Contact
The student council is always there to help and advise you with any questions you may have about your studies! You can reach us 24/7 (or longer if necessary) via email or social media.
Office hours (W2 2-227)
Student Body Meeting (W2 2-227)
Social Media
How-To's and FAQ
To make sure everything goes smoothly at the beginning of your studies, we have created two short videos for you that introduce your most important tools, Stud.IP and BigBlueButton (BBB).
Below you will also find answers to the most common questions you might have at the beginning of your studies or during your studies.
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to write to us! Our little avocet Piet is happy about every email!
The Campus System
The most important thing is our campus system Stud.IP. Here you can register for events, take part in digital seminars, write emails and register for exams. You can also find files that your lecturers upload in lectures here. We have explained the most important functions in a short video (German).
Big Blue Button
In the online semester, the plug-in Big Blue Button (BBB) is just as important as Stud.IP. Some lectures, seminars and other online events currently take place via BBB. You also have the opportunity to meet here to work on group projects and presentations. The explanatory video is in German.
FAQ - Frequently asked questions
How do I read the room numbering at the university?
The room numbering at the university follows - even if it may not seem like it at first - an actually relatively simple pattern. Each room number consists of a letter and several numbers.
The letters indicate the campus on which the room is located, the number behind the letter indicates the building (or in Wechloy the wing). The most important letters are A for Haarentor, W for Wechloy and V for the administrative campus.
The first number before the hyphen indicates the floor on which the room can be found (0 is the ground floor), the three numbers behind it indicate the room number, which is usually consecutive within a corridor, similar to house numbers on streets.
So the room number W4 1-162 belongs to room 162 on the 1st floor of wing 4 in Wechloy (this is the biology wing) - you will find a seminar room there.
The exact maps of all buildings can be found at uol.de/en/campus-map.
Which examination regulations apply to me?
Study programmes are reviewed regularly, so the "rules of the game" may change slightly from time to time. Every change is recorded in the current examination regulations .
The examination regulations that apply to you are the ones that were most current when you enrolled. It is therefore possible that older students have different examination regulations than the new freshmen. By the way, you can also change to the current examination regulations upon application.
Another important point: There are the general examination regulations, which apply to all students, and the subject-specific part, which varies depending on your subject. To get all the information about your degree programme, you need to read both the general examination regulations and the subject-specific annex for biology.
How often am I allowed to repeat an exam?
As a rule, you are allowed to repeat each exam twice, so you have a total of three attempts. Only when you have failed an exam three times have you definitively failed the exam.
However, if you fail an exam definitively, this is often not the end - as long as it was not a compulsory module, you can of course take another module. But keep in mind that there is a limit to the number of exams you can definitively fail, so it's best to check your examination regulations.
What is the free trial scheme (Freiversuchsregelung)?
If you are still within the standard period of study of your bachelor's degree, the so-called free attempt regulation (Freiversuchsregelung) applies to you. This means that you can rewrite a passed exam to improve your grade. To do this, you have to apply for a grade improvement, which you can find on the forms page in Stud.IP. But even if you do not pass the exam on the first try, you may still get three additional attemps as usual.
However, this regulation only applies if you write the exam on the first date offered. If you do not take the exam on the first date (i.e. if your first exam is on the repeat date) or if you only pass the exam on the second or third attempt, you will not be allowed to apply for a grade improvement. This rule applies to all examinations, i.e. written examinations, presentations, portfolios etc.
For details, please consult your examination regulations.
Where do I get lab equipment?
If you need a lab coat or safety goggles in a hurry, the student body chemistry can help you - they're professionals!
I am sick, do I have to sign out?
In principle, there is no compulsory attendance in the Bio degree programme. This means that you don't have to go to every lecture or tutorial, and you don't have to take sick leave for them.
The situation is different for practical courses, i.e. lab courses and seminars. Since you are usually only allowed to show a few days of absence here, it definitely makes sense to sign off or possibly organise a medical certificate. Even for smaller modules, it is of course polite and appreciated to let your lecturers know in advance if you are unable to attend.
If you are unable to take an exam due to illness, you must even present a certificate, otherwise the attempt will be considered failed.
When and how do I have to take care of the Bachelor thesis & practical module?
The Bachelor's thesis is due in your last Bachelor's semester. If you complete your studies in the standard period of study, this would be the 6th semester. Before the Bachelor's thesis, you also take the practical module; both modules together give you 30 CP, i.e. one full-time semester.
As a rule, you have to find a place for your Bachelor's thesis and practical module yourself. Sometimes you can find advertisements for projects on the website of the working groups or in Stud.IP. A good first port of call is the IBU AG portfolio. However, it's best to write to the professors themselves - they'll tell you if they have capacity for projects and what a bachelor thesis could look like in their group.
If you have already studied a few semesters, you may already know the work of some professors from lectures or modules that you like, which is a very good start. It's always a good idea to talk to the professors after a lecture about possible topics for theses. It's usually enough to ask your lecturer a few weeks in advance, i.e. the semester before you want to write your thesis. This gives both sides enough time to plan. However, some professors like to be more spontaneous :)
It often even makes sense to do the practical module and the Bachelor's thesis in the same group, because this way you have more time to deal with a topic and can dive a little deeper into your work.
By the way: Although there is a name for the practical module (prx) as well as the bachelor thesis module (bam), both are not run via Stud.IP - so you don't have to register in anything, even if this seems strange at first. You will get the proof of the passed practical module and the bachelor thesis with the corresponding form directly from your supervisor and you can submit it to the examination office.
A Biology degree sounds nice, but what do I do with it?
Congratulations, you have successfully passed your biology studies at Carl-von-Ossietzky University!
And now?
If you're not studying to become a teacher , you'll ask yourself this question after graduation at the latest, and ideally even sooner.
Yet biologists have a huge choice of exciting professions. If you find yourself in research, you will probably want to pursue a Master's degree or even a doctorate (i.e. a PhD). Whether it's basic research at a university or the development of new pesticides or drugs in company laboratories such as those at Bayer or BASF - as innovation and problems such as the climate crisis become increasingly important, biologists are increasingly in demand in research! Brand-new e.g.: Vaccines based on mRNA are only possible thanks to research successes in genetics.
There are also many opportunities to start a career away from climate cabinets and centrifuges. Biologists are in demand in environmental agencies, for example, to prepare reports on water quality or to pay attention to species protection in new construction projects. Zoos and botanical gardens depend on the knowledge of experts, and newspapers hire science journalists to report on biological topics to their readership. A geneticist might later find themself in DNA analysis for the criminal police, an animal lover might lead studies at the WWF.
As you can see, it is virtually impossible to list all the perspectives, because "biology" is a huge term and the study of biology offers countless opportunities for jobs and careers.
Those who would like to read some first-hand infos may find more information here: www.biologenkompass.de/ (German)
What's with the bird?
That's Piet!
Piet is an avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta; note: always put species and genus names in italics) and our student body mascot.
Avocets are often found in the mudflats of the North Sea during the breeding season, but mostly live in south-east Africa all year round. The specially shaped bill is used for a specialised form of feeding - "sabering" in the sediment to capture small invertebrates such as worms or crustaceans.
The typical "Säbelschnäbler" is called pied avocet in English. Whether this is where Piet got his name, however, is questionable.