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Preparation

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Arrival/Pick-Up Service

Arrival/Pick-Up Service

Arrival / Pick-up Service

 

On 28 August 2025, the day of arrival, we will welcome you at our JLU booth on platform 1, Giessen railway station, between 8.00 am and 7.00 pm. We will hand out your room keys and personally accompany you to the student dormitory. Please inform us in advance of your exact time of arrival:

 

sommerkurs-aaa@admin.uni-giessen.de.

 

If you want to arrive earlier please contact the and find out when and how you can get your room keys!

 

Please note: As we start with the placement test on 29 August 2025, we strongly recommend that you do not arrive late!

 

 

 

Travel Information

Due to the central location of Giessen and the immediate proximity to Frankfurt Airport, the city can easily be reached by various means of transportation:

 

It is best to fly directly to Frankfurt Rhein/Main Airport (FRA) and not to Frankfurt Hahn Airport since Hahn is actually located in the Hunsrück Mountains, about 150 kilometers away from Frankfurt/Main and 200 km away from Giessen.

If you still intend to arrive at Hahn, take the Airport Bus (click on "Frankfurt" on the map of these pages of Hahn Airport) to Frankfurt/Main Hauptbahnhof (main train station - 1 hour and 45 min.). Trains from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof to Giessen leave every hour.

Having arrived at Frankfurt/Main Airport, take either local S-Bahn or regional trains (RE) from Frankfurt Airport Regionalbahnhof at Terminal 1 to Frankfurt Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) or take fast InterCity (IC) and ICE trains from Frankfurt/Main Airport Fernbahnhof at Terminal 1 to Frankfurt Central Station (Hauptbahnhof). Trains leave every 15 min.
Trains from Frankfurt Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) to Giessen leave at least every hour.

 

Giessen is well connected to Europe’s rail network. All European train connections to and from Giessen can be found on www.bahn.de.

 

Various operators connect European cities directly with the city of Giessen (the bus terminal is in front of the main train station) or Frankfurt.

Giessen is reached by long-distance buses from almost 600 German and European cities

 

Giessen is also well connected to the Autobahn/Motorway system. Google Maps enables you to find the fastest route to Giessen. If you arrive by car, you should still come to Giessen Main Train Station to pick up your keys for your room and for further information.

 

 

If you need a visa, please bear in mind that the application for a visa may take up to three months. Please contact your embassy or consulate as soon as possible.

 

 

 

Insurance

Insurance

Health insurance, personal liability insurance, and accident insurance are not included in the course fee.

If you live in a EU country, please bring along your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which is valid for the duration of the International Summer Course and your time of study.

If you come from a non-EU-country and you want to study in Giessen, you must register with a German health insurance company. You can register with a health insurance company during the International Summer Course in the first week of the course. Sufficient health insurance is mandatory. Health insurance for students costs approx. € 125 per month.

Please note: If you register with a health insurance company in Giessen, the insurance cover will only become effective on October 1!

We strongly recommend that you obtain a health insurance for the duration of your stay in your home country prior to departure. It should also cover your arrival and departure days.

Visa

Visa

Whether you need a (short-term) study/tourist visa to enter the Schengen Area of the European Union depends on your personal circumstances.

Please see the web pages of the German Foreign Office.

For a visa application you need to submit the following documents to your nearest German consulate 2 to 3 months at the latest before you commence your studies:

a Notification of Admission (when applying for a visa for the purpose of study, or Student Visa) or Acknowledgement of Application (for example, for the JLU Courses in German as a Foreign Language for Student Applicants, when applying for a Student Applicant's Visa)

and documentary proof of your possession of sufficient funds to complete your course of study

Financial proof can take the form of the promise of a grant by a public institution, a blocked account (€ 992 per month). If you possess private funds, you must present a legally certified financial declaration. Forms for this latter purpose can be obtained from the Giessen International Registration Authority.

Do NOT try to enter Germany on a tourist visa if you intend to study here. It is not possible to convert a tourist visa into a student visa – you would have to travel back home again and apply for the correct type of visa at your German embassy or consulate. All that, of course, would cost you a lot of time and money, and you might very well arrive back too late to start your course of study properly.

Exceptions: citizens of the EU, the USA, South Korea, Brazil and a few other countries are exempted from the obligation to possess an entry visa. Further information can be found here. Information on your particular status is available from the German embassy and consulates in your home country, and at Giessen's International Registration Authority.

Please note:

Most visa applications will take between six weeks and three months. For the visa process, you will probably need proof of sufficient health insurance plus a true copy (no email/fax) of an invitation letter from the Justus Liebig University Giessen. Please plan the start of your visa application process accordingly.

Make sure that your arrival and departure times correspond to the validity of your visa and the reservation of your accommodation.

DAAD Scholarships

DAAD Scholarships

DAAD scholarship

 

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) awards a limited number of University Summer Course Scholarships. The application period for a scholarship to participate in our International Summer Course 2025 is from 15 September 2024 to 1 December 2024. Further information can be found on the DAAD website.
 
Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the programme "University Summer Courses offered in Germany for Foreign Students and Graduates" can be found here.