Important information for your studies

Registration for an examination performance takes place online in the student portal selma. The deadlines for registration are announced as usual for the faculty and can be viewed directly in selma as well as on the corresponding page of the department.

The Biology Examination Board has set a deadline for withdrawal without cause (deregistration). This is 2 weeks before the examination date. For written examinations, in deviation from this - with the start of the examination period WiSe 2019/20 (regular examination period) - a withdrawal period of 3 working days applies. After that, withdrawal is only possible with a reason (e.g. illness).
The withdrawal has to be done directly via selma. For withdrawal please use the corresponding form / document..

If you are ill on the examination date and cannot take part in the examination, this must be reported in writing to the Examinations Office without delay. Please use the appropriate form / document,, which you send to the following address: TU Dresden, Prüfungsamt Biologie, 01062 Dresden.

Only when all examination performances of a module have been taken and the module has been "failed", the corresponding examination performances can be repeated.
The repetition of a failed module examination consisting of several examination performances only includes the examination performances not assessed with at least "sufficient" (4.0) or with "passed". When retaking a failed module examination that comprises one or more elective examination performances, students are not bound to the previous choice of an examination performance not graded with at least "sufficient" (4.0) or with "passed".

You can declare in writing to the examination office that you do not wish to take an examination. Please use the corresponding form/document. for this purpose. As a result, this examination performance is deemed to have been assessed as "insufficient" (5.0) or "failed" in the respective examination attempt. The waiver is irrevocable.

According to Examination Regulations §5, it is possible to apply for compensation for disadvantages due to a long-term or permanent physical disability or chronic illness, the care of one's own children up to the age of 14, or the care of close relatives. Suitable measures to compensate for disadvantages in examination performance and preliminary examination performance are, for example, extended processing times, use of other media, other examination dates. The examination board decides on this at its own discretion.

Close relatives are children, parents, grandparents, spouses and partners. Physical disabilities or chronic illnesses can be, for example, visual impairments, multiple sclerosis, impairments due to strokes, or similar.

You should submit an informal application for compensation in writing, stating the reasons for the proposed compensation (e.g. extension of time) and submit it to the Examinations Office in good time together with suitable evidence. The Examinations Office will be happy to advise you.

You can arrange individual examination dates with the examiners if necessary. To do so, please contact an examiner at the faculty independently, state your reason, arrange an individual examination date for the corresponding oral examination and contact the Examinations Office to register for the written examination.

In principle, the activity insight can be acquired at any public or independent institution of science or industry in Germany or abroad, which has a relation to the field of biology or biotechnology. If possible, it should be located outside the Faculty of Biology of the TU Dresden. If the relation of the institution to the subject area is not obvious, this should be explained to the supervising persons in advance and the admissibility of the activity insight should thus be ensured. A collection of institutions, at which activity insights have already been successfully completed, can be found on the homepage of the FSR Biology.

The activity at a suitable institution can be used at the same time to cover both activity insights anchored in the study program, if a relation to both biology and biotechnology can be clarified. The prerequisite is that the dual use has been agreed in advance with the supervising persons, both modules have been registered and the scope of the stay (3 weeks per module) comprises the workload required for both modules. For each of the two modules, a separate examination performance is required.

The activity insight can be supervised by any member of the Faculty of Biology of the TU Dresden who is authorized to conduct examinations. In addition to professors, this also includes some scientific staff members with doctorates. The willingness to take over is to be coordinated in advance with the supervising persons and to be signed off on the registration form.

The registration of the modules is done in advance by the students in selma. In addition, confirmation is required from the selected institution on the form sheet available on the study office website. A separate form must always be completed for each of the two modules.

For the enrollment years up to the summer semester of 2021, the examination performance for the activity insight consists of an ungraded presentation with a processing scope of ten hours and a duration of about 15 minutes, for the enrollment years from winter semester 2021/22 of an ungraded portfolio with a processing scope of ten hours. The portfolio's specific design is at the supervisor's discretion and should be agreed upon with the supervisor in advance. The Study Commission recommends a report on the activity of about ten pages or a presentation of about 15 minutes. Suppose an activity is credited to both modules. In that case, a divided report of a total of about 20 pages, which differentiates the references of the activity to biology or biotechnology, or an appropriately designed divided presentation of a total of 30 minutes, or a combination of report (ten pages) and presentation (15 minutes) is recommended. After completion of the examination, the performance is recorded by submitting the completed (registration) form for the respective activity insight to the Biology Examination Office.

Non-university activities before or during the course of study that are related to the field of biology or biotechnology can be credited as an insight into activities. The examination board is responsible for the crediting. For legal reasons, remunerated activities, e.g. activities as student or scientific assistants (SHK/WHK) are excluded from crediting.

The internship should be completed during the lecture-free period after the 4th or 5th semester. It lasts 4 weeks. Please find your own company to carry out the internship. The internship cannot be carried out at any German university. For the execution and the proof a teaching person of the university from the faculty of biology is required. The application is made with the appropriate form.

Periods of training and previous professional activities can be credited as company internships. For this purpose, you submit an application to the examination board, enclosing a copy of an employer's reference (or similar). You can submit the application to the examination office.
Students who wish to receive credit for the internship must provide proof of participation in the seminar, as specified in the application. It is not necessary to provide an examination performance (protocol / presentation).

For the successful completion of the module "Internship", a presentation must be completed in addition to the protocol. This must be given in the weekly course. You will arrange the date with your supervisor. Three students can give a presentation for each course. The proof is done with the corresponding form.

Research internship / specialisation module do not have to be registered. It is sufficient if the corresponding form is submitted to the examination office after completion. Please note that 50 credit points have to be proven before starting the research internship.

You can complete the research internship / specialisation module with any university lecturer involved in the study program (internally). For external completion of the research internship, a separate application must be submitted (see "External research internship").

For external provision, please use the appropriate form.

To register your thesis, please submit the completed form (including the signatures of the supervising professor) to the Examinations Office. The approved examiners can be found in the list of examiners published by the examination board. 

The specific deadlines for issuing and submitting the thesis will be determined by the examination board.

The thesis can be supervised by any university lecturer involved in the study program, provided that he or she has the examination authorization. If you would also like your thesis to be externally evaluated, please use the corresponding application form.

In principle, there are no regulations regarding the design of your thesis. However, you should make sure that the printed copies - including a declaration of independence - are bound. You will find further information in the document  Example of the formal structure of a Bachelor thesis (Biology).

The processing time may be extended upon request for reasons beyond the student's control. Please use the appropriate form for this purpose.

Two typed and bound copies of the thesis as well as a digital version (pdf on CD) must be submitted to the examination office during office hours on the day of submission. If it is necessary to hand in the thesis outside office hours, please arrange an individual appointment with the Examinations Office in advance.

The Examinations Office registers the punctual submission and passes the work on to the reviewers.

The colloquium is organized by the student in consultation with the reviewers. It takes place within 4 weeks after the submission of the thesis.

The thesis will be evaluated by your supervisor and a second examiner. They have 4 weeks for the evaluation.

After an accident, your respective superior must be informed immediately. In addition, an accident report must be drawn up. You can find more details in circular GAS/2/2010.

All BAföG recipients must submit form 5 to the Office for Training Assistance after the 3rd or 4th semester in order to continue receiving BAföG.

Please note that the following credit point limits set by the examination boards apply for a positive confirmation:

• after the 3rd semester: 75 credit points
• after the 4th semester: 85 credit points

If you have successfully completed all coursework and examinations as well as the final thesis, please apply for the issuance of your certificate documents using the corresponding form. As soon as the certificate documents are ready for collection, you will be informed by e-mail. 

In principle, it is also possible for the certificate documents to be picked up by another person with power of attorney. Please state your name, date of birth and student ID number as well as the name and ID number of the authorized (collecting) person in the power of attorney. Afterwards, please add your original signature to the power of attorney. The certificate will be handed over upon presentation of the power of attorney and the identity card of the person collecting it.

We are also happy to send you the certificate documents by post. However, since we can only issue an officially certified copy in the event of loss, we require a confirmation from you - in addition to your date of birth and address (for identification purposes) - that you have been informed that no new certificate documents can be issued in the event of loss. Unfortunately, shipping by registered mail is not possible.

De-registration is always carried out ex officio by the Enrollment Office at the end of the semester (31.03. or 30.09.). If you cannot / do not want to wait for de-registration, you can apply for it yourself at any time.
You can find more information on de-registration on the website of the Enrollment Office.