German as a foreign language A1-A2
The Hamburger Volkshochschule (HHVHS) runs German as a foreign language courses on behalf of the University of Hamburg. These courses are designed for Erasmus students as well as international students in other programs at this institution.
The courses are free of charge for students of the University of Hamburg able to provide current and valid student ID. Other groups will be charged course fees according to the VHS conditions of participation.
The next intensive pre-semester German language courses in March/April 2026 cover level A1 and the summer semester courses are held on level A1 and A2, modeled on the language proficiency levels developed by the Council of Europe's CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
Upon successful completion of a language course, students receive a course certificate detailing both grade and number of credit points.
Registration
Registration period for the pre-semester intensive courses March/April 2026
Registration period and online application form for the German intensive pre-semester courses level A1
| 9th March 2026, 12pm | to | 19th September 2026, 12pm |
Please note: Students with prior knowledge of German registering for the first time have to complete a placement test before registering themselves using the online registration form. Further information available under the section on placement on this page.
Registration period for the semester courses summer 2026
Registration period and online application form for the German summer semester courses level A1-A2
| 7th April 2026, 12pm | to | 15th April 2026, 12pm |
Please note: Students with prior knowledge of German registering for the first time have to complete a placement test before registering themselves using the online registration form. Further information available under the section on placement on this page.
Registration details
- Participation in the German courses is mandatory.
- Registration is binding, non-transferable, and can only be done via the online registration form during the registration period.
Please note regarding the registration form:
- Student ID number: If unknown or unavailable, please enter 99999.
- Confirmation of enrolment: Current proof of enrolment from the university where you are registered; if you are a UHH employee, please provide your email signature.
- Certificate of achievement/placement: Certificate of achievement of prior course or the result of the placement test (you may attach a screenshot or the file).
- A prompt response via email will confirm receipt of your registration.
- If you are sending/submitting documents by email, you will find our address under Contact. Informal registrations cannot be considered.
- The available places (22 participants) will be allocated after reviewing the documents based on the date of receipt of the registration ("first-come, first-served principle").
- Please check whether you are required to pay for the course. Further information can be found under the "Conditions of participation" section on this page.
- A registration/participation confirmation (invoice) will be sent by email 3-5 days before the start of the course, provided a place has been allocated. Information regarding the waiting list or cancellation will also be sent at that time.
- Changing courses is only possible after consultation with us.
Placement
The beginners course, level A1.1, does not require a placement test. To register for courses at an advanced level, starting from level A1.2, a current language certificate have to be available. It is therefore necessary to take a placement test if you have not taken part in a preceding course from our program or have not done a placement at the Language Center (SZ) in the past 12 months . Please do the Cornelsen online test under the following link: https://www.cornelsen.de/empfehlungen/sprachtest. An overview of the results of the placement will be sent to you by e-mail so that you can register for the German course online to be able to add.
Course program
Registration period for the pre-semester intensive courses March/April 2026
The registration period for the pre-semester German intensive courses March/April 2026 begins on
9th March 2026, 12 pm via the online registration form (end: 19th March 2026, 12 pm).
Please note: Students with prior knowledge of German registering for the first time have to complete a placement test before registering themselves using the online registration form. Further information available under the section on placement on this page. Further information on the German courses is available on the virtual learning platform SprachCommSy.
Please take note of any changes in the course program that may take place at the beginning of the registration period.
Registration period for the semester courses summer 2026
The registration period for the German semester courses summer 2026 commences on
7th April 2026, 12h00 via the online registration form (until 15th April 2026).
Please note: Students with prior knowledge of German registering for the first time have to complete a placement test before registering themselves using the online registration form. Further information available under the section on placement on this page. Further information on the German courses is available on the virtual learning platform SprachCommSy.
Please take note of any changes in the course program that may take place at the beginning of the registration period.
Grades and credit points
Students receive a course certificate upon successful completion of a language course according to the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) detailing the grade achieved and the number of credit points accrued. You can attain three credit points depending on the number of teaching units.
In order to accrue credit points, you have to attend at least 80 per cent of the course and pass the examination with at least sixty per cent.
Conditions of participation
Conditions of participation and fees
German language courses are aimed at Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus and guest students participating in other programs at the partner universities of the University of Hamburg, the HafenCity University Hamburg and the University of Fine Arts (HFBK). Academic staff and doctoral students at these partner universities are also very welcome!
Course fees are detailed in the table below. Please note the conditions for students from other universities.
Four participant categories determine course fees:
- Students / Erasmus students at the University of Hamburg
- Doctoral students at the University of Hamburg
- Students at other institutions (e.g. HCU, HAW, HfbK), interns and trainees
- Staff students at the University of Hamburg, students doing contact studies
Overview of course fees (effective as of 1 January 2025) by category and teaching units:
| Teaching units | 28 | Place allocation / course |
| Group A | free of charge |
preferential treatment up to max. number of participants (22) |
| Group B | EUR 48 | |
| Group C | EUR 88 |
in case of free places up to 2 per category |
| Group D | EUR 148 |
The course fee is payable after the course has started and is due in full on the date shown on the invoice.
If classes start between the 1st and 15th of the month your account will be debited with the fee via SEPA Direct Debit(SDD) on the 8th of the following month. If classes start between the 16th and the end of month your account will be debited with the fee via SDD on the 23rd of the following month.
Costs resulting from insufficient funds, incorrect account details, or cancellations are borne by the participant and will be debited from the account with the next direct debit.
If the direct debit is not honored, the direct debit will be repeated a few days later, and the processing of this claim will be handed over to a commissioned debt collection agency in compliance with data protection regulations. This also applies to outstanding payments from outstanding transfers. In this case, you may incur additional costs.
Cancellation_Withdrawal
Cancellation policy in addition to the statutory right of withdrawal
- If you are no longer able to participate, please inform us as soon as possible using our contact details, also in the interest of any existing waiting list.
- Should you wish to withdraw from a language course, you have to do so by submitting your withdrawal to the office team.
- Withdrawals submitted to instructors will not be acknowledged or processed.
- Also non-appearance does not constitute withdrawal.
As a paying participant please note the following:
- Cancellation of registration without payment obligation is only possible up to three days before the start of the course. This have to be submitted in writing to a.krussig"AT"vhs-hamburg.de or about our contact form.
- Participants who withdraw after the course begins may only receive a refund (and in some cases only a partial refund) in the following cases:
- confirmation by responsible physician of illness or other extenuating circumstances
- proof that your course schedule has been altered.
Statutory Right of Withdrawal under the German Civil Code (BGB)
- You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason.
Data protection
The General Languages team is committed to protecting your personal data during collection, processing, and use, especially when visiting our website. In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we process and use your inventory data and voluntary information exclusively to provide our services, to provide optimal support, and for the purpose of quality assurance for evaluation.
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The cooperation partners, the University of Hamburg (UHH) and the Hamburg Adult Education Center (HHVHS), are jointly responsible under Art. 26 GDPR for the implementation of general language courses and the administration of language examinations for UHH students. UHH provides the HHVHS with the CommSy application as a learning management platform. The application is used in parallel for face-to-face events and to simplify organization and exchange. Furthermore, UHH provides the system with the role of portal moderator and provides subsequent support. HHVHS creates the rooms and instructor access itself during the course of creating the offer. Participant accounts are created during authentication; participants are assigned rooms by HHVHS. HHVHS verifies user registrations on the platform and user/course assignments. HHVHS provides quality assurance measures for language teaching modules and offers personal and online advice for students. The HHVHS processes personal data submitted during registration for the purposes of quality assurance – including customer surveys – on behalf of the University of Hamburg. The HHVHS also issues machine-generated, certified certificates of achievement to students upon successful participation in accordance with the ECTS standard and the University of Hamburg's requirements profile.
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The purpose of processing personal data is to provide general language instruction. For this purpose, the following categories of student personal data are processed: identification data, communication data, course number, organizational data, course participation data, authentication data, and log data. The partners undertake to observe and comply with data protection regulations (in particular the GDPR).
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Unless otherwise agreed below, each partner guarantees compliance with the statutory provisions, in particular the legality of the data processing carried out by them. Each partner is responsible for the processing it carries out. Actions and processing by a partner's processors are attributable to that partner.
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The legal basis for processing personal data for contacting us via the electronic contact form is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR. For providing user IDs to students and using the electronic platform, this is Art. 6 (1) (e) and (2) GDPR in conjunction with Section 111 (1) and (7) HmbHG.
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If the assertion of the data subject's rights cannot be exclusively assigned to the sphere of activity of one party, the parties are equally responsible for processing data subject requests. Responding to data subject requests to the data subject in accordance with Art. 12 GDPR is the responsibility of the party receiving the data subject request.
If a data subject contacts one of the parties to exercise their data subject rights, in particular regarding access to, correction of, or deletion of their personal data, the parties undertake to forward this request to the other party without delay, regardless of their obligation to guarantee and respond to the data subject's rights. The parties are obligated to promptly provide the requesting party with the information from their sphere of activity necessary to process the request.
The responsible contact persons and data protection officers of the parties are:
Contact person of the HHVHS / Data Protection Officer of Party 1:
Hamburger Volkshochschule, State Agency of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Data Protection Department
Schanzenstraße 75-77, 20357 Hamburg
E-mail: datenschutz@vhs-hamburg.deContact person of the UHH / Data Protection Officer of Party 2:
Data Protection Officer of the University of Hamburg
Mittelweg 177, 20148 Hamburg
E-mail: datenschutz@uni-hamburg.deIf personal data is to be deleted, the parties must inform each other beforehand. The other party may object to the deletion for legitimate reasons, for example, if they are subject to a legal retention obligation.
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Partners must inform each other immediately and fully if they discover errors or irregularities regarding data protection regulations when reviewing the processing activities and/or the order results.
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The partners are each responsible for the technical and organizational measures (TOMs) within their area of responsibility, including the infrastructure used at their respective locations for the purposes of the cooperation agreement. This also includes responsibility for a transmission path that complies with the requirements of Art. 32 GDPR. Each partner is responsible for the infrastructure used locally by that partner, including the databases. Existing statutory responsibilities remain unaffected.
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The partners maintain a record of processing activities within the meaning of Art. 30 (1) GDPR for the processing they each carry out. They support each other in its preparation.
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The partners are subject to the information obligations resulting from Articles 33 and 34 of the GDPR to the respective supervisory authority or to those affected by a personal data breach for the processing steps they perform. They will support each other in complying with the statutory deadline of 72 hours.
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The partners are each responsible for preparing a data protection impact assessment in accordance with Art. 35 GDPR within their own area of responsibility, if necessary.