21 22 for BMS Students GuiDEbooK for BMS Students | Foreword Foreword The purpose of this guidebook is to prepare students We encourage you to familiarize yourself with our for study at the Berlin Mathematical School (BMS). website. In particular, you can find program informa­ It is unofficial and should not be read legalistically. tion for both Phase I and Phase II students under the It outlines the requirements for study in Berlin and link “Students”. There is also a list of the BMS courses describes the services provided by the BMS program on offer each semester under “Academics”. and the three participating Berlin universities. Spe­ cific questions concerning the program should be If there is any doubt regarding the interpretation addressed to the staff of the BMS One­Stop Office. of any information provided in this guidebook, or if there are questions about the graduate program For some international students, visa­related docu­ involving matters that are not covered here, please ments are required prior to entry into Germany and contact the BMS One­Stop Office. Please note that a procuring these documents in some countries takes downloadable version of the BMS Guidebook con­ more time than is normally expected. It is therefore taining active hyperlinks can be found here: very important for all new students to read chapter www.math-berlin.de/images/guidebook.pdf “5: Before you Leave” and chapter “6: Upon Arrival”. We look forward to welcoming you to Berlin! Other publications of interest to new students are the BMS Study Regulations and the Mentoring Guide­ BMS One­Stop Office, February 2021 lines. The BMS Study Regulations explain the policies of the BMS and describe the study program and your academic responsibilities as a graduate student at the BMS. The Mentoring Guidelines provide informa­ tion about the BMS mentoring program. These docu­ ments are included in your admissions package and are also available on our website here: www.math-berlin.de/about-bms/downloads 1 Contents | GUIDEBOOK for BMS Students Table of Contents Welcome to the Berlin Mathematical School 4 1. The Berlin Mathematical School 5 1.1 MATH+ Fridays .......................................................................... 6 1.2 Kovalevskaya Lunch ..................................................................... 6 1.3 “What is …?” Seminar ................................................................... 6 1.4 Mentoring .............................................................................. 6 1.5 Soft­Skills Seminars ..................................................................... 7 1.6 Diversity ................................................................................ 8 1.7 Buddy Program ......................................................................... 8 1.8 BMS Orientation . 8 1.9 Support for Students with Children ...................................................... 9 2. Infrastructure 10 2.1 BMS One­Stop Office ................................................................... 10 2.2 BMS Lounge ........................................................................... 10 2.3 Study Rooms .......................................................................... 10 2.4 Financial Support for Conferences ...................................................... 10 2.5 Summer Schools ....................................................................... 11 2.6 Language Courses ..................................................................... 11 2.7 Sports Courses ......................................................................... 12 2.8 Music .................................................................................. 12 3. German Higher Education System 13 3.1 Course Programs and Timetables ....................................................... 13 3.2 Methods of Academic Instruction ...................................................... 13 3.3 Advisory Services ...................................................................... 14 3.4 National Student Services .............................................................. 17 4. The Three Berlin Universities 18 4.1 Freie Universität Berlin ................................................................. 18 4.2 Humboldt­Universität zu Berlin ......................................................... 19 4.3 Technische Universität Berlin ........................................................... 20 2 GUIDEBOOK for BMS Students | Contents 5. Before You Leave 21 5.1 Overview of Entry into Germany and University Enrollment Procedures .................. 21 5.2 Visa ................................................................................... 22 5.3 Proof of Financial Support .............................................................. 22 5.4 Health Insurance ....................................................................... 23 5.5 Documents to Bring to Germany ....................................................... 24 5.6 Accommodation ....................................................................... 24 5.7 Cost of Living .......................................................................... 26 6. Upon Arrival 27 6.1 Residence Registration and Residence Permit ........................................... 27 6.2 Health Insurance ....................................................................... 29 6.3 Paying Standard Charges ............................................................... 31 6.4 Enrollment . 32 6.5 Bank Account .......................................................................... 33 6.6 Computer Accounts .................................................................... 34 6.7 Mensa Card ............................................................................ 36 6.8 Libraries and Library Cards ............................................................. 36 7. General Facts About Germany 38 8. Berlin at a Glance 39 8.1 Brief History of Berlin . 39 8.2 Berlin’s 12 Districts .....................................................................40 8.3 Overview of Berlin’s Climate ............................................................40 8.4 Tourism and Sightseeing ...............................................................41 8.5 Public Transport........................................................................42 8.6 Shopping ..............................................................................43 8.7 Post Offices and Communications.......................................................43 8.8 Bookshops .............................................................................44 8.9 Recreation .............................................................................44 8.10 Places of Worship......................................................................46 9. Useful Addresses and Telephone Numbers 47 Publishing Information 48 3 Welcome from the Chairs | GuiDEbooK for BMS Students L–R: Prof. Holger Reich, Prof. Jürg Kramer, Nadja Wisniewski, Prof. John M. Sullivan Welcome to the Berlin Mathematical School Dear BMS Student, Berlin is an excellent place to study mathematics! Stop Office advises students on matters ranging from the online application pro cess, visa issues, housing and You realized that when you applied to the Berlin child­care, to applying for postdoctoral positions. This Mathematical School (BMS), a graduate school of guidebook is part of that advisory service and will help three of Berlin’s universities: Freie Universität Berlin you to plan your next steps before you start studying (FU), Humboldt­Universität zu Berlin (HU), and Tech­ at the BMS. The staff of the BMS One­Stop Office will be nische Universität Berlin (TU). The BMS was estab­ happy to answer any questions you may still have after lished in October 2006 with the aim of entering into reading this guidebook. competition with great role models such as the pres­ tigious American universities that the founders of the Mathematics students from all over the world come BMS themselves attended as doctoral students and to the BMS to benefit from Berlin’s diverse research postdoctoral fellows. We have therefore designed environment. We look forward to working with you, a graduate school to enable students, who have al­ teaching you, and helping you to build a successful ready completed a first degree, to set their sights di­ career in mathematics. rectly on advanced graduate studies and the acceler­ ated completion of a doctoral degree. Welcome to Berlin! Since 2006, the BMS has been building toward that goal: Prof. John M. Sullivan, PhD until 2018 with funding from the federal and state gov­ Prof. Dr. Jürg Kramer ernments’ “Excellence Initiative” and since 2019 within Prof. Dr. Holger Reich the Cluster of Excellence MATH+ with funding from the Nadja Wisniewski, “Excellence Strategy”. This support en ables the BMS to MATH+ Managing Director offer a wide range of opportunities to its students and Annika Preuß­Vermeulen, create outstanding conditions for study. The BMS One­ BMS Coordinator Annika Preuß-Vermeulen 4 GUIDEBOOK for BMS Students | 1. The Berlin Mathematical School 1. The Berlin Mathematical School The Berlin Mathematical School (BMS) is a joint grad­ uate school of the mathematics departments of the FU, HU and TU in Berlin. It combines the broad exper­ tise in mathematics at the three universities into an excellent environment for graduate studies. The concept of the BMS is based on three key ele­ ments: • a structured English-language study program consisting of Basic Courses with a