Dove of Peace against a blue and yellow background.

A future for refugee students

Fast-tracked and individualized solutions to maintain academic education for the future of refugees of all nationalities
Dove of Peace against a blue and yellow background.
Image: Liana Franke/FSU Jena.

War is terrible and dreadful, but it need not destroy the future of young students. It has been our experience  that even in a desolate personal situation, every individual needs a purpose, a goal to pursue and a future to believe in after having settled into a new environment.

Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, many Ukrainian universities have been affected or even closed, and several tens of thousands of young people of different nationalities were forced to interrupt their academic education. Despite their personal circumstances, we firmly believe that these students should not be deprived of their future opportunities, and we are ready to help these students bridge this difficult time by obtaining a high-quality academic degree in Jena or more generally in Germany. It will help them to shape the future of their home country.

If you have come to Jena as a refugee and feel that these offers may match your situation and concerns please contact us immediately.

1) Offer for auditor students in bachelor's and master's programs: immediate participation in running modules and lab internships

High harmonic generation laboratory in the Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics.
High harmonic generation laboratory in the Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics.
Image: Jens Meyer (University of Jena)

The Friedrich Schiller University Jena has established an auditor program for refugees. This program provides the possibility of obtaining an auditor status that will allow maximum flexibility in choosing appropriate courses or doing internships in our labs. It is clear to us that we need to react flexibly in such an extraordinary situation.

If this offer matches your situation, please contact us by writing an email to acp@uni-jena.de.

2) Offer for degree-seeking students with a bachelor's degree: flexible and individualized admission to the master's degree program

Basic research training within the physics study course.
Basic research training within the physics study course.
Image: Anne Günther (University of Jena)

At ASP, we offer flexible and individualized admission of students who have come to Jena or to Germany as refugees into our programs. Particularly, our Master of Science in Photonics (M.Sc. Photonics) is open to students holding a bachelor's degree from most of the natural and engineering sciences. The detailed application requirements and deadlines are explained here.

3) Offer for PhD/doctoral students who interrupted their research: continuing to work on your thesis in our research groups

Digital photonics lecture.
Digital photonics lecture.
Image: Steffen Walther.

If you have to come to Jena as a refugee and as a former PhD student in a field adjacent to physics, engineering or photonics, we offer:

  • connecting and embedding you into a research group in Jena which works in a field as close as possible to your PhD topic
  • providing desk and work space including a speedy computer
  • providing access to all IT resources, software, and libraries of our university

Further, we will try get in touch with your PhD supervisor and search for flexible ways for you to effectively continue or even finish your doctoral research and PhD thesis while in Jena.

If this offer matches your situation, please contact us by writing an email to acp@uni-jena.de.