Step 3: Application

How does the application work?

If students (also Erasmus and cooperating universities) want to apply for a study place via IS:link, they need access to the IS:link Clustdoc Tool, where the necessary documents for the application are uploaded. Students will receive this access after the initial consultation appointment with the IS:link team (from step 2).

Clustdoc follows its own process with 5 steps:

  1. Step: Application information (info about this step on this page)
  2. Step: Master data (info about this step on this page)
  3. Step: Learning Agreement, Certificate of Achievement, Link to the course descriptions and Module Description (To be found in Step 4: Admission Procedure).
  4. Step: Semester abroad and Transcript of Records (To be found in Step 5: Recognition)
  5. Step: Recognition (In Step 5: Finding Recognition)

Differences between IS:link and Erasmus

In order to start the semester abroad, students have to apply for a study place at a partner university. There are several application procedures, depending on whether a study place at the foreign university of choice via IS:link or the Erasmus+ program is individually more suitable. With the first application procedure, students apply at IS:link for a study place at the desired university. If the application is made via Erasmus, it must then be submitted via the International Office. A further application procedure is the direct application to the respective university (step 4).

Regardless of whether the study place is ultimately obtained through IS:link or Erasmus abroad, it is necessary that all students apply to IS:link.

Application Information

The individual application documents must be merged into a single PDF document and uploaded via the Clustdoc tool by the deadline.

Due to limited study place quotas, it is mandatory to indicate six desired universities in the application! Due to the different nomination deadlines of the foreign universities to be considered, students are bound to the IS:link application deadline.
 

The application deadline for stays abroad in the latest application period can be found HERE.

The application process for the remaining Erasmus places and IS:link places will be reopened at a later date. Information will follow at a later date.

The application can only be considered if it includes all required documents.
 

Required documents

The application via IS:link requires the following documents, which are mandatory to be submitted to IS:link via Clustdoc:

  • Counseling information signed by the student (to be uploaded separately in advance).
  • Transcript of records (for students who received their bachelor's degree at another university and general students in the 1st master's semester, the bachelor's degree certificate with transcript must be submitted as proof of records)
  • Current curriculum vitae with photo
  • Passport photo
  • Letter of motivation in English (max. 3 pages)

Applications that are incomplete or submitted after the deadline cannot be considered

Selection procedure

The IS:link network has different study place allotments available at different cooperation partners. It is therefore possible that the number of interested students is larger than the number of available study places at the university of choice. For this reason, a selection procedure has been introduced that takes both academic performance and individual motivation into account. Thus, the allocation of places at the cooperating universities is based on the following criteria: the student's academic performance in the Master's program in Business Information Systems, the number of semesters studied, and the personal background and motivation outlined in the letter of motivation. In contrast to the "first come, first served" principle, this procedure offers students an equal chance of obtaining a place at their university of choice abroad by the application deadline.

As soon as the application documents have been received, they are reviewed by IS:link and consultation is held as to which study place option is individually suitable. Thereupon, the students are either released for application via Erasmus or (in case of a study place via IS:link) the above mentioned selection procedure for the allocation of IS:link study places is opened.

Subsequently, the study place allocation is carried out by IS:link. Students who are assigned a study place at a cooperating university by IS:link are obliged to officially accept or reject this study place by mail. Only after the official acceptance of the study place the nomination of the student at the partner university takes place.

A letter of motivation is a discussion in which students explain their motivation and personal suitability for the semester abroad. The focus of the letter should be to explain in a comprehensible and convincing way the reasons for choosing the six universities of choice. A successful letter of motivation is characterized by the fact that, in addition to naming academic advantages, it also establishes a link between the individual biography and the potential of studying abroad for the respective student. In order to allow sufficient space for the written elaboration of individual factors, the letter should be 1.5 to a maximum of 3 pages in length (Arial 11 or Times New Roman 12, justified type with automatic hyphenation at a line spacing of 1.5 and the preset "Normal" margins in Microsoft Word). In addition to formal and content criteria, language correctness is also taken into account. The letter of motivation must be written in English and must state the motivations of three of the six desired universities to be indicated. Thus, care must also be taken to indicate the prioritization of the desired partner university in the letter. The letter of motivation must be in letter form!Here you can find instructions on how to do this.

 

    We have changed our consultaion hours.

    Current consultation hours:

    • Tuesday: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
    • Wednesday: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

    Received nomination, now what?

    Once students have been informed which university they have been nominated for, it is a matter of planning the study abroad program in detail, especially the composition of the courses.

    Once the nomination is complete, the respective partner university will contact the student to inform them of the next steps.

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