University of Cologne

Since I studied at the law faculty this review is based on my experiences there. First some general information about the UzK: The different faculties aren’t on one specific campus, but are all quite near to each other. especially nice is that between the different buildings there are huge grass fields where during summer time almost the whole city sits, relaxes, plays or has a bbq. Also right next to the main Building there is the „kwartier latäng“ where you can find a lot of bars, restaurants and clubs. Equipment-wise I would say the UzK still needs to improve: a lot of buildings need some work and are rather old fashioned. Out of that reason there is already a lot of construction work happening, to what there will hopefull follow a modern campus! The organization of your studies works fine via Klips and Ilias. There is a nice support system if you have problems. The best thing about the university of cologne in m opinion is cologne itself! Cologne has a lot of parks and the Rhine gives it a special summer vibe. Especially during carnival season the city turns into one big party and to experience that is really unique. Also the Cologne people are unique: sometimes harsh, but connected through a big solidarity with their city and its traditions. I can definitely recommend studying not the nicest city on earth!

In this review, I will point out some maybe a bit more negative points but also add solutions to them for students. The University of Cologne is well known in Germany. It gives you good career options. There are many Erasmus students every semester and the city is known for being a city for students. This is obviously cool - but there are some things that might be good to know before attending the University. First of all, the online system with which students sign into the University, into their courses and sign up for exams, get their grades back is called Klips2.0. This online system is old and very complicated. I would recommend to take care of registrations as soon as possible to avoid last minute stress. Also, you can always contact AEGEE-Köln in case you need a little help _A second good thing to know is that with Hochschulsport, every student can attend a big variety of sports courses in a lot of different sport types in gyms all over Cologne. I highly recommend going to the internet site of „hochschulsport köln“ to see the program and join the courses. Sports is important. Thirdly, I would recommend to join a student association to meet people. You can inform yourself even before arriving to Cologne. Of course, a good assocation is AEGEE-Köln. Why join directly? Because Cologne is quite a big city and the University is big too. Many classes take place in big rooms. I think that it makes things a lot easier to meet people by attending meetings from student associations. Also, there is a facebook group for erasmus students, where you can see when and where parties take place. The best thing is to attend them early in the semester. Overall, I had a good experience at the University of Cologne and could really feel the student-spirit when I lived there for my studies.

As an Erasmus Geography student at the University of Cologne, I have had an amazing year. It has been hard, as I didn't speak German very well in the beginning, but thanks to the patience of the teachers and good help of other Erasmus students I have made it true the year. I have learned a lot of German, about Germany and it's culture. Studying geography at this university you learn a lot about Germany but also about human geography on a world level. You will have to assist many seminars where you learn how to give presentations, work in groups and read scientific texts in German and English. Classes are very big so it is a little hard to make good contact with other classmates, also because between one and another class the classmates chance. The campus is very big, with many different buildings but you can find each very good with an app of the campus. There is also a really big beautiful park in the middle where students use to come together on sunny days. Otherwise, they spend the days at the 'mensa', cafeteria or in the library. The university is generally good organized but they could improve the 'German course for Erasmus students'. I personally think that there are fewer places available for the big amount of Erasmus students that are interested in learning the language. I didn't get into a course till March, and I arrived in Cologne on October the previous year.