During your stay
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Welcome to Darmstadt!
This section gives you an overview of the things you‘re required to do upon your arrival as well as fun and cultural things and events in and around Darmstadt!
1. Welcome and Orientation Days
Our Welcome and Orientation Days take place during September and March, respectively. Our program includes:
- Administrative matters: information sessions on all the things you need to know (such as how things work at h_da, how to open a bank account, how to sign up for classes, how to apply for a residence permit etc.) & a welcome meetup at your department
- German language and culture: There will be pre-semester German classes as well as a workshop on intercultural awareness
- Fun activities: a welcome dinner, trips to other cities nearby (such as Marburg, Mainz, etc.), trips within Darmstadt, and many more
The exact program will be sent to you by email and ebe announced in our Meetup group in due course.
2. Registration with the city
Every German resident has to register with the city within the first two weeks after moving into a new room or apartment. Most of you will be living in Darmstadt. We will go to Darmstadt City Hall togehter in September, or March, respectively. Those of you living in Dieburg, please make an appointment yourself. Once you receive the appointment, write us an email. Make sure you bring the following documents with you on the day of the appointment:
- your passport / ID card
- the document confirming that you‘ve moved into your room / apartment by your landlord (called “wohnungsgeberbestätigung“)
If you move again, you have to register your new adress as well. Please book an appointment yourself using the online tool by the city (if you live in Darmstadt):
Choose "Meldewesen" > "Anmeldung (Einzelperson)"
Move-in confirmation
Students who stay in one of the residence halls run by Studierendenwerk Darmstadt will be handed out a document confirming that they have moved in to their rooms automatically on their move-in day. The document is called "Wohnungsgeberbestätigung".
Students staying at a private apartment or a room in a flatshare need to ask their landlord or landlady to fill out the form for them.
Dowload the "Wohnungsgeberbestätigung" (see "Formulare“ box – the document is called "Anmeldeformular Wohnsitz").
Radio & TV fee
In Germany, every household has to pay a so-called broadcasting fee (“Rundfunkbeitrag“) to use the radio and the TV. The fee needs to be paid, even though you may not consume any German radio or TV. It is a little less than 20 euros per month. If you‘re living in a shared apartment, the fee will be divided by the number of people living in your apartment. If you live on your own, you have to pay the entire amount.
3. Opening a bank account
For those of you living in one of the rooms of the residence halls run by the Studierendenwerk, having a German bank account is necessary.
In some cases, having a bank account in the EU/EEA is enough – but please check back with the Studierendenwerk.
Other landlords too may prefer their tenants to have a German bank account, but please check back with your landlord.
To open a bank account in Germany, the following documents are typically required:
- an ID or passport
- a confirmation of your registration with City Hall
- an enrollment certificate
This means you will not be able to open a bank account before you have registered your address with City Hall and paid the semester contribution.
There are many banks in Darmstadt as well as online banks with very different conditions. Note that we‘re not allowed to recommend a specific bank to you, but we will discuss general options during our information session on how to open a bank account.
We do recommend choosing a bank that lets you withdraw money from the ATM for free and/or where the bank account comes with a debit card (called “EC-Karte“ or “Girocard“ in German), as this proves to come in extremely handy.
If you require a blocked bank account for your visa or residence permit as well, you may want to consider choosing a bank that offers both a regular bank account and a blocked bank account. It‘s not a necessity to have the two types of bank account with the same bank, though, so feel free to choose different banks for that.
4. Classes
During our Welcome & Orientation Days you have the chance to take part in classes on German languate and culture. In April, and October, respectively, classes at your h_da department will begin.
6. German language and culture classes
During the months of September and March, we offer German language and culture classes:
German language classes
During our Welcome & Orientation Days, there will be pre-semester German classes which typically run for three weeks. We will also offer German classes throughout the semester. The classes are offered by the Language Center. For an overview of German classes, click here: https://sprachen.h-da.de/.
Even though some of you will be studying in English, we highly recommend learning some German. It‘s a nice feeling to be able to order a cup of coffee – eine Tasse Kaffee – at the café.
Meet-and-greet event
There will be a special Meet-and-Greet event at your department in September, and March, respectively. During the Meet-and-Greet event, the professor(s) in charge of international students at your respective department will welcome you to the department and tell you how things work at that department, which classes would be a good fit for you etc. The dates of our Meet-and-Greet events will be made available through the Meetup.
Signing up for classes
The deadlines to sign up for classes are different from one deprtment to another. You will find them out during the Meet & Greet event at your department. The dates for the Meet & Greet events are posted on Meetup (see here for details on our Meetup group).
my.h-da & OBS tutorials
h_da has two student management platforms - my.h-da and OBS ("Online Booking System"). Except for the Computer Science and Media Departments, all other departments use my.h-da.de to sign up for classes and exams. The Department of Computer Sciences and Media uses OBS. Watch the following tutorials:
(Erasmus) Learning Agreement
Make sure you fill out your (Erasmus) Learning Agreement and have it signed within the deadline. Read our instructions! Please also send it to the Examination Office(s) that is/are in charge of you. They require it to issue an official transcript of records for you after you've completed your exchange semester.
5. Campus Card & student account
After paying the semester contribution, you will receive
- your Campus Card (your student ID card and semester ticket / travel pass)
- a password to activate your h_da email account (you'll find the activation link further down)
The Campus Card and the password with which you will be able to set up your h_da email account will be sent to the International Office a few days after you have paid the semester contribution. Once h_da receives it, you will receive an email so you can collect if from our office.
With your Campus Card, you can:
- borrow books from the library
- use busses, trams and trains within the Rhine-Main (RMV) area (see below)
- rent bikes for free
- receive student discounts in movie theaters and other places
- use the laundry machine at the residence hall
- pay at the cafeteria / canteen
- have free entrance to Darmstadt Staatstheater (Darmstadt national theater)
How to use your Campus Card
You can use your Campus Card to pay for your meals at the cafeteria as well as for the washing machines in the Studierendenwerk Darmstadt residence halls. More functions are explained on this website.
Public transport travel pass/ticket
Your Campus Card is not just your student ID card, it‘s also your public transport travel pass (called Semesterticket) that lets you use almost any bus, tram and regional train in Germany. To activate the Deutschlandticket (Germany travel pass) that is part of your Campus Card, it is necessary to update your address in my.h-da. Should you have a question about this, please turn to technik@asta-hda.de.
Beginner's guide to German trains
This endearing YouTube video walks you through how German trains work.
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Contact
Marina Zielke (she/her) &
Ronja Schneider (she/her)
Incoming exchange students advisors
+49.6151.533-68014
+49.6151.533-60022
incoming.int@h-da.de
Office: C23, 02.10