Index

Planning your schedule

The University does not draw up a schedule for you. It is not always easy to plan your schedule at the start of your studies. Please consult the study advisors for your degree programme and ask other students or lecturers for advice. We recommend a total workload of between 25 and 30 ECTS credits in the first semester.

All lectures and seminars are listed in UniVIS.

A language placement test is required for some degree programmes. The dates are usually announced during the introductory sessions. You should register via the FAU Language Centre.

For many courses (seminars, practicals, foundation courses) you will need to register online:

Other rules apply to students of medicine, dentistry and law.

Semester dates

The most important semester dates (lecture periods, deadlines for registering, enrolling and re-registering) are available on the FAU website. A list of official public holidays is also available.

Vorbeglaubigung

In order to obtain an apostille you will require prior certification (Vorbeglaubigung) from the University. This is issued by the Office of Legal Affairs, Degree Programme Development and State Tuition Funding (L1) at FAU. Detailed information is available on the apostille information sheet.

Apostille

Certificates issued by German authorities are generally only recognised abroad if their authenticity has been verified by the responsible body in the relevant German state.

Based on the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, a simplified form of authentication called an apostille is provided in countries that have signed the convention. Here the apostille is issued by the government of Middle Franconia.

In order to obtain an apostille you will require prior certification (Vorbeglaubigung) from the University.

Women’s representative

The women’s representative is supported by the Office of Equal Opportunities.

The Office of Equal Opportunities is committed to the promotion of gender mainstreaming and diversity at FAU. Sex, nationality, age, religion, sexual orientation and disabilities should be no obstacle during your studies or doctoral degree or in your professional life. At present, the office co-ordinates several projects and activities.

More information is available on the Office of Equal Opportunities website (German only).

Computer pools

FAU offers computer pools at many locations where students and doctoral candidates can access the Internet free of charge. They are distributed across Erlangen and Nuremberg in all faculties, as well as branches of the library and RRZE. Since these pools were funded by the Computer Investment Programme (CIP), they are often referred to as ‘CIP Pools’ (German only).

Scanners and printers are also available. You will need a user account to use the computers. Instructions on how to activate and use your user account are available on the FAU website (German only).

Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG, Fixed-Term Research Contracts Act)

To protect employees, German employment law only permits fixed-term contracts under certain conditions. Fixed-term contracts in research and academia are governed by the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG, Fixed-Term Research Contracts Act), a special regulation which allows for a limited amount of flexibility in fixed-term contracts. The Act was amended in March 2016.

Detailed information is available in the DFG notice (German) and FAU’s human resources handbook (German).

Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG, Fixed-Term Research Contracts Act) and children

Do you have a fixed-term contract based on the Fixed-Term Research Contracts Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, WissZeitVG) and do you also have children? WissZeitVG includes regulations to ensure that periods of leave spent caring for children are considered when calculating the length of fixed-term contracts.
A summary is available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (German).

Recruiting events

Many large companies host regular recruiting events. They usually last one or two days and are aimed a specific target audience from a particular discipline. For example, there are events aimed specifically at engineering or business graduates. These events come in many different forms. In addition to the more traditional plant tours, discussion groups and workshops, some companies organise activities such as sailing or geocaching. You usually have to register to participate in recruiting events by submitting a cover letter and CV.

Information on upcoming recruiting events is published regularly on the Career Service blog (in German).

Student Services’ counselling service

If all your applications are rejected or you have no idea what to do after you finish your degree, you may feel worried and anxious. If these feelings get too much for you to deal with on your own you can contact Student Services’ counselling service.

Student Services Erlangen-Nürnberg offers all FAU students psychological counselling and psychotherapy in individual sessions, with partners and family members, and in therapy groups at two locations in Erlangen and Nuremberg.

Further information, contact details and opening times are available on the counselling service web page.