The University of Mainz

Other than the University of Memphis, the Campus in Mainz is quite old. The university was opened in 1477 and you can tell that buildings on campus arose historically. Therefore nothing really fits together- new houses were built arbitrarily next to old barracks. But nevertheless, it is one of the few campus- based universities in Germany. Another huge advantage: the University of Mainz doesn’t levy fees or tuitions to study there.

We have fewer green space on campus than Memphis does, but we have a botanical garden located on campus, The Arboretum contains greenhouses, an alpine garden and all different kinds of plants, trees and crops. Every student can take a walk through the garden and rest or study there.

One fact I really like about the University is the folksiness on campus. There are different cafeterias such as the “Kulturcafé” or the “ReWi” cafeteria that provide space to sit down with your friends and talk, study or just frolic in the sun for hours. Although to me the campus in Mainz is not nearly as beautiful than the one in Memphis, I think it is way more comfortable, homey and unhurried there.

Everybody enrolled can use the sports’ facilities and take sports’ classes on campus for free, you can sign up for aerobic, dance and fencing classes, self-defense courses and many, many more. The “mensa” provides snacks and drinks all day long and serves lunch for very reasonable prices. Although some of the same meals appear on the menu every once in a while, they are trying to provide four to six different kinds of lunch every day so that students won’t get bored eating there.

“And why exactly did you choose to study in Memphis?”

Indeed, while I was thinking about studying abroad in the United States, Memphis wasn’t exactly the first city that popped into my mind. To get an idea about the different possibilities, I made an appointment with Mrs. Wacker at the study abroad office at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in spring term 2008. Sitting in her room, totally clueless about where I am going to study at in one or two years (“Washington would be nice! And New York is pretty cool!”) she all of a sudden started talking about Elvis, Blues, Jazz and a great Journalism Department at the University of Memphis. That was the first time when I heard about the “m3+ zdf” exchange project.

What is the “m3+ zdf” project?
This exchange program is a cooperation between the University of Memphis, the Ball State University in Muncie, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Universities of applied sciences in Mainz and Wiesbaden and the German Television ZDF. The project offers German and American students the possibility to study journalism and related fields in one of the partner universities abroad and to improve their practical work and language skills in a cross- cultural environment.

Procedures for German exchange students
If you are a German exchange student, you have the opportunity to either study abroad at the University of Memphis (Tennessee) or the Ball State University in Muncie (Indiana) for one year or one semester (either fall or spring term). Therefore you should be majoring in Journalism, Communication Studies, Media Design, Media Management or Media Dramaturgy. By the time you study abroad, you have to have studied at least four semesters at your German University. But be careful: There is a lot of paperwork to handle by the time your application is due. You need two letters of recommendation from German professors, a statement of purpose, copies of marks and a transcript with grades, a language certificate from the department of American Studies, an autobiographical statement and several application forms provided by the American Universities.

A huge advantage of the m3+ZDF project is that due to the partnership program you don’t have to pay any tuition fees for your semester abroad. If there are more than three German students going to study abroad in the United States, the University in Mainz eventually applies for a group- scholarship at the DAAD (German academic exchange service). Depending on the DAAD’s financial situation you might get a scholarship for studying abroad, which for me included the traveler costs (750 €), insurances costs (140€) and a monthly payment of 425 €.

Contacts and Links:

http://www.journalistik.uni-mainz.de/335.php

http://www.m3-exchange.org/de/was_ist_m3.htm

Petra-Angelika Wacker, International Office University of Mainz

Prof. Dr. Karl Nikolaus Renner, Department of Journalism University of Mainz

Procedures for American students: 

If you want to study at the Johannes- Gutenberg University in Mainz or the Universities of applied sciences in Mainz or Wiesbaden, you have to have a working knowledge of German and thus completed two years of college or 16 courses worth of credit by the time you arrive in Germany. In order to study abroad on one of the universities you should be majoring in one of the following fields: Media studies and Mass Communication, Media Design, Film and Video, Animation, Interactive Design, Humanities, Social Sciences, Law, Economics or Technology. American students take German language classes and study at the Universities for one semester with credit. Besides that, you have the opportunity to intern at the ZDF German Television, which is exclusively offered to students of Media Studies and Mass Communication. For any further information, you can always consult Mrs. Laumann and Mrs. Goudsouzian at the study abroad office in Memphis, who are more than willingly to help you with any kind of question.

 Contacts and Links:

http://www.m3-exchange.org/us/what_is.htm

https://umdrive.memphis.edu/g-journalism/gep.html

Rebecca Laumann, Study Abroad Office University of Memphis

Dr. Joe Hayden, Departement of Journalism University of Memphis