The orientation week will take place from 6 to 10 October 2025, i.e. the week before the start of the lecture period. During this week, we would like to introduce you to the degree programme, the university and the campus. The main organisers are the Environmental Sciences student body (i.e. your senior fellow students), who are organising various activities. The academic advisory service will provide an overview of the degree programme in general and the first semester in particular. There will also be general information sessions organised by the university about studying in general.

Introduction to the Environmental Sciences degree programme:
Tuesday 7 October 2025, 10.15 am; Room W32 0-005 (Experimental Lecture Theatre)
We look forward to seeing you there!
Dr Marion Pohlner (Academic Advising) and the Environmental Sciences Student Council

We’ll be providing information on the following topics:

• What is Uwi in Oldenburg?
• Overview of the degree programme: structure of the programme and modules on offer
• Information, advice and tips for first-year students
• Information on first-semester modules
• Information on timetables
• Introduction to the Student Council
• Student Body’s Orientation Week programme
• Opportunity to ask questions

Information and O-Week activities organised by the Environmental Sciences student body
You can find the programme that the Environmental Sciences Student Body is offering during Orientation Week, as well as further information about the degree programme, on the student body’s website.

Online orientation activities organised by the University of Oldenburg
You can find the University’s central Orientation Week programme on the InfoPortal Studium website.

Getting started for first-year students
General information for first-year students about studying at Carl von Ossietzky University and in Oldenburg.

Here you will find some general information and guidance on the courses on offer. Detailed information provided by the lecturers can be found in StudIP under the relevant course entries.

• Courses begin on Monday, 13 October 2025.
• The course catalogue is usually made available on the StudIP study information portal during September. This may happen at different times (depending on the relevant Institute).
• Courses in the first semester are compulsory. There will be places available for all students (see below). During the orientation week, we will provide you with all the important information about the winter semester, the course catalogue and how to enrol via StudIP. So there’s no need to rush when registering for courses.
• No specific preparatory courses are offered. We are confident that the range of lectures, tutorials, seminars and learning centres will enable us to support first-year students with varying levels of prior knowledge.
• Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the university (EDUROAM). To access StudIP, you’ll need your username (format: abcd1234) and your password. Information on setting this up: Access to the campus network.
• Time formats: Courses usually start with an ‘academic quarter of an hour’; for example, 10 c.t. means the course starts at 10.15. This time is given without minutes and/or with the suffix ‘ct’ (cum tempore). There is also “st” (sine tempore); 10 st means 10.00.
  • Any other start times are given in hours and minutes, e.g. 10:30 h.
  • Courses are usually fitted into a 2-hour timetable, with one teaching hour lasting 45 minutes.
  • Unfortunately, StudIP is often inconsistent when it comes to timings. Even when a session starts ‘c.t.’, StudIP often displays the full hour with minutes (from the timetable) (10:00–12:00 or 10–12, but the start is 10 ct, i.e. 10:15, and the end is 11:45).
• Selection: The first two semesters consist of compulsory modules. The only selection available relates to the timetables for tutorial or practical groups. The only selection regarding course content is available for the UOP (Environmental Science Orientation Project) and the ‘Forms of Knowledge’ courses in the second semester. We will provide you with detailed information on the wide range of options available from the third semester onwards on several occasions.
• It is important to avoid clashes when choosing timetables. Where courses are offered multiple times, there are always alternative options. With mutual consideration, this is not a problem. Group allocation usually takes place via StudIP or at preliminary meetings.
• If preliminary meetings are held, attendance is strongly recommended. These often take place during the first session of the course; sometimes additional dates are also announced. Please deregister if you are enrolled in courses but do not intend to attend them.