FAQ

What happens if I finally fail a module exam? The Central Examination Office or the Central Student Advisory Service can help you here. They have also put together a helpful brochure.

Studying can be a great financial challenge; in some cases (e.g. study abroad) you can, for example, be exempted from the semester ticket. Information on exemption from the semester ticket and on semesters off can be found here.

If you have questions about studying with a disability, chronic illness, caring for children or relatives, or dealing with psychological stress, you can find contact persons here. You can also find out here whether you are entitled to compensation for disadvantages. Taking a semester off can also ease the burden.

By the way: As long as you have not definitively failed any compulsory examinations, you can reapply and enrol even after a study break. Please note that the examination regulations change every few years and that it is sometimes not possible to continue studying smoothly.

The final thesis is written at the end of the degree programme and is usually supervised by two examiners. A list of possible examiners can be found on the respective institute pages. Contact the examiners at an early stage with a proposed topic, a preliminary research question, a draft of the outline if applicable and an exposé. Some degree programmes offer seminars to accompany the Bachelor's or Master's thesis. Please check whether these are compulsory in your degree programme, but even if they are not, we strongly recommend attending them.

In principle, it is also possible to write your thesis if you have already been exmatriculated, but this is not recommended. In order to do so, you would have to be successfully registered for all exams, including the final paper. Failure is then only possible for the final paper, because there is an automatic re-registration for the second attempt. Failure to pass other modules will result in your studies being terminated without a degree.

As a rule, certain requirements (depending on the degree programme, e.g. a minimum number of CP or language certificates) must be fulfilled before you can register for the final thesis, or there are specifications for registration periods (e.g. Geography Bachelor). You will find information on this in your examination regulations and/or in the study guides.

You can apply for degree programmes via Hochschulstart or via the Moin portal of the University of Bremen. There, where you submitted your application, you can also see the current processing status. There you can also see whether your application was received successfully and contains all the necessary information.

For questions about changing your degree programme and the possibility of having achievements from your previous degree programme recognised, please contact the recognition officer in the respective field of study.

The application deadlines and application requirements for the respective degree programmes can be found in the "Study Database -dbs" in the information on the individual degree programmes offered by the University of Bremen.

Which courses you can take in the area of "General Studies" (and how many CP you have to take graded or ungraded in the GS area) depends on your degree programme. Here you will find a general definition of General Studies at the University of Bremen: www.uni-bremen.de/lehre-studium/studiengaenge-gestalten/general-studies

You can find offers in the course catalogue, at the Studierwerkstatt, the Career Center and also the Language Centre. Which course is recognised in which degree programme differs; if in doubt, ask separately.

The subject advisors in the Study Centre are available to answer any questions you may have.

Tip: Information on the possible CP of a course can often be found in the course catalogue or the module handbook of the respective degree programme.

You can acquire CPs for courses and modules that do not automatically appear for you in PABO (mostly General Studies or Voluntary extra credits) via certificates of achievements. To do this, download the certificate of achievement from the ZPA homepage in advance, fill it out and submit it to the lecturers of the corresponding courses before the end of the regular PABO registration period, if possible. Once you have signed and returned the certificate, you must have it sealed by the office of the subject that offered the course. You can then have the signed certificates entered in your overview on PABO via the Central Examination Office.

Tip: Collect your certificates from your studies and do not necessarily submit them right at the end of each semester. This way, you can decide later whether a course should be counted, for example, as General Studies, extra credit or, if necessary, to compensate for missing CP during a stay abroad. However, do not wait until the last minute, as the processing times of the examination office unfortunately often take months and deadlines for submitting sufficient CPs for BAföG, visa extension or degree certificate are often non-negotiable.

Which language certificatehen you have to provide when differs depending on the degree programme.

Language certificates that have to be provided for enrolment are requested with the other documents (certificate, etc.) for enrolment or within a grace period. Detailed information and deadlines for submitting these certificates can be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs.

In some degree programmes, a proof of language proficiency or proof of an examination in English must also be submitted for registration of the Bachelor's thesis (e.g. in BA Political Science and in the full-subject Bachelor of Geography). For more information, please contact the subject advisors of the respective degree programmes.

Information on when and where lectures or seminars take place can be found in the course catalogue of the University of Bremen or on Stud.IP. You can also register for lectures via Stud.IP. If you have any further questions, please contact either the lecturers directly, the Veranstaltungsbüro or the offices of the institutes. The study centre of FB 08 will be happy to advise you on questions for which the above-mentioned contact persons have not been able to help you.

When you enrol at the University of Bremen, you will also receive your own Uni-Mail account. This university mail account is used to send important information from the study coordination, such as changes in examinations or information about events. Central university information is also sent to these addresses. It is therefore important to read these mails so that you do not miss any important information.

The access data for this will be sent to you with your matriculation certificate. However, the account must then be activated: onlinetools.uni-bremen.de/aktivierung/

Often it is also possible to redirect this account to your usual email address. You can find out how to set this up on the website of the Centre for Networks.

The most important key info on internships can be found in your respective internship regulations. For all Bachelor's degree programmes, there is a uniform internship regulation of the FB 08. In the Master's degree programmes, internships are partly optional. In this case, there are sometimes only handouts or recommendations.

After you have found an internship, submit an application to the internship officer for your subject for approval before concluding the actual internship contract directly with the internship office.

If you have any questions about the internship, please contact the internship officers. Some degree programmes have modules or courses that prepare you for the professional fields of our graduates. Here you will find important tips on possible internships.

For further advice on the topic of practical relevance in your studies, please contact the Centre for Studies and Practice.

Registration for an examination usually takes place via the Bremen Online Examination Office (PABO for short). You can find the log-in for this at the following address: www.uni-bremen.de/zentrales-pruefungsamt-zpa

On this page you can use your matriculation number and PABO password (the PABO login works in exactly the same way as the MOIN, StudIP and ZfN login) to register for and deregister from exams. As a rule, there is a certain time period each semester during which you can register for the individual exams.

You can find further important information on this at: https://www.uni-bremen.de/zpa/infos/infos-zu-pruefungsangelegenheiten.

Please note: not all examinations can be registered for via PABO -> see Certificates of achievement.

You can find out which examination regulations you are studying under in PABO by looking at your "data sheet". If you have any questions about changing examination regulations, please contact the recognition officer for your degree programme; you can find them on the websites of the individual institutes or the Central Examination Office.

Further information on examinations can be found here.

On PABO or FlexNow you can view your current examination and study achievements, register for or deregister from examinations and print out your transcripts of records yourself at any time.

Only the modules that are scheduled according to your current examination regulations appear on PABO. If you would like to take other courses (e.g. General Studies) and these should count towards your degree, you can submit individual certificates of achievement (Scheine) via the Central Examination Office.

For the recognition of achievements from your semester abroad, contact the Erasmus representatives before the start of your stay and conclude a Learning Agreement so that you can be sure that the achievements will be recognised afterwards as planned.

Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your certificates or applications for recognition, as the processing times of the examination office unfortunately often take months and deadlines for submitting sufficient CPs for BAföG, visa extension or degree certificate are often non-negotiable.

Are you starting your studies at the University of Bremen? You will get all the important information about creating your timetable, registering for exams, etc. during the orientation week.

For the very impatient: You can get an overview of your timetable in advance with the module handbook/study guide, the study plan and the list of events. You can register for the individual courses via Stud.IP. It is not unusual for lecturers to only finally admit you to the courses after the first session and for you to only be "provisionally admitted" until then.

If you have missed the orientation week, it is best to first speak to a fellow student who is enrolled in the same degree programme.

If you have any further questions about the organisation of your studies, please contact the representative for your degree programme in the Study Centre of Faculty 08 (see column on the right).

Faculty 8's Centre for Studies and Practice and the Career Centre can help you with questions about linking studies and practice. More info can be found here.

The Central Examination Office (ZPA for short) is responsible for the examination matters of the degree programmes. The ZPA therefore administers all your examination results up to the issuing of your certificate. On the ZPA website you will find examination schedules, but also important forms (e.g. application for recognition, admission to the BA thesis, etc.), examination regulations and information on all aspects of examinations.

If you have any questions about the examinations office, we have a tip for you: Contact the office for FB 08 in the examinations office directly by email.