semester overlaps with the semester abroad.

You have the choice between different Erasmus programs and the so-called direct exchange.

All important information can be found summarized here.

Both exchange formats also offer regular office hours, as well as information events on selected days:

• Direct Exchange Programs office hours: Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 am - 12:30 noon and from  2:00 - 5:00 pm.

• Erasmus+ office hours: Tue: 2.00 - 5.00 pm, Thu: 9.30 - 12.30 am (and by appointment)

The adress is:

International Student Mobility

Student Services Center
Iltisstr. 4
14195 Berlin

It is advisable to begin searching for an internship position several months before you wish to start working, as many employers place job advertisements and vacancies well in advance. Especially for internships with ministries, government departments, research organizations, foundations and companies, these places of work will typically post vacant positions and internship advertisements on their websites and on job-search platforms. Application processes can differ depending on what is required (for instance certificates, letters of recommendation, letters of motivation); these requirements are listed in the job advertisement or internship posting.

You are free to chose any organization in relevant fields for the Master’s program. You don’t need to register prior to the internship at FU. You just need to be certain that the internship suits the requirements in terms of time commitment and content. If you are not sure about a specific situation, please reach out to us via email on global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de.

Your internship must be related to the topics of the Master’s program, to geographic, social scientific, sociopolitical, economic or other related topics of global inequalities. This can include internships with non-governmental or not-for-profit organizations (NGOs), government ministries / institutions, research organizations / think tanks, foundations, planning agencies or companies. The focus should be on enhancing professional skills and on getting to know a broad variety of tasks within an organization, experience team work and to make professional connections.

You don’t need to confer your choice of internship giver with the responsible head of examination board of the Masters program at FU prior to the internship. You just need to be certain that the internship suits the requirements in terms of time commitment and content. If you are not sure about a specific internship offer, please reach out to us via email at global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de. The final recognition and accreditation of your internship is made by the head of the examination board.

If your search is not successful, please reach out to co-students. Only if this is not successful, please reach out to us via email at global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de. As a last step, it is possible to contact your professors / teaching staff.

The goal of this internship module is to give you the opportunity to engage with practical experiences in the field of geographies of global inequalities, to gain helpful insights into potential job opportunities but also to establish professional connections and contacts with potential employers and future places of work. Thus, the exploration of a new field of work is one central aim of the internship. Until September 30th 2025, previous jobs as a student assistant or others done in topics / organizations connected to our field will be considered based on fairness. After this deadline, you must apply for and execute a formal internship during your studies to have your credit points registered. If you are not sure about a specific situation, please reach out to us via email at global-inequalities@geo.fu-berlin.de.

Once you have successfully completed your internship of at least 240 working hours at a place of work related to the topics of the Master’s program, you must submit a request for accreditation to the head of the examination board at humangeoexam@geo.fu-berlin.de.

This submission must include:

• Proof of work (for instance in the form of an internship certificate or „Praktikumszeugnis“) that confirms a at least 240 working hours in total over a specified period of time; this equates to for example a full-time position (forty weekly hours) of six weeks, or a part time position (20 weekly hours) of three months. These hours must be clearly specified as such in your proof of work!
• A short description of the organization or place of work and of your role or tasks included during the internship
• The name and signature of your superior(s) / head of department / head of working group to confirm your proof of work

In order to be counted towards your internship module, your internship must amount to at least 240 working hours. This equates to for example a full-time position (forty weekly hours) over six weeks, or a part time position (20 weekly hours) over three months. Either the amount of hours or dates, specified if full-time, needs to be indicated in an internship certificate („Praktikumszeugnis“).

Yes.

It may be possible to send a speculative or unsolicited application even if there is not a current job advertisement. Sometimes this will be stated on the organization’s website as well. For an unsolicited internship application, you can find some more information and examples for what must necessarily be included here, if the organization does not otherwise specify:

• https://en.life-in-germany.de/unsolicited-application-in-germany/
• https://jobs.makesense.org/en/media/guide-candidat/comment-realiser-une-candidature-spontanee/

Some general advice on sending unsolicited internship applications is also available on the website of the University of Potsdam.

It is not necessarily advisable to send unsolicited applications to government departments or ministries if not otherwise advertised on their career websites, however, if you have time and energy to spare and this is truly your dream internship, nothing should stop you from reaching out.