Below you will find some frequently asked questions that are addressed to the Examination Committee.
Please check if your question is in the list below before you ask us. This page is in English because of the many foreign students we have.
Disclaimer 1:
Please be aware that this FAQ is meant to help you, but it is not the authoritative rule book. Please consult (for Bachelor or for Master) the Prüfungsordnung for the precise rules (this Prüfungsordnung is, so to speak, the "law book" for the course of study), and the Modulhandbuch for the layout of your course of study, including the standard compulsory courses etc. Both documents can be downloaded from the main website of the faculty of physics and astronomy.
Disclaimer 2:
Any advice you get from us (where us / we / our are defined here as the student secretariate and/or the chairperson of the examination committee (Prüfungsausschussvorsitzende)) is only valid in the form as recalled by (and with the meaning intended by) us. Any misunderstandings or different recollections of conversations with us will be ruled in favor of us. If you want to be more secure, you are advised to handle things by email, though even in that case any dispute about the interpretation of the text in those emails will be ruled in favor of us. In other words: it lies in your responsibility to be sure you know what we said, wrote and meant. In the end the famous rule ignorantia juris non excusat also applies here.
This is the secretariate led by Ms. Jacob and Ms. Andriuolo. It is located in the INF 227 building, Room 00.320. If you have any questions or issues regarding your physics study, this is your first point of contact (with the exception of standard issues for the chairperson of the examination committee, see the list below). Please check out the hangouts for opening hours etc. (also check out possible changed hours, see "latest news" below). Please be aware that toward the end of each semester these ladies have extremely high workload due to the many diplomas (Zeugnisse) they have to prepare, so please be especially considerate/patient during these periods.
He is the main contact person in charge of decisions related to your study. If the secretariate cannot answer or solve your issue, this is your next point of contact. Routine decisions are made by him directly. Complex cases will be discussed by the committee and decided by the full committee. Currently the chairperson is Prof. Cornelis Dullemond. For information about the consultation hour and/or how to reach him, please refer to the webpage of the examination board. Typical issues for the chairperson of the examination office, for which you can directly contact the chairperson (or visit his consultation hour):
The latest news for student matters (including modified opening hours of the student secretariate or modified consultation hours) can be found here.
The list of study advisors can be found here.
For BAföG issues, please contact Dr. Walter Dehnen or Dr. Andreas Reifenberger.
We all make mistakes, and so it can happen that you get advice or information from study advisors, the student secretariate, the chairperson of the examination committee, the dean of studies or one of our websites that contain errors or are simply wrong. We are generally inclined (though do not promise in any way!) to try to repair problems arising from such situations in order to minimize damage done. But: the Prüfungsordnung and the Modulhandbuch remain the final word, so even if advice was given that was in conflict with the Prüfungsordnung and/or the Modulhandbuch, it is the Prüfungsordnung and the Modulhandbuch that count. Also refer to the "disclaimer 2" at the top of this page.
Many students have psychological problems. These can range from small to severe, and they can dramatically affect your ability to study. If you have such problems, or if you notice that a fellow student has them, please note that Heidelberg University has a psychosocial counceling office for students (PBS) that is free of charge for students.
Die Uni Heidelberg bietet regelmäßig für Studierende ein Workshop an zur Stressbewältigung im Studium. Nur auf Deutsch.
The University offers regularly a variety of study skills courses. You can find, and register to them on the usual lecture platform (until WS 2023 that is still LSF, as of SS 2024 that will be heiCO). Suche nach dem Stichwort "heiSKILLS", oder im LSF: "Veranstaltungen für Hörer aller Fakultäten".
Bachelor:
Master:
Various:
Here is a list of PDFs of the various forms:
Here is the procedure:
They take place online. The procedure is described here.
There is a central website for heiCO where you can find much information about the system. In addition, we have created dedicated tutorials for physics students. One for how to move achievements to other areas of your degree programme in heiCO. The other for how to request recognition of external achievements with heiCO.
Please note when registering for Master's lectures/seminars if you are changing from Bachelor's to Master's in the coming semester: Wait until your Master's study is active and then register to the lecture under your Master's. Note that your Master's cannot be activated before your Bachelor's degree has been set to "complete" in heiCO, meaning you may want to finish your Bachelors a few weeks before the end of the semester and hand in your "Streichliste" soon afterward.
Partly. Generally you can register for a lecture if you are not sure whether you will attend until the end. If you no longer wish to attend at some point, you can deregister in heiCO (note the deregistration deadline!).
In our experience to date, there are hardly any or no cases where credits already entered in LSF/POS were not transferred to heiCO. Probably the problem is that you cannot find or see these credits, even if they are there. Look under "My achievements" (not under "My degree programme"). Or in "My degree programme" under "Unassigned credits". It is possible that if you have just switched to the Master's programme that credits that you did not need for your Bachelor's degree were somehow not transferred to the Master's programme. This can be rectified in the Examinations Office.
Unfortunately, this is a very common problem caused by the migration of credit data from LSF/POS to heiCO. The credits themselves were migrated, but some of them are not, or not correctly, assigned. The Examinations Office is currently working on the assignment of these credits to the degree programme. However, this is partly a tedious manual procedure that we cannot complete for all students in a short time. We are therefore initially only doing this for students who are about to graduate. But see "moving achievements" below: You can do do a lot of this yourself in heiCO.
As soon as you have received your certificate, we will switch your degree in heiCO to "valid". If the date of your last achievement (and the submission of your thesis) was still in the previous semester, then you will indeed be immediately exmatriculated, as you actually graduated in the previous semester and only the administration lated into the new semester. If the date of your last achievement (or the submission of your thesis) is in the semester in which your certificate was finalised, you will only be exmatriculated at the end of that semester (assuming you have paid your semester fee, if applicable). If you do your Master's immediately afterwards, your study programme will automatically change at the end of the semester and you will remain enrolled.
The date of the last achievement constitutes the date of graduation. The date is also relevant for when you may be exmatriculated. The last achievement is usually the Bachelor's colloquium (in the BaSc) or the submission of the Master's thesis (in the MSc). However, if, in order to complete your degree programme, you are still missing achievements, those achievements may be the last ones. Please note: It is not the date on which this achievement was booked into heiCO that counts, but the date assigned to this credit, even if it was booked later. This can therefore also be retroactive (see the point "Will I be exmatriculated immediately?" above). Also please note that "last achievement" applies also to achievements placed in the "additional courses".
Many of the seminars and specialised lectures have a common registration procedure. When you deregister, you are deregistering for all courses in the enrolment procedure, not just one. If you wish to deregister from just one course: Untick the box in the course (usually "Standard group") and save. If it is too late, register again if the registration procedure is still open. If the deadline has already passed: Contact the lecturer or head tutor.
In physics, the Klausur and the Nachklausur are formally one exam. You register for the Klausur and the Nachklausur together. It is possible that the lecturer may decide to reopen registration after the Klausur, but this is at the lecturer's discretion.
The requirements for the exam have probably not been met. This can be have many reasons. Examples of reasons are: You are from another faculty that does not allow free subjects and where this course is not linked to your study programme; You are no longer enrolled or are on leave of absence; You are not registered for the course. It may also be one of the unresolved heiCO problems. The lecturer can often solve the problem by registering you for the exam manually.
Some credits have cryptic titles such as "Approved subject selection", "Elective Physics Master Options 1" or generic titles like "Computational Physics 1". The trick is that the real title only becomes visible when you go to "My achievements", click on the cryptic title (or on the ">" symbol) and scroll down to "Examination". There you will see the "Topic", which is the actual name of the lecture. On the Transcript of Records, which you can print out yourself in the "My achievements" menu, the "Topic" is also visible.
In the past (pre-heiCO), you could use the "Verschiebungstool" in PhUe (the Übungsgruppensystem) to "move" your achievements/lectures between different areas of your degree programme.
Now this can be done in heiCO. It is a bit complex and it is not so easy to get a complete overview, but it works. To learn how to do this, please consult this tutorial.
In heiCO, an "achievement" (credit) is connected to a degree program. This is typically determined upon registration to the lecture. During the transition phase between Bachelor and Master it can therefore happen that lectures / credits / achievements may be connected to the old degree program (Bachelor) although they are supposed to be connected to the new degree program (Master). As of Summer 2024 the heiCO-Team is working on improving procedures such that registrations and achievements will be connected to the appropriate program. But it is still work in progress, and there will likely be numerous cases where things will either be linked to the wrong program, or remain entirely unlinked.
However: You need not worry that you will lose credits. As long as you managed to register to the exam, your credit should/will be stored in heiCO somehow. If it really remains lost, then you can go to the student secretariate to ask for help. If it is not super-urgent, please chose a calm time to do so (middle of the semester).
The room code can be understood as follows (let's take the example of room 622701403):
Buildings starting with 8 are in the Philosophenweg campus.
If you have just started your study of physics, many things are new and you may be overwhelmed with information. However, right from the start it is important to know a few critical issues:
Starting in the Wintersemester 2024/25 we offer a new mathematics course for first-year Bachelor students of physics: "Höhere Mathematik für Physikstudierende (PMP1/HöMa1)". It is offered as an alternative to "Lineare Algebra I (LA1)", and it is more focussed on the application to physics. Both options are available to physics students: Either HöMa1 or LA1. But you cannot get credit points for both.
If you have failed LA1 before, you are free to switch to HöMa1. But if you have passed LA1 before, then you can no longer do HöMa1.
You can do this at any scientific institution anywhere in the world. You can also do it at companies. If the supervisor has no academic status or function, then please make sure to find a co-supervisor with academic status or function (from any university). The main condition is that the topic involves at least some physics. Related topics such as chemistry, informatics or mathematics are not per se excluded, but need approval of the chairperson of the examination committee.
If your "Projektpraktikum" is in a company or at another university, please make sure to ask your supervisor to make a certificate (a letter) for you to certify that you indeed did this Projektpraktikum. This letter should contain:
It should be on official letter head and it should be signed by your supervisor. Please provide the original of this letter / certificate to the examination office.
Each Projektpraktikum must involve at least 120 hours of work (equivalent to 4 Credit Points). In total we can acknowledge up to 12 Credit Points worth of Projektpraktikum for Bachelor, and also up to 12 Credit Points worth of Projektpraktikum for Master. Example: two Projektpraktika of each 6 CP or 3 of each 4 CP.
No. If the supervisor gives one on the certificate, we will book the Projektpraktikum nonetheless without grade.
That depends. If it resembles one of the experiments from the Fortgeschrittenenpraktikum, you could ask Dr. Klaus Reygers. But in general the answer is: no.
A paid internship cannot be acknowledged for credit points. But if the internship is in another city or abroad, then you are allowed to receive a stipend/reimbursement to cover your extra costs due to the distance. These costs can be a second (temporary) accomodation or the cost of daily commute from Heidelberg to the other city or the extra costs of daily expenses in an expensive country (e.g. Switzerland). You must submit your contract (or anything else that states how much money you receive) to the examination office, together with a letter from yourself in which you explain why you need this money and on what you spend it.
Note: If your internship is part of a study abroad that is funded otherwise (e.g. Erasmus or a stipend from the university), then this stipend is no problem of course.
If you do not wish to get credit points for your internship, then it is no problem to receive a salary.
In some countries (e.g. France) or companies internships require the sending institution (us) to sign a so-called "Internship Agreement". Often these agreements require us (Heidelberg University) to insure students for the case an accident happens (which our university can not do!), or have other clauses that are potentially tricky. Neither the student secretariate not the chairperson of the examination committee is autorized to sign such a document on behalf of Heidelberg University. Please consult the Academisches Auslandsamt for such matters. Alternatively, a professor from our university could take care of (and responsibility for) this and sign this internship agreement for you. Any potential legal issues will then be the responsibility of the professor's home institution, not of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, nor of the University as a whole.
Also it is sometimes expected from us, that we confirm that this is a compulsory internship. We do not have compulsory internships, so also this is something we cannot sign.
Please inquire, well in advance of your internship, if such requirements apply.
Please note that you must register your Bachelor thesis at the student sekretariate before the official starting date. Also, please be aware of the new guidelines on the use of AI aids.
Yes. Please register your thesis at the student secretariate before you start. See forms here.
The primary (official) supervisor must be a Professor, Privatdozent or Research Group Leader at our faculty. Note that some researchers at the Max Planck Institutes in Heidelberg have such appointments at our faculty as well. The second advisor can be from another faculty, another university or even from a company, but has to have at least an academic Privatdozent status (Habilitation) at a university because he/she has to have Pruefungsbefugnis. Note that this is not always fulfilled for Research Group Leaders, many of which do not yet have a Habilitation/Pruefungsbefugnis. Please check this.
Yes. Strict to the day. But you can make a formal application to the chairperson of the examination committee for up to 2 weeks extension. This must be a paper letter, explaining why the project was delayed. It must be signed by you and by your supervisor. The letter must be delivered to the examination office (Prüfungssekretariat). In urgent cases you can in addition send the chairperson of the examination committee an email. Note that the chairperson of the examination committee may not be able to to react immediately, so please hand in your extension application at least a few working days before time runs out.
Note that if your delay was caused by illness, you need, instead, to hand in a medical certificate for the duration of your illness-related incapacitation, and your deadline will be extended for that duration. In that case, no request for extension is required.
Formally speaking: no. But there is the possibility that you formally do the work in Heidelberg, and are "sent" to the other university. The construction is that your main supervisor is still from our faculty, but the second supervisor would then be from the other university and would be your daily supervisor. However, please clarify this sufficiently in advance with the chair person of the examination board. There is no entitlement to a thesis abroad.
Formally no, because a thesis is an academic entity written at a university. But your supervisor can "send" you to a company. Please keep in mind that the project should be a research project related to physics. The official first and second supervisors still have to obey the above criteria, but a local daily supervisor can be anyone from the company who has a doctor title. Please also consult the Internship section above.
Please note that we do not sign non-disclosure agreements. While we generally do not publish Bachelor and Master theses, we do not allow the company to restrict us in any way regarding the use or form of the thesis, how it is submitted, who can read it, or which software we use for scanning for plagiarism.
Yes. It could happen, for instance, that you start a Projektpraktikum and get so fascinated by the topic that you would like to write your thesis on that topic as well. There is no rule that prevents this. Just keep in mind that a bit of diversity in your "Lebenslauf" may be helpful later on the job market - but that is your personal decision.
No. See above (internship).
Thesis submission is entirely electronic, in PDF form, via the “Uebungsgruppen System”. The link is:
https://uebungen.physik.uni-heidelberg.de/uebungen/thesis.php
A printed version is not required. If your examiners would nevertheless also like to receive a printed version, you are asked to hand it in to them personally. However, this does not count as an official submission.
You will get an automatic email from the system one week prior to the deadline, which also contains the link. The submission portal is personalized, so you have to log in to the “Uebungsgruppen System” with your university account.
Please take time to read and understand the following:
Please note that you must register your Master thesis at the student sekretariate before the official starting date. Also, please be aware of the new guidelines on the use of AI aids.
The Master Thesis phase is divided into 3 parts:
Yes, in three separate phases. Before you start your Master thesis year (i.e before MFS, MFP and MFA) please download, print out and fill out this form and hand it in (in person) to the student secretariate. If the student secretariate approves, you can start the first 3 month part (MFS) of the Master thesis phase. Before the start of the second part (MFP) you should register your actual thesis at the student secretariate. You can do so by filling out and printing out this Master thesis registration form and bringing it (in person) to the student secretariate. When the student secretariate approves this, you can start the second 3 month part (MFP). This phase should officially end after about 3 months with an appraisal by the supervisor. For this, please print out this form and give it to your supervisor to fill out, and make sure that the form finds its way back to the student secretariate. This should be done around the end of MFP, but the exact date is not so critical. However, what is critical is that starting from the official starting date of the MFP phase (as written on the Master thesis registration form, see above) you have exactly (to the day) 9 months to finish the MFP and MFA phases, i.e. to submit your thesis (in PDF form) to the student secretariate.
Not really. If you already want to start doing the actual research during the MFS phase, that's perfectly ok. If you and your supervisor decide to first do a bit of hands-on work to get to know the field, and then start reading up on the literature, that's also ok. You and your supervisor have to plan the project the way you consider the best. The MFS, MFP and MFA division is in that sense mainly meant to give some guideline/structure to the planning of the thesis. However, the formalities (such as the forms you have to fill out and the time limitations) have to be adhered to!
Yes. Strict to the day. But you can make a formal application to the chairperson of the examination committee for up to 1 month of extension. This must be a paper letter, explaining why the project was delayed. It must be signed by you and by your supervisor. The letter must be delivered to the examination office (Prüfungssekretariat). In urgent cases you can in addition send the chairperson of the examination committee an email. Note that the chairperson of the examination committee may not be able to react immediately, so please hand in your extension application at least a few working days before time runs out.
Note that if your delay was caused by illness, you need, instead, to hand in a medical certificate for the duration of your illness-related incapacitation, and your deadline will be extended for that duration. In that case, no request for extension is required.
The primary (official) supervisor must be a Professor, Privatdozent or Research Group Leader at our faculty. Note that some researchers at the Max Planck Institutes in Heidelberg have such appointments at our faculty as well. The second advisor can be from another faculty, another university or even from a company, but has to have at least an academic Privatdozent status (Habilitation) at a university because he/she has to have "Pruefungsbefugnis". Note that this is not always fulfilled for Research Group Leaders, many of which do not yet have a Habilitation/Pruefungsbefugnis. Please check this.
Formally speaking: no. But there is the possibility that you formally do the work in Heidelberg, and are "sent" to the other university. The construction is that your main supervisor is still from our faculty, but the second supervisor would then be from the other university and would be your daily supervisor. However, please clarify this sufficiently in advance with the chair person of the examination board. There is no entitlement to a thesis abroad.
See above ("Can I do my Master thesis at another university?"). But please note that the academic system in another country is very different. Also it will be harder for the primary advisor (the one from Uni-HD) to keep track of things. So if you wish to do a Master Thesis abroad, please choose a senior primary advisor in Heidelberg.
Formally: no, because a thesis is an academic entity, written at the university. But your advisor can "send" you to a company. Note, however, that the project has to be a research project related to physics. The official first and second supervisors still have to obey the above criteria, but a local daily supervisor can be anyone from the company who has a doctor title. Please also consult the Internship section above.
Please note that we do not sign non-disclosure agreements. While we generally do not publish Bachelor and Master theses, we do not allow the company to restrict us in any way regarding the use or form of the thesis, how it is submitted, who can read it, or which software we use for scanning for plagiarism.
Yes. It could happen, for instance, that you start a Projektpraktikum and get so fascinated by the topic that you would like to write your thesis on that topic as well. There is no rule that prevents this. Just keep in mind that a bit of diversity in your "Lebenslauf" may be helpful later on the job market - but that is your personal decision.
To start your Master Thesis project, you have to have achieved at least 48 Credit Points, consisting of 2 core modules, the compulsory Master Seminar, the MvMod module (including the oral examination), plus further elective modules. If you have achieved these, but these points have not yet been booked into the system, note that you can already "inofficially" start the MFS-Phase of your Masters project (you do not have to sit and wait), and register once everything has been booked.
No. See above (Internship).
Thesis submission is entirely electronic, in PDF form, via the “Uebungsgruppen System”. The link is:
https://uebungen.physik.uni-heidelberg.de/uebungen/thesis.php
Printed copies are not required. If your examiners would nevertheless also like to receive a printed version, you are asked to hand it in to them personally. However, this does not count as an official submission.
You will get an automatic email from the system one week prior to the deadline, which also contains the link. The submission portal is personalized, so you have to log in to the “Uebungsgruppen System” with your university account.
Please take time to read and understand the following:
As an alternative to the 'normal' Bachelor of physics, there is the possibility to do a 50% Bachelor of physics, combined with a 50% Bachelor in another topic. This is primarily meant for students who wish to become a teacher in a German Gymnasium ("Lehramt"). But it is also possible to do a non-Lehramt-related 50% Bachelor in physics. Here follow some general FAQs, applicable to both the Lehramt and the non-Lehramt version of 50% Bachelor:
The 50% Bachelor of Physics is described in the same Prüfungsordnung and Modulhandbuch as for the 100% Bachelor. But please make sure to download the versions of these documents that we put online after September 2019!
In principle yes, if you fulfill the acceptance criteria (see the "Zulassungsordnung" of the Master of Science in physics). Two acceptance criteria are particularly noteworthy in this context: At least half of the credit points of your Bachelor should be physics (not half of the 50% Bachelor, but half of the total). In addition, we require that the Bachelor Thesis was written in the Physics part of the 50% Bachelor.
For the combination Physics and Mathematics we try to avoid this. For other combinations it is unavoidable. The only solution is to plan the order in which you take your modules such that the clash is avoided. In bad cases please consult with the chairperson of the examination committee.
You can write your Bachelorthesis in either one. But if you wish to continue into Physics Master of Science afterward, then your Bachelor thesis has to be done in the Bachelor of Physics.
Prof. Selim Jochim.
Yes: but contrary to the 100% Bachelor, you can remove the grades of only 1 physics module from the calculation of the final grade.
Yes: as in the 100% Bachelor, you have a third "attempt" for up to two lectures in Physics.
*** From here on let us distinguish between these two variants of 50% Bachelor physics: ***
To become a teacher for Gymnasium, you have to do a 50% Bachelor, combining two topics. Here we assume that one of these two topics you choose is Physics (in the Modulhandbuch this is called "Lehramtsoption"). Once you finished that, you continue with a "Master of Education". Here we will only discuss the 50% Bachelor part. Here are a few FAQs:
You can combine with any other 50% Bachelor that is listed on this website. We recommend, however, combining it with Mathematics.
You have to do PEP1-PEP5 and PTP1-PTP4 (i.e. the same experimental and theoretical physics compulsory lectures as the 100% Bachelor), but not the mathematics lectures. The criteria for passing the exams are identical to those for the 100% Bachelor. In addition you also have to do the "Physikalische Anfängerpraktikum 1 für Lehramtsstudenten" (PAPL1) and "Astrophysik und Kosmologie für Lehramt" (PASTRO.1). You can find these listed in Table 2b of the Modulhandbuch of Bachelor of Physics. Furthermore, there are several cross-discipline didactical modules that have to be done: 2 CP Fachdidaktik in the other discipline (the 2 CP Fachdidaktik in physics is included in PASTRO.1, see above), Einführung in die Schulpädagogik/Pädagogische Psychologie (6 CP), Grundlagen der Bildungswissenschaft (4 CP) and Berufsorientierte Praktika BOP I und BOP II (6 CP). See Section 5 of the Modulhandbuch. In total these didactical modules add up to 20 credit points, as you can verify.
Unfortunately no. The study plan for the 50% Bachelor Physik for Lehramt is entirely fixed; there is no "Wahlbereich".
Unfortunately no. There is no "space" left in the program (Lehramt) to book these additional credit points.
For PASTRO: Block course, sign up via email at the Haus der Astronomie. For PAPL1: either on-line or ask Dr. Jens Wagner.
For the moment yes, though you will need some additional courses. Please consult with Dr. Ostrowksi. Note that this might change in the future.
Yes, you can find that here.
Although we do not really recommend it, it is also possible to do a 50% Bachelor of Physics unrelated to Lehramt (in the Modulhandbuch this is called "Fachanteil 50%").
In principle you can combine with any other 50% Bachelor that is offered at our university. We recommend, however, combining it with Mathematics or Informatics.
You have to do PEP1-PEP5 and PTP1-PTP4 (i.e. the same experimental and theoretical physics compulsory lectures as the 100% Bachelor), but not the mathematics lectures. The criteria for passing the exams are identical to those for the 100% Bachelor. You also have to do the "Physikalische Anfängerpraktikum 1" (PAP1). You can find all these compulsory modules these listed in Table 2c of the Modulhandbuch of Bachelor of Physics. For the Überfachliche Kompetenzen (UK) area you have quite some freedom. In total (for both halves of your study combined) you have to fill 20 credit points worth of lectures. You can fill them with any module from the usual UK module list of the Modulhandbuchs of the two disciplines (Physics and the other one). But in addition, you are also allowed (and you are encouraged) to include the "Anfängerpraktikum 2" (PAP2), worth 6 CP, and/or a Bachelor Pflichtseminar (PSEM) worth 3 CP (2 for the PSEM itself, and 1 for the UKS2 belonging to it, see modulhandbuch for details). You can find an example Modellstudienplan in the Modulhandbuch in the appendix (Tables 22 and 23).
No.
No.
No. It's optional. The Modellstudienplan is just a suggestion.
Yes, you can include it in your UK-Bereich.
The “Wahlbereich” is for lectures outside of physics, in order to broaden your horizon. However, not all topics fit in. The lectures have to be from one of the “adjacent disciplines of physics” (“Nachbarbereiche der Physik”) as listed in the Modulhandbuch. These are: chemistry, biology, geology, informatics, mathematics, philosophy, physiology/medicine, economic sciences. Lectures from other sciences may be eligible, but only on request to the chair of the examination board, and with good justification.
In ÜK you need at least 20 credit points. Note that 1 credit point (UKS2) is “automatic” once you passed your Pflichtseminar (PSem). For the Wahlplficht-Physik-Area (WP-Area) you need at least 14 credit points. In the Options(Wahl)-area (W-area) there is no minimum number of credits. However, since you need 180 credit points to finish your Bachelor, of which 105 are compulsory physics modules and 24 are compulsory math modules, it follows that WP+W+ÜK must contain at least 51 credit points. If you have exactly WP=14 and ÜK=20 (each at their minimum requirement), then you need 17 for the W-area. However, if you have, e.g. WP=18 andn ÜK=23, then you only need 10 for the W-area. Or if you have WP=37 and ÜK=22, then you do not need any credit points in the W-Area.
You can follow the study plans in the module handbook for the specialisations (i) astronomy and astrophysics, (ii) atomic, molecular and optical physics, (iii) bio- and medical physics, (iv) computational physics, (v) condensed matter physics, (vi) environmental physics, (vii) particle physics or (viii) theoretical physics. The model study plans compile sensible lectures and seminars for these specialisations, but it’s perfectly admissible to follow an individual personalised study plan, if it conforms to the exam regulations. That might be the right thing for you if you have an interest in more than a single specialisation. You don’t have to declare your choice of a particular specialisation towards the faculty.
Of course, by just attending different lectures. You don’t have to announce this change, nor ask for permission to do so. You can even do the MVMod-exam on very different topics, but the faculty advises against that, out of practicality, as it might require more than one examiner. If you get a single examiner or a team of two examiners to agree on doing the MVMod-exam on different topics, that’d be fine, but don’t expect that this is possible in all cases.
No. It is important for us as a faculty that you receive a master certificate in physics on successfully completing your studies, which is not conditional on a particular specialisation. We think that our study programme qualifies you for physics in its generality, and your diploma will only state a „master’s degree in physics (M.Sc. in physics)“.
This section is about semesters abroad in general. If you are Erasmus outgoing student, please in addition to this also read the next item.
Disclaimer:
The chairperson of the examination board may sign your Learning Agreement (in case of Erasmus), or give you other advice for your travel abroad, but the chairperson of the examination board is not the responsible person for the travel abroad. For example: For any information about Erasmus, please contact the person in charge of Erasmus. The chairperson of the examination board is only concerned with acknowledgements of courses taken abroad. For more information about Erasmus exchanges, see the next item.
If you go abroad for a semester or two, you have the choice to request a formal leave of absence from Heidelberg University ("beurlauben lassen"). This has the consequence that your formal semester count is "frozen" for the semesters you are abroad, and these semesters will then not count for your maximal number of semesters. However, this means that during these semesters you are not allowed to take classes or do examinations in Heidelberg (also not online/remotely). On the other hand, whether or not you take a leave of absence will have no consequences for your ability to get your credits from abroad acknowledged.
The examination committee does not have any requirements for a minimal number of credit points to be achieved while abroad. But your funding agency (for example Erasmus) might have requirements. Please ask them about this.
In some countries (e.g. France) internships or student exchanges require the sending institution (us) to sign a so-called "Internship Agreement". Often these agreements require us (Heidelberg University) to insure students for the case an accident happens, or have other clauses that are potentially tricky. Neither the student secretariate not the chairperson of the examination committee is autorized to sign such a document on behalf of Heidelberg University. Please consult the Akademisches Auslandsamt. for such matters. And do so well in advance of the start of your internship.
When you have applied for, and been selected for, an exchange semester/year at a University abroad through the Erasmus Program, you will be confronted with a lot of complicated bureaucracy. This FAQ is the FAQ of the student secretariate and the examination board, not of the Erasmus organization. But given that you will want to get your credits abroad transferred to Heidelberg, the examination board gets involved. And given that the Digital Learning Agreement (DLA) will determine in advance of your time abroad which modules can be transferred, the examination board necessarily gets involved in the DLAs. This is the topic of this FAQ section here.
As mentioned above, the examination board is not associated with Erasmus, but does sign the DLAs. The actual Erasmus contact person at the faculty of Physics and Astronomy is: Frau Dewald-Klussmann. For the University as a whole, you can also visit the website of the Erasmus program at Heidelberg University.
The main purpose of the Learning Agreement (LA) or the new-style Digital Learning Agreement (DLA) is to make sure that you, your home university and your partner university all agree which courses can be taken and will be acknowledged when you return (credit transfer). It is therefore meant to help you and give you planning security, but it does not limit you in your choice of which courses to take.
When you get admitted to the Erasmus programme (for one of your two choices), please ask the host university (the university where you intend to go to) when their lecture program for the Erasmus students (at least for your first semester abroad) will be available online, and when the deadline is for the DLA. The deadline for the DLA should (of course) be after the lecture program is online. If not, please let the Erasmus coordinator at the university abroad know that we (Physics Department of Heidelberg University) only sign DLAs when the program of your first semester is online. If they nonetheless insist, please contact the chairperson of the exam board.
The Digital Learning Agreement (DLA) can be found on the "Mobility Online" portal:
https://mobility.zuv.uni-heidelberg.de/mobility/login
If you have been selected for an Erasmus exchange, you should have received an account for this portal. If not, please ask the Erasmus coordinator.
Sometimes the host university does not yet have the programme for the next semester online before your LA has to be signed. It is therefore impossible to be sure which modules will be offered. In such a case, please let the host university know that we cannot submit an LA before at least the program of the first semester of the exchange is online. If the host university still insists on receiving the LA before the program is online, you can contact the chairperson of the exam board and ask for help.
If you plan to go abroad two semesters, you will inevitably be faced with the situation that the lecture program for the second semester is not yet online by the time you have to fill out the LA. In that case, please consult with the Erasmus coordinator of your host university how to handle this. Maybe you can simply use last year's program.
Yes. Feel free to change your courses any time, and take any course you like. The LA does not restrict you in any way, at least not from our (Heidelberg) side. Some partner universities, however, are very restrictive and allow you to only take courses that have been explicitly approved by both the host university and the home university.
Yes, but after your return these modules have to be inspected and approved by the examination board in the usual way (see here).
If you are at your host university abroad and change your course program, you may wish to know if these new courses can be transferred (acknowledged) to/in Heidelberg. You can either send an informal question about this to the chairperson of the exam board. Or you can also go the more formal route of modifying your DLA ("during mobility"). Either way (informal by email or formally via DLA) is fine. Any assurances made by us either way will be adhered to by us.
No, at least not for us. But some partner universities insists on this. In case you wish/need to update your DLA, please read the item above.
Some answers to frequently asked questions related to credits from abroad:
The chairperson of the examination board has to be able to verify that the document is genuine. This can be verified in various ways:
We do not accept "print-yourself" ToRs that have none of the above verification properties.
No, not necessarily. Often your module from abroad does not have an equivalent module in Heidelberg. And even if it does, there might be reasons why you may not want to have it acknowledged as a Heidelberg module. In that case we can acknowledge (if the module has sufficient level and is physics-related or otherwise fits into our programme) that module with the original title. Example: a module "Physics of Volcanology" from the University of Hawaii would then be booked as "Physics of Volcanology (Uni Hawaii)".
In summary: external modules/lectures can be acknowledged in two ways: (1) 'as they are': with the credit points and title from the original university, or (2) 'as replacement' of a module of Heidelberg University, with the credit points and title of the module of Heidelberg University. The latter only works if it is replaced with a sufficiently similar external module. Sometimes missing credit points can be 'filled up' with other lectures.
We use a table from the central university office (ZUV) which tries to make a fair conversion of grades, taking into account the different normalizations of grades in different countries.
Some countries in Europe (and all countries outside of Europe) do not use ECTS credit points. We typically convert those alternative credits into ECTS credits by defining 1 ECTS credit as 1/30th of a semester (or if the system is trimester-based: 1/60th of a year). If that does not work (e.g. for internships or so) we use the rule that 1 ECTS credit point is worth 30 hours of work. Some universities have an official conversion factor of their credit points into ECTS credit points. If you can point the chairperson of the examination board to that official web-page, that conversion factor can (likely) be used.
Not all lecturers can be chosen as MVMod-examiner. Given the nature of this exam as a broad overall "birds-eye perspective" examination of a given field, only lecturers with broad lecturing experience in that field can conduct this exam. There is a list of possible examiners for each given field. This is a restriction only for the MVMod oral exam, not for other exams.
In principle yes, if the chairperson of the examination committee agrees. But there is a danger that the oral examiner here in Heidelberg might have a different focus of topics than your course abroad. So it is strongly advisable to carefully discuss the topics with the oral examiner.
No.
No (Decision of the Studienkommission, valid starting Summersemester 2021).
In principle yes. The reason is that the idea of the MVMod-exam is to see if you have managed to obtain a bird's eye perspective over the topics, rather than simply understanding each topic individually. The questions of the exam can therefore cross or link several of these topics at once. However, sometimes it is very hard to find a single examiner for the topic combination you chose. Here are some new (as of October 2020) rules how to handle this:
It is (as of October 2020) no longer necessary to ask the chairperson of the examination board for permission to have two examiners.
No. There is a common misunderstanding that only if a professor has taught all courses of your MVMod-selection him/herself, he/she is allowed to carry out the MVMod-examination. That is not correct. The only criterion is that the professor has to be proficient in all your selected topics, and feel confortable with carrying out the examination in these topics. If, however, the professor has not (yet) taught one or more of your selected modules, you may want to discuss carefully with the professor beforehand what his/her expectations are - but that is your decision.
It is not strictly enforced, but it is the norm (because of the bird's eye perspective issue, see above). If you have a good reason to combine topics from different specialization areas, then that is fine as well, but you will have to find an oral examiner that agrees to examine all of these topics. Combining different specialization areas is not a good argument for finding two examiners: i.e. it does not give you the right to have two examiners (but if you find two examiners who agree, then that is fine).
The grade for the oral MVMod-exam does not only count for the 6 CP of the exam itself, but also for the 12-16 CP lectures that are part of the exam.
No. The student secretariate checks if all modules you register have been passed, and have been booked into the LSF system. If not, your registration will not be accepted.
Yes! As long as you are immatriculated at Heidelberg University, you have the right to visit any lecture of any faculty, independent of which study programme you are in. To our knowledge there are no restrictions.
This depends on many factors. One can often get modules from other faculties acknowledged in the "Wahlbereich" and sometimes also in the "UK Bereich". The rules for which modules are acknowledged are written in the Modulhandbuch, under the sections "Wahlbereich" and "UK Bereich" respectively (in Bachelor) and in "Options" (in Master). In practice, in addition to what is written in the Modulhandbuecher, we typically use the following criteria (no liability, though):
If a module cannot, according to the above, be acknowledged, it can usually still be booked in the catagory "Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen". This means that it does not count for credits, nor for the final grade, but it will show up on your diploma documents, so that you can prove to potential employers that you did these voluntary additional courses. They are therefore not "lost".
We always offer special-purpose seminars for PSEM and for MVSEM. If all are fully-booked, please contact the dean of studies. Whether a seminar is a PSEM, MVSEM or not, should be indicated in the LSF description. So if you look for appropriate PSEM or MVSEM seminars, look in the LSF.
It is not recommended, and it is not what the Master MVSEMs are meant for. Participation in the MVSEM requires more prior knowledge than for a PSEM. A Bachelor student participating in a Master MVSEM seminar may pull the level of the MVSEM down for the other participants, and the Bachelor student may not be able to follow everything him/herself. Also, in the MVSEM there is less emphasis on the presentation skills than in PSEM.
In general no. But there are exceptions: Seminars from the Math department (or other departments) that are very close to physics can, in principle, count (ask the chairperson of the exam board on a case-by-case basis). However, it has to be assured that that seminar follows the module description for PSEM/MVSEM, and the number of credit points is equal (or higher) than our PSEM/MVSEM. Any excess CPs will be lost. For PSEM the seminar must, therefore, include feedback/discussion of presentation skills (see UKS2 in the module handbook). For MVSEM the seminar must include a written part. For both PSEM and MVSEM the number of participants must be at least about 12, to ensure a sufficient exposure to presentations of fellow students. To get the seminar acknowledged, the lecturer has to issue a certificate, and this certificate should contain all information needed to allow us to verify that the above conditions are met.
Suppose a seminar on "planet formation" is offered each summer semester. The students choose from a set of recent papers, and present these during the seminar. Because this set of recent papers is updated each year, some students argue that this makes the seminar "planet formation" different each year, and they ask us if they can get new credit points if they participate next year. The answer is: No. While the Prüfungsausschuss acknowledges the argument that the papers are not identical each year, it is of the opinion that students can only have multiple seminars acknowledged if they are topically different seminars. However, if you did a Bachelor PSEM seminar on "planet formation", and during your Masters a Master MVSem seminar on "planet formation" is offered, that is ok, because these are officially different seminars (one is PSEM for Bachelor, the other is MVSem for Master). Also, as in all cases with modules: there is no rule that forbids you from participating. It is just that we can acknowledge only the credit points of one of the seminars.
No. There are no shortcuts. A PSEM/MVSEM is a dedicated event where you not only give a presentation yourself, but also listen to the presentations of your fellow students, and actively participate in the discussion. The detailed topic shall not be the same as your already started or finished Bachelor's/Master's thesis. You can read the examination modalities in the "Modulhandbuch".
No! You have to actively apply for the Master program. Please consult this website and apply. Please note the deadline for the application!. Please also note that this procedure goes in two phases: first the application and (hopefully) admission, and after that the registration (for which you need your admission certificate and your Bachelor Diploma).
No. The acceptance (Zulassung) is valid only for the semester you applied for. This has complicated administrative reasons. However, if you have a Zulassung, then you have received this on a formal document. If you wish to re-apply for Zulassung in a later semester, simply make a copy of your Zulassung-Document and enclose this copy in your application documents. It is then highly likely that you will be accepted for that new semester too.
First of all: you can only "take along" credits from Bachelor into Master if (a) these credits were listed in the "freiwillige Zusatzleistung" (i.e. that they were not "used" for your Bachelor diploma), and (b) if these lectures have Master level (for physics courses). If these conditions are met, these credits can be transferred. The transfer process itself can only be started after the first Master lecture has been booked into the database (this is simply an organizatorial issue). Once this is done, you can download (from the "Übungsgruppenverwaltungsystem") the transfer form. You can print out this PDF, sign it and bring it along to the examination office. They can then transfer these credits into your Master programme. Note: if some some modules do not appear on the form, do not worry: write them on the form yourself.
Many student like to take the opportunity to change to another university during the Bachelor-Master transition. That is perfectly OK. But be careful: If you already move to the other city and/or immatriculate to that other university before you have your Bachelor-Zeugnis in your hand, you take a large risk! It is best to plan in such a way that you have your bachelor Zeugnis in your hand before you immatriculate in the new university. If that is not possible for time constraint reasons, then make absolutely sure that you have all your requirements fulfilled (enough credit points in UK and Wahlpflicht, enough credit points in general, all your Pflichtmodule, your bachelor thesis etc etc). Discuss this with the student secretariate to minimize the risk of something going wrong.
Each lecture module has an exam (Klausur). If you fail this exam (or if you have medical or other plausible reasons for which you could not attend the Klausur and you inform your teacher or tutor promptly), you can do the re-exam (Nachklausur). If you fail that re-exam, you get a grade 5,0 (Nicht bestanden), meaning that you have failed this first attempt (Versuch). So: one attempt (ein Versuch) is Klausur + Nachklausur.
If you are sick for the re-exam (with medical attestation) please talk to your teacher, to see if he/she is willing to give an oral re-re-exam. If not, please come to the consultation hour of the chairperson of the examination committee.
You can do, for this module, a second attempt: this will typically be the next year when the course is given again. Also this second attempt is Klausur+Nachklausur. The same rules. Failing those two, you have failed your second attempt (zweite Versuch).
If you failed this second attempt (zweite Versuch) normally (but see below) this means that you have permanently failed this lecture module and you can no longer do this module. If this module is a Pflichtmodule (for instance one of the PTP*, PEP*, LA1, PAP* or PFP* modules or the Bachelor thesis in Bachelor) that would normally mean that your study of physics has terminated. But see "Joker" below.
However: For those Pflichtmodules (except PEP1) you have two "Joker". You can use a "Joker" to do a twice-failed Pflichtmodule a third time (again Klausur + Nachklausur). You can not use two Jokers for the same module. If you fail a Pflichtmodule with Joker a third time (that is: three Klausurs and three Nachklausurs) your study of physics will be terminated. But see Härtefallantrag. Note that for most Physics Pflichtmodule (not for Mathematics) it holds that if you use a Joker and failed your Joker-Klausur, then instead of a final Joker-Nachklausur you should get an oral Nachklausur with two professors (see Modulhandbuch description of these Pflichtmodules).
The Joker rule does not apply to PEP1, because that is the Orientierungsprüfung. The Orientierungsprüfung has to be passed at the latest in the 3rd semester.
In the Bachelorprogramme all the modules are graded. We understand, however, that even those who normally have excellent grades can sometimes have a bad day. So you can choose two grades to not be included.
No. Once you pass an exam, the grade is fixed.
That is decided by the lecturer. Note that if you have a clear conflict of two Klausuren (both Klausuren on the same day and overlapping time) then you might want to discuss this problem with the chairperson of the examination board beforehand. Maybe a solution can be found.
Usually you can only participate in the Klausur and Nachklausur if you participate in the exercise classes (if they exist). Typically you have to achieve a certain minimum number of points to be allowed to participate in the Klausur / Nachklausur. If you achieve this, you have the Klausurzulassung.
This depends on the lecturer / Obertutor. Please ask him/her/them.
This depends on the lecturer / Obertutor. Please ask him/her/them.
That is decided by the lecturer. But we strongly recommend to do the exercise classes all over again. Note that the lecturer may vary from year to year!
Since October 2022 the Bachelor of Mathematics has a new "Prüfungsordnung" (PO = exam regulations). This means that the retry exam regulations for math lectures have changed.
For those mathematics lectures that are part of the compulsory program of the Bachelor of Physics (Linear Algebra 1, and either Analysis 2 + 3, or Höhere Mathematik für Physiker 2 + 3) nothing will change for the physics students. These modules are integral part of the physics PO, and physics students study according to the physics PO. This means that you have 2 tries (each being a Klausur+Nachklausur), plus possibly a Joker (again Klausur+Nachklausur).
However, all other mathematics lectures (which are optional for physics students) will follow the rules of the new math PO. This is as it is handled for all modules from other departments: They are "acknowledged" modules from outside of physics, so the exam regulations are those of the other department.
Please first check in heiCO if all your achievements are correct ("My Achievements"). Then check if they are correctly assigned to the study programme ("My Degree Programm"). Then contact the student secretariate.
As soon as you see that your Masterarbeit has been booked in heiCO, please check if all other modules have also been booked (and correctly booked). Then please contact the student secretariate.
The generation of the documents can take some time. Please count on 4 to 6 weeks from the time you request your degree documents.
Once you receive your certificate at the student secretariate, you will also get a form called the "Empfangsbescheinigung". Part of this form requires you to obtain signatures of your institute to confirm that you returned all books/keys/other items. Please obtain these signatures, sign the form yourself, and return this to the student secretariate.
In your Bachelor or Master study there are a few critical points where a failure could lead to the abortion (failure) of your study. It is important to know these. Here is a list of these "critical points". Though please note that this list here is only advice and may be incomplete. For the legally valid text see the Prüfungsordnung for Bachelor or Master. NOTE: Please read also the section on Klausur / Nachklausur / Versuch / Joker.
In all these rules please also note that in exceptional circumstances you can hand in a hardship application. Note that if your study of physics has failed ("endgültig nicht bestanden"), other Universities in Germany typically do not allow you to restart the same study there. So the failure is permanent (at least across Germany). Of course, however, you could then still start another study if you wish.
If you currently study something else (e.g. mathematics or chemistry) and you would like to change in the next semester to physics, you need to do the following procedure:
Your immatriculation has to be done through the central student administration. In all likelihood they will ask you to fill out a Studienzeitanrechnungsbescheinigung. This procedure is the same as the item above.
If you experienced severe personal hardships / problems during your study at our faculty, you can apply for exemption of certain rules. For instance, if you had serious health problems and for that reason failed an exam twice and you have no further "Joker" available, you might apply for a third chance.
Here is the procedure:
If you have a disability or another health issue that does not affect your capability to study and understand physics, but does complicate your ability to take exams in the usual form, then you might be eligible for a so-called Nachteilsausgleich. The goal of such a measure is to compensate for this disadvantage, in order to equalize the chances among your peers (so-called Chancengleichheit). Such measures are limited to removing a disadvantage, not for adding an advantage over your peers.
To request a Nachteilsausgleich, you must (1) provide to the Prüfungsausschuss in writing a description of the Nachteil, (2) explaining how it affects your ability to take particular exams (and which they are), (3) explaining why this is unrelated to your ability to study physics (i.e. only to the circumstances of the examination), (4) explaining how you suggest that this Nachteil can be compensated, and finally, (5) you have to provide a doctoral attestation supporting your request.
If your request is granted, it is still your own responsibility to notify the Obertutor/Lecturer of each lecture about your Nachteilsausgleich.
For further information we recommend the website about Nachteilsausgleich of Heidelberg University, where you can find many useful tips and guidelines.
The codes MVxx, WPxx etc are not random; they have a meaning, albeit not always strictly adhered to. But understanding them may make it easier to understand the structure of the study. For the Bachelor they are:
For the Master they are:
No. Some modules may contain submodules (e.g. Einführung in die Astronomie WPAstro) and many students wonder if they can also get the credit points of one or two of the submodules without doing the other submodules. The answer is: no. Only if all submodules of a given module are done you can get the credit points. The only exception is if you are a student from another university doing one or two semesters at our university (exchange program): we can then put these submodules on the transcript, so that they can be used upon return to the sending university.
In Bachelor 100% you can get up to 12 CP and in Master up to 8 CP language courses recognized (that is: on average 2 CP per semester for the planned study duration).
Yes, there is here.
The Bachelor lecture "Einführung in die Computerphysik" is a bit of a special case. It is in the UK-Bereich, but given the strong role of the physics applications we can also acknowledge it in Wahlpflichtbereich (or Wahlbereich for that matter). Given that the course has quite a high level, and given that it is in the UK-Bereich, Master students can also take part, which then means that it will be acknowledged in their Master Options. UKWR2 can not be used in the Master Vertiefung and/or MVMod! But there is a transitional period for those students who did their UKWR2 in SS18 or before.
There is sometimes confusion as to what constitutes a "Wahlpflichtmodul". According to the official definitions we have Wahlpflichtmodule Überfachliche Kompetenzen (Chapter 2 of the Modulhandbuch Bachelor) and Wahlpflichtmodule Physik (Chapter 3 of the Modulhandbuch Bachelor). In practice we usually call the first the UK-Bereich and the second Wahlpflicht-Bereich. So usually when we speak about Wahlpflicht, we mean Wahlpflicht Physik. But in the Modulhandbuch, in the descriptions of the UK modules, under "Art des Moduls" it says "Wahlpflichtmodul". That can be confusing. Consider it "Wahlpflichtmodul Überfachliche Kompetenzen", or in short "UK Modul". It does not mean that UK modules can be used as modules of the Wahlpflichtbereich Physik. Or in other words: UK Modules are only for UK, and Wahlpflicht-Physik-Modules are only for Wahlpflicht Physik, just as you would intuitively expect them to be.
