Admission

The Elite Graduate Program for East European Studies begins each year in the winter semester. Applications can be submitted every year from May 1 to June 15 at the online portal.

The graduate program targets German and international students who have already obtained an excellent or good grade in a first academic degree (generally a Bachelor’s degree) and who have a keen interest in Eastern Europe. Students will be required to explain their interest clearly during the selection procedure. All students wishing to embark on the degree program will need to furnish evidence of proficiency in German to a high level, proficiency in English, and basic language skills in at least one major East European language.

If you would like a place on this graduate program in Munich or Regensburg, you do NOT need to submit a separate application to either university for a place. Once your documents have been checked and you have successfully completed an interview, you will receive a letter of admission for the graduate program.

Detailed information on the application and selection procedure can be found on the German website of the program.

Application procedure for international applications

International students with foreign education, who want to study at LMU Munich,

need to apply additionally at the International Office of LMU Munich until July 15 of the respective intake year and need to enroll themselves after they have received an additional letter of acceptance issued by the International Office. A very helpful guideline is the available "Guide to Master Studies for International Students at LMU".

International students with foreign education, who want to study at University of Regensburg,

need to apply additionally at the Studentenkanzlei of Universität Regensburg until July 15 of the respective intake year and need to enroll themselves after they have received an additional letter of acceptance issued by the Studentenkanzlei.

Please check the respective websites for formal requirements. In addition, please consider that different deadlines apply for the admission at the Studentenkanzlei and International Office - so we kindly advise you to thoroughly examine to which group you belong to. You are going to receive a final notification of admission only, if you are able to fulfill the formal requirements of the Studentenkanzlei respectively International Office in time.

Application Documents

The following documents and certificates are required when applying for the Elite Graduate Program for East European Studies:

• The completed application form
• Tabular CV (with photograph where possible)
• A covering letter, explaining in detail why you would like to study this subject and presenting reasons for your choice of courses (in German; one page maximum).
• German university entrance qualification, e.g. Abitur certificate (copy of the original; if the original is not in German, then also with a certified translation into German)
• Application for a Master’s degree in East European Studies: Certificate of first university degree with transcript of records and diploma supplement (if available), e.g. Bachelor’s degree (copy of the original; if the original is not in German, then also with a certified translation into German)
• Proof of a basic knowledge of at least one national East European language (simple copy of a certificate) – if you are an East European applicant, we also accept a school leaving certificate or university certificate in the respective East European language as proof
• International applicants: proof of high level of proficiency in German (Information about accepted German language certificates can be found on the website of the International Office (LMU) and the website of the International Office (University of Regensburg); certified copy; see formal requirements). No exceptions are made to the above!
• All applicants: Proof of a good level of proficiency in English
• Any documents certifying vocational training, voluntary internships, participation in competitions or similar which are relevant to the degree program, or activities which are related in any way to the intended course of study (simple copies).

Please note that only documents in German, English and French are accepted. Documents in other languages need to be send in in their original language and additionally in certified translation. Information about certified translations are found on the website of International Office of LMU München.

German language proficiency

Lectures are held in German and English. For this reason, students should have a high level of proficiency in German and a good level of proficiency in English. Please see above ('Application Documents') for more details on how to provide proof of language proficiency.

To improve your German language proficiency, your chances of admission and your academic performance, the LMU Munich and the University of Regensburg offer German language courses.

• list of all preparatory and extracurricular German language courses at Munich University
• list of all preparatory and extracurricular German language courses at Regensburg University
• German language summer courses at Bavarian universities, funded by BAYHOST scholarships

Scholarships

BAYHOST

If you are a student from Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the Ukraine or Hungary, you may apply for a one-year grant from BAYHOST, which is funded by the State of Bavaria. Applicants for such grants must be residents of their home country until they receive the grant. If you look at the "Grants" section of the BAYHOST website, you will find numerous other scholarships and funding opportunities for which you can apply; these are updated daily.

Max Weber program

The Max Weber program targets highly gifted students at Bavarian universities. The State of Bavaria has commissioned the German Academic Scholarship Foundation to run the program. The program is based on the Bavarian Advancement of Elite Students Act (BayEFG). All students who enter onto the degree program will be recommended for the program. For students engaged on elite degree programs, the upper age limit of 23 does not apply.

DAAD

Graduate students from East European countries may also apply for a DAAD scholarship. The DAAD database also contains information on other scholarship opportunities.