FAQ about studying
The Master's programmes are not limited to specific Bachelor's degrees exclusively. Graduates from other degree programmes are also permitted to apply. The TU Dresden provides a comprehensive study information system, which lists, for example, the study requirements for all degree programmes.
In individual cases, a Master's programme can also be taken up following a Bachelor's degree in a non-subject with conditions regarding the subject combinations. If there is any uncertainty, we invite applicants to an interview.
Tuition fees are regulated university-wide. Therefore, please inform yourself here on the central pages of the TU Dresden.
In principle, the recognition of completed exams is possible. However, this must be arranged in individual consultation with the relevant professors. If the scope and content of the completed exams largely correspond to the course to be replaced, the professors are usually in agreement with recognition.
Please use the recognition form of the examination office for this purpose.
Please note that you cannot apply for the exam achievements that you have completed as part of a Bachelor's degree programme as an equivalent for a Master's course.
Each student applies different amounts of time to his studies. The given work load for a module (module) is therefore representative for the individual work of a student only to a certain point.
The students should regard this value as a guideline to critically consider if the time invested converges to the given amount of time.
The effective strain eventually depends on the individual input of the single student during the active lecture period and his very personal intention of study. On average a student earns 30 credits per semester. The student has to assess about 30 work hours per credit point resulting in a total amount of 900 hours per semester.
In some modules the phrase "positively assessed exam " appears as a prerequisite for passing a module.
The term "positive assessment" always refers to the regulations of the module/course you have selected. A written examination, a presentation, a paper, etc. can be positively assessed. This can be done by grading, but also simply by saying "passed". Discuss with the respective lecturer how he or she will organise the examinations. A sitting certificate is generally not a positive assessment, because no performance is assessed.
Students who are unable to study full-time for certain reasons (e.g. caring for their own children, financing their studies through part-time employment, health problems) have the option of studying part-time (50% of the required credits) in some degree programmes. A change to part-time studies or back to full-time studies must be applied for at the Admissions Office or the International Office within the usual application deadlines. Regulations for part-time studies can be found in the regulations for part-time studies of TU Dresden.
Every student may take temporary leave of absence for good cause. The duration of the leave of absence should not exceed 2 semesters.
You are under no obligation to do any courses or examinations during a semester for which you have been granted leave of absence. However, it is also possible to take courses and examinations during a semester for which you have been granted leave of absence.
Courses and exams that you have completed during a leave of absence at a university abroad can be accredited following an application to the appropriate examination board.
Please find more information regarding all the formalities when applying for leave of absence here.
According to the study regulation each credit counts for 30 hours of work. From our experience you should plan a minimum of around double of the lecture time depending on your personal abilities and subject.
Ask them directly if you attend a module of him/her or write an email. If they have an assistant, it might be easier to contact her/him since they are often easier available than the professors.
Generally, the exams are completely based on the topics of the module and not on additional information. Professors usually provide scripts, handouts or their presentations’ slides. Meet with fellow students to discuss topics you did not understand. If you still do not feel well enough prepared, contact your tutors or other students of higher semesters and ask which topics were important for the exam.
TU Dresden offers an online-program against test anxiety that might help you to overcome fear in these situations:
https://tu-dresden.de/mn/psychologie/ikpp/behavioralpsy/die-professur/opta
There is a regulatory framework for successfully obtaining a university degree. The following information might help you to understand the formal demands of your study course.
The documents „Studienordnung” (Study Regulations) and „Prüfungsordnung“ (Examination Regulations) provide the compilation of information. Be aware that only the German regulation versions are legally binding! However, translated versions contain exactly the same contents.
Documents can be accessed HERE.
The Study Regulations define the general purpose and setup of the study program. It also contains the module description and a table of the study structure.
The Examination Regulations contain more detailed information about exams and tests. How they have to bewritten? What do I have to do when I get sick? How many times am I allowed to repeat an exam? Whatever you are unsure about, when you are organizing your master thesis, exams, internships, etc.
You should first take a look into the study and the examination regulations before taking one step into the wrong direction.
During your study at TU Dresden you are usually already studying abroad. However, if that is not enough for you and you would like to get some more experience, TU Dresden offers different opportunities.
The different programms you can find here.
If looking for an internship, there is a list of institutions where previous HSE students have done their internships. Please note that these are just suggestions and you still need to file a normal application, managed and organized by yourself.
According to the Examination Regulations (compare to corresponding section), you are allowed a maximum of three attempts for each exam. After failing the second repetition you won't be able to write this or any other exam with the same content again. In case this applies for compulsory modules, you have to drop out of your study course. Therefore, it is quite obvious that you should immediately contact your tutors if you should foresee serious problems with a certain exam. They offer to help you to develop a learning plan in order to prepare for your final try properly. Do not be ashamed and do not panic, but get help as soon as possible!
Find FAQs for the Master Thesis from our examination office via:
https://tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/hydro/studium/pruefungsamt/allgemeine-hinweise
We recommend to start the organization of your master thesis early enough, potentially already at the beginning of your 3rd semester. Additionally, if you plan to do your thesis with external partners (a company, another university or a non-university research institution) or abroad it takes extra time to prepare everything! Identify your research interests and what kind of thesis you want to do (laboratory, modelling, analysis …). Invest sufficient time and energy to find out about suitable research groups and potential supervisors.
A well-established external partner of the Hydro Science Department of TU Dresden is the
"Umweltforschungszentrum" in Leipzig/Halle/Magdeburg (www.ufz.de), but there are plenty of research institutes with a huge variety of topics all over Germany and most of them accept master students for one of their research projects. Remember that you always need at least one supervisor at TU Dresden, so if you find an interesting topic at another institution, think about who of the professors at TU Dresden might match best with your chosen topic and contact him/her about this.
Once you have identified the topics/research areas of interest, contact the potential supervisor, which can be a professor, Post-Doc or Ph.D. student who are active in the field or even offered the topic. Avoid making appointments with nothing more on your agenda than “I need a topic for my master thesis!” rather know at least your field of interest.
Take the topic choice seriously! A thesis can be highly demanding and a lot of students suffer from a bad topic choice during the process.
The task description of the final thesis must be submitted by the supervisor to the examination office. If all requirements are fulfilled, the topic is officially handed out by the examination office (must be taken from there) and the work can start. The registration requires a successful completion of 60 cr (Hydro Science and Engineering) with all marks available at the Examination Office. We know that sometimes this can cause problems, when exam corrections take longer than expected.
The task description needs to contain the starting date and the date of submission.