FAQ

If you miss the registration phase, you might still register for a course. In that case, a registration form needs to be signed by the respective lecturer of the course and the form needs to be handed in to the Academic Service Office, also called students office. Here, you can find the form provided by the students office of the Department of Earth Science.

The CLIMATE module consists of three courses: Climate Processes and Observations (winter term), Climate Modelling (summer term) and Climate Dynamics (summer term). Each individual course needs only a pass. The final grade for the CLIMATE module comes from one joint oral examination for all three courses, typically conducted by the lecturers of Climate Processes and Observations & Climate Modelling. The dates for the examination are by individual appointment, but typically a set of slots is announced at the end of the summer term within the Climate Modelling class.

Courses in the ADVANCE module are core elective courses covering physical oceanography, physical climate science or modeling with respect to both scientific and methodological aspects. Courses taken in this module have to be graded, with the exception of sea-going experience, „Introduction to physical oceanography“ and „Introduction to scientific programming in FORTRAN“. „Introduction to physical oceanography“ can only be taken by students with no background in physical oceanography. „Introduction to scientific programming in FORTRAN“ can only be part of the ADVANCE module together with „Introduction to physical oceanography“, otherwise it can be taken  separately as part of the ADDITIONAL module. We keep a list of ADVANCE courses in the module handbook. With prior approval, other courses might also be possible. Feel free to contact the head of the examination board in case you like to take a different course.

Overall, there are little constraints for courses within the ADDITIONAL module. As a general rule, they should to be part of the teaching program of the Faculty for Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences (MIN) at Uni Hamburg. This includes courses from the Departments of Geosciences, Physics, Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry. For example, courses in the MSc Meteorology, MSc Geophysics, MSc Marine Systems and also all the three tracks of the Integrated Climate System Sciences (ICSS) MSc at Universität Hamburg. ADDITIONAL courses do not need to be graded  (pass/fail is enough) and do not count towards your final grade. A list of possible ADDITIONAL  courses is in the module handbook . Courses, which are not part of this list, might be chosen within the ADDITIONAL module as well. Also, external courses like summer schools can count under certain circumstances towards the ADDITIONAL module. To be sure that that a course is suitable, ask the chair of the examination board prior to enrolling (Johanna Baehr, johanna.baehr@uni-hamburg.de).

The main difference is that courses for the ADVANCE module need to have scientific or methodological connection to physical oceanography or climate physics, while courses for the ADDITIONAL module can have a broader scientific topic within the Faculty for Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences (MIN). Also, courses in the ADVANCE module need to be graded, while courses in the ADDITIONAL module do not need a grade.

There are several different options to go to another country and university during your MSc studies. Formally, we suggest to complete the OCEAN and CLIMATE modules in Hamburg, and complete the courses required in the ADVANCED and ADDITIONAL modules abroad. Our suggested ‘mobility window’ is the third semester. Before you plan and go abroad we recommend to consult the Chair of Examination Board well in advance (about 1 year or so ahead), whether your planned courses fit the requirements for the ADVANCED and ADDITIONAL modules.

More information can be found under Study Abroad & Cruises (verlinkung dann zu der Seite) and in the module handbook (link auch hier)."

The SPEC module consists of a seminar (3 CP) and participation in a workgroup including preparation for your thesis (12 CP). Your supervisor decides on what you need to accomplish to  fulfill the participation within the workgroup part.

Students, who started the masters program in 2019 or later, need to complete the modules OCEAN I and CLIMATE before they are allowed to take SPEC.

The application form can be found on the site of the students office. For students, who started the program in 2017 and 2018, it is needed to have completed 60 CP within the program to register their Master's thesis at the student office.

First, the written thesis is graded. Second, a presentation of the thesis results within a colloquium is graded. The colloquium consist of the presentation and a scientific discussion. The final grade will be consisting of 1/5 of the colloquium grade and 4/5 of the grade of the written thesis.