You can find out more about compensation for disadvantages here.

Procedure:

If you would like to complete subject-related modules from other Master's degree programs and include them in your degree, you must obtain prior approval from the Examination Board. To do this, please write an e-mail to the Examinations Office with your request, stating your matriculation number and the desired module, as well as a link to the module description in the course catalogue (content, details of CP, SWS, module examination, etc.). You will receive the Examination Board's decision on possible crediting by e-mail from the Examinations Office.

As soon as you have completed the subject-related module, please have the Examinations Office of the respective department enter your grades and attendances as soon as possible.

In accordance with §7 II of the study and examination regulations, you can use a maximum of 15 credit points (CP) from subject-related modules from other Master's degree programs as part of the supplementary area. These modules can be graded both differentiated and undifferentiated. The inclusion of these modules in your degree program requires the prior approval of the Examination Board.

Important:
▶ These 15 CP refer exclusively to voluntarily completed modules that are not included in the module handbook of the Master's degree program in Biology and that you would also like to include from other subject areas (e.g. Biochemistry, Physics, Earth Sciences).
▶ This limitation does not apply to recognized credits (e.g. credits from previous degree programs that were recognized for FU modules in your degree program).

However, if you have already attended courses in the past, please submit copies of certificates / a transcript of records of the modules to be recognised to the Examinations Office by email. If available, module descriptions with content and scope should also be enclosed. We will forward your request to the Examination Board and then inform you of the decision by email.

English transcripts can be issued. If this doesn't provide enough information, you can either consult a sworn translator, who will prepare the translation for you and issue a certified copy, or you can prepare a translation yourself. However, please note the following:

•     This is not an official document of Freie Universität Berlin, therefore all information about the origin as well as the logo  must be removed
•     It must clearly be a translation on your part (TRANSLATION...)
•     Make sure to retain the page numbers
•     Do not indicate a processing office for the signature

As soon as you have completed this, send it from your Zedat account to the Examination Office by e-mail.
ATTENTION: If the information is complete and correct, the examination office will only certify the grades (not the translation as such). It is therefore not an official translation. However, if an official document in the form of a translation is requested, you will need to visit a sworn translator!

Obligatory Research Project (15 credit points):                               

The Research Project with 15 credit points is mandatory and, regardless of whether it is to be completed internally or externally, must be registered by the student in advance with the Examination Office. Before the Research Project can be started, approval must be obtained from the examination board. Supervision must be provided by a professor or private lecturer.

For this purpose, please submit the completed application form as a pdf file to the Examination Office. Please note that it is not possible to confirm receipt of documents. Please also remember to save the application for yourself, as you will have to enter this data in the performance record!
Once the Research Project is approved, we will enroll you in Campus Management. If it is rejected, we will contact you by e-mail.

• Registration Research Project

Please note that the module is graded undifferentiated, i.e. with pass or fail. As soon as you have the completed performance record for this, please send it to the Examination Office by e-mail, so that we can enter it in Campus Management.

Facultative Project (10 credit points):

In addition to the Research Project, you have the option of completing a 10 credit points Project, which you must also register in advance with the Examination Office in the same way as the Research Project.

Once the Project is approved, we will register you in Campus Management.

• Registration Facultative Project

The module is graded differentiated, i.e. according to the grading scheme of the Institute of Biology of the FUB (grading scale very good (1,0}; very good- (1,3); good+ (1,7); good (2,0); good- (2,3); satisfactory+ (2,7); satisfactory (3,0}; satisfactory- (3,3); sufficient+ (3,7); sufficient (4,0); fail (5,0)).

As soon as you have the completed performance record, please send it to the Examination Office by e-mail, so that we can enter your performance in Campus Management.

The following examination board decisions have been made regarding your degree program:

1. The registration and completion of a second Project (10 credit points, graded) is not possible.

2. Only a maximum of 25 credit points may be acquired in addition to the 120 credit points you have to achieve for your Master's degree, from which the best grades can then be included in the degree.
3. If more than 25 credit points are taken in addition to the 120 credit points, the modules are included in the degree according to chronology (i.e. usually not the best grades).
4. The processing time for the Master's thesis is six months. In order to guarantee this duration for the protection of the students, Master's theses will be accepted at the Examination Office at the earliest four weeks before the latest submission date communicated to you; a prior submission, acceptance or storage by the examination office is not possible. (Decision of 06.02.2019)
5. Applications and theses are to be submitted in electronic form as a PDF file by e-mail to the Examination Office. Paper versions no longer have to be submitted. (Decision of 04.08.2021)

6. BUA (Berlin University Alliance) modules with a biological reference can be credited in the Supplementary Area for "general biology" (Decision of 25.09.2024)

In § 10 of the examination regulations for the master's program in Biodiversity, Evolution, Ecology, you can find information and guidelines on the master's thesis and the presentation. You can also find further information here: Information on the registration and the procedure of the Master's thesis.

Procedure for external Master's theses:
Upon application, the Master's thesis can also be performed externally at institutes or research institutions.
After you have filled out the application completely, submit it to the examination office by e-mail. Your application will then be examined at the next examination board meeting and you will receive an answer from the Examination Office by e-mail.

•  Application external conduction Master's thesis

If the external application has been approved, please register for the Master's thesis according to the following procedure.

Registration procedure for the Master's thesis (external and internal):

The master's thesis must be registered by the student at the Examination Office at least two weeks before the start of the master's thesis and the start must be approved by the Examination Board.

• Application Master's thesis

If your application has been approved by the Examination Board, you will be informed by the Examination Office by e-mail about the submission date and all additional submission formalities.

Important: When registering the Master's thesis, only persons authorized to conduct examinations are admitted as supervisors/examiners; these are usually professors or private lecturers.
Please keep this in mind when you look for a supervisor, otherwise your application might be rejected by the examination board.

ATTENTION:
If you are working on your Master's thesis across two semesters and the submission falls in the next semester, a re-registration is not necessarily required. Should you still want to spend time in other premises for working on your master's thesis (e.g. a laboratory) or register and complete additional modules in the next semester, please re-register as the student status is important here. If this is not the case, you can also submit your Master's thesis exmatriculated. This decision about re-registration or exmatriculation is up to you.

Digital submission of the Master's thesis:

Please remember to enclose the hand-signed declaration of independence. The use of AI must also be indicated therein. Information on dealing with AI. 

You can use the following template for the declaration of independence: Declaration of independence incl. AI

Certificate:

Please submit the Application for Graduation to the Examination Office as soon as you have successfully completed your last examination. This can be, for example, the date of the presentation of the Master's thesis, a final exam date, the submission of a term paper/protocol/report etc.. The date of the last examination must be noted on the application for graduation and becomes the certificate date.

Please note that if you do not submit your application for graduation by the deadline of four weeks, the date on which you submit your application may be used as the graduation date rather than the date of the last examination.

On December 13, 2022, the Presidential Board decided to specify the administrative practice for the use of self-chosen names of trans*, inter* and non-binary* (TIN*) students of Freie Universität in such a way that the use of these names is now also possible on graduation documents. You can find all the necessary information on the procedure here.

Please note that no certificate can be issued without this application for graduation.

• Application for Graduation

Exmatriculation:

You do not need to wait until you have received your transcript of records to exmatriculate. If you no longer have to carry out any insurance-relevant activities (e.g. work in the laboratory) and have completed all your coursework, you can already exmatriculate.

Exmatriculation is carried out by the Student Administration Office, which is why you will find the necessary forms on the Student Administration homepage (Exmatriculation). It is important that you actively exmatriculate by submitting the form. By exmatriculating, you will receive a corresponding confirmation of exmatriculation with which you can prove your periods of study (e.g. for BAföG, child benefit, pension, doctoral application, etc.).

If you wish to continue with a doctorate after your Master's degree, please clarify with the Student Administration Office whether a "transfer of registration" will take place instead of an "exmatriculation". If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please contact the Student Administration Office or take a look at their homepage.

You can find the study and examination regulations for the Master's program Biodiversity, Evolution, Ecology (2023) here.