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General Information
The staff
member responsible for the exchange programmes between Pitzer
College (California, USA), Coe
College (Cedar Rapids, USA), Université Laval (Quebec City,
Canada), McGill University (Montreal, Canada), University of
Northumbria (Newcastle, GB) and
the English Department in Landau is:
Prof. Dr. Dr. Peter Wagner
Rote Kaserne, Office no. 202
Tel: (06341) 146-202
Fax: (06341) 146-213
E-Mail: wagner%uni-landau.de*
The staff member responsible
for the exchange programmes between St. Francis Xavier University
(Antigonish, Canada), Christ Church University College (Canterbury, GB)
and University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) and the English
Department in Landau is:
Prof. Dr. Martin Pütz
Rote Kaserne, Office no. 206
Tel: (06341) 146-204
Fax: (06341) 146-201
The Referat
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (Office for International
Cooperation, link http://www.uni-koblenz-landau.de/kontakt/ik-kontakt.html)
is also available to help you if necessary.
Your student
contact is Mrs. Irene Latschar:
latschar%uni-koblenz-landau.de*
You can find more
information concerning Landau University here:
http://www.uni-koblenz-landau.de/university/index-eng.html
A CD-ROM
about the Landau area and Campus Landau, with useful information, video
clips, interviews etc., is available in the office of the English
Department (Sekretariat Anglistik) in Rote Kaserne (Room 200).
A copy of this CD should also be available in the department of your
college/university dealing with the exchange with Landau.
* These email-addresses have been
garbled to protect them from spammers. Please replace the % by @.
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Studying in Germany
The German
academic system
The German
academic system differs in some respects from the American or British
systems. It relies much more on the students' own initiative and is not
modelled on college teaching practices.
German students work out their semester timetables by themselves.
Advice can be obtained from the student representatives (Fachschaft,
Isabel Bloß) and from Prof. Wagner.
In Landau there are no written tests during the semester in most
subjects. For most seminars, students are required to deliver an oral
report and/or write a term paper, or to do a test at the end of the
semester.
You will be provided with reading lists and/or readers to direct you in
expanding your knowledge of the topic dealt with in a seminar or
lecture course. However, you should not expect the courses to give a
comprehensive coverage of the whole of a discipline or field of study,
since in Germany studying always involves a certain amount of
self-directed work.
In Germany the academic year is divided into two
semesters, the winter and the summer semester. The winter semester
begins October 1st and ends March 31st, but the courses go from about
mid-October to the end of February. There is a two-week holiday from
just before Christmas to early January. The summer semester begins
April 1st and ends September 30th, with the courses going from about
early/late April to mid/end-July. There is a week off after Whit-Sunday
(Pentecost; the American “spring break”). You do not need to be in
Landau earlier than a week or so before the courses begin.
The marking system is slightly different from that
used in the USA or Britain. Instead of letters we use a system of
numbers for marking tests and term papers. For a pass you need a
minimum mark of 4.3 as well as a record of regular attendance and the
fulfilment of any other requirements determined by your lecturer. The
marks are:
1 (sehr gut, very good) A
2 (gut, good) B
3 (befriedigend, satisfactory) C
4 (ausreichend, pass) D
There are also intermediate grades, e.g. 4.3 corresponds to D-, 2.7 to
C+. All marks under 4.3 count as "failed" or F.
In contrast to the American system courses in Landau take place once
weekly. This means that you will need to take more courses here than at
home. German students usually take a total of c. 24 hours per week of
courses (i.e. usually 12 courses).
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ECTS credits
| Vorlesungen/lectures |
2
ECTS credits for regular attendance |
| Übungen/courses |
2 ECTS
credits for regular and active attendance
- a further 2 ECTS for passing the final test |
| Proseminare
(seminars for students in their first two years) |
2 ECTS
credits for regular and active attendance
- a further 2 ECTS credits for oral and/or written paper |
| Hauptseminare
(seminars for advanced students) |
4 ECTS
credits for regular and active attendance
- a further 2 ECTS credits for oral and/or written paper |
| Praktika/traineeships |
5 ECTS credits |
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Working in
Germany
As a rule students
from the USA are permitted to work in Germany for a period of up to
three months. Before beginning a job, you are advised to check with the
local employment office (Arbeitsamt).
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Student Cafeteria
The student
cafeteria (Mensa) is open Monday-Friday from 11.30-13.00 and from
17.30-18.30 during the semester and from 12.00-13.00 during the
vacation period. A meal costs € 1,60. You have a choice between a salad
(buffet) and two cooked dishes (one vegetarian). Each cooked meal
consists of several items such as a soup (hot or cold), a main course
including vegetables, pasta, potatoes etc., a salad and a dessert.
There is also a cafeteria in which you can buy warm and cold beverages,
sandwiches, ice cream and other snacks. There are numerous restaurants
and cafés in the area near the Rote Kaserne and elsewhere in
Landau offering good and often inexpensive meals in the evenings and
over the weekends.
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University Library
To borrow books from
the university library you need a permit/card (Leihkarte), which you
can apply for at the beginning of the semester (the student
representatives will be glad to help you). The reading room is open
from Monday to Thursday from 9.00-19.30 and Fridays from 9.00-16.00.
Library Website:
http://www.uni-koblenz-landau.de/bibliothek/bibliold.html
(only in German)
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Computer facilities
You will find four
PC-rooms on campus in building
C (cellar) , which offer internet access and a variety of computer
programmes. To use these you need an account. One of the students
working as TA for Professor Wagner or Professor Pütz will help you
to apply for one at the beginning of the semester. The library also has
a great number of computers with internet access in the reading room.
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Accomodation
You will be provided
with accommodation in the student hall of residence. You will have a
flat of your own there of about 30m2, with bath, kitchen and bedsit.
Room charges for the residence hall are 200 € per month, and a security
deposit onf 300 € will have to be paid which is returned upon departure
if there are no damages. You will receive two keys and are expected to
leave the flat in the same condition in which it was handed over to
you. You will be notified of the exact address before leaving home.
Should you wish to send advance parcels to Germany you may use the
following postal address:
Universität
Landau
Institut für fremdsprachliche Philologien
Fach Anglistik
Fortstr. 7
D – 76829 Landau
Germany
Washing machines
and spin driers are available in the hall of residence.
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Living in Germany
Visa
No visa is necessary
for your stay in Germany, but you do need a residence permit
(Aufenthaltsgenehmigung), which Professor Wagner or his student TA
will help you to apply for. Make sure before arrival that your passport
is valid for the whole length of your stay in Germany. You may travel
freely within Europe, but are advised to carry your passport with you
at all times. A driver's licence is not accepted as an identification
document.
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Medical care and insurance
If you have already
taken out a British or an American health insurance policy for your
stay here, a student TA will assist you in getting it validated in
Germany. If you have no such insurance, he/she will help you to secure
one with the local AOK (Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse) or any other
health insurance company of your choice.
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Money
Currencies
One Euro is worth
about $ 1.30 or £ 0.70 (as of May 2005). Dollars and Pounds
Sterling can be exchanged at any bank. Most shops will not accept
Traveller's Cheques, but they too can be exchanged at any bank.
Banks
You are advised to
plan your budget carefully and not to carry large amount of cash. It
makes sense to open a checking / current account with a local bank
(German: Girokonto).
Opening hours differ from bank to bank, but all banks are closed on
Saturday. If you have a current account you will be issued with an
EC-card free of charge, with which you can draw money from your account
all over Europe. Some banks will charge a fee if you do not have an
account with them.
Credit Cards
Credit cards can
be used at most cash dispensers, but there is usually a fee. Not all
shops will accept credit cards, and those that do will usually require
a minimum transaction of c. €25.00.
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Shop and bank opening hours
Opening hours of
shops and restaurants may be very different in Germany from Britain or
the USA. Restaurants are usually open six days a week, at midday and in
the evening, sometimes without a break. Shops are usually open from
Monday to Friday from 9.30 to 20.00, and from 9.30 to 16.00 on
Saturday. All shops and supermarkets are closed on Sunday. In case
you've forgotten something, you'll be able to get most essentials at
the bigger filling stations, which are open 24 hours a day.
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Telephone
The flats in the
student hall of residence are not equipped with telephones. You will
find public telephones on campus and near the hall of residence. If you
wish to have a private telephone connection then a student TA will
assist you with the formalities.
A private connection
costs around €12.00 per month plus telephone units, and the
installation fee is €50.00. The telecommunications market in Germany
has been denationalised and there are many telephone companies cheaper
than the Telekom. Information on current prices is to be found on the
internet, e.g. www.yahoo.de.
To phone abroad
dial the country code plus the number of the subscriber. If you want to
use a private company, first dial the company's code number, then the
country code, and finally the number of the subscriber.
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Landau and the Southern Palatinate
The Southern
Palatinate (Südpfalz) has a mild climate in which figs, kiwis,
chestnuts and tobacco thrive and which is ideal for growing wine. To
the west of the Palatinate lies the Palatine Forest (Pfälzer Wald), the
biggest continuous forest in Germany, with rugged outcrops of sandstone
and numerous marked trails for hikers and cyclists.
The metropolitan city of Landau in der
Pfalz lies in the southern part of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, in
the administrative district of Rheinhessen-Pfalz. It has a reputation
as the "Wine and Garden City" and also as a university town, a cultural
centre, and a market and shopping town, these functions together well
describing this old fortified city surrounded by its vineyards and
wine-growing villages.
The city of Landau with its eight surrounding villages has a total of
some 40,000 inhabitants who are enjoying the parks and gardens, fields
and vineyards which have resisted urbanisation. This is a town to live
in, a student town, a town for leisure and pleasure. The settlement of
Land-Aue was first mentioned in a 12th century document and was awarded
its town charter in 1274 by King Rudolf of Hapsburg. Landau's chequered
history is visible all over the town: from 1688 to 1699 the French
military architect Vauban turned the city into "one of the strongest
fortresses of all Christianity", adding a citadel in 1770-02, which is
now the site of the university, and in the late 19th century period of
German unification (Gründerzeit) Landau's typical ring road
architecture in brick and sandstone was created.
There are about 2000 hectares of vineyards belonging to Landau, making
it the second-largest wine-growing municipality in Germany. Since 1990
Landau has been the seat of a university, which is twinned with
Koblenz. For many years, Landau was a French and at some periods a
Bavarian garrison town, and Thomas Nast, later the father of American
caricature, was born in 1840 in the "Red
Barracks", now housing the English and French departments of the
university.
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Leisure Activities
In
the local bookshops you can find many guides to leisure activities in
the Palatinate. In Landau, the
university offers a university
sports programme. The swimming pools and many other sports
facilities offer reductions for students. The Pfälzer Wald is perfect
for hiking and mountainbiking tours, and the many cliffs are
challenging climbing sites. In the immediate neighbourhood of Landau
there are a number of castles and places of historical interest. Landau
further offers the only zoo in
the region, with more than 500 animals from all over the world, the La Ola swimming centre with
different-sized pools, a wave machine and a giant slide, as well as a
restaurant and a sauna. There are numerous parks, an open-air swimming
pool, and many historical buildings (like Haus
Mahla, the Altes
Kaufhaus and the Gothic Frank-Loebsches
Haus). There are two cinemas (one, a big cinema complex), a sports
centre with squash courts, tennis courts, a roller-skate rink and
mini-golf course. The shopping precinct in the city centre boasts over
100 shops and is mercifully closed to traffic. A shopping mall also
exists near the station – Walmart.
Public
transport
Public transport
is well developed in Germany: you can get to almost any place in Europe
by train
from Landau.
Landau is small enough to explore by bike or on foot, so you won't need
a car. There are good bus services if you want to travel further.
The university offers its students a "Semesterticket" for € (see
current price at www.bahn.de) which gives access to all public
transport, including rail, in many parts of Rheinland-Pfalz as well as
parts of Baden-Württemberg (e.g. Heidelberg), Hessen and Alsace.
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Useful addresses and
Phone numbers
Anglistik (= English
Department):
Secretary (Ulrike Laux):
0049 6341 146 200
e-mail: laux%uni-landau.de*
Professor Martin Pütz: 0049
6341 146 204
e-mail: puetz%uni-landau.de*
Professor Peter Wagner: 0049 6341
146 202
e-mail: wagner%uni-landau.de*
Studierendensekretariat
(=Admissions)
0049 6341 9241 ext. 39 or 30, 31, 32, 33
International
Relations
Irene Latschar: 0049 6131 3746026
e-mail: latschar@uni-koblenz-landau.de*
* These email-addresses have been
garbled to protect them from spammers. Please replace the % by @.
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Miscellaneous
There is no campus
police in German universities. In case of an emergeny, call
The police at 110
The fire department/brigade at 112
The paramedics at 112
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Längen:
Miles Kilometers
1..................................1,6
5..................................8
10................................16
25................................40
100..............................160
1 Centimeter (cm) = 0,3937
inch
1 Meter (m) = 3,280 ft/1,094
yards
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Temperature:
Celsius
Fahrenheit
-10..............................14
0..................................32
10................................50
20................................68
30................................86
40................................104
100..............................212
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Weights:
metric U.S.
Standard
1 Gramm (g) = 0,0453 ounces
500 Gramm = 1,1 pounds
1 Kilogramm (kg) = 2,2 pounds
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Liquids:
1 Liter =
2,113 pints/1,056
ounces
3,767 Liter = 1 gallon
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Time:
Germany is on
a 24-hour system.
1 am - 01:00
1 pm - 13:00
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General Information
