Information for Students

You have been selected to CEP? Congratulations and a warm welcome to FAU!
In the video the FAU president Professor Dr. Joachim Hornegger and FAU students are welcoming you to FAU and informing about its history, location and student life.

Coming to FAU, starting your studies and studying in a different city or country poses several questions. We have therefore collected some hints, videos and links that will be helpful to you.

• All the important questions you might have concerning your stay as well as checklists are provided on the page Everything you need to know about coming to FAU. Please take note of the offered checklists and the “First steps – Information for international students”.
• FAU is located in Erlangen, Nürnberg and Fürth. The different campi and their location in the city of Erlangen can be seen in a short video.
• Your new faculty, the Faculty of Engineering can be visited by means of a virtual campus tour.
• Additional support for incoming students is offered by the FAU Buddy Programme. A senior student will help you getting started in Erlangen.
• Make sure to register for the Welcome Week for international students where you will get important information on FAU and its facilities, as well as information and support for administrative issues concerning your stay.

Information on the neccessary formalities upon arrival is given during the Welcome Week and can be found on FAU’s website for incoming students.

The first steps at the Faculty of Engineering offer additional information and hints.

You need access to FAU’s Identity Management System for many different reasons (e.g. email address, library account, FAU ID card). A YouTube-video of an FAU student will guide you through the different steps to activate your IdM account.

In the free FAU app you can get all information for student life – menu, timetable – all in one place.

A list of all advice centres and services at FAU can be found under: www.fau.eu/education/advice-and-services/support-services/.

• Choose a specialisation in energy systems or energy technologies (M.Sc. only). This decision does not need to be communicated to the coordination office, it will be locked in when you register for exams yourself.
• See the curriculum for the B.Sc. CEP or the degree study plan for M.Sc. CEP. The course structure is given per semester. Please look in the individual columns i.e. under “1st. sem.” for the first semester etc.
  Master’s students need to compare the module catalogue of their specialisation with the study plan of MSc. CEP and decide upon their courses.
• There are compulsory and elective modules. Elective modules can be chosen from basically all FAU modules. Compulsory modules are mandatory. Compulsory elective modules allow students to choose from a list of fixed modules for the degree program.
• Take also note of when your preferred seminars run, in the winter term (WS) or in the summer term (SS). Most courses run only in the winter term or summer term, not in both terms.
• Most module courses consist of two or three lectures. Make sure to always add all necessary courses that a module consists of (i.e. lecture, exercise/tutorial, lab work etc.) to your timetable.
  Usually there are at least two courses for each module course. Please refer to the curriculum for the B.Sc. CEP or the degree study plan for M.Sc. CEP.
• A detailed step by step guide on how to create your timetable is available here.

• Elective modules from the FAU range – Modules B5 and B28 in the B.Sc. CEP and modules M12 and M13 in the M.Sc. CEP.
• The FAU-wide electives (B5, B28, M12 and M13) must be either chosen from a list with possible courses for Module M12 – M13 or soft skills, language courses (except English and native language) and „Schlüsselqualifikationen” (key qualifications) offered at FAU.
  
• In principle, all FAU modules are open to you for the elective module that are approved for guest students or for which the lecturer declares his/her agreement. The courses can be found in Campo under “Electives, soft skills and language courses” and under “English-taught courses”. Since Campo is not complete concerning the FAU-wide electives, you can have a look into the old UnivIS system in the Course Catalogue under “Key Qualifications” and/or “Faculty of Engineering” under “Lectures for all students of the Faculty of Engineering“.
• Exceptions apply to English language and native language courses as well as CEP modules. These cannot be chosen as an FAU-wide elective.
• The grade and ECTS are only counted towards your transcript once 10 ECTS are completed.
• Recommended are Soft skills, language courses (except English and native language) and „Schlüsselqualifikationen” offered at FAU.
• 5 ECTS points are allocated for each FAU-wide module. If necessary, you can choose two modules with 2.5 ECTS points each to make up one elective module in sum.
• You may not be able to register for the elective module examinations on your own. Please send an email with the details of your degree program, your enrolment number and the respective examination number (if known) to the responsible person at the examinations office.

The Grundlagen und Orientierungsprüfung (GOP) consists of 7 module examinations amounting to 40 ECTS credits.
The GOP is passed if 30 of the GOP subjects have been acquired.
The examinations of the GOP may be repeated only once in case of failure (other examinations may be repeated three times).
The GOP must be taken in the first two semesters (at the latest in the third).

The GOP in the bachelor’s degree program CEP includes the following modules: Mathematics I and II, Foundations of Chemical reaction engineering, Physics I, Renewable Energies, Introduction to Interface Engineering and Electrochemistry. These modules amout to a total of 40 ECTS of which you must have accumulated 30 ECTS points in the first two to maximum three semesters. Once you have passed the GOP, you can repeat the other remaining exams three times.

The Bachelor’s thesis is regulated in the ABMPO (General Study and Examination Regulation for Bachelor’s and Master’s Programs at the FAU Faculty of Engineering) and in the FPO (Program-specific Examination Regulations).

ABMPO, especially § 27 Bachelor thesis: ABMPO/TechFak

FPO CEP, in particular § 42 Bachelor thesis: Examination regulations/TechFak

Short summary (please read the mentioned § of ABMPO and the respective FPO!):

• Admission requirement is the acquisition of at least 110 ECTS credits and the successful completion of the Fundamentals and Orientation Examination (GOP).
• The topic of the Bachelor’s thesis is assigned by a university lecturer from the department Chemical and Biological Engineering working full-time at the Faculty of Engineering (see FPO). In case of deviations from this, the approval of the chairperson of the study commission is required. Topics can be found here and on the notice boards of the chairs and websites of the chairs.
• Language of the Bachelor’s thesis: The thesis must be written in English.
• Topic and date of starting the thesis have to be communicated to the examination’s office (informal notification by supervisor, chair if applicable). The chairs usually have their own templates. If necessary, this document can be used in consultation with the supervisor).
• The time from the assignment of the topic to the submission of the Bachelor’s thesis is approx. 360 hours (3-5 months) and can only be extended by a maximum of one month upon justified application (exception by medical certificate, see ABMPO § 27 (4)).
• The Bachelor’s thesis and its results are to be presented in a presentation of max. 30 minutes followed by a discussion.
• A failed Bachelor’s thesis can be repeated once (see ABMPO § 27 (5)).

The Master’s thesis is regulated in the ABMPO (General Study and Examination Regulations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Programs at the FAU Faculty of Engineering) and in the FPO (Program-specific Examination Regulations).

ABMPO, especially section 32 Master’s thesis: ABMPO/TechFak

FPO CEP: Section 50 Master’s thesis

Short summary (please read the mentioned § of the ABMPO and the respective FPO!):

• Admission requirement is the acquisition of 90 ECTS credits credited in your transcript.
• Applications for an early start of thesis are possible with 85 ECTS credited in your transcript. Applications to start the thesis early must be submitted to the chairperson of the Degree Programme Committee. Please send an email to study-cep@fau.de including your current transcript. Applications must be handed in well in advance of the projected starting date of the thesis.
• Registration for the thesis: Is done by the supervisor. The registration does not have to be done at the beginning of the semester. It can be done any time during the semester if the necessary ECTS have been reached and suitable topic and supervisor has been found.
• The topic of the master’s thesis is assigned by a university lecturer of the department Chemical and Biological Engineering working full-time at the Faculty of Engineering. Furthermore, the topic of the master’s thesis can be assigned by a university lecturer working full-time at FAU who is responsible for one of the modules M1 to M6.
  In case of deviations from this, the approval of the chairperson of the study commission is required (see FPO). Topics can be found here and on the notice boards of the chairs and websites of the chairs.
• Industrial theses: At the Department supervision of industrial theses or theses at other research institutions is only an exception rather than the rule. Only if there are strong connections between the supervisor and the company/research institute, the supervisor can decide whether he/she will accept this. The formulation of a thesis topic should be done by the academic supervisor (if applicable in consultation with the company) to guarantee quality and relevance of the thesis topic, not by the company.
• Language of the Master’s thesis: The thesis must be written in English.
• Topic and date of starting the thesis have to be communicated to the examination’s office (informal notification by supervisor, chair if applicable. The chairs usually have their own templates. If necessary, this document can be used in consultation with the supervisor).
• The time from the assignment of the topic to the submission of the Master’s thesis (standard processing time) is six months and can only be extended by a maximum of three months upon justified application (exception by medical certificate, see ABMPO § 32 (4)).
• The Master’s thesis and its results are to be presented in a presentation (of approx. 30 minutes) followed by a discussion.
• The subject may only be returned once and within the first third of the period for working on the thesis. (see ABMPO § 32 (5)).