Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Bachelor's program

This page compiles answers to frequently asked questions about the bachelor's program. Questions that are not answered here or hints can be directed to the Academic Councelling Office. You can find further advisory services and contact persons here.

Notice:
This page is intended to be a guide and is meant to supplement your study plan. You should have read your study plan carefully.
The information reproduced here does not claim to be complete. In cases of doubt, the examination regulations alone are obligatory.
 

How can the semester hours per week (SWS) be converted into ECTS points in the Bachelor's program?
In the bachelor's program, lectures and practical courses are generally credited with 1 ECTS point and tutorials with 2 ECTS points per SWS. This is based on a workload of 30 hours per ECTS point.
Can I change my minor subject in the bachelor's program?
In general, a change of the non-physical elective subject (often called "minor subject" for short) is only possible if you have not yet taken an "official" exam in that subject (see: When is an exam considered to be "officially" taken?). With the first examination taken, the student is assigned to the non-physical elective subject, after which a change is only possible in exceptional cases and must be approved by the examination board. This also applies to any prior achievements in the non-physics elective subject.
When is an exam considered "officially" taken?
  • The first step to an "official" module examination or module sub-examination is to register for the examination during the registration period via the Campus Student Portal. This is in contrast to other performance assessments that are not assigned to a module examination or module sub-examination.
  • If you have registered for an exam that you do not wish to take, you can easily deregister by the end of the deregistration period.
  • In the next step, you take the exam, which means it is considered "officially" taken. Please note: any exam that you register for (and do not deregister within the deadline), but do not attend, will be counted as "failed"!
Can I also have achievements from other courses of study or courses of study at other universities or externally achieved achievements recognized, and what do I have to do for this?
  • The examination board decides whether achievements from other study programs or at other universities (if applicable, partially) or achievements made outside of universities can be recognized.
    Please note that for new enrollment in a Bachelor's program, applications for recognition must be submitted within one semester after enrollment. (SPO §19 (2)).
  • For this purpose, the examination board checks whether the competences acquired in the courses meet the requirements of the study program at the KIT Department of Physics. If necessary, a detailed overview is required for this purpose, e.g. module handbooks, lecture notes, lecture transcripts, or internship protocols.
  • Decisions on the recognition of courses of other KIT departments are made by the examination board of the corresponding KIT department. This applies in particular to the KIT Department of Mathematics (contact person: Dr. Peer Kunstmann).
  • The procedure is typically as follows:
    • Students of geophysics and meteorology should first contact the subject advisor.
    • You apply for recognition by submitting the required documents, usually in the office hours of the responsible member of the examination board.
    • After reviewing the documents, the Examination Board will issue a form with a list of credits to be recognized.
    • If the recognition only concerns events recognized by the KIT Department of Physics Examination Board, the Examination Board will send the form directly to the Physics Examination Office.
    • If courses of another department still have to be recognized, go with the form to the examination board of the other department and bring the form back to the examination board of the Department of Physics. From there it will be forwarded to the Physics Examination Office.
How are the grades of a foreign university converted for crediting?
Grades from foreign universities are usually converted using the modified Bavarian formula:

Formula for converting credits


In this formula, P_min and P_max are the lowest number of points corresponding to a pass and the highest achievable number of points. This is a linear mapping to our grading system after the calculated grade has been rounded to thirds. In some countries, the grading scale is not linear. This is taken into account with a different maximum grade in the Modified Bavarian Formula. Exceptions are France (maximum grade 16 instead of 20), the Netherlands (9 instead of 10) and Portugal (18 instead of 20). As everywhere at KIT, we are thus essentially following the recommendation of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs.
I need an achievement certificate for my BAföG application, what do I have to do?
First, you need the corresponding official "Form 5" from the BAföG office or the website www.bafög.de. With this form and a current extract of your grades, go to the Physics Examination Office (Physikhochhaus, room 9-13, Frau Müller). There the form will be filled out and forwarded to the examination board. If there is no excessive delay in your own study achievements, we will confirm on the form that you have completed the usual achievements in your studies. You will receive the form back in the examination office and can submit it together with the transcript of grades to the BAföG office.
What are additional achievements?
In general, any lecture can be listened to at any time, and practice certificates can also already be acquired. As soon as it is a matter of taking an examination performance (written examinations, oral examinations, internship) that is not part of your course of study, this must be explicitly approved by the examination board as additional performance. Provided that there is no major delay in the previous academic performance (proof: current grade transcript), you will usually receive approval to take the additional performance in the form of a form. For achievements from the master's program in physics, there is a separate regulation for the "master's advancement" (see below).
Will non-graded additional achievements also be listed on my transcript?
  • Additional achievements are not listed in the certificate itself, but in the Transcript of Records, regardless of whether they are graded or ungraded. Additional achievements must be approved by the examination board. You can acquire a total of up to 30 ECTS credits of additional work in the Bachelor's program. An entry of additional achievements in the transcript of records must be applied for at the examination board.
    Registration for examinations is only possible after approval by the examination board.  The application for an examination should be submitted within the first four weeks of the lecture period in which the course to be examined takes place.
  • You can have other academic achievements recognized by the Examination Board by submitting the corresponding certificates (cf. Recognition of achievements from other courses of study). These will also be listed in the Transcript of Records.
Can I listen to Master's lectures during the Bachelor's program and have them credited to me?
  • Additional credits from the master's program ("master's advancement") are automatically approved up to a total of 30 ECTS credits as soon as you have acquired more than 120 ECTS credits in the bachelor's program. The examination board decides on exceptions. The application must be submitted within the first four weeks of the lecture period in which the course to be examined takes place, otherwise no authorisation can be granted for the current semester.
  • Registrations for the Master's Advancement are currently not yet possible via the Campus Management System. Therefore, please have these additional achievements approved by the examination board (please bring your current grade transcript) and submit the approval to the Physics Examination Office (Physikhochhaus, room 9-13, Frau Müller). There, an admission form will be issued with which you can register for the examination with the respective lecturer.
  • The most common example of the master's advancement is the second part of the Modern Physics Practicum from the master's program. In this case, register directly in the Modern Physics practical course using the form provided by the examination board (Physikflachbau, Room F1-24, Frau Huck).
I would like to write an external bachelor thesis at another institution, is that possible? What do I have to do?
  • The examination board can approve bachelor theses at foreign universities, research institutions or companies (also abroad) upon written application. Here you can find a form to apply for an external bachelor thesis.
  • As an internal supervisor you need a university teacher of the KIT Department of Physics. Furthermore, you need an external supervisor at the respective institution, who must have at least a PhD.
  • The application to the examination board must be endorsed by the internal supervisor by signing the form. Bachelor theses are part of your education and may therefore not be remunerated.