Placement tests for German courses for students of all disciplines
There are three different options for assessing your level of language proficiency:
Placement test at FAU Language Centre
Placement test for courses for students of all disciplines
General information
The placement tests are so-called C-tests and are carried out in a language laboratory of the Language Centre. The test lasts 40 minutes. Afterwards you will be informed about the result. The result is valid for one year and can therefore still be used in the following semester. Choose your German courses according to the result.
Absolute beginners do not need to take a placement test, but register for a course Deutsch A1.1: Allgemeinkurs or Deutsch A1: Allgemeinkurs (kompakt).
Placement test in Erlangen or in Nuremberg
The placement tests usually take place mainly in the last two weeks of the semester break. Before the summer semester you can make an appointment for a placement test in Erlangen or Nuremberg online on studon from mid-March, before the winter semester from mid-September.
Before you make an appointment for a placement test, please check whether it is really necessary. There are other possibilities for placement: Information on placement.
Dates
You can find the current dates here.
Submitting a recognised language certificate
Proof is provided by presenting the relevant certificates or references (copies are sufficient). To do so, upload a scan or a photo using our upload function on studon before the application deadline: To upload
| The following table only gives a guide to which level students holding the relevant certificates will be placed in when taking a German course alongside their main degree programme. It has no relevance to the requirements which have to be met to be accepted for a place at the University! See the Admissions Office website | |||||||
| Level of course |
Certificates (no older than 3 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goethe-certificate telc-certificate ÖSD |
UNIcert® | onDaf | DSH | TestDaF | DSD | ||
| A1.2 | |||||||
| A2.1 | Goethe-cert. A1 telc-cert. A1 ÖSD A1 |
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| A2.2 | |||||||
| B1 | B1.1 | Goethe-cert. A2 telc-cert. A2 ÖSD A2 |
UNIcert®-Basis | onDaf A2 | DSD 1 equivalent to A2 |
||
| B1.2 | |||||||
| B2 | B2.1 | Goethe-cert. B1 telc-cert. B1 ÖSD B1 |
UNIcert®-Level I | onDaf B1 | DSH 1 (57%) | 12-13 points | DSD 1 only if equivalent to B1 |
| B2.2 | DSH 1 (62%) | 14-15 points | |||||
| C1 | C1.1 | Goethe-cert. B2 telc-cert. B2 ÖSD B2 |
UNIcert®-Level II | onDaf B2 | DSH 2 (67%) | 16 points | DSD 2 equivalent to B2 |
| C1.2 | DSH 2 (74%) | 17 points | |||||
| C2 |
Goethe-cert. C1 Goethe-cert. C2 telc-cert. C1 telc-cert. C1 Hochschule telc-cert. C2 ÖSD C1 ÖSD C2 |
UNIcert®-Level III UNIcert®-Level IV |
onDaf C1 | DSH 3 (82%) | 18 points | DSD 2 only if equivalent to C1 |
|
|
DSH = Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang DSD = Deutsches Sprachdiplom der Kultusministerkonferenz ÖSD = Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch |
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Unfortunately, we cannot accept certificates from private language schools or other universities. In case of doubt, please contact our colleagues: sz-daf-info@fau.de
Successfully completing German courses offered by the FAU Language Centre
Course levels A1 to A2
Absolute beginners are level A1 or A1.1.
| Level of course |
Semester (SEM) or holiday (FIT) course at level | Grade | Resulting placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | A1.1 | A1.1 | 1,0 – 4,0 | A1.2 |
| A1.2 | A1.2 | 1,0 – 4,0 | A2.1 | |
| A2 | A2.1 | A2.1 | 1,0 – 4,0 | A2.2 |
| A2.2 | A2.2 | 1,0 – 4,0 | B1 or B1.1 | |
| SEM course = semester course FIT course = intensive holiday course |
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Course levels B1 to C2
Thanks to our faudaf points system you can easily calculate which and how many courses you need to take to reach a higher course level. The following table gives an overview of how many faudaf points you can obtain for the various courses.
| Type of course |
Teaching hours |
Grade | faudaf points | SWS (semester hours) |
ECTS credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEM course |
2-hour course | 1,0 – 4,0 | 2 faudaf points |
2 SWS | 2,5 ECTS |
| SEM course | 4-hour course | 2,3 – 4,0 | 4 faudaf points |
4 SWS | 5 ECTS |
| SEM course | 4-hour course | 1,0 – 2,0 | 6 faudaf points |
4 SWS | 5 ECTS |
| FIT course |
72 hours per course | 2,3 – 4,0 | 4 faudaf points |
5 SWS | 5 ECTS |
| FIT course |
72 hours per course | 1,0 – 2,0 | 6 faudaf points |
5 SWS | 5 ECTS |
| SEM course = semester course FIT course = intensive holiday course SWS = semester hours; 1 SWS corresponds to 45 minutes teaching per semester week |
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For courses at level B1, B1.1 and B1.2 you receive B1 faudaf points, i.e. faudaf points at level B1
For courses at level B2, B2.1 and B2.2 you receive B2 faudaf points, i.e. faudaf points at level B2
For courses at level C1, C1.1 and C1.2 you receive C1 faudaf points, i.e. faudaf points at level C1
The following table shows how many faudaf points you need if you want to reach a higher course level.
| Current course level |
faudaf points obtained in courses | Resulting placement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | B1.1 | at least 6 B1 faudaf points | B1.2 |
| B1 | B1.1 | at least 12 B1 faudaf points | B2.1 bzw. B2 |
| B1.2 | at least 6 B1 faudaf points | B2.1 bzw. B2 | |
| B2 | B2.1 | at least 6 B2 faudaf points | B2.2 |
| B2 | B2.1 | at least 14 B2 faudaf points | C1.1 bzw. C1 |
| B2.2 | at least 8 B2 faudaf points | C1.1 bzw. C1 | |
| C1 | C1.1 | at least 8 C1 faudaf points | C1.2 |
| C1 | C1.1 | at least 18 C1 faudaf points | C2 |
| C1.2 | at least 10 C1 faudaf points | C2 | |
If you have any questions please write an e-mail to sz-daf-info@fau.de.
If you have different classification results, then the highest classification always applies. All too complicated? Then simply take our interactive proficiency check. It will tell you at the end exactly which course level you can register for.
Don’t forget! You can only register for the course level for which you have the appropriate placement.