Language Acquisition
The Master's program in East European Studies primarily aims to acquire and expand Eastern European language skills amounting to 15 credits. In justified cases, the examination board can also agree to learning additional languages upon request. The examination board can also, upon request, recognize German courses from level C2 and English courses from level C1 onwards, if the language skills are expanded beyond the level required for the application. The recognition must be clarified before attending the language course!
Polish and Russian
At the Language Center of the Free University, courses in Polish (A1 – B1.1, spread over a total of 4 semesters) and Russian (A1 – B2.1, spread over a total of 6 semesters) are offered free of charge. It would make sense and be desirable to aim for competencies in at least one language at a higher level (B1, B2).
Important: The beginner courses (introductory modules worth 10 CP) must be taken over 2 semesters. One semester in the introductory course is not considered a completed module.
Please note that the registration deadlines for language courses at the ZE Language Center (see below) differ from the registration process for other courses at the Free University. Registration for the courses at the Language Center of the FU Berlin takes place exclusively online via the Language Center (not via Campus Management!).
If you have previous knowledge that you did not acquire in a course at the FU Language Center, you must take the placement test before registering for the course. If you cannot come to the placement test due to urgent scheduling reasons, please contact the relevant language area.
Placement tests for the winter semester 2023/24:
Polish: In-person test on Monday, October 9, 2023, 2 p.m.; Location: ZE Language Center, K 25/10; Pre-register with Barbara Janisch by email by October 6th
Russian: self-placement test; Can be carried out flexibly until the course registration deadline on October 10, 2023, 9 a.m.; The document for the placement test will be published on the website in due course.
Other languages
External language courses can be recognized. Language skills should also be acquired abroad, for example. Courses from recognized institutions in Germany can also be taken into account, for example from other universities/colleges in Berlin and Brandenburg. Before attending the course, please discuss with the FU Language Center whether the chosen course can be recognized. Attention: You must acquire at least 10 CP in a language that you are learning.
- HU Language Center: Polish, Russian, Czech, Hungarian
- Center for Languages and Key Competencies (Zessko) at the University of Potsdam: Polish and Russian
- Language Center of the European University Viadrina (Fr/Oder): also Turkish and Ukrainian
For information about the recognition of language courses completed outside the FU Language Center, please contact studienkoordination@sprachzentrum.fu-berlin.de before attending the language course.