International Summer Academy Kassel

Curriculum

Relating to the overall topic of studying in and about another country, the program of the International Summer Academy includes the seminars listed below. All seminars will be taught by faculty members from the respective disciplines of the University of Kassel.

Classes meet daily in the mornings or afternoons. The seminars combined have over 60 contact hours and are worth 10 credit points. Students participate in all 3 seminars. Eventhough previous knowledge in the selected field of topic can be useful for the completion of the course, the admission is not restricted to students of a similar subject.

  • German as a Foreign Language, Regional Studies and Business Communication

    The seminar combines different aspects of learning German as Foreign Language, exploring German culture and using German language in business communication. Working with quality textbooks as basis, the students learn about several selected topics, including regional studies und business related themes. The speaking skills, presentation and presentation techniques in the university context are also subjects of several teaching units. Additionally, thematic preparation and course excursions on the subject of fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, the museum “Grimmwelt” and a visit to the lecture of a fairy-teller in the “Knallhütte” historic site are a part of the seminar.

  • Intercultural Communication

    • Theories of Intercultural Communication
    • Interculturality in the university context
    • Artefact Theory
    • Critical Incident Method

  • Scientific Skills

    The seminar describes the steps of producing a scientific work. Students will learn about the explanation of the concept and introduction to the topic of scientific work.

    Forms and of scientific work, citation techniques, bibliography, presentation, preparation of a handout, e-mail correspondence and scientific language will be discussed.

    There will be application-oriented sub-tasks such as the compilation of a bibliography on a self-selected topic after the research. Furthermore, students will learn how to create a handout linked to the presentation in the seminar "Intercultural Communication".

    Professional e-mail correspondence in an university context will also be part of the course.

Credits and Assessment

Upon successful completion of the courses you will be awarded credits by the University of Kassel. The credits are based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) which is applied by most European institutions of higher education in order to facilitate the transfer of credits gained in certain study periods from one institution to another.

The transfer of credits awarded at the International Summer Academy has been agreed upon with some of our partner universities. It is recommended to consult the contact person in charge of the academic recognition of credits at your home institution before you sign up for the ISA.

You can achieve up to 10 ECTS credits.

Please note: All students are invited to join only one workshop. Workshops won't be assessed or graded, and no credit points are offered.

Grades

The system of grades serves to reflect the student´s performance by documenting the quality of work completed and marks attained.

Transcript

The quality of completed coursework is reflected in the “Transcript of Records” which every student receives from the University of Kassel. With the help of a point system each student can demonstrate their achievements to their home university and have the appropriate credits transferred.

ECTS-Grades and Descriptions

  • VERY GOOD (outstanding achievement)
  • GOOD (performance above the average standard)
  • SATISFACTORY (performance meets the average standard)
  • SUFFICIENT (in spite of errors conform to requirements)
  • FAIL (does not meet criteria)

European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)

The European Credit Transfer System is a system designed to recognize academic performance. The aim is to substitute part of the studies that would have usually been completed at the home university with studies completed abroad, whereby the home university recognizes that study and examination performance achieved at the host university by granting credit points.

ECTS credit points reflect the relevant scope of work done. They will thus only be granted on successful completion of courses, i.e. on passing all prescribed examinations. It is important to note that granting of credit points does not entail an evaluation, but only confirms attendance of lessons and that the minimum requirements have been fulfilled.

Contrary to some individual's concerns, the contents, structure and equality of courses are in no way determined by ECTS. The application of ECTS rests on reciprocal trust between the partner universities about academic performance. The universities retain their autonomy and also the full responsibility for all decisions about academic achievements. For this purpose each university selects its partner universities itself and the relevant departments make the decisions about distribution of credits.

Transferring ISA Credit Outside of Europe

Please be aware that your home university likely reserves the right to determine the transferabilty of credit points. Therefore, ISA cannot provide you with final credit transfer information. However, we have found that many universities follow a similar process. Consult with your academic advisor, department head, or dean's office. Present them with the course information from our website. A decision can usually be made at this point. However, the ISA team would be more than happy to provide additional information, if needed. As always, our professors are here to answer any questions and resolve any concerns. Please provide the appropriate contact persons with our email address isa(at)uni-kassel.de and we will forward all questions to the proper reference.

Note to American Students: 4 ECTS credits will likely transfer as 2 or 3 US credits.