Exams

Each degree program comprises several module examinations and a final thesis.

A module examination consists of one or more examined assessments. Sometimes, preliminary academic work is required. The module descriptions (annex to the study regulations – see study documents) contain a description of the required examined assessments for each module and, if applicable, further requirements for passing the module, as well as the module evaluation (e.g. calculation of the module grade).

Examinations concluding a module are usually taken at the end of a semester during the core examination period (see (s. academic year schedule) and can take various forms. There can be written or oral examinations.

In some cases, the examinations may also take place earlier. Please check the respective examination schedules on the pages of the Examination Office (see links in the navigation bar)!

This examined assessment takes place during the course of the semester(s) in the context of the module or the course(s). It may include a seminar paper or a portfolio.

Some modules require preliminary academic work (e.g. an exercise assignment), which is defined in the respective module description. Preliminary academic work must be completed prior to an examined assessment, i.e. it is a prerequisite to be admitted to the examined assessment.

However, you can register for the examination “subject to confirmation”. In order to be entitled to take the examination, the preliminary academic work must be entered as passed in selma or HISQIS prior to the examination date.

When do I have to repeat a failed module examination?
A module examination that has not been passed in the first attempt must be repeated within one year (second attempt = first repeat examination). A second repeat examination (third attempt) must be taken the next time it is held. If you also fail this, the module examination is considered to have been irrevocably failed. Another repeat examination is not permissible.

• Please note: Repeating a failed module examination that consists of several parts entails only those examined assessments that were not passed.

Can I repeat examinations graded as “fail” (5.0) or “failed” before the end of the module examination?
No. You must always take examined assessments as part of a module examination. You can only retake the examination as part of the repetition of the module examination. All examinations of a module must be taken before examinations can be repeated. It could be that the module examination is passed despite a failed examination (see below).

Do I have to pass all examinations that are part of the module examination?
No. The module examination is passed if the (weighted, if applicable) average of the relevant examined assessments is at least “pass” (4.0). You will find details on the weighting in the module descriptions under “Credit points and grades”.

• Exception: A few modules define that the credit points are only acquired if all examined assessments of the module examination are passed (see module description under “Credit points and grades”).
• Note: You may also decide (if the exception does not apply, see above) to waive one of several examined assessments of a module examination (waiver). This makes sense provided you still pass the module examination with a grade of “fail” (5.0) or “failed” due to the weighting of the individual examined assessments. However, in doing so, you usually accept a lower module grade.
• Please note: If you have, for example, passed one of two examined assessments of the module examination, but have not passed the other one, you may still have passed the module examination, which means that you cannot repeat the examined assessment that you have failed.

You have to register for modules on your own in the selma student portal. This module registration is done once and remains valid until you complete your studies.

• Please note: Your registration for a module is a prerequisite for being able to register for courses and examinations in that module.

If in the module you have chosen there are courses offered in selma, you must register for these as well. The seats may be limited and there may be a selection procedure.

You are not automatically registered for examinations. You must register yourself in the student portal (selma or HISQIS) within the registration period. You must register for each examined assessment/preliminary academic work you want to take. The same applies to repeat examinations.

• ATTENTION: If the registration period has already expired, later registration cannot be considered for organizational reasons.

Usually, the registration periods for examined assessments that are accomplished throughout the program are at the beginning of the semester, and for examined assessments that are concluding a module shortly before the beginning of the examination period at the end of the semester.

The registration periods that apply to you in your degree program are determined by the Examination Committee and are published on the pages of the relevant Examination Office – see links in the navigation bar.

• Please note: In some cases, the registration for preliminary examinations takes place earlier. Please check the currently valid examination schedules on the examination office pages (see links in the navigation bar)!

• ATTENTION: Some degree programs have early examinations and consequently early registration periods.

You may de-register from examinations within a certain period of time before the respective examination dates without giving reasons, provided that the examination regulations allow for this. After that, your registration for the examined assessment is binding. The respective Examination Committee determines the deadlines for de-registration for the individual degree programs. You will find the information on the website of the respective Examination Office – see links in the navigation bar.

After the de-registration period has expired, you can only withdraw from examinations. In order to do so, you must declare your intention to withdraw from the examination without delay, i.e. without culpable hesitation, and by substantiating a valid reason for which you are not responsible, to the Examination Office (see Forms / Applications). The classic case is a withdrawal due to illness.

If you have to withdraw from the examination due to illness, a medical certificate (not a certificate of incapacity for workGerman: Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung) is required together with the declaration of withdrawal and must be submitted to the Examination Office without delay. The template for the medical certificate is available for each degree program under Forms / Applications.

The Examination Committee of the degree program decides on the approval of the withdrawal.

• ATTENTION: You will need to re-register to make up the examined assessment at a later date.

Your examination results are published on a personal basis in the student portal (selma or Hisqis).

Please contact the examiners if you are missing results from previous semesters or if there are any discrepancies.

Within one year after the end of the respective examination procedure, you can submit an informal request to the respective examiner to inspect your written examination papers including the related reports as well as examination protocols.

You can arrange an individual appointment with the examiner for the inspection. Some Chairs/Institutes (e.g. in Economics) offer a common date during the semester for inspecting written examinations and only in exceptional cases an individual date.

If your degree program is administered in selma, you can request the Examination Office to provide you with a transcript of records in selma for download. If needed, you can have a certified transcript of records issued to you at the Examination Office.

If your degree program is administered in HIS, you can request a certified transcript of records from the Examination Office.

You can request to receive credits for study achievements and examined assessments that you have obtained at a university, abroad or while already working (applications for crediting are available under Formulare/Anträge).

The Examination Committee decides on whether equivalence is given and what credit is to be granted.

More detailed information is available on the website of the Examination Office (see links in the navigation bar).

If your examination regulations allow for a free attempt (see study documents) a module examination can be taken earlier than in the semesters specified in the study schedule.

Should you not pass the module exam, the failed module exam will be considered as not taken (free attempt). If you pass the examined assessment, you will receive credit for it in the following examination procedure. Upon request (see Forms/Applications), you may repeat module examinations or examined assessments passed in a free attempt (ahead of schedule) in order to improve your grade. In this case, the better assessment counts.

You can apply for disadvantage compensation for examinations due to a disability or a chronic illness. You can also apply for compensation if you are caring for your own children up to the age of 14 or if you are caring for close relatives.

Submit a written request for compensation stating the reasons for the request and the proposed compensation for the disadvantage to the Examination Office in good time, enclosing relevant supporting documents. The Examination Committee will decide on the request at its own discretion.

Suitable measures to compensate for disadvantages in examined assessments and preliminary academic work may include the extension of the allotted time to complete the work, breaks, or the use of other media.

More detailed information as well as options to get advice and support are available here: Studying with a disability

You must register for your final thesis (Bachelor's, Master's or Diplom thesis), just like for any other examination. In some degree programs, you can only be admitted to the final thesis if you fulfill specified requirements. You may need to have achieved a certain number of credit points, for example.

When registering for the final thesis, you usually submit a topic proposal (in both German and English, please) (see Forms/Applications).

Topics are either offered by the various Chairs or you agree on your own topic with a supervisor.

The Examination Committee decides on the admission and the issuance of the topic and appoints the examiners.

Usually, the Examination Committee will officially issue the topic to you via the Examination Office. Please refer to the website of the Examination Office to see if there are any deviations from this rule.

Once the topic has been announced to you, the deadline for the allotted time to complete your thesis will start.

• Please note: You can no longer change the issued topic, you can only return it within a fixed period of time (see below).

Have you passed all the module examinations required for your degree, fulfilled all other requirements that may be necessary for the degree, and all that is missing is the final thesis (including the colloquium/defense, if required)?

In that case, the Examination Committee will assign you a topic “ex officio” after a period of time specified in your examination regulations. More recent examination regulations stipulate that the Examination Committee issues/must issue the topic in the semester following the semester in which the last module examination required for graduation was passed.

• Our recommendation: Agree on a topic according to your interests with potential supervisors and examiners at an early stage and register your thesis in good time.

Once you have received the topic for your final thesis, you can return it within a period specified by the examination regulations.

You can only return a topic once. That means that if you have exhausted the possibility of returning the topic in the first attempt to write your final thesis, you will not be able to return the topic you will be given the next time.

The allotted time to complete your final thesis can be extended upon request. For this, there must be reasons for which you are not responsible. The classic reason would be an illness (medical certificate required). But it could also happen that a measuring device that is absolutely necessary for the final thesis malfunctions. Ultimately, the Examination Committee decides on the recognition of the reasons and thus the extension of the allotted time.

In most degree programs, a colloquium or a defense is required as an independent examination component of the final thesis (see stipulations in the respective examination regulations). The technical admission requirement is the evaluation of the final thesis with at least “pass” (4.0). In that case, you do not have to register for the colloquium/defense.

If the grade of your final thesis is below “pass” (4.0), you can repeat it within one year. A second repeat can be done at the next possible date.

The Diplom degree programs of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering usually provide for an interim certificate (formerly called Vordiplom). You will get it from the Examination Office.

If you want to apply for admission to a Master's degree program at TU Dresden (and if you do not have a Bachelor's degree yet), you have to submit a certificate stating that you have achieved at least 80% of your Bachelor's degree. You will get it from the Examination Office.

• Please note: If you do not complete the Bachelor's examination by the end of the first semester of the Master's degree program, you will be de-registered from the Master's degree program.

International students who have to prove their study progress and the expected remaining time until graduation to the Foreign Nationals Office can apply for/request a progress report from the Examination Office.

The graduation documents include the degree certificate, the examination certificate including a supplement to the examination certificate, and the Diploma Supplement for your degree. In some degree programs, there is also a supplement to the certificate according to the specifications in the examination regulations.

In an application for the issuance of the graduation documents, you must also declare whether you would like to have the time spent on the completion of your degree shown and whether any additional modules completed should be listed along with their assessment.

Alle Eigenurkunden, also z.B. Notennachweise, Abschlusszeugnisse, Abschlussurkunden, der TU Dresden, die in beglaubigter Form benötigt werden, können von den Beglaubigungsstellen der TU Dresden amtlich beglaubigt werden. Dieser Service ist für Studierende kostenlos. Alle Informationen und Kontakte dazu erhalten Sie hier.

If you would like to study at TU Dresden or are already enrolled, then you can contact Studentenwerk Dresden (Student Union) regarding the financing of your education. This holds true in particular for funding via the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG), the governing financial aid for secondary education.

Every student who receives BAföG must provide proof at a time required by the BAföG office (usually from the 5^th semester onwards) that they have achieved at least the study achievements specified by the Examination Committee. These are published on the Examination Office website (see navigation bar).

The proof has to be provided via form 5 pursuant to § 48 BAföG.

After a preliminary check by the Examination Office, the chairperson of the Examination Committee of the degree program in question will issue a confirmation.

You will find the mailbox of the respective Examination Office in the Hülsse Building, North Wing, 1^st floor, next to the rooms of your Examination Office.

Hülsse Building
Helmholtzstraße 10
01069 Dresden

Please use this mailbox only for written applications without a deadline.

The mailbox is emptied once a day from Monday to Friday.

Outside the opening hours of the buildings or in order to meet deadlines, you can use the deadline mailbox on Helmholtzstraße between Tillich Building and Hülsse Building.

Please use the following addresses for your mailing:

Postal address for letters

TU Dresden
Academic Affairs Office of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Examination Office XYZ*
01062 Dresden
(Germany)

Postal address for packages

TU Dresden
Academic Affairs Office of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Examination Office XYZ*
Helmholtzstr. 10
01069 Dresden
(Germany)

*Please enter the name of the responsible Examination Office instead of XYZ.