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The blocked system for Master's programs of the Faculties A and N

Blocked events make it possible to concentrate on one topic during a certain period of time. In order to allow students to combine blocked modules from different subject areas and faculties, the blocked modules of Faculties N and A are organized in a uniform block system.

Under the block system of Faculties A and N, the courses of the Master's programs are divided into four blocks of four weeks each. This allows students to take modules from other departments and supports interdisciplinary courses.

The four block periods are largely within the regular lecture period that also applies to semester-long courses.

  • Block 1 always starts on the first day of lectures of the unblocked courses. The blocks usually end with an exam on the Friday of the 4th week. Block period 4 ends during the 1st exam period of the unblocked courses.
  • The on-campus courses of the block modules, i.e. courses and internships, should be in the first three weeks. The fourth week is reserved for self-study and exam preparation and ends with an exam on Friday of the fourth week. The room reservation is also valid during this fourth week, so students could meet there as study groups or finish group assignments and seminar papers. In addition, appointments that had to be cancelled due to holidays can be rescheduled in the 4th week.

Block 1

  • Week 1-3:
    On-campus courses
  • Week 4:
    Self-study and exam preparation as well as make-up appointments
    Friday: Exam

Block 2:

  • Week 1-3:
    On-campus courses
  • Week 4:
    Self-study and exam preparation as well as make-up appointments
    Friday: Exam

Block 3:

  • Week 1-3:
    On-campus courses
  • Week 4:
    Self-study and exam preparation as well as make-up appointments
    Friday: Exam

Block 4:

  • Week 1-3:
    On-campus courses
  • Week 4:
    Self-study and exam preparation as well as make-up appointments
    Friday: Exam

Rooms:

If the block modules do not take place in the departments' own rooms or laboratories, these modules are placed one after the other in certain lecture halls in the afternoons between 2 and 7 p.m. as part of the scheduling process. Within this timeframe, teaching units and breaks can be freely arranged by the instructors.

Example of possible daily time schedule:

  • Course starts 2:15 p.m.
  • 1st break from 3:30 - 3:45 p.m.
  • 2nd break from 5:00 - 5:30 p.m.
  • Course ends at 6:30 p.m.

Assessment:

All block modules are to be assessed uniformly with 7.5 ECTS credits each. Four blocks thus correspond to the required semester workload of 30 ECTS.

Combination of blocked and unblocked events:

Within a degree program, semesters can be composed of either blocked or unblocked modules. However, mixing block and non-block modules during the same semester of a degree program is not considered possible.

The block periods in the respective semester can be found on the semester dates.

  • Faculty A: The current block schedule can be found on the download page of the Faculty website.
  • Faculty N: Please refer to the respective curricula for block times.
  • Faculty W: The Master's programs do not use the block system.