FAQ
This page is currently being translated and revised. It should be finished in the next couple of days.
A course participation form (known by various terms in German: Arbeitsnachweis, Leistungsnachweis, Lehrveranstaltungsnachweis, LV-Nachweis or, informally, Schein) is a form that documents that you have attended the courses in a module. For most kinds of courses (e.g. seminars, tutorials, Übungen) the form is signed by the instructor, usually in a class near the end of the semester or at the exam. For lectures, you sign the form yourself. To receive a signature on the form, you must have attended at least 75% of the sessions and completed the coursework necessary for the course. The coursework may take various forms (presentations, short essays, homework exercises...). The instructor will tell you which kinds of coursework are required in the course.
Where do I find the course participation form?
You can find a course participation form on the Faculty website here. (This page also provides other useful documents and forms.)
The department also provides partially pre-filled course participation forms, available here.
What should I do with course participation forms?
Submit the signed course participation form for a module to the Exams Office (Prüfungsbüro) at the end of the semester. Before submitting it, we recommend that you scan or copy it fore safety's sake. (The Exams Office has to deal with thousands of these forms and it is not unknown for them to go missing.)
To submit the course participation form, you do not need to schedule an appointment. You can put your form in the letterboxes at the Exams Office.
It is recommended that students spend one or two semesters abroad. HU students can do this at numerous partner institutions world-wide. If you are interested in an ERASMUS exchange with a university in Europe, then contact the International Office of our faculty. If you are interested in studying at an institution outside Europe, for instance with a North American university, then contact the International Office of the University. Contact your study advisor (Studienfachberatung) to discuss matters such as choice of courses and how you can be given credit for them at the HU.
The Exams Office (Prüfungsbüro) relevant to your degree program can be found here.
A module consists of several courses that belong to the same subject area. The module is completed once you have attended all courses in the module, submitted the course participation forms to the Exams Office and passed the module-final assessment (Modulabschlussprüfung, MAP). The MAP (which takes different forms in different modules, e.g. written exams, oral exams, take-home exams, term papers) is based on one or more courses in the module. The reliance of the HU on MAPs means that not every course has its own examination. The instructors of your courses will inform you on how the assessment works in the course and module in question.
Not all modules need to be completed in one semester, though in some modules the courses must be taken concurrently or in a particular order. The instructors in these modules will inform you about this.
Some modules have prerequisites in the sense that you cannot attend them (or at least register for their MAP) unless you have completed certain other modules. See the information on prerequisites (fachliche Voraussetzungen) for individual modules in the Studien- und Prüfungsordnung of your degree program. (See the entry here for Studien- und Prüfungsordnung.)
Electives from other disciplines (ÜWP): How do I complete the ÜWP part of my degree?
Many students taking English or American studies as their main subject are required to do courses in subject areas not corresponding to either of their subjects. These are sometimes called electives from other disciplines. In HU terminology these are ÜWP courses (for Überfachlicher Wahlpflichtbereich). The necessary information on these courses (e.g. which courses qualify, which Exams Office is relevant) is given here.
The study advisors responsible for your degree program can be found here.
A list of mentoring programs can be found hier.
You can subscribe to the department newsletter via this link.
Course registration is done via the online portal Agnes. We explain how this is done below. The explanations assume that you know which types of courses in which modules you wish to choose, based on information from the syllabus (Studien- und Prüfungsordnung), especially the descriptions of the individual modules and the ideal study plan (idealtypischer Studienverlaufsplan).
To enroll in a course, log in to Agnes with your HU account. Then go to the course catalogue (Vorlesungsverzeichnis). Here, click on Sprach-und-literaturwissenschaftliche Fakultät > Institut für Anglistik/Amerikanistik and then select your degree program.
Now select the modules you wish to take courses in and select the desired courses within the module. Some courses are taught in more than one group per semester. You can select one or more groups which fit your timetable and indicate your preferences regarding groups. See below for more information on groups.
When you have chosen your course (and, if applicable, group), click "jetzt belegen" (enroll now).
More on groups: If a course is held in more than one group, you can select more than one group that fits your timetable. If you cannnot attend in all the groups offered, you can make a comment indicating why you should be given a place in a particular group.
Important: For Applied Language (Sprachpraxis) courses, please do not apply for more than three groups within one course category. If you select more than three priorities, the priority system will not work and you may not receive a place in a course.
If you receive an e-mail from Agnes saying that you were not let into a course, you could write to the instructor of the course (or of your preferred group in that course) asking whether you would be able to attend despite the rejection by Agnes. This is sometimes possible. If this is not possible in a course held in multiple groups, you could ask the instructor of another group.
The general rule is that the major subject (Kernfach) takes priority over the minor subject (Zweitfach). Since you need to complete fewer modules in your minor than in your major, you have more time to complete it. If you cannot enroll in a course from your minor, pay attention to when the module will be offered again and plan accordingly.
Exams (MAPs) are held in the official exam periods, of which there are four per year. The dates of the exam periods and the times when you can register for them are announced on this page. That page indicates the dates of the exam periods, not the dates of specific exams, which your instructors will inform you about.
There is a distinction between so-called ‘first exam periods’, which start in the last week of a semester and last for a couple of weeks (usually these are in February and July), and ‘second exam periods’, which are held before the start of the semester (usually in April and October). In some modules you are encouraged to do the MAP in the first exam period and would need special justification to delay your first attempt until the second exam period. In other modules there is no such requirement. Your instructors should be able to inform you which exam periods a given module can be examined in.
Exams (and all other kinds of assessments that have the status of a MAP) cannnot be attempted unless you register for them on the Agnes platform. The period when you can register for a MAP is usually in the month before the exam period. The precise dates for registering for MAPs are announced on this page.
To register for a MAP, log in to Agnes with your HU account and go to the link for exam registration/deregistration (Prüfungsan- und -abmeldung). You will be asked to enter a TAN. You can find this on the TAN list that was sent to you at the beginning of your studies. Please keep the TAN list safe and copy or photograph it since replacing a TAN list requires considerable effort. After entering the TAN, your study program will be listed. Here you can go to the respective module and course in which you want to take the exam. You will need to enter another TAN. Then confirm your selection. You are now registered for the exam. To verify, you can go to "Angemeldete Prüfungen" (registered exams) and check if the exam is listed.
If Agnes is not letting you register for a MAP, this can have various explanations. These are mostly connected to one of two problems: (1) Agnes does not know that you have completed the prerequisite modules or (2) your are attempting a MAP for a second or third time and your registration for a previous exam period is still open. We discuss these factors in separate sections below.
- Prerequisite modules
You cannot register for a MAP if you have not fulfilled the prerequisites for the module in question (or if Agnes does not recognize this). To help you to understand this, we a few pieces of background information should be mentioned.
Recall that some modules have prerequisite modules, meaning that their MAP cannot be attempted (or registered for) if you have not completed the prerequisite modules. To find out which modules presuppose which other modules, see the information on fachliche Voraussetzungen for individual modules in the Studien- und Prüfungsordnung of your degree program.
If you cannot register for a MAP, this might be connected to prerequisite modules in the following two ways.
First, check whether you have really completed the prerequisite module(s). Completing a module does not just involve passing the MAPs for the prerequisite modules. You also have to have submitted signed course participation forms (Arbeitsnachweise) covering all courses in the prerequisite modules.
Second, you might have completed the prerequisite modules, but Agnes does not recognize this. Reasons for this might be that (a) the Exams Office has the relevant course participation forms but has not yet had time to enter them into Agnes or (b) Agnes does not know that you passed a prerequisite MAP because the examiner or the Exams Office has not entered your grade into Agnes. If you think one of these factors might apply to you, then contact the Exams Office before the deadline for registering for MAPs. To avoid creating unnecessary work for the staff, please check that you have done everything to complete the prerequisite modules.
- Second or third attempts of exams
If you are attempting a MAP for a second or third time, you might not be able to register for it because your result from a previous attempt at the MAP is not recorded on Agnes. A common reason for this is that, due to illness or some other reason, you did not attempt the MAP (e.g. you did not go to an exam or submit a term paper or take-home exam) and your examiner does not enter a grade for it into Agnes. Agnes cannot let you register unless the attempt at the MAP in an earlier exam period is either marked as a failure or is cancelled. If you think this might be relevant to you, e-mail the Exams Office, mentioning the important details of the exam (degree program, Module number, examiner).
If you are attempting a MAP for a third time, the Exams Office should provide you with a form to be signed by you and your examiner confirming that you discussed the exam with them. If you didn’t receive such a form or have questions about it, ask the Exams Office, indicating which module and examiner you are talking about.
(The sections below here will be thoroughly revised in the next few days.)
Der idealtypische Studienverlaufsplan ist die zweite Anlage ihrer Studienordnung. Der idealtypische Studienverlaufsplan richtet sich nach der Regelstudienzeit von 6 Semestern. Wenn Sie in der Regelstudienzeit studieren wollen oder müssen (Bafög, Stipendien, Studienkredit) können Sie nach dem idealtypischen Studienverlaufsplan studieren.
Der idealtypische Studienverlaufsplan ist nicht bindend, er ist lediglich eine Orientierungshilfe. Sollten Sie aufgrund von kollidierenden Kursen ihres Kern- und Zweitfachs oder aus persönlichen Gründen nicht nach dem idealtypischen Studienverlaufsplan studieren, entstehen Ihnen keine Nachteile, solange Sie die Zugangsvoraussetzungen zu den einzelnen Modulen beachten und im Blick haben wann welche Module angeboten werden.
Dem idealtypischen Studienverlaufsplan können Sie entnehmen, wann welche Module angeboten werden. Da das Studium grundsätzlich mit Beginn im Wintersemester organisiert ist, können Sie sehen für welches Semester vom ersten Wintersemester ausgehend welche Module/Kurse vorgesehen sind.
Muss ich nach dem idealtypischen Studienverlaufsplan studieren?
Nein, Sie müssen nicht nach dem idealtypischen Studienverlaufsplan studieren. Wenn Sie in der Regelstudienzeit von 6 Semestern studieren müssen (Bafög, Stipendien, Studienkredit) oder müssen, ist es allerdings ratsam nach dem idealtypischen Studienverlaufsplan zu studieren.
Yes.
No. You can take either Language Awareness OR Oral Skills in your first semester. The order is not important.
Yes. You can take either Language Awareness OR Oral Skills in your first semester. The order is not important.
No, we will not usually be able to offer students more than one course per semester.
No. You must complete Language Awareness and Oral Skills courses first.
Do I have to take an exam (MAP) in Applied Language (Sprachpraxis) courses?
- English Studies: yes
- American Studies: it depends
- If American Studies is your minor (Zweitfach): no
- If American studies is your major (Kernfach): at least sometimes
As these answers make clear, different groups of students taking the same course can have different requirements. In most classes, you will be taking courses with students who are studying in a different degree program, or a different variant of your degree program, so simply asking another student what requirements are may result in an answer that's right for that student, but wrong for you. If in doubt, please check the Studienordnung. If you are then still in doubt, talk to a Studienfachberater for your course of study.
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Do not apply for Applied Language (Sprachpraxis) courses using Agnes. Instead, contact Audrey Fausser within the first four weeks of the semester for a consultation meeting and information on what to do for Applied Language (Sprachpraxis) courses.
Deregister yourself on Agnes, and inform the instructor by email that you will not be taking the course. This is important as it will allow another student to have your spot.
Make sure you apply for Applied Language (Sprachpraxis) courses again next semester. Where possible, you will be given two courses in a future semester.
Wait until the Nachfrist, when newly available spots are randomly reallocated to students on the waiting list. You can also email the instructor to confirm your interest. If you are no longer interested, please deregister yourself on Agnes to allow other students to receive spots.
Attend the first course lesson (the instructor will add you to the course Moodle, which provides details). If you cannot attend the first lesson, inform the instructor by email.
You can still register on Agnes until the Nachfrist, after which any newly available spots are randomly reallocated to students on the waiting list. You can also email the instructor of the course you would like to apply for.