Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

The Practical Module and Electives from Other Disciplines (ÜWP)

The practical module (Praxismodul): Internships or practically oriented courses

The idea behind this module (BA English Module 9, BA American Studies Module 11 or 12) is to allow students to receive credit for internships or practically oriented courses with a view to developing professional skills and exploring possible career avenues. Students can choose between coursework, internships or a combination of the two. This works differently depending on whether you are in the BA English program (Module 9) or the American Studies program (Module 11/12). The details on the practical modules in each of these degree programs are given at the links below.

BA English 🖉

The practical module (Module 9) can be completed by doing internships and/or practically oriented courses. 

Internships: You can do one or more internships (Praktika) with the employer(s) of your choice, including (but not limited to) internships offered by the Career Center. Before starting the internship, it would be a good idea to check with the person responsible for the module that it can be credited in Module 9. You can complete the module by doing at least 300 hours of work in one or more internships, or alternatively, by doing internship work for at least 240 hours and writing a report on it. Before starting an internship you should check that your employer is willing to confirm that you did the work by signing this form or a document giving comparable information. (A version of the form with English translations is available from the contact person for the module.) Once the internship is completed, you send the form by e-mail to the contact person for the module (not the exams office).

If you choose the variant involving a report, it should contain the information indicated at https://www.angl.hu-berlin.de/study/org/prax/praktikumsbericht-ba-englisch.pdf. Before starting the report, ask the person responsible for the module for more information.

Coursework: The module can be completed with various kinds of practically oriented courses, including those described below. Contact the person responsible for the module if you are not sure if the courses you wish to attend can be counted for the module (for instance in the case of coursework done at another institution or courses whose practical nature is debatable). You complete the module by doing coursework worth at least 10 ECTS points (Leistungspunkte). You submit the Arbeitsnachweise from the courses to the exams office.

Courses which can be used for the practical module include (but are not limited to) the following:

Before starting a course, make sure you know how many ECTS credits (Leistungspunkte, LP) you will receive for it. In some cases, students can obtain more than the usual number of points for a course by doing extra work. If information about the ECTS values of a course is not given online, you can ask the course instructor. 

BA American Studies 🖉

In BA American Studies, students choose between two practical modules, either Module 11 (for practically oriented courses) or Module 12 (for internships). 

Modul 11 (Practically oriented courses)

You attend practically oriented courses of various types (Q-Tutorien, Projektutorien, courses at the Career Center or other practically oriented courses at the HU or other institutions). The module is complete when you have attended courses worth 10 ECTS credits (Leistungspunkte, LP) and submit the attendance forms (Arbeitsnachweise) to the exams office. There is no MAP for this module. It is recommended that you consult the contact person for the module if you are uncertain whether a course can be counted towards Module 11, e.g. because it is unclear whether it is sufficiently practically oriented. For more details on different types of practically oriented courses, see the comments on coursework in the section on BA English above).

Module 12 (Internships)

You can do one or more internships (Praktika) with the employer(s) of your choice, including (but not limited to) internships offered by the Career Center. Before starting the internship, check with the contact person for the module that it can be credited in Module 12. You can complete the module by doing 240 hours of work in one or more internships and writing a report on it. Before starting an internship you should check that your employer is willing to confirm that you did the work by signing this form or a document giving comparable information. (A version of the form with English translations is available from the contact person for the module.) Once the internship is completed and your employer has signed the form, you send the form by e-mail to the person responsible for the module.

To complete the module, you write a report on your internship(s). The report counts as the Module 12 MAP, for which you have to register on Agnes. The report does not receive a grade. Please send the report, together with the above-mentioned form to the person responsible for the module. 

 

Electives from other disciplines (überfachlicher Wahlpflichtbereich, ÜWP)

Some study programs require students to broaden their knowledge and competence by attending courses on areas not taught in the subjects they are studying. Such courses (known in some English-speaking institutions as electives from other disciplines) cover the part of the syllabus referred to as the überfachlicher Wahlpflichtbereich (ÜWP). The main information on how this fits into specific degree programs is as follows.

  Students in BA English and BA American Studies who are not studying with the teacher training option (Lehramtsoption) need to attend courses worth 20 ECTS points (Leistungspunkte) in subjects other than their major and minor subjects.

  Students in MA English and MA American Studies need to attend courses worth 10 ECTS points (Leistungspunkte) in subjects other than the one they are studying.

Which courses are usable as electives from other disciplines? 🖉

Below is some information on the types of courses can be counted as electives from other disciplines. Regardless of which courses you choose, having the course credited requires you to submit a signed course participation form (Arbeitsnachweis) to the exams office but does not require you to do a MAP. Before attending a course, you should check that the instructor is willing to sign the form. If not, consult the student advisory service (Studienfachberatung) in your department about other ways of getting the courses credited.

  • Some courses in some departments are specifically intended to be credited as electives from other disciplines. You can choose such courses from any department other than the departments of your major and minor subjects. Courses of this type in our faculty are listed here.
  • Courses of this type from other faculties and institutions can be found on Agnes. On the main page, click on ‘Vorlesungsverzeichnis’ and scroll down to ‘Überfachlicher Wahlpflichtbereich’.
  • The Career Center offers courses (some in English) that can be credited as electives from other disciplines. The courses are listed here. If you are unsure whether a course can be credited, consult the student advisory services (Studienfachberatungen) responsible for your subjects.
  • Courses of the types known as Projekttutorien, Q-Tutorien, X-Tutorien can be credited as electives from other disciplines, though students should ask the student advisory service (Studienfachberatung) from one of their subjects before attending the courses.
  • MA students can have BA courses credited in certain circumstances. They should seek approval from the student advisors (Studienfachberatung) from their major or minor subjects before attending such courses. You could count courses attended at other universities (e.g. during an exchange semester abroad or as part of a degree program which you didn’t complete), though this must be approved by the student advisory service (Studienfachberatung) of one of your subjects.
  • Language courses at universities can be treated as electives from other disciplines, but there are restrictions on this. English courses or courses in languages studied your other subject cannot be credited. German courses can be credited if they at a higher level than the level required for entry to the degree program you are studying in. For instance, international students in a program requiring level A2 in German (e.g. MA in American Studies) could use German courses at level B1 or higher as electives from other disciplines.

Courses which cannot be credited as electives from other disciplines include:

  • Courses from a degree which you have already completed
  • Courses which are not offered in a university or one of the institutions named above
  • Courses attended as part of your major or minor subject 
Which exams office is responsible? 🖉

A few points should be mentioned regarding which exams office (Prüfungsbüro) deals with the course attendance forms (Arbeitsnachweise) for electives from other disciplines. This partly depends on whether the courses you attended belong to modules specifically designated as ÜWP modules.

If you attend a complete ÜWP module in another subject, you send the form for the whole module to the exams office responsible for the institute teaching the subject in question.

If you attend a course in an ÜWP module without completing the whole module, you send the signed form to the exams office of your main subject (Kernfach).

If a course does not belong to an ÜWP module, ask the student advisory service (Studienfachberatung) of your main subject which exams office is responsible.

For courses in the Sprachenzentrum and the Career Center, you send the course attendance form to the exams office of your main subject.