The academic year is divided into two semesters: the winter semester starts October 1, and finishes on March 31; the summer semester starts on April 1st and finishes on September 30. Courses take place from mid-October to the end of the first or second week in February (winter semester) and from mid-April to end-July (summer semester). During the rest of the academic year, the time of the so-called "Semesterferien" (mid-February to mid-April and August to mid-October) is usually spent on the production of oral and written assignments, on preparation for exams and internships or jobs.
Christmas holidays usually begin around 22nd or 23rd of December and last until January 2 or 3.
Students scheduled to stay longer than one semester have to re-enrol/re-register for the following semester ("Rückmeldung"). This is done in January (for summer semester) and in July (for winter semester). In the last weeks of the semester the so-called "Elektronisches Kommentiertes Vorlesungsverzeichnis" (eKVV = electronic course schedule) is published in the internet. It informs about the courses offered in the following semester, their content and references for reading lists.
With some degree courses, there are no fixed regulations for the number of lectures that have to be attended every week. Students can freely choose seminars etc. to a large extent; with other degree courses a more fixed timetable is set up. Successful participation of a course is achieved by the production of essays (often to be presented orally) and the passing of written and oral exams.
See the list of the upcoming years here.
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