Institute of Translation and Multilingual Communication – Incoming Exchange Students

For your information: You will be enrolled at the Institute of Translation and Multilingual Communication (ITMK) which is part of TH Köln´s Faculty of Information Science and Communication Studies (Faculty 03).

PLEASE NOTE: TH Köln´s Department of International Affairs located at the Claudiusstrasse building at Südstadt Campus is in charge of the enrollment of all exchange students. Enrolment is done completely digitally via TH Köln's online portal Mobility Online.

By June 1st (winter term) / November 1st (summer term) incoming students have to register with Mobility Online and upload their Learning Agreement "Before the Mobility"!

Detailled information on how to register/enroll with TH Köln will be provided online on Mobility Online. In case of any queries regarding the enrollment process, please contact our Department of International Relations. However, you will find academic information on our study program that you need to prepare your Learning Agreement here on this website under "Course Catalogue / Study Plan for Incoming Students" and below.

Once you have completed the online registration, you can download your Letter of Admission (Zulassungsschreiben) via Mobility Online. The Letter of Admission serves as proof that the TH Köln accepts you as an exchange student. You can use it as proof with all authorities and also for a rental contract with the Kölner Studierendenwerk. 

To complete your enrolment, you must transfer the semester fee to the TH Köln. Afterwards you will receive your:

CampusID, which gives you access to TH Köln`s online services. Then you will also have access to the ILU-ILIAS learning platform of the TH Köln. You will also receive your TH student ID card, the "MultiCa", which you can pick up from the Department of International Affairs at the beginning of the semester.

The Department of International Affairs organizes virtual information sessions for exchange students before the lectures starts. You must attend one of these info sessions!

Please find the dates here.

Welcome to TH Köln´s ITMK!

We are delighted that you will spend your semester or year aborad with us. At TH Köln you will study at the Institute of Translation and Multilingual Communication (ITMK) which is part of the Faculty of Information Science and Communication Studies (Faculty 03). The ITMK is located at THK´s Südstadt Campus (Uberring 48 building).

At the ITMK you will be enrolled in the three-year bachelor's degree program "Mehrsprachige Kommunikation (Multilingual Communication) and can take courses from all three years of study.
 

The winter semester 2024/25 lectures at the ITMK start on Monday October 7, 2024.

The classes are mainly held in presence. They take place at the Ubierring 48 building at Südstadt Campus of the TH Köln.

New ITMK exchange students receive up-to-date academic information by email and in our Info Sessions via Zoom (for dates, see "ITMK Info Sessions / Orientation Meetings" below). And always also on this website!

General information on preparing for your study stay at the TH Köln, for example on accommodation or health insurance, can be found on the websites of TH Köln´s Department of International Affairs. 

We strongly recommend you to read the booklett "Startklar" on the right under Studying at the ITMK in order to prepare on how the study process at the TH is organised and which IT services the TH Köln offers for this purpose. To the right you will also find a webpage link to video tutorials, for example on the CampusID or how to validate the semester ticket on the MultiCa. By the way, the TH Köln uses the learning platform "ILU-ILIAS", for which you can also find a video tutorial. So it's worth taking a look ;-)

Wintersemester 2024/25
Information Sessions for exchange students + arrival planning

Dear exchange students,
Your studies at the ITMK begin with several compulsory Information Sessions via. Please find the dates below. Attendance is mandatory for all incoming exchange students!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Before the start of lectures, all students must register online for their courses at ITMK. The course booking date for the WiSe 2024/25 will take place at the beginning of October in presence. Attendance is mandatory in any case!

→ In order to inform and advise you in the best possible way, we organize the following Info Sessions:

• July, 18, 2024, 1 pm: Zoom Info Session // First Information for ITMK Erasmus+ Incomings + information on courses (Zoom-log-in-dates follow via E-Mail)
• October, 1st, 2024, 3:50 - 6 pm: Online course selection // we meet in presence in room 306/307 at Ubierring 48, 50678 Köln
• October 2nd, 2024, 2-4 pm: Online course selection part 2 // // we meet in presence in room 306/307 at Ubierring 48, 50678 Köln
• October, 14th, 2024, 1 pm: Zoom Info Session // Learning Agreement During The Mobility 
• November, 15th 2024, 1 pm: Zoom Info Session // Erasmus+ exams

Please note: all information concerning our "induction days" that take place between September 30 to October 2 have been send to you via E-Mail by me. Therefore we always use the E-Mail account that you put in in Mobility Online.

Arrival in Cologne: We recommend that you arrive at least 2 to 3 weeks before the lectures starts. This will give you enough time to move into your appartment, pick up your MultiCa from the Department of International Affairs and take care of all other formalities in Cologne (e.g. registering your place of residence). If you rent a room in a hall of residence from the Kölner Studierendenwerk, please enquire when you can move into the room (the first day of the month is usually the start of rent for rooms/flats).

Good to know: October 3rd is a public holiday in Germany. Offices and shops as well as the TH are closed on these days.

The winter semester 2024/25 lectures at the ITMK start in October, 7, 2024.

Please find the acadeic calendar for ITMK´s exchange students above on the right in the Studying at the ITMK box.

The ITMK offers degrees in applied foreign languages (English, French, Spanish). They are designed for students with German as their mother tongue, i.e. the basic language is German. The majority of the courses are held in German, and the administrative language is also German. 

All exchange students are therefore required to have a minimum level of B1 in German.

In addition, minimum levels in foreign languages apply for our BA programme "Mehrsprachige Kommunikation" (Multilingual Communication), namely:

Minimum level in Englisch = B2,
minimum level in French/Spanish = B1                                          

Please consider these levels as minimum prerequisites for the first year of study. For attending classes of higher years of study, higher language levels are logically required (especially for translation and interpreting classes). You should take this into consideration when choosing classes/creating your Learning Agreement and chose your project module.

If you do not have the entry levels, take advantage of the language learning opportunities offered by TH Köln´s Language Learning Centre (Sprachlernzentrum = SLZ). The SLZ specialises in language learning courses and offers courses in English, French, Spanish and Italian in addition to German. ATTENTION: Prerequisite for attending the SLZ courses is registration for a placement test before the start of the semester.

ITMK exchange students must take the online German placement test at TH Köln´s Language Learning Centre (SLZ) before the lectures start. Taking the German test is mandatory!

Register online for the test here! You will receive your test result by e-mail. It will determine which BA courses you are allowed to take at the ITMK.

With the test result you will also receive the option to take a free German course at the SLZ. The course comprises 4 SWS (= semester hours per week of 2 x 90 minutes) per week. If you attend regularly and successfully pass the final examination, you will receive 5 ECTS credits per course. Please note: Exchange students can only take one German course per semester at their German level (exception B2+ language level). Do you have any questions about the German courses? Then please contact the SLZ directly!

Please note for your timetable: Most of the SLZ courses take place at THK´s Campus Deutz (IWZ). From the Campus Südstadt (ITMK) you will need about 30 minutes by bus and tram to get to the Campus Deutz.

→ IMPORTANT: You can only take the following BA courses if you have been admitted to B2+ courses according to the SLZ German test:

• Übersetzungskurse von/nach Deutsch (translation classes)
• Dolmetschkurse von/nach Deutsch (interpreting classes)
• Proseminare
• Sprachpraktische Übung für AEL-Austauschstudierende
• Deutsche Landeskunde für AEL-Austauschstudierende

Thank you for understanding that we can accept the SLZ test results only.

Exchange students who wish to take BA courses in English at the ITMK must take the online English placement test at TH Köln´s Language Learning Centre (SLZ) before the start of lectures.

If this applies to you, then register online for the English test. You will receive the result by mail.

→ NOTE: With an English test result below B2+, we strongly recommend to enrol for an English course at the SLZ instead of taking BA courses in "Kompetenzerweiterung Englisch" at the ITMK. The reason is that the entrace level for our BA course "English Competence I" (= semester one class) is English B2. The levels of courses II and III are correspondingly higher. You can take one English course of your level at the SLZ per semester. Just like the German course, the SLZ English course comprises 4 SWS and 5 ECTS. All SLZ language courses are free of charge for TH Köln incomings. 

Moreover the SLZ offers language courses in French, Spanish and Italian.

Do you have any questions about the SLZ language courses? Then please contact the SLZ directly!

Please note for your timetable: Most of the SLZ courses take place at THK´s Campus Deutz (IWZ). From the Campus Südstadt (ITMK) you will need about 30 minutes by bus and tram to get to the Campus Deutz.

Since our course catalogue is published online on the UnivIS platform, we have created a UnivIS guide with screenshots for you. Please read the UnivIS guide carefully and try out putting together your timetable now!

What you should bear in mind when creating your study program:

• All exchange students must take the mandatory German placement test at TH Köln´s  Language Learning Centre before the lectures start. The test is compulsory! (See above: "Mandatory German Test / German Classes at TH Köln's SLZ).
• Those who wish to take English courses at the ITMK must also take the English test at the SLZ before the lectures start (see above: "English Test / Language Classes at TH Köln's SLZ").
• The prerequisite for attending a SLZ course is having taken the corresponding placement test. Exceptions are not granted by the SLZ.
• Exchange students can only take courses from our BA program Multilingual Communication (exception: Master's agreement). However, they can choose courses from all three BA study years and from both PO 7 and PO 8 versions of the BA.
• Our three-year BA Multilingual Communication is structured into an General Part + three Specializations. The Spezialiszations are: A: Translation and Specialized Communication - B: Transcultural Media Communications - C: Applied Languages in International Business Contexts
• For some courses (e.g. interpreting and translation courses) we require the German level B2+ (see below: "Particularities of some classes").
• You can find descriptions of the content of the BA courses in the module handbook (see under Study Information).
• The current range of courses (course catalogue) is published online on the UnivIS platform shortly before the semester starts (see UnivIS guide under Study Information).
• In the winter semester, BA courses of the 1st and 3rd semesters are offered (our 5th semester is a semester abroad). In the summer semester we offer courses of the 2nd, 4th and 6th semester.
• The semester at the TH Köln is divided into four parts: 6 weeks of lectures /// project week /// 6 weeks of lectures /// 2 to 3 weeks of exams. Exchange students must participate in the project week and take a compulsory module (see below: "Project week / Compulsory Modules").
• The ITMK offers 4 special courses for its exchange students: 2 courses for incoming students with German level below B2+ and 2 courses for incoming students with German level B2+. This course offer is optional.
• All exchange students compile their study plans individually and must register online for their courses before the start of lectures. You can find out how this works in the Info Sessions via Zoom (see above: "ITMK Info Sessions / Orientation Meetings").
• German as a foreign language classes at different levels are offered centrally by TH Köln´s Language Learning Centre (SLZ) of the TH Köln (see above: "Mandatory German Test / German Classes at TH Köln's SLZ").

Please note the following points while selecting your classes:

→ 1. Exchange students cannot attend the following classes:

• Kompetenzerweiterung (in your native language)
• Interkulturelle Wirtschaftskompetenz (in your native language)
• Zusatzsprache (in your native language)
• Integriertes Projekt Wirtschaft/Recht/Sprache 
• Vorbereitungskurs CPE

→ 2. For attending the following courses you need to be accepted for B2+ classes (= you German Language Level is B2) within the SLZ-German test result:

• Übersetzungskurse von/nach Deutsch (translation classes)
• Dolmetschkurse von/nach Deutsch (interpreting classes)
• Proseminare
• Sprachpraktische Übung für Austauschstudierende im BA AEL
• Deutsche Landeskunde für Austauschstudierende im BA AEL

→ 3. Some courses are rounded off with a practical examination (PP), which is not marked. The result ill be "passed" or "not passed", e.g.:

Projektmanagement mit Projekt “Sprache und Kultur“ (Project Management + Project , Language, Culture and Area Studies’)

→ 4. Some classes are organized as block classes (on one or several days). You can find all information on that on UnivIS.

→ 5. In order to choose English classes of the BA program at the ITMK you have to sit the English placement test at TH Köln's Sprachlernzentrum. Please make sure to register in time.

→ 6. Some classes are year-round classes and thus end with an exam at the end of the summerterm. Please consider that these classes require participation both in the winter and summerterm and can not be splitted. Only students that stay one semester at our institute will receive a special exam consisting of the content of the semester they study with us.

In the middle of the semester (both winter and summer semester), i.e. after six weeks of lecutres, the TH Köln conducts a university-wide project week. During this week, all ITMK students, including exchange students, must participate in a specific project from the module "Schlüsselqualifikationen" (Key Qualifications).

Attendance of module 06 3 "Key Qualifications" in the project week is mandatory for all exchange students.

In the winter semester, the module is connected to a semester course during the first six lecture weeks called "Vortrags- und Präsentationstechniken". Thus, students have to attend this course in combination with the project class during the project week. This is not the case in the summer semester. In the SuSe the course takes place only during the project week. As a conclusion, exchange students must take the following courses and list it in their Learning Agreement:

• Winter term "Projekt Vortrags-/Präsentationstechniken" (2,5 ECTS) (Presentation Skills and Public Speaking)
• Summer term: Projektmanagement mit Projekt “Sprache und Kultur (2,5 ECTS) (Project Management + Project , Language, Culture and Area Studies’) - attention: you will not get a mark for this summer term class!

All ITMK exchange students choose their classes individually on the basis of the current Erasmus+ lecture timetable and UnivIs and make up their individual timetable.

NOTE: You are obliged to submitt your Learning Agreement 1. before and 2. shortly after the lecures started at the ITMK. Because we as your host university have to check and sign your Learning Agreement (LA). These are the submission deadlines:

• 1st Learning Agreement part: Before the Mobility (BTM) = your provisional study plan/course selection. You are required to fill it in and upload it to Mobility Online by:

BTM deadline: WiSe June, 1 / SoSe November, 1.

• 2nd Learning Agreement part: During the Mobility (DTM) = your final study plan/course selection. You are required to fill in the classes you finally attend into your DTM part of the Learning Agreement in Mobility Online.
• Please make an appointment with your Erasmus tutor before finalizing your LA DTM in Mobility Online.
• He/She is the one to check and -when everything is correct- sign it.
•  The deadline for the LA DTM is:

DTM deadline WiSe 2024: October 25th, 2024

You are recommended to attend the remote info session "Learning Agreement During the Mobility" on October, 2024.

In November 2024 we will hold an info session giving "Instructions on exams for exchange students". There you will be provided you with detailed information on:

• How (and when) to register for the exams
• How to receive your grades
• How to retake an exam (if failed the first one)

Exchange students take their exams together with the ITMK students in the official exam period. Exams are scheduled at the end of the semester during an official exam period, which lasts approximately three weeks. Exceptions cannot be granted. There are two official exam periods at the ITMK:

• At the end of the winter term (approx. mid-January to early February)
• At the end of the summer term (approx. late June to mid-July)

The official exam schedule (called "Prüfungsplan") will be published on the ITMK website in November. All students can then compile their individual exam schedules.

Good luck with your exams!

All exams will be archived at the ITMK. Students have the opportunity to look through the exam after the assessment. For this, fixed times are appointed, for which students have to register in advance. In order to make an appointment please visit ITMK's website.