Fresher's Guide
First Things First
Dear students, the student representatives of the department of English, American and Celtic studies (Fachschaft Anglistik, Amerikanistik und Keltologie) want to welcome you to the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn! Congrats, you have taken the first step towards finishing your degree!
Starting a new study can be a daunting and stressful process, but don’t fret, because we are here to help guide you and make your first weeks in Bonn as agreeable as possible. In this guide, we want to give you whatever tips we think could be the most useful to you while settling in.
We are here for you!
During the traditional Ersti-Week, the department and the university offer various activities for students to get to know each other and find out more about the practical side of studying. You can find a timetable including the most important dates and places-to-be further down. However, your contact with us does not have to end after the first weeks. Members of the Fachschaft can frequently be found in our office on the second floor of the Rabinstraße in room 2.054. We also organise get-togethers of different kinds, such as tea talks with your lecturers, flea markets or speed friending afternoons all throughout the year. If you want to stay up-to-date on all things Fachschaft, feel free to follow us on instagram at ‘fs.anglistik.bonn’.
Without further ado, we wish you all the best in your studies and that you enjoy your time in Bonn.
Your Fachschaft Anglistik, Amerikanistik und Keltologie
So Where Do I Start?
You have been accepted to your degree and are ready to start the semester - or are you? Here is a quick overview of the things you need to know and do when starting your studies.
● You will already have received your student ID (Matrikelnummer, a series of eight numbers), Uni-ID (a mixture of letters and numbers) and student e-mail address during the online enrollment. This remains your ID throughout your studies at Bonn University. Make sure to use this e-mail address and include your student ID for any written correspondences in the context of your studies. Your Uni-ID can be used to sign in to BASIS, E-Campus, the university’s e-mail service and Eduroam.
● Your digital student ID card and your semester ticket is available through the Uni Bonn App on your phone. With the semester ticket, you can use any regional public transport all across Germany for free.
● You can find any relevant dates and deadlines in the “Studienjahrkalender” of Bonn University.
● Course enrollment is done over BASIS. The Deadline is from 23rd September until 4th October 2024. The Fachschaft offers office hours during the Ersti-Week for students who need help with BASIS and registering for their courses.
● You can request a library card over the Online Formular on the ULB Website.
● In case you have recently moved to Bonn, remember to register with the municipality. It may take some time to get your appointment, so don’t procrastinate too much on doing this, as you can be fined otherwise. After you’ve registered, you should also check whether you need to register with the Rundfunk to pay the “Rundfunkbeitrag.”
● When you first start your studies, no matter the degree, you will need to register with the “Prüfungsamt.” The deadline to do so is 29th November 2024 for Bachelor students and 13th December 2024 for Master students. These dates are non-negotiable. Further information can be found on the website of the Prüfungsamt.
● The university has various cafés and canteens for students to make use of. We recommend that you get a mensa card to pay for your food. The mensa card can also be used for printing at certain printers in the university. The card is available with a deposit fee of 5 euros and your student ID at the info.point in Lennéstrasse 3.
What is “Fachschaft”?
Technically, the Fachschaft is every single one of you, the student body of the IAAK. We, who work under the name of Fachschaft or FAAK, are the elected student representatives. In that function, we work to support our fellow students, help with questions, organise events and represent our students' concerns, opinions, and perspectives on an institutional, faculty and university-wide level. If there are any questions or concerns, however small or unimportant they may seem, students are always invited to contact us or stop by our office to talk. We also offer a trained awareness team who can help you and is present during every event. Of course, we also do fun stuff! We organise events not only for fresher’s week but all throughout the semester and invite all students and friends of the IAAK to join us. Past events have been book- and flea markets, tea talks, quizzes and much more.
Every student can join the Fachschaft and help with events and day-to-day business. If you are interested feel free to join us for one of our weekly meetings but please let us know in advance if you want to attend. Open meetings will also take place once per month with dates and places to be announced. Since the IAAK has several different degrees students from all disciplines and levels are welcome. For those of you who do Celtic Studies, we also recommend checking out the Fachausschuss Keltologie who are a sub-body of the FAAK and specifically represent students from their discipline.
For more information follow us on Instagram, check out our website or send us an e-mail!