GENERAL INFORMATION

From 2020 onwards, there has been the possiblity to earn a double bachelor's degree (integrated double degree) by completing part of the bachelor's programme at Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL) in Bogotá. You will complete both the core subjects as well as the bachelor's thesis during your two semesters abroad at UNAL.  If you complete your studies successfully, you will be conferred a degree certificate from both universities.

The regular stay at UNAL amounts to two semesters. Here, you have to consider that the time frame of the semesters is different in Colombia and in Germany. The regular semesters at UNAL run from January to May and from August to December. Students must gain at least 60 ECTS during their stay abroad. According to the curriculum, the core subjects and the bachelor's thesis have to be completed during the exchange. The following graphic illustrates the ideal order of study for the double degree programme. The selection of all the courses that the students can take is listed in the chart further below.

At the time of the application, you have to prove an A2 language level in Spanish. In order to partcipate in the exchange you have to have reached the level B1, in order to graduate with the double degree you need to reach level B2. The ZFA (language centre) at RUB offers the neccessary language courses. Furthermore, UNAL offers crash courses for students of Ruhr University both before the beginning of the semester and over the course of the semester.

If both the requirements of the double degree and the regular bachelor's degree at RUB are met, the graduate will be conferred two bachelor degree certificates (one of the RUB and one of the UNAL, respectively).

Universidad Nacional de Colombia is the biggest and most renowned university in Colombia and according to "Times-Higher-Education" it is among the top 20 universities of Latin America. UNAL was founded in 1867 and aside from its campus in Bogotá, it has eight additional locations, which are spread across the country. The main campus in Bogotá is situated in the district "Ciudad Universitaria" (Span. university city) in the heart of the city. It was designed by the German pedagogue Fritz Karsen and the architect Leopold Rother. The campus resembles an ellipsis that is divided into five parts, each of which contains one academic discipline and its respective departments. From above, it has the shape of an owl, which represents a deep connection to wisdom and intuitive knowledge. With around 50.000 students at all locations combined, UNAL is about as big as RUB.

The double degree programme is a bilateral programme in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering of UNAL, which is why each year, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of RUB welcomes exchange students from Bogotá. 

Bogotá is the capital and the biggest city of Colombia with about 8 Million inhabitants. It is a meeting place for people from all over the country, which is why this city is diverse and multicultural; it combines old and new. Beyond that, the city offers many green areas with all its parks and the eastern hills, where you can find the sacred sites of Monserrate and Guadalupe. Only few cities offer a landscape like the one that the inhabitants of Bogotá enjoy every day when they let their eye wander to the wooded Andes, the mountains that rise up in the east of the city. 

Because of its proximity to the equator, there is diurnal climate in Bogotá. However, due to its altitude of 2600 m, the temperatures are mild. Temperatures between 10°C and 20°C all year round are comfortable for the RUB exchange students, while the local students often walk around in winter coats. 

You will find the cost of living index and ratings for everyday items in Bogotá here.