FAQ
Frequently asked questions
The application to the Geoscience Masters Degree programme is submitted via the campo portal, open from mid-January to mid-July.
Information about enrolment and application deadlines
The application requires:
- CV
- School Leaving Certificates (Abitur, A Levels, IB, etc.)
- Bachelor’s Degree Certificate after §47 Abs. 1 Satz 2 (Certificate, Transcript of Records, Diploma Supplement or comparable documents) or a Transcript of Records in case of §47 Abs. 3
- Letter of motivation (not required for the Master’s in GeoThermics/GeoEnergy), containing information on the following topics:
a. previous education (in particular, geoscience education)
b. what are your expectations and aspirations for the Masters Degree Programme
c. choices of first and second major subjects
The entry grade for the Geoscience Masters Degree Programme is 2.5. If you did not achieve the entry requirements you can apply for the procedure of qualification verification. All information on this topic can be found in the specific examination regulations on page 7.
Studies can only be started in winter semester. Starting in summer semester is only possible in the case of a switch of university within the Geoscience Masters Degree Programme.
[…] students that are enrolled in a Bachelors Degree Programme can be submitted for a Masters Degree Programme with a well-founded application in exceptional cases, if they achieved at least 140 ECTS points. Bachelors Degree verification must be handed in within one year of the start of studies. The formal admission for a Masters Degree requires graduation from a Bachelors Degree. The access to the Masters Degree programme is under reserve.”
Students can only attend the second try (Nachklausur), if they were registered for the exam and either failed or handed in a medical report. Students who resigned from an exam or have not been registered can not take the exam before the next examination cycle.
In case of illness during an exam, the simple medical report is no longer sufficient. The student is required to immediately inform the exam supervisor or the examination office of their inability to sit the exam. The medical report must be handed in immediately to the examination office after the end of the exam together with an application for resignation. In this case the medical report has to be issued by a fiduciary doctor of the FAU.
More information on the homepage of the examination office.
The retrospective claim of illness is not possible. The claim of inability to sit the exam must be done at the latest immediately after the exam. “At the latest” means, that the exam results are not yet released. Otherwise an attempt of abuse is assumed.
The request for leave can be found on the FAU Homepage – Student Records Office.
In the Geoscience Bachelors and Masters Degree Programme an internship is not mandatory. For a voluntary internship during the lecture period, the internship must fill at least 7 weeks of the lecture period, to be eligible for a leave of absence. Shorter internships (e.g. 4 weeks) for the key qualification modules in the Geoscience Masters must be completed in the semester break. A leave of absence for an internship is only possible once during the degree.
A leave of absence for a study abroad can be requested for up to a maximum of 2 semesters. Please attach evidence of enrolment in the host university abroad to the application.
Further reasons for a leave of absence are:
- Illness (medical report, showing that you are unable to study for the whole semester)
- Pregnancy (one semester)/parental leave
- Care of a relative
- Other reasons (name detailed); financial and economical aspects or the production of a thesis are not accepted
The students have to re-register for the further studies duly and timely to every semester at FAU.
The application for a leave of absence must be handed in before re-registration at the Student Records Office (if the cause for the leave of absence occurs only after re-registration, you can normally apply for the leave of absence until the start of the lectures).
Please send all required documents to:
Zentrale Universitätsverwaltung
Referat L 5 – Studierendenverwaltung
(Student Records Office)
Schlossplatz 4
91054 Erlangen
or hand them in personally at:
Halbmondstr. 6‐8, 91054 Erlangen
Zi.‐Nr. (Room no.) 00.034; studentenkanzlei@fau.de
The application for a leave of absence must be made principally before the start of lectures in the respective semester. A leave of absence in the first semester is only valid for the purpose of maternity protection or parental leave. A retrospective leave of absence for a completed semester is not allowed. The length of the leave of absence should generally not exceed two semesters (this does not apply for maternity protection or parental leave). It is not possible to attend study or sit examinations FAU during the leave of absence (exception: repetition of failed exams; but not after approved resignation from an exam).
In case of a longer inability to study (more than 2 semester) instead of a leave of absence you should consider an interruption of your studies after §9 Abs. 3 of the enrolment statute of FAU.
1. Industrial placements and internships (4 weeks)
2. Geological Mapping (12 days)
3. Field exercises (12 days)
4. Projects/ comparable work (4 weeks). Projects have to be evaluated by an approved examiner. SQ1 and SQ2 have to comprise 5 ECTS.
Further information can be found under core skill modules of the Geoscience Masters Degree in the Study Portal.
Further information can be found under core skill modules of the Geoscience Bachelors Degree in the Study Portal.
Elective modules in the Bachelors Degree Programme
The elective module in the Bachelors Degree should be taken in the 4th semester. Lectures are usually offered annually. You should complete lectures that are offered in Wintersemester in the 3rd semester. Lectures offered in the summer semester should be completed in the 4th semester as recommended in the study plan.
Currently seven elective modules are available within the Bachelors Programme.
Elective modules in the Masters Degree Programme
An elective module contains one or two lectures worth 5 ECTS. Within the elective module WNF-2 Werkstoffwissenschaften (material sciences) a third lecture in form of a colloquium is offered.
Currently eight elective modules are available within the Masters Programme.