The system in place for courses with unlimited capacity is relatively straightforward. At the Institute of Biology only lectures fall into this category. Anyone can register for a place in this type of course. Usually, all you have to do is sign up for the course in Campus Management (CM) during the registration period. In rare cases you may only be able to sign up for the lecture on the first day of the course or at a preliminary meeting with the teaching staff. The procedure by which places are distributed can be found in the table on this page and in the online course catalog (eVV).

Please get in touch with the teaching staff if you forget to sign up for a course in CM in time. Only teaching staff is allowed to send changes to the list of participants to kursbuchungen@bcp.fu-berlin.de. This typically happens after the second day of the course. The changes requested by the teaching staff will then be entered into CM by the Examinations Office at the earliest opportunity.

Students are only allowed to directly notify kursbuchungen@bcp.fu-berlin.de if they wish to be removed from a course list. Course registrations must always be carried out by teaching staff.

Places in courses with limited capacity are always distributed in line with the specific legal guidelines found in Section 12 of the Statutes of Academic Affairs (Satzung für Studienangelegenheiten, or SfS), published April 11, 2017.

The following rules generally apply to the distribution of places in required courses with limited capacity (including elective required courses):

Students from different status groups are prioritized as follows:

1. Students who are conducting their studies according to the timeline stipulated in the standard curriculum of the study regulations for their program and who are set to complete the relevant module in accordance with this plan; otherwise, students who did not receive a place in the module during the previous semester despite having successfully pursued their studies according to said schedule thus far (applicable to required modules; elective required modules of point 4).
2. Students who are one semester behind schedule according to the timeline stipulated in the standard curriculum.
3. Students who are two or more semesters behind schedule according to the timeline stipulated in the standard curriculum.
4. Students who are conducting their studies according to the timeline stipulated in the standard curriculum and are able to attend the module as an elective required course.
5. Other students.

Students who have not been able to comply with the timeline stipulated in the standard curriculum should seek assistance from the Office of Academic Affairs for Biology and receive advising on their individual curriculum plan.

Groups of people who are entitled to priority registration for places in courses with limited capacity at the Institute of Biology (for all distribution procedures) are listed in Section 11 of the Statutes of Academic Affairs (Satzung für Studienangelegenheiten, or SfS), published April 11, 2017. These include:

• Parents whose child/children has/have not yet reached twelve years of age
• People who are responsible for taking care of family members
• People who have a disability as per Book IX of the German Social Code (SGB IX)
• People who are pregnant (if they have notified Freie Universität that they will be going on maternity leave)

Our institute council has decided that this group can be expanded to include Erasmus students and tutors in certain situations. In specific cases, part-time students and others can also be put into this group following an advising session with the Office of Academic Affairs for Biology on the individual student’s curriculum plan.

All students eligible for advance registration are encouraged to attend an advising session with the Office of Academic Affairs before the advance registration period concludes. After this deadline has passed you will no longer be eligible for advance registration.

Please use the form (in the table below) to declare your interest in priority registration within the advance registration period for the upcoming semester.

The Office of Academic Affairs is responsible for carrying out advance registrations in Campus Management and on the behalf of teaching staff. The person making the request is not permitted to carry out advance registrations themselves. Please note that if you do attempt to register yourself, then your right to advance registration will lapse as the Office of Academic Affairs processes registrations using a different set of authorization rights (“direct reservation”).

However, you should check Campus Management to verify that the registration you requested has been carried out correctly by the Office of Academic Affairs. Be sure to do this prior to the deadline indicated in a separate email that you received. Please get in touch with the Office of Academic Affairs if this is not the case.

For many degree program modules at the Institute of Biology you are required to show up in person in order to receive your course place. This distribution procedure is carried out in line with SfS regulations. You can find out which modules this applies to in the table below, as well as details concerning the relevant times, dates, and places.

All students who want a place in the course of the respective module are expected to show up in person on the day scheduled for distributions. The Office of Academic Affairs for Biology distributes course places with the help of assistants.

Students who wish to reserve a spot in such courses must show up in person. If you do not go to the in-person distribution appointment, then you will no longer be entitled to your place in the course, even if it has already been included in your curriculum plan. If you are unable to attend in person, then you must send a person who you trust and who has an official letter of authorization from you to sign up on your behalf, together with a list of your preferred courses (and several alternative options). The official letters of authorization will be collected by the Office of Academic Affairs in order to maintain a clear record of registrations. You are welcome to use the following form: Official Authorization Letter – Representative for In-Person Course Registration

If teaching staff does end up redistributing places, only they are allowed to send changes to the list of participants to kursbuchungen@bcp.fu-berlin.de. This typically happens after the second day of the course. The changes requested by the teaching staff will then be entered into Campus Management by the Examinations Office at the earliest opportunity.

Students are only allowed to directly notify kursbuchungen@bcp.fu-berlin.de if they wish to be removed from a course list. Course registrations must always be carried out by teaching staff.

You are required to show up in person on the specific date given for the distribution of course places. If you do not go to the in-person appointment, then you will no longer be entitled to your place in the course, even if it has already been included in your curriculum plan. If you are unable to attend in person, then you must send a person who you trust and who has an official letter of authorization from you to sign up on your behalf, together with a list of your preferred courses (and several alternative options). The official letters of authorization will be collected by the Office of Academic Affairs in order to maintain a clear record of registrations. You are welcome to use the following form: Official Authorization Letter – Representative for In-Person Course Registration