Information for students
Final theses
Prerequisites
Before registering your thesis, please check the following requirements:
- Every programme has certain prerequisites for registration, as listed in the Subject Specific Regulations, mostly a minimum number of credits and/or the completion of certain modules.
- Please make sure that your reviewers (supervisor/1st reviewer and 2nd reviewer) are approved by the Examination Board of your programme. If in doubt, you can contact the Academic Services Office. If one or more of your reviewers haven't been approved, yet, please file an application to the Examination Board via the ASO that includes CV details of the proposed reviewer and your reasoning for why they are suitable to review your thesis.
Registration
Once you have fulfilled all the requirements, you can proceed (together with your supervisor) as follows:
- Fill in the form "Registration to the Final Module". Only electronically filled forms will be accepted.
- Add your signature and have your supervisor sign the form as well (electronically or by hand).
- After the topic has been issued, send the form as soon as possible as a digital copy to the Academic Services Office. Your deadline will be calculated from when the topic was issued.
- We will return the signed form via e-mail. This counts as notification of admission for the final module.
Please be aware that the Academic Services Office will only process e-mails coming from your offical university e-mail address.
Submission
The thesis has to submitted to the Academic Services Office until the end of the day of your deadline.
Please submit your thesis in electronic form via the contact form for students with the subject 'Thesis submission'. Make sure to use your University of Hamburg email address (usually firstname.lastname@studium.uni-hamburg.de). The electronic receipt is critical for timely submission. This will be confirmed to you by the Academic Services Office via email. The submission of a printed version is no longer provided for under the latest amendments to the MIN examination regulations for B.Sc. and M.Sc. and will not be accepted by the Academic Services Office.
Your thesis must contain a dated and signed (location, date, signature) affirmation in lieu of an oath on the last page in German:
„Hiermit versichere ich an Eides statt, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit im Studiengang […] selbstständig verfasst und keine anderen als die angegebenen Hilfsmittel – insbesondere keine im Quellenverzeichnis nicht benannten Internet-Quellen – benutzt habe. Alle Stellen, die wörtlich oder sinngemäß aus Veröffentlichungen entnommen wurden, sind als solche kenntlich gemacht. Ich versichere weiterhin, dass ich die Arbeit vorher nicht in einem anderen Prüfungsverfahren eingereicht habe.
Sofern im Zuge der Erstellung der vorliegenden Abschlussarbeit auf generativer künstlicher Intelligenz (gKI) basierte elektronische Hilfsmittel verwendet wurden, versichere ich, dass meine eigene Leistung im Vordergrund stand und dass eine vollständige Dokumentation aller verwendeten Hilfsmittel gemäß der Guten Wissenschaftlichen Praxis vorliegt. Ich trage die Verantwortung für eventuell durch die gKI generierte fehlerhafte oder verzerrte Inhalte, fehlerhafte Referenzen, Verstöße gegen das Datenschutz- und Urheberrecht oder Plagiate.“
Instead of " [...] ", please enter your program and degree.
If you agree to the publication of your thesis in the departmental library, please also include the following statement with location, date, and signature in German:
„Einer Veröffentlichung der vorliegenden Arbeit in der zuständigen Fachbibliothek des Fachbereichs stimme ich zu.“
After the submission
After you have submitted your thesis, the Academic Services Office will forward it to your reviewers. The reviewers have six weeks to evaluate your thesis and will send their reviews directly to the ASO who will then enter your grades in Stine.
If you would like to review the evaluations of your thesis, please send the appropriate form to the ASO.
Once all your grades have been entered in Stine, you can proceed to apply for your degree certificates.
Notification of sickness for exams
If you are ill at an examination appointment, a doctor must certify that you are incapable of examination. Please submit the doctor's certificate together with the completed sickness notification form (PDF) digitally via the contact form to the Academic Services Office (exam-management). You must have done this immediately, at the latest 10 days after the onset of the illness (as certified). The examination board responsible will decide on late notifications of illness.
If you take part in an examination despite having received a certificate, you implicitely declare that you are fit for the examination. The certificate originally submitted will then be invalid. If you wish to register for further examinations during the period of the sickness certificate, you will need a new certificate.
Please remember to register in STiNE for a repeat examination.
The "sick notification form" is not an application to extend the processing time for a thesis (Bachelor, Master, Diploma). In such cases, please make an informal application and submit it to the Academic Services Office together with your medical certificate. The application must be submitted well before the end of the processing period.
Get well soon!
(Please note that the English version is for information only and not legally binding)
Transcripts of Records
If you need proof of your previous academic achievements for applications, e.g. for Master programmes, we will be happy to issue you with a "Transcript of Records" (ToR). Please proceed as follows:
- check your study results and, if necessary, first take care of the entry of already performed, missing performances.
- send an e-mail to the Academic Services Office (examination management) with your request and the necessary personal data (name, matriculation number, study programme).
- Please also state the purpose for which the ToR is intended.
Please also note the following:
- We will not check your study results before we generate the ToR.
- The ToR is delivered in German and English via STiNE. You can download it under "Study" -> "Documents"
- You must expect a processing time of approx. 3 working days. We will inform you by e-mail when the ToR is finished.
- In the period from 1 June to 15 July, inquiries within the scope of applications for Master's degree programs will be processed with priority.
(Please note that the English version is for information only and not legally binding)
Recognition of achievements
General information
Credits from previous studies or semesters abroad can be recognized for and transferred to your current programme (based on §8 MIN faculty exam regulations).
Recognition is only possible if the modules/courses you want to integrate match the curriculum of your programme. Recognition is not possible
- if the achievement you want to transfer has already been succesfully completed in your current programme,
- if you are registered for the exam in the respective module/course after the deadline for deregistration has ended or if you have already undertaken one attempt at the exam,
- for "Additional Achievements" outside/beyond your curriculum.
If you are in doubt whether your achievements are suitable for recognition, please contact the Academic Services Office before filing the application.
Recognition process
To start the recognition process, please file an application in Stine under Studying/Study management/Applications/V MIN Faculty: application for recognition of achievements. Please note: Even if you have completed an Online Learning Agreement via Mobility Online and “automatic recognition” was ticked there, you must submit an application for recognition via Stine.
Since the Academic Services Office unfortunately does not get an automatic notification, please let us know when you have filed the application. Included in your email should be:
- the application no. (AN-XXXX)
- documents veryifing the credits you filed an application for (e.g. a transcript of records, module descriptions) - not nececssary if the credits have been achieved at University of Hamburg
Once we have received the notification, the Academic Office will send you a form which you sign and send back to us. The Academic Office will then forward your application to the respective chair of the Examination Board who will decide on your application. In the end, you receive notification from the Academic Office whether you application has been granted.
Recognition of language courses
The examination board of the Department of Earth System Sciences have passed simplified regulations for the recognition of language courses in the Electives module (Freier Wahlbereich). The following table lists the levels for which a recognition is possible without filing an application:
| Programme | English | Other languages (except for German) |
| B.Sc. Geographie | all levels | all levels |
| M.Sc. Geographie | all levels | all levels |
| B.Sc. Geowissenschaften | all levels | all levels |
| M.Sc. Geowissenschaften | all levels | all levels |
| B.Sc. Meteorologie | all levels | all levels |
| M.Sc. Meteorologie/ M.Sc. Atmospheric Science |
from B2 | all levels |
| B.Sc. Geophysi/Ozeanographie | from C1 | Spanish and French from C1, other languages all levels |
| M.Sc. Geophysics | from C1 | Spanish and French from C1, other languages all levels |
In order to have the language courses entered in Stine, please send us a proof of completion. Language courses not specified above, cannot be recognzed.
The master programmes ICSS and OCP do not have an electives module. Therefore language courses cannot be recognized in these programmes.
Registration for modules, courses and exams
Registration for modules and courses
Students have to register themselves for modules, courses and exams in Stine (Studying/Courses and modules/Register). There are three registration periods before and at the beginning of each semester for module and course registration. You'll find the the dates of the registration periods here.
Registration for exams
When you register for a module and the accompanying courses you can register for the respective exams at the same time. You can also register for the exams later, until three days before the exam. Deregistering is also possible until three days before. If you encounter any problems (de)registering, please contact the Academic Services Office and include your name, matriculation no., title of the module/course and the date of the exam.
If you fail the exam you can register for the repeat exam. This is only possible once your fail grade has been entered by the lecturers in Stine. Please be aware that you are not automatically registered for the repeat exam, but have to register yourself. If you have problems registering, please contact the ASO.
Every exam can be repeated three times if you fail, i.e. you have four attempts in total. (Once you pass an exam, no repetition is possible.) In indivual cases there Stine might say "definitively failed" after your third attempt. In this case, please contact the Academic Services Office, so we can manually activite the fourth attempt.
It is vital that you check before every exam that you are correcty registered. Registration after the exam date is not possible.
Late registration
Registration for modules and courses after the registration periods is possible, if the respective lecturer allows your partcipation. Requirements stated in the Subject Specific Regulations have to be met as well.
In order to register please fill in the form for late registration, have it signed by the lecturer and send it to the Acaademic Services office. The form will only be accepted after the last registration period has concluded.
Please be aware that the ASO can only register you for modules/courses of the Department of Earth System Science (course no. starting with 63-). For courses in other departments, please contact the respective department's ASO.
Compensation for disabilities/disadvantadges
According to § 11(1) of the MIN Faculty's exam regulations for B.Sc. and M.Sc. programmes, students with disabilities and/or chronic ailments can apply for a special accomodation, if the disability leads to disadvantages in your studies.
Students first need to talk to the coordinator of the Bureau for Students with Disabilities and Chronic Ailments who will give a recommendation as to what compensations are appropriate. This recommendation along with the application form needs to be sent to the Academic Services Office. The chair of the respective Examination Board will then decide on the application.Students afterwards need to inform the lecturers in their courses on the granted accomodations.
All files and information sent to the Academic Services Office are of course treated confidentially.
Standard period of study
According to § 2 of the MIN factulty’s exam regulations (see here under "Fachbereichsübergreifende Prüfungsordnungen", German only), the regular period of study amounts to six semesters for B.Sc. programmes and four semesters for M.Sc. programmes. If the regular study period is exceeded, students have to – in accordance with § 3 subparagraph 3 of the exam regulations – participate in a study counselling session before the regular study period has been exceeded by more than two semesters. Students who do not take part in such a counselling session will be exmatriculated, in accordance with § 42 subparagraph 2 number 7 HmbHG (Hamburg law for universities, see here, German only). The counselling session, including a plan for the remainder of your studies, will be documented (see form) and has to be handed in at the Academic Services Office.a
Due to the special circumstances of the Covid pandemic, the semesters from Summer 2020 to Winter 2022/23 do not contribute to the regular study period. Therefore, during the summer semester 2023, only students who will reach their 13th semester (B.Sc.) / 11th semester (M.Sc.) in the winter semester 2023/24 will have to participate in counselling.
Degree certificates
If possible, a certificate should be issued within 4 weeks of passing the final examination. For this purpose, we require a completed certificate request from you.
Please check whether all required achievements are listed in the study results. Please look at the bottom of the page. The line beginning with "Sum [program] " must contain the number of credit points required for graduation, and the check mark must be placed at the end of the line.
Please also check whether all achievements have been assigned correctly. If there are still discrepancies, please clarify them in good time. Please do not hesitate to ask the Academic Services Office for help.
If your study results are complete, please fill in the request form on your PC. In particular, we need the date on which you have completed your last examination (e.g. date of a written exam, submission of the thesis, date of colloquium or date of issue of your practical work certificate) and the course or module in which this work was completed. Please submit the completed and signed form to the Academic Services Office (exam management).
There are three options for receipt of the the documents [currently only via mail]:
- You collect the documents personally. Proof of identity including a photograph is required.
- You authorise a person of trust to collect the documents. For this purpose, we require a copy of your identity card and a letter of authorisation with the full name, date and place of birth of the authorised person. The authorised person has to present a proof of identity including a photograph when collecting the documents.
- You instruct the Office of Academic Affairs for Earth Sciences in writing to send you the documents by "Deutsche Post".For this purpose, you must provide us with a copy of your identity card. Dispatch is only possible within Germany. We expressly point out that the Academic Services Office Earth Sciences assumes no liability whatsoever, e.g. for transport damages, delayed delivery or loss.
CEN, the university's Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, invites all Master and PhD-students of the departmen who have completed their degree to participate in a graduation ceremony early each calendar year. If you are interested, please contact graduation.cen"AT"uni-hamburg.de for more information.
please note that the english version is for information only and is not legally binding
Other
Use of logos in theses
(Please note that the English version is for information only and not legally binding)