You are interested in studying history at the University of Oldenburg? Or do you study here and would like some information on the Master's degree programmes which follow on from your Bachelor's degree programme? Or do you have general questions about your study schedule or your studies? Then these pages will (hopefully) offer you helpful information and materials. On this page we cover general questions. For more detailed information about the courses of study, schemes of study or internships click on the corresponding links in the menu on the left hand side.

Some questions keep coming up from study generation to generation, but the answers remain the same for semesters. Therefore you will find here a short list of "classical questions". In addition, there are useful materials and links for your studies on the right column.

area of specialisation

• Detailed information about the structure and creative margins in the area of specialisation you will find on the pages for the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History.

ASSIGNMENT OF MODULES

• Information you will find on the pages of the degree programmes.

BAFÖG – STATE LOAN

• Information you can find on the pages of the Studentenwerk. Contact partner in the institute is Dr. Sarah Neumann.

COURSE OF STUDIES

• Preface: All course of study plans are ideal typical and do usually not reflect reality, for example because modules nonetheless do overlap or because you cannot register for individual modules for personal or other reasons. Therefore, you should comprehend course of study plans as an orientation and not as an iron law! If you should feel uncomfortable with a study plan that is not conform (!), you should contact the course counseller!
• Study course plans can be found in the Infoportal Studies where the respective course studies can be found under "weiterführende Informationen" as pdf-files and also on the subpages of the study courses.

DOUBLE DEGREE M.A./ M.ED.

• In order to have more mobility between the M.Ed. and the Master of Arts and the opportunity to acquire both degrees, the Institute has decided that the professional scientific modules of the professional Master's degree programme and the Master's thesis completion module can be credited in the M.Ed. degree programmes.

• However, an extension of the study period is indispensible, because in addition to the mentioned modules you will not only have to study and coordinate a second subject, but also the area of professionalization for schools, internships and studies abroad. For an initial orientation see an overview in the right column.

examination components

• In the "fachspezifischen Anlagen" (subject specific attachments) to the examination regulations the amount of examination components and possible examination forms are specified.
• In the module descriptions every new semester is defined which of the possible examination forms await you. For a quicker orientation about the examination components that are planned at the institute for the current semester, you will find a corresponding overview here (in German).

EXAMINATION REGULATIONS

• The examination regulation is your basic law, it provides the legal foundation for your studies. Please read not only the general part that is relevant for you but also the so-called 'fachspezifische Anlage'. You will find the most recent versions on the homepage of the P-Amtes.

EXCURSIONS

• Evidence of excursion days is not mandatory. Nevertheless, for historians a confrontation with history "on the spot" is indispensable. Excursions are frequently integrated into courses - and are thus an integral part of the workload.
• Date information can be found here.

FINAL PAPER

• Selecting the subject / the sub-discipline: you are free to choose in which one of your two subjects you want to write the thesis (Exception: if you study history only with 30 CP, you must write the final paper in the 90 CP subject). If you decide for history as your subject, you may choose from the spectrum of all six departments that are available (Ancient History, Medieval History, Early Modern History, Modern History, East European History, History Didactics). In the Master of Education programme you can write your final paper in one of your two subjects or in the educational sciences.
• Primary supervisor is usually a professor. In special circumstances (e.g. it could be someone who is researching a topic you want to address in your Bachelor's or Master's thesis), it is also possible to ask for support teachers who do not belong to the group of professors.
• The colloquium is part of the Bachelor-/Master thesis final module and is worth 3 CP. It serves as preparation (e.g. development / clarification of research interest, discussion of the concept of work) and should therefore be part of your studies before the actual paperwork begins.
• For the registration of the Bachelor thesis there are no deadlines. As soon as you feel reasonably confident with your topic, you can officially sign up in the examination office (see the form on the pages of the P-Amt, please also look at the German pages the information provided is more detailed).
• Keep in mind, however, that you need the undergraduate certificate to register for the Master, and calculate a corresponding time window for possible renewal, or correction time. It is recommended to be guided by the "timetable for the transition from Bachelor to Master", which you can find on the side of the P-Amt (right column under "Aktuelles" on the German pages only).
• Size and processing time (pt) of the final papers is based on the amount of CP. Thus, it results in the following guidelines:
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) "History": work of 35-40 pages (12 CP) pt: 15 Weeks
  • Master of Education (M.Ed.) "History" GH or R: work of 45-50 pages (15 CP) pt: 20 Weeks
  • Master of Education (M.Ed.) "History" Gym: work of 70-80 pages (24 CP) pt: 30 weeks
  • Master of Arts "European History" (M.A.): work of 80-90 pages (27 CP), pt: 30 weeks

FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS / PROOF

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) "History": Before the registration of the Bachelor's thesis students have to provide evidence of proficiency in two languages beside German (attested by a school diploma or language certificate).
• Master of Education (M.Ed.) "History" with the career goal in higher secondary school education (Gymnasium): Before registering the Master's thesis students have to provide evidence of subject-related knowledge of Latin by passing a written exam (90 min.; a translation of a text of 80 words and a response to a question of interpretation) in a reading course offered by the Department of History. The reading course is part of the module ges113 (Ancient History), which takes place in the winter semester, and the module ges123 (Medieval History), which takes place in the summer semester. Important notice: In order to pass the written exam at least an intermediate knowledge of Latin is required. Students are advised to acquire the necessary language skills as early as possible. One possibility is to attend the modules pb033 and pb034 (Latin for Theologians I & II), which are offered by the Institute of Theology and Religious Education. The participation in these modules can be recognised as study achievements in the area of specialisation of the Master's degree programme.
• Master of Arts (M.A.) "European History": The language requirements depend on which era you make to your center of focus. If you want to specialize in ancient or medieval times, you must demonstrate the Latinum and one other foreign language beside German; when you put the emphasis in contemporary or modern history, two modern languages beside German are necessary.
• Further information you will find here.

GRANT OPTIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS

• Information you will find here.

INTERnSHIPS

• Information you will find here.

PLAGIARISM

• In the case of an attempt to deceive, the performance is rated at 5.0. The attempt to deceive is reported to the respective examination committee, that means the case will be on record and may result in de-registration in case of recurrent deception!
• A repetition of the examination is excluded as per the BPO; the module must be occupied again!
• Please provide with every written work a declaration that you have not plagiarized. These declarations are collected and archived. You will find the necessary form for the declaration in the right column.

QUOTATION RULES

• The leaflet of the Institute on correct bibliographic information can be found in the right column under the heading "further information".

STANDARD PERIOD OF STUDY

• The actual meaning of the word "standard period" is by no means a threatening call to you in the sense of "Woe to you who failed to have completed so far," but is rather thought as a commitment by the university and the subject, the frameworks, module structure etc. to design studies in a way so that it is possible for you to complete your studies within this time. If this commitment is not honored, you should express disapproval and demand improvements.

STUDIES ABROAD

• Information you can find here.

STUD.IP

• In Oldenburg we use the teaching and learning forum Stud.IP. When you enroll a personal account with an anonymous identifier and an associated password is automatically established. This personal identification is not the same as your student number. Further information about Stud.IP you find here.
• Please register for the courses that you want to take via Stud.IP!
• Please take care, that you are reachable, that means check your webmail account regularly, pay attention to your mail entries in StudIp or set up the forwarding funcion.

STUDY SCHEDULE

• The central study advise centre developed a program that helps with your study schedule for the semester. Please use this program also more as a helpful tool and don't think it to be a demand, it is just a useful tool.

SUBJECT COMBINATION (TEACHING DEGREE)

• If your career choice is the teaching degree, you have to remember that in Lower Saxony only certain subject combinations are possible - Information can be found here. On request, exceptions are possible in some cases. An application form can be found here (only German pages: under "Formulare", Datei "Ausnahmegenehmigung Fächerkombinationen Lehramt").