With regard to the required language certificates, the following aspects must be considered:

• As a rule, at least B1 level (Bachelor) or B2 (Master) is required, but the exact level depends on the partner university's requirements (please inform here after entering the desired partner university)

• CEFR language certificates can be issued by the Language Center
• The DAAD language certificate can be used as a template
• Central language tests at the Language Center

At universities where the language of instruction is a regional dialect, such as in Valencia, we pay particular attention to the language requirements being met due to previous difficulties and may set them higher (B2 instead of B1). Regardless of the university, the requirements for master's students are often slightly higher (B2 or C1) than for bachelor's students (mostly B1 or B2). It makes sense to find out about additional support offers regarding the language of instruction at the partner university, e.g. readings offered in English, even though the lecture is held in the national language.

Note regarding (Spanish) language certificates: The Sprachenzentrum of FU, especially Faculty for Spanish, has been issuing language certificates without requiring students to take a language test. The certificates are only issued on the basis of the Abitur certificates or other previously acquired documents. We hereby inform you that we do not accept language certificates based only on the Abitur certificate or other older documents as proof of language proficiency for the application for the Erasmus+ programme. It is essential to submit evidence based on a recent (not older than two years) and actual assessment of language skills for the application. We would like to point out the necessity to take care of the acquisition of a language certificate at an early stage, as the demand for language tests at the Language Center is often very high.

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Attention: Important information regarding English language tests at the FU Language Center (as of January 9, 2025):

Unfortunately, the Language Center does not currently have sufficient capacity to administer DAAD language certificate tests in English.

Please inform us when submitting your application, or earlier if necessary, if you intend to make use of the following solutions! This rule applies ONLY to English language certificates! To ensure that you can still submit your Erasmus+ application on time, we recommend the following:

 

Option 1:
Please take the OLS language test (free of charge). You can find the platform at: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/learn-a-new-language.

• Click on “join community” on the right (later “resume” if you have already clicked on join community), and the different languages will be displayed.

• Select your language and click on “join community” again. You should now be taken to a new page where you can take the placement test.

• If you cannot find the test in your language, simply enter “placement test” in the search bar and you will be shown the tests in all languages.

The EU has also put together a short module on how to create your account: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/welcome-to-the-eu-academy.

If you have any technical problems or feedback on the platform, please refer to the EU Help FAQ: https://academy.europa.eu/local/euacademy/pages/faq/question.php?id=30. 

You can submit the results of this test to your local Erasmus+ coordinator instead of the usual language certificate when applying to the institute/department. If you have registered for a test but it will not take place until after the application deadline, please let us know when you will be able to submit the test results.

This test is intended for language preparation after the selection of applicants. We therefore point out that in most cases the OLS test will NOT be sufficient as a basis for admission to the host university, but can only be accepted as proof of language proficiency for the application – any further tests must then be submitted for admission to the partner university.

Option 2:
Alternatively, we also recommend the Duolingo language test, which can also be taken online at short notice. It costs around €65-70, but is accepted by many universities as proof of language proficiency for admission. Please check whether the test is accepted as proof of language proficiency for admission to your desired universities, as otherwise further tests will have to be submitted for admission.
Information about the Duolingo English test can be found here: https://englishtest.duolingo.com/applicants.

Option 3:
Of course, you can still take other tests (IELTS, TOEFL, etc.) – the main purpose of this information is to provide you with alternatives to obtaining the free DAAD language certificate from the Language Center.

Students can submit proof of English proficiency until February 25, 2026. Please let us know when your test date is scheduled when you apply. Other deadlines and regulations regarding late submissions remain unaffected.

Good luck with your application!