FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

1) Which examination office do I need to contact?

Friedrich Schiller University is a large university with several independently operating examination offices. That might be confusing, especially for students in multi-subject programmes. In single-subject programmes (e.g. B. Sc., 180 LP), only one examination office is responsible for you. In multi-subject programmes (e.g. teacher training), up to three examination offices can be relevant to you.

Please refer to the following overview for our degree programmes:

Study and Examination Office of the Faculty of Chemical and Earth Sciences

• B. Sc. Biogeosciences
• B. Sc. Chemistry
• B. Sc. Geography
• B. Sc. Earth Sciences
• M. Sc. Biogeosciences
• M. Sc. Chemistry
• M. Sc. Chemical Biology
• M. Sc. Chemistry-Energy-Environment
• M. Sc. Chemistry of Materials
• M. Sc. Geography
• M. Sc. Geoinformatics
• M. Sc. Earth Sciences
• M. Sc. Environmental and Geo-resource Management

Academic Office for Student Affairs and Examinations (ASPA)

• B. A. Geology (EF)
• B. A. Human Geography (EF)

Teacher Training - State Examination in Chemistry and Geography (as well as extension subject)

• Examinations in Chemistry and Geography (incl. subject didactics): Office of Student Affairs and Examinations of the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences
• Examinations in the second subject (incl. subject didactics): depending on the second subject
• Examinations in Educational Sciences: Academic Office for Student Affairs and Examinations (ASPA)

2) Can I still contact the Academic Office for Student Affairs and Examinations (ASPA) with my concerns?

No. The ASPA is only responsible for Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts programmes. This mainly refers to study programmes of the faculties for social sciences and humanities.

The ASPA cannot answer enquiries from students for whom other examination offices are responsible, as there is no access to the respective study accounts or examination files for data protection reasons.

Documents, applications and theses received by the ASPA must therefore be forwarded from there to the respective examination office responsible. This can lead to your documents not reaching the respective study and examination office in time, which can cause further difficulties.

Therefore, please make sure that you address your concerns directly to the examination office responsible for you.

3) Can I also use the ASPA application forms for my applications?

No. The application forms and documents provided by the ASPA are tailored to the degree programmes, the internal work processes, the examination regulations, which may differ in some cases, and the decisions of the relevant examination boards.

The same applies to the application forms and documents that we make available to you.

Since the ASPA and the decentralised examination offices are different institutions that work independently of each other, different application forms are used accordingly.

1) Where can I find application forms?

On the websites of the faculty and university you can download:

• Forms for the study programmes of the faculty (e.g. application for admission to a Bachelor's/Master's thesis, module registration)
• Forms and materials of the Student Service Centre (e.g. application for exmatriculation, application for leave of absence, application for change of study programme)

2) When will my application be processed? Will I receive feedback?

The examination boards discuss applications at regular intervals in the examination board meetings. You will receive written feedback from the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations.

1) What should an informal application include?

An informal application should be written in letter form and must contain the following information:

• Personal details: Name, first name, matriculation number, e-mail address, address and telephone number.
• Examination details: degree programme, name of the module, examination number, examination date, name of the examiner, examination attempt (1st, 2nd, 3rd attempt of the examination).

Appropriate supporting documents must be enclosed with the application. The application is only valid with a signature!

You can also use this formzip, 1 mb · de for your informal application: Please tick the box "special request" in the form.

2) Where should the application be submitted?

The signed application can be scanned and sent by e-mail, by post to the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations or submitted in person as an original to the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations.

1) I am ill and cannot take part in an exam, seminar or practical laboratory course. What should I do?

You have to submit the sick note to the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations within three working days of the illness - either in person, by mail or by email. The sick note can NOT be made by fax or telephone.

In the case of missed practical laboratory course or seminar dates or semester-long performances, you have to submit the sick note not to the Examinations Office, but to the lecturer.

You have the following options for providing proof of incapacity to take examinations due to illness (from 1 January 2023):

• Form for confirmation of inability to take examinations: Have this form filled out by your doctor and then submit it to the Examinations Office by the deadline: Confirmation of inability to take examinationsExternal link or
• Informal confirmation of inability to take the examination by means of a medical attest: Your doctor can informally confirm your inability to take the examination. Such a attest should contain the information listed in the form above. Please write the matriculation number, degree programme, examination number, examination name and examination date on the back of the certificate. 

Certificates from internet companies are not accepted! No online attestations issued via telemedicine online providers will be accepted. 

Sick notes after a video consultation should be the exception; a prerequisite for this is that you as a student have already been treated by this doctor before.

2) Where do I submit the sickness certificate?

You can submit the sickness certificate/attest

• by dropping it in the letterbox in the corridor of the Office of Studies and Examinations, or
• by sending it by post: Studien- und Prüfungsamt der Chemisch-Geowissenschaftlichen Fakultät, Humboldtstr. 11, 07743 Jena, or
• by sending an e-mail to: studienamt.chemgeo@uni-jena.de. Please scan the original document and then send it as a PDF.

3) Why is there no longer the "yellow sick note"?

The electronic certificate of incapacity for work (e-AU) was introduced on 1 January 2023. The previous certificate of incapacity for work in paper form (the "yellow sick note") is therefore no longer required, with a few exceptions (for example, if your child is ill). Employers must now retrieve the AU data electronically from the health insurance companies.

However, the university does not fulfil the function of an employer towards its students. Therefore, electronic retrieval of this data is not possible. Proof of your inability to take exams will therefore be provided from 1 January 2023 using one of the options mentioned under 1.).

1) I am pregnant, what do I have to consider?

1. Please inform the Student Service Center (SSZ) about your pregnancy.
   Official notification of pregnancy to the SSZ is necessary in order to take comprehensive protective measures for you and your (unborn) child. Please use the forms provided for this purpose (see, among others, https://www.uni-jena.de/en/maternity-leave.)
   
   
2. Preparation of an individual risk assessment by the faculty.
   Please contact the responsible CGF advisory office: Dr Rainer Kilian (e-mail: rainer.kilian@uni-jena.de, phone: (03641) 9-48103). In the individual risk assessment, you record which courses/modules you (can) continue to attend and, if necessary, determine compensation options with the persons responsible for the modules.
   
   Attention: Under pandemic conditions
   A limit of 30 min. daily masking is mandated for pregnant students. This may result in a ban on employment or participation in certain courses if it is not otherwise possible to comply with the necessary protective measure.
   Alternative measures can be discussed with instructors, which will be recorded in the individual risk assessment.
   
   
3. Forwarding to the Student Service Center (SSZ)
   The completed and signed individual risk assessment (original) including any accompanying documents (copy) will be forwarded to the SSZ.

Further information for pregnant students

1) Where can I find important information on examination regulations?

You can find the information: in the study and examination regulations de, in the module catalogueExternal link, in FriedolinExternal link, in the journal of legal notices of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena de ("Verkündungsblatt der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität") and on the website of the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations.

Please also consider the Information on performance tests during the semesterpdf, 212 kb · de (available only in German).

2) Taking examinations

By taking an examination, you automatically confirm your ability to take the exam.

3) How often may I repeat a module examination?

That regulates the respective examination regulations. An examination can be repeated a maximum of twice.

1) In what form are the examinations to be taken?

You can find information on the assessment method of the module examination in the module descriptions.

2) Can I change the assessment method?

A change of the assessment method is possible when applying for at the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations. The application must state the reasons, and it must include the examination date and the confirmation of the examiner (signature).

1) How do I register for an examination?

Registration must take place no later than ten weeks after the start of lectures. Up to this point, it is possible to withdraw a registration directly via FriedolinExternal link without giving reasons, after which the registration is considered binding. For examinations scheduled within ten weeks, the binding registration must at the latest one week before the first examination date. For block courses, excursions or lectures with early pre-planning requirements, the faculty may set up different regulations.

Subsequent registration and deregistration for examinations by the Examinations Office is not regulated in the regulations and is not legally binding. 

Registrations incl. registration for the examination for the career-oriented/research-oriented internships must be applied for four weeks before the start of the internship via the following form.zip, 894 kb · de

You are obliged to check your examination registrations and deregistrations by yourself. To do so, use the menu item "My exams" in FriedolinExternal link.

Regarding block courses that are outside the examination registration and deregistration period, please read the separate FAQ entry.

2) I have problems registering online.

Please send a ticket to the FriedolinExternal link team.

3) Will I be automatically registered for the repeat examination?

Yes, you will be automatically registered for your 2nd attempt if it takes place in the current semester. Please note that you must take the exam on the next possible date.

1) Is it possible to withdraw from an examination?

Withdrawal from examinations is possible within the first ten weeks of lectures directly via Friedolin, provided that you did not yet complete any assessed coursework and examinations.

After ten weeks, withdrawal is only possible in cases of hardship or for other valid reasons.

An exception applies to block courses that are outside the examination registration and deregistration period. Please read the separate FAQ entry.

2) Withdrawal from examinations for health reasons

In the event of withdrawal from an examination, sickness notifications must be submitted immediately (within three days) after illness to the Faculty's Office of for Student Affairs and Examinations (not to the module coordinator). A parallel cancellation (verbally or by email) with the module coordinator is recommended.

In case of illness, the student is not allowed to take part in an examination. If he/she takes part, he/she automatically declares that he/she is fit to take the examination. A medical certificate which is submitted after participation in an examination and before the announcement of the examination result can generally no longer be recognised, unless there are special circumstances.

For block courses that take place outside the examination registration and deregistration period (in the winter semester, for example, in February/March, in the summer semester, for example, in September), please also register for the corresponding courses via Friedolin during the regular examination registration period.

If you realise halfway through the block course that it does not meet your expectations and you do not wish to complete the module with an examination, you can withdraw from the examination by sending an email to the Examinations Office, stating:

• Your name and student ID number,
• module code,
• module title,
• examination number and
• examination date

The Examinations Office will cancel your exam registration.

This is an exception, otherwise no subsequent examination registrations or cancellations can be made.

Please clarify with your teacher whether you should provide written scientific work (academic assignments, essays, protocols, etc.) with a Declaration of Academic Integrity signed by you.

Please note: The Declaration of Academic Integrity is mandatory for final theses.

The Declaration of Academic Integrity for scientific work generally excludes the use of generating AI. However, in consultation with your examiner respectively teacher, the use of AI can be permitted to a precise extent and with the corresponding documentation requirements in an additional Declaration of Permitted Resources ("Freigabeerklärung"). The Declaration of Permitted Resources can be customised by the teaching staff.

• Download Declaration of Academic Integritypdf, 143 kb
• Download Declaration of Permitted Resourcesdocx, 346 kb
• Further information on the Declaration of Academic Integrity de 

1) How do I register my thesis and what do I have to consider?

Theses (Bachelor's/Master's theses) are usually registered at the end of your studies by means of an application form at the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations of the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences:

• Application for Admission to Bachelor's Thesis External link
• Application for Admission to Master's Thesis External link

An overview of all legal information concerning your thesis can be found here: Information for the preparation of a thesisExternal link

Please note: The PDFs of the applications must first be downloaded to your PC and can then only be processed correctly by opening the downloaded documents. Opening them in the browser will display incomplete documents.

2) What should be considered when submitting the thesis?

The thesis must be submitted as follows:

Time:

• By the deadline (latest possible date: date of submission deadline).
• The thesis must be posted/mailed no later than the date of the deadline for submission. The postmark date applies to the mailing of the thesis. Be sure to address the final paper correctly (see below).

Form:

• In three hard bound copies.
• The thesis must be bound with perfect binding. Ring or clamp binding is not permitted (see question 6).

Location:

You have three different options:

• Personal submission: only by appointment at the Office of Studies and Examinations of the Faculty of Chemical and Earth Sciences or
• Deadline mailbox of the Friedrich Schiller University: Main University Building entrance Schlosgasse or
• Mailing by registered postal mail: Study and Examination Office of the Faculty of Chemical and Earth Sciences, Humboldtstr. 11, 07743 Jena, Germany.

If you are submitting the three copies of your thesis via deadline mailbox or postal mail, it is essential that you provide the following information:

• the current private address,
• the e-mail address,
• the full name,
• the course of study and
• the matriculation number

Other requirements are:

For English theses: 
The final thesis must include a German summary (obligatory!).

Signed Declaration of Independence ("Eigenständigkeitserklärung"):
The final thesis must include a declaration of independence signed by you. This must include a written assurance that the work has been written independently and that no sources or aids other than those indicated have been used, and that quotations and intellectual copies have been identified.

The declaration of independence for scientific work initially excludes the use of generating AI. However, in consultation with your supervisor or assessors for the final thesis, the use of AI can be permitted to a precise extent and with the corresponding documentation requirements in an additional declaration of authorisation ("Freigabeerklärung"). The declaration of authorisation can be customised by the supervisor respectively teaching staff.

• Download declaration of independenceExternal linkpdf, 147 kbExternal link
• Download declaration of authorisationExternal linkdocx, 348 kbExternal link
• Further information on the declaration of independenceExternal link 

3) Can I hand in my thesis personally?

A personal submission is possible at the Study and Examination Office of the Faculty of Chemical and Earth Sciences and only by appointment. Alternatively, you can use the deadline mailbox of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena or send all three copies of your thesis by postal mail. Please also refer to the information in question 2!

4) May I hand in my thesis directly to my reviewer?

No. All three copies of your thesis must be submitted directly to the Office of Studies and Examinations for examination purposes. The Office of Studies and Examinations will then forward the final papers to the reviewers by mail or internal mail.

5) What should the cover sheet look like?

The Office for Student Affairs and Examinations is often asked which formal design criteria the cover sheet must contain. There are no guidelines for this. Nevertheless, we provide you with possibilities of design from previous theses:

• Cover sheet for Bachelor's ThesisExternal link
• Cover sheet for Master's ThesisExternal link

6) Perfect binding, clamp binding or ring binding: What is allowed?

The final paper must be firmly bound. Since with a clamp binding and a ring binding, pages may be subsequently detached from the paper, these types of bindings are not allowed. The thesis must be bound with perfect binding. Whether you choose a hardcover or paperback version is up to you.

7) How can I extend the processing time for my thesis?

If you need to extend your Bachelor's or Master's thesis, please submit the Application for Extension of ThesisExternal link to the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations at least two weeks before the deadline. The application must be accompanied by a written statement from the supervisor. The time of the extension should be appropriate to the reason for the extension; a multiple extension until the maximum possible time is exhausted is desired.

An extension can be granted for the following reasons:

• changes for which the student is not responsible (e.g. demonstrable failure of a central measuring device over a longer period of time, workplace not available due to renovation, relocation, etc.),
• significant, unforeseeable changes in the work schedule (these must be explained),
• change of supervisor (e.g. in case of departure, in case of illness or conflict situations etc.) as well as
• private reasons recognized as hardship cases (hardship cases include: e.g. death in the family, care of family members, unforeseeable life circumstances, illness child, etc.).

Please note: The PDF of the application must first be downloaded to your PC and can then only be processed correctly by opening the downloaded documents. Opening it in the browser will display an incomplete document.

1) I have definitively failed an exam. Can or do I still have to take exams of other modules after this status has been announced?

You can continue to take examinations until you are exmatriculated. From the day of exmatriculation, the right to take an examination automatically expires. You have to deregister registered exams that you no longer wish to take in writing at the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations.

1) Regulation of a hardship application for geography - teacher training (Gymnasium/ Regelschule)

The Teacher Training Examinations Committee announces that the following three criteria will be used to examine applications for hardship:

1. the timely submission of the hardship application,
2. proof of the hardship application with official documents (e.g. sickness certificate),
3. the previous academic achievements in the subject.

If the evaluation of at least one criterion is negative, a hardship application cannot be granted.

You've had doubts about your studies for a long time and your doubts don't get any less from semester to semester? Are you thinking about changing your subject or university or wondering whether studying is the right thing for you? Here you will find extensive information and tips on the topic of "Doubts about your studies When things just aren’t going according to plan".

We also recommend a personal counselling interview: depending on your concerns, there are different contact persons here, such as the Central student advisory service, the student advisors of your study programme or the Studierendenwerk Thüringen. The staff at the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations will also be happy to help you. Here you can find an overview about the central counselling services for students at the university.

1) Can I de-registrate if I still have a repeat exam after the end of the semester?

If it is a repeat exam, there is no need to re-register for the following semester.

2) Can I de-registrate if I am still writing my thesis?

You must be enrolled when you register your thesis. However, you can de-register while your thesis is still in progress.

3) Can I de-registrate if I have submitted my thesis but have not yet received any evaluations?

Yes, de-registration can take place as soon as all achievements on the part of the student have been completed.

4) Where can I de-registrate?

You can obtain the form "Application for de-registration" and further information from the Student Service Centre (SSZ).

The application form requires, among other things, a cancellation from the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations. Please send the completed form preferably as a PDF, by email to studienamt.chemgeo@uni-jena.de.

Alternatively, you can also deregister in person at theOffice for Student Affairs and Examinations (please arrange an appointment in advance!) or you can send the completed form by post to: Studien- und Prüfungsamt der Chemisch-Geowissenschaftlichen Fakultät, Humboldtstr. 11, 07743 Jena.

You will receive a confirmation of cancellation from us. For a complete de-registration, please submit the form to the SSZ via the Service DeskExternal link de.

5) Special feature for students of the study programmes Geosciences and Biogeosciences

The presentation of a routing slip from the Institute of Geosciences is required in order to obtain the signature of the Office for Student Affairs and Examinations on the de-registration form.

This is required by the institute so that no outstanding accounts/liabilities are left open by students leaving the university.

The routing slip forms can be obtained from the Administrative Assistant of the institute ("Institutssekretariat"), Burgweg 11.