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The international foundation programme VSI MINT provides a route into higher education for international applicants without a higher education entrance qualification. Applicants who successfully complete the VSI MINT foundation programme are eligible to join Saarland University’s 'Bachelor Plus MINT' programme in STEM* subjects.

*The German acronym ‘MINT’ is equivalent to the English acronym 'STEM', which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics.

Participants on the VSI MINT programme spend the first semester preparing for academic study after which they can join a higher education access course either at Saarland University (see below) or at htw saar (University of Applied Sciences in Saarbrücken). Participants can join the VSI MINT programme at the beginning of the winter or summer semester.

Scope: 15 hours per week, combined with a level B2/C1 German course

Prerequisites: Spoken and written command of German at CEFR level B2, as determined by a diagnostic language test. If you do not yet have the necessary German language skills, you can attend a preparatory German language course. These language courses are offered at all levels from A0 (complete beginners) through to B1.2 (intermediate users), but are not part of the VSI MINT programme.

VSI MINT YouTube Video

Programme structure

The three-semester international foundation programme VSI MINT is divided into two parts. The first semester, which prepares participants for study at university level, is followed by a two-semester higher education access course. Participants who successfully complete the higher education access course then progress to the 'Bachelor Plus MINT' degree programme.

The chart provides a visual illustrisation of the information provided in the following text.

Part 1: Preparing for academic study (first semester)

At the end of the semester, participants take a German language exam (structured similarly to the DSH language proficiency test) and an intermediate exam in mathematics and physics.

Part 2: Higher education access course (second and third semesters)

The aim of the second and third semesters is to equip students with the fundamentals needed in order to undertake degree-level studies in a STEM subject. Students attend lectures in mathematics and seminars with additional problem-solving classes.

Curriculum for students starting the higher education access course in the winter semester

Second semester

  • Advanced Mathematics for (Science and) Engineering 1

    • Problem-solving class (2 hours per week)

    • Guided problem-solving class (4 hours per week)

  • Introductory seminar: Writing and Formatting Mathematical Texts (2 hours per week)

  • German for Science and Engineering (3 hours per week)

Third semester

  • Advanced Mathematics for (Science and) Engineering 2

    • Problem-solving class (2 hours per week)

    • Guided problem-solving class (2 hours per week)

  • Introductory Computing Seminar (2 hours per week)I

  • Mandatory elective(s) at the Language Centre or at the Centre for Lifelong Learning (at least 2 hours per week)

Curriculum for students starting the higher education access course in the summer semester

Second semester

  • Block course Advanced Mathematics for (Science and) Engineering 1 (replaces the guided problem-solving classes for Advanced Mathematics for (Science and) Engineering 1)

  • Advanced Mathematics for (Science and) Engineering 2

    • Problem-solving class (2 hours per week)

    • Guided problem-solving class (2 hours per week)

  • Introductory Computing Seminar (2 hours per week)

  • German for Science and Engineering (3 hours per week)

Third semester

  • Advanced Mathematics for (Science and) Engineering 1

    • Problem-solving class (2 hours per week)

  • Introductory seminar: Writing and Formatting Mathematical Texts (2 hours per week)

  • Mandatory elective(s) at the Language Centre or at the Centre for Lifelong Learning (at least 2 hours per week)

End of the higher education access course

Students will have successfully completed the higher education access course if they

  • were admitted to the written exams at the end of the lecture courses 'Advanced Mathematics for (Science and) Engineering 1 & 2'

  • have met the learning objectives of the guided problem-solving classes for the lecture courses 'Advanced Mathematics for (Science and) Engineering 1 & 2'

  • have successfully completed both introductory seminars

  • have earned a total of 6 ECTS credits; 3 ECTS credits from the mandatory section (German for Science and Engineering) and 3 credits from the mandatory electives section

Note: VSI MINT students are not formally required to take the written exams at the end of the lecture courses in order to complete the two-semester higher education access course. However, we recommend that you take the exams, as the ECTS credits earned by passing the exams will count towards your subsequent Bachelor's degree programme.

If you successfully complete the VSI MINT foundation programme, you will automatically receive a subject-specific entrance qualification for the Bachelor Plus MINT degree programme at Saarland University. That means that initially you will only be able to enrol for this one specific degree programme at Saarland University. (If certain conditions are met, it may be possible to switch to another degree course at a later date, see here).

The international foundation programme VSI MINT is a full-time programme of study. In addition to taking the standard courses on the VSI MINT curriculum, students also have the option of attending other lectures of interest.

Applying for a place on the VSI MINT programme

The registration deadline is the 15th of July for the winter term and the 15th of January for the summer term. The application is a two-stage process.

  1. You will first need to obtain preliminary review documentation from uni-assist (processing time: about 6 weeks). Please select the degree programme 'Bachelor Plus MINT'. All other information is available from the uni-assist portal.
  2. Once you have received your preliminary review documentation, you may apply via Saarland University's SIM portal for a
    place on one of the university's VSI foundation programmes.

    A video explaining how to apply can be found here: Video in German   Video in English

For further questions regarding the application process please contact the Admissions office.

 

Scholarships and financial support

Information on scholarships and financial support schemes (note: this list is not exhaustive):

Further Information

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