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There are a lot of terms and abbreviations in the study program that are not necessarily self-explanatory. We describe what they mean here:
The Uniaccount is also your central university e-mail address: uk000000@uni-kassel.de.
All important information about the start of your studies will be sent to this e-mail address.
It is therefore essential that you activate the account immediately and, if necessary, redirect the university e-mail address to your private e-mail address.
You can find instructions for the UniAccount here:
The General Students' Committee (AStA) is the central body of the student body. It represents student interests at a political level and contributes to student life by offering further education, advice and cultural activities. All students are welcome to attend the public part of the meetings in the AStA kitchen.
The Bachelor's degree is a first university degree that qualifies students for a profession and usually lasts six semesters (equivalent to three years). After the Bachelor's degree, students have the option of pursuing a basic professional career or supplementing this with an advanced Master's degree.
Financial support for your studies, half of which must be repaid.
Under certain circumstances - e.g. studying abroad, military service, serious illness, maternity leave, raising children or caring for close relatives - it is possible to take a leave of absence from your studies. The leave of absence releases you from the obligations of your studies, whereby your student status and student health insurance remain unchanged.
Campus of the university.
All students at the University of Kassel receive their own CampusCard at the beginning of their studies. To ensure that it remains valid, it must be validated each semester at the machine in the CampusCenter. It is:
- proof of study
- Library card
- Electronic wallet
- Necessary for printing and copying
- Culture ticket
For each module that you successfully complete with an examination, you receive a certain number of credits (also known as credit points). The examination regulations of the subject provide information about the credits that can be earned in each module.
The abbreviations(s.t.- Latin "sine tempore" = "without time". c.t. - Latin "cum tempore" = "with time") refer to the so-called "academic quarter" at the start of lectures.
Example:
12 o'clock c.t.= start of the event: 12:15 p.m.
12 o'clock s.t.= start of the event: 12:00 p.m.
Curriculum of the study program
The eCampus offers numerous services related to studying, such as registering for exams and courses, changing contact details and viewing re-registration and fee status.
eCampus
A points system used to indicate the amount of time spent at the university. Attendance time also includes the time spent on preparation and follow-up work. 1 credit corresponds to 30 working hours, which are estimated to be spent on average by students. In full-time studies, it is assumed that approximately 30 credits are earned per semester.
De-registration: "Expulsion" from the university. This means that your membership of the university expires and your studies are terminated.
Matriculation: "Enrollment" in the university. Start of studies.
Teaching and administrative unit of a subject. Departments of the University of Kassel:
FB 01 - Human Sciences
FB 02 - Humanities and Cultural Sciences
FB 05 - Social Sciences
FB 06 - Architecture - Urban Planning - Landscape Planning
FB 07 - Economics
FB 10 - Mathematics and Natural Sciences
FB 14 - Civil and Environmental Engineering
FB 15 - Mechanical Engineering
FB 16 - Electrical Engineering/Computer Science
KHS - Kunsthochschule Kassel
Fachschaft has two meanings:
- In general, all students in a department are referred to as a student council, to which you automatically belong when you enrol.
- The Fachschaft or Fachschaftsrat (=FSR) is usually responsible for the subject-related interests of the students. For example, the student council organizes student council parties or introductory events for first-semester students. The student representatives also advise students on social and organizational issues.
Semesters that are studied within a specific degree program are called subject semesters. The number of university semesters, on the other hand, includes all semesters spent at universities (universities of applied sciences and universities) in total. For example, if someone has already studied physics for two semesters and then switches to computer science, they are in their first semester of computer science, even though they are in their third semester at university. University semesters therefore include all semesters spent at one type of educational institution (university of applied sciences and university). Subject semesters only include the periods of the degree program currently being studied.
Student job at the university. You can find available student jobs on the notice board.
Written proof of student status.
The certificates are also available in the E-Campus via Home > My studies > Student Services.
The International Office of the University of Kassel is the university's central service facility for international matters. It supports you with all questions regarding studying abroad, e.g. internships abroad and advises foreign students in Germany.
The University Computer Center (HRZ) of the University of Kassel. The IT Service Center (=ITS) provides advice on technical issues such as university accounts, e-mails or the eCampus. You can find the IT Service Center here
Fellow students.
Lecturers are responsible for a specific course in a specific semester. Teachers are directly assigned one or more courses. They have organizational responsibility for this specific course.
Example of lecturers: Professors, lecturers, academic or teaching staff
Course = teaching unit in a specific subject (lecture, tutorial, seminar)
Synchronous teaching means that teaching and learning take place simultaneously (i.e. "live").
In asynchronous teaching, the focus is on the presentation and preparation of teaching content and materials (e.g. for lectures and to convey theoretical content). These can be made available to students via slides, learning objectives and materials for self-study (e.g. via OLAT).
Hybrid courses allow students to participate flexibly in courses that are held in the lecture hall or seminar room. Teaching takes place on site, but is also made accessible to participants at home via a web conference, for example.
Depending on the lecturer, all courses can also be offered as Zoom events.
List of all courses offered in a semester.
You can also find the course catalog via the eCampus: Course catalog - eCampus University of Kassel
Unique identification number for all students. It is stored in eCampus and printed on the front of the CampusCard.
Several courses that are related in terms of method and content.
Detailed description of the modules of the degree program with regard to duration, learning objectives, ECTS (credit points), types of examinations, prerequisites and more.
The eLearning platform Moodle allows students and lecturers to easily and conveniently exchange materials, dates and information about their courses. Moodle is operated together with the Service Center Teaching (SCL).
To compensate for the additional difficulties that a health impairment entails, particularly when preparing for and taking examinations, affected students have the right to adapted examination conditions. This is to ensure that students with and without health impairments (or disabilities) can participate in examinations on an equal footing and with the same chances of success.
In highly sought-after subjects or degree courses, the number of students admitted is limited (Latin numerus clausus - "limited number"). Which school-leaving grade is sufficient to obtain a place changes at each application stage - depending on how many prospective students with which grades are competing for a place and which selection criteria are still taken into account.
Selection results for degree programs with restricted admission
A compulsory module is a fixed component in the course of a specific degree program.
Professors are university lecturers and often holders of a chair who independently represent a subject area in research and teaching. However, not all lecturers at a university are Professors.
The examination offices of the departments manage students' examinations and are responsible, for example, for questions relating to registration and deregistration for coursework and examinations. They issue certificates for BA and MA degree courses.
Decisions relating to examination law issues are made by the respective examination boards. The examination offices support the examination board in this work. You can find out which examination office is responsible for you on your degree program page.
The teaching degree programs L1, L2 and L3 conclude with the First State Examination. With regard to these degree programs, please note
The number of semesters stipulated for the duration of a degree course in accordance with the examination regulations. This is usually six semesters for Bachelor's courses and four semesters for Master's courses. For other degrees, such as state examinations etc., you will find the information on the standard period of study in the examination regulations. The standard period of study is particularly important for checking entitlement to BAföG. A student's actual period of study may exceed or fall short of the standard period of study.
Each semester, re-registration takes place automatically via payment of the semester fee.
Key competencies are understood as knowledge and skills that go beyond the subjects studied. Key competencies help to respond appropriately to new specialist knowledge and new work requirements.
Key competences are "acquirable general skills, attitudes and knowledge elements that are useful in solving problems and acquiring new competences in as many content areas as possible" (H.Orth) or in other words"competence: ... cognitive abilities and skills to solve specific problems, as well as the associated [...] willingness and ability to use problem solutions successfully and responsibly in variable situations." (F.E. Weinert)
This creates the ability to act in order to meet individual and social requirements.
Briefly:
- Key competencies can be acquired
- They include emotional, motivational and social aspects as well as values and behavioral dispositions. (Cognitive elements are not sufficient)
- they are important in various social and professional fields
- they are derived from the requirements of the world of work and life and therefore relate to the present and the future
Independent preparation and follow-up of courses.
"Academic semester". The winter semester runs from 1.10.-31.3. and the summer semester from 1.4.-30.9.
The semester fee is not a semester fee, but a flat-rate compulsory contribution that all students at a German university have to pay to the respective Studierendenwerk before each semester. It is made up of contributions to the AStA, the Studierendenwerk and an administration fee. This is not only important for enrolment, but also for re-registration.
Ticket for public transportation. It allows free use of buses and trains (with the exception of ICE and IC) in the NVV area of validity and sometimes beyond.
Seminars are roughly the size of a school class and students are expected to actively participate. Presentations are given, discussions are held and research is carried out together.
The teacher training courses
- "Teaching degree for elementary school" (L1),
- "Teaching degree at Hauptschulen and Realschulen" (L2) and
- "Teaching at grammar schools" (L3)
concludes with the external first state examination. Colloquially, this is also referred to as the "First State Examination".
Scholarships at the University of Kassel
Scholarship overview of the Studierendenwerk: "Scholarships are the cheapest way to finance your studies because they are usually provided as a non-repayable grant. A reliable overview of scholarships for students at German universities is not currently available from the federal government, the federal states or the private sector. We present the most important databases here."
Students at the University of Kassel can find support and advice on many topics. The General Student Advisory Service provides information and advice on choosing a subject, making new decisions and dealing with problems in and with your studies. It is available for a personal consultation (confidential, free of charge). The Student Advisory Service of the individual departments is available to answer all technical questions about the structure and content of a degree program. The Student Information Office provides information on study formalities and helps you to find the right service center for more in-depth questions. It is your central point of contact for questions relating to your studies. You can also come to it if you have made an appointment with the General Student Advisory Service or would like to clarify formalities with the Student Administration Office.
The study plan provides a possible and conceptually sensible variant for completing the course in the standard period of study.
Together with other laws and statutes, the legal basis of the degree program.
- General part: For all degree programs
- Special section: Separate for each degree program
(The latest version must be observed in each case)
hours per week in one subject. 1 SWS = 45 min.
This special form of course usually refers to a supplementary exercise at a university, often accompanying a seminar and held in a smaller group, in which tutors observe and intervene to help students with problems. Tutors can also be students themselves.
In the exercise, tasks are practiced and solved together. The number of participants in the exercise is limited in order to provide students with good supervision. The exercise is usually offered alongside a lecture or seminar.
Time in which no courses take place. Depending on the degree program, period for exams, assignments or internships.
A course held by lecturers in front of a large number of students in the style of frontal teaching.
A compulsory elective module is a compulsory course of study in which you can choose between several modules. A module is a completed teaching and learning unit that can be made up of different courses in a common subject area. Example: You have to complete three modules and have four modules to choose from. Three of the four modules on offer are now selected by you and therefore count as your compulsory elective modules.
In addition to the compulsory elective modules, there are also compulsory modules and elective modules (=these are not compulsory).