International Office

Competent support from the ISM International Office

The International Office helps ISM students to arrange their stay abroad and looks after them while they are away. The office team assists students in finding the most appropriate partner university and they are always there to help students who are currently studying abroad.

Before ISM students decide which of around 190 foreign partner universities they would like to attend, the International Office helps them to find out all about the ISM's network of partner universities and the different options that are available. The International Office organizes presentations in which they explain the study programs of the different partner universities, or ISM students report on their study abroad experiences. Links to the partner university websites and printed informational materials make it easier for ISM students to choose the right university for them. Once students have selected a partner university, they discuss and agree the major fields of specialization with the International Office.

The local universities and fellow students in higher semesters can help students to find suitable accommodation when needed.

Partner Universities

At the ISM, we believe in the importance of an international education. That's why foreign semesters at one of around 190 partner universities are an integral part of all our study programs.

Special partners for special study programs

The choice of universities at which bachelor's and master's students can spend their integrated foreign semester depends on their course of study. The number of international universities they can choose from varies according to their particular field of specialization. Bachelor's students can study at partner universities around the world. Students in a specialized ISM master's program, meanwhile, can choose from a selected range of high quality international programs that offer the right area of specialization in Europe and further afield.

To find out which partner universities you can visit for your integrated foreign semester in the individual bachelor's and consecutive master's programs, please visit the individual study programs:

The Semester Abroad

The International Office (IO) is always there to answer any questions ISM students might have about the foreign semester. This dedicated service center assists students throughout their course of study in preparing and following up on the time they spend abroad. This ensures that all the study credits earned abroad are recognized in Germany. The IO also helps students to organize and coordinate the process of applying to the partner universities and recommends contacts for any issues that students might have while they are abroad.

The IO gives a presentation to new students in their very first semester at the ISM to explain the different ways in which they can spend time abroad. New students also have the possibility of discussing individual experiences and exchanging views with students who have returned from their stay abroad. This gives new students a better idea of the ISM's international profile and its global network of partner universities.

In the second semester, the IO advises students on both academic and extracurricular matters in specialized briefings on the foreign semester. These events are a forum for international exchange students to share their own experiences, for example, and are thus a valuable source of first-hand advice for ISM students. Representatives of partner universities also visit the ISM to present their institutions to students.

Furthermore, the IO helps students to find and obtain grants for their foreign semesters. Grants may be available from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or through the Erasmus+ program, for example. And last but not least, global track students are prepared early on - during their fifth and sixth semesters - for their compulsory second foreign semester in the final seventh semester.