FAQs

Civil Engineering is an engineering science that deals with the conception, planning, design, calculation, production and operation of buildings, traffic, civil engineering and hydraulic engineering. Furthermore, the subject of technical environmental protection is dealt with, which includes, among other things, the aspects of noise, water and soil protection, as well as the associated pollutant investigations. More information here.

The bachelor's and master's degree program (formerly Environmental Engineering and Resource Management) is characterized by its focus on environmental engineering issues and the consideration of systemic interrelationships with the inclusion of societal constraints. This means that in addition to the necessary engineering fundamentals, many application-related contents are taught, which – depending on the chosen specialization – can be assigned to the field of energy and process engineering or civil engineering. More information here.

The master's program Computational Engineering is an interdisciplinary program that includes civil engineering and computer science in particular, but also aspects of mathematics. For more than a decade, the importance of this evolving field has been growing in academia and in high-tech industrial settings. The program provides students with key competences in engineering mechanics, mathematics and computer science that are required for the innovative design and analysis of high-tech engineering systems and materials. More information here.

The master's program Subsurface Engineering is an interdisciplinary program that covers civil engineering and geosciences in particular, but also aspects of mechanical engineering, and focuses on all aspects of subsurface utilization. The new master's program uses the combination of expertise in tunneling, geosciences, geothermal energy and computational engineering that has been built up over many years at the Ruhr University Bochum (and is probably unique in this form worldwide). More information here.

The bachelor's degree programs in civil and environmental engineering are open admission. For the Master's programs in Civil or Environmental Engineering, applicants with non-European citizenship and/or a degree can apply online for the winter semester by July 15 and for the summer semester by January 15. Applicants with European citizenship and/or degree can apply online until 15.10. for the winter semester and until 15.04. for the summer semester. For more information on the application process, click here.

The study program is based on certain regulations and guidelines, which fall under the term "examination regulations". This is essentially a matter of determining the content structure of the course of study and the achievements that have to be made for graduation. The complete examination regulations can be found here in the download area.

The Examination Regulations 2021 apply to all students who have enrolled in the Bachelor's or Master's degree program since the winter semester 2021/2022.

FlexNow is an exam management software that allows students to retrieve an up-to-date grade report, as well as register and deregister for exams. The access options can be found here.

A transcript of records is a confirmation of the completed study and examination performance. Via FlexNow, you can print out the transcript of records in both auditable and non-auditable versions.

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is intended to ensure that the achievements of European universities are comparable. This is achieved through the acquisition of credit points. Credit points are used to measure the amount of work required. Approximately 30 credit points must be earned per semester. One credit point corresponds to a workload of 30 working hours.

The student receives exactly the credit points assigned to a module if this module has been successfully completed.

Yes, the grade exists.

Obligations are concerned with admission to the master's program. Students who have a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 6 semesters or 3 university years in a related subject or in civil engineering can be admitted to the master's program after endorsement by the examination board. The obligations may include a maximum of 30 credit points. The examination board decides on exceptions on the basis of a justified application. The conditions will be communicated in the notification of admission.

The data sheet and the certificate have different calculation procedures regarding the grade. The data sheet calculates a grade weighted with LP of all performed and graded examination performances. The weighting factors specified in the PO are not taken into account. The certificate grade may differ from this data sheet grade. The overall transcript grade is determined according to the regulations of the PO with weighting factors. For example, the grade of the final thesis is weighted with a factor of 2.0.

Admission to the bachelor's degree program is open to students who have a general university entrance qualification or a relevant subject-specific university entrance qualification. Not admitted is anyone who has definitively failed a bachelor's examination or a diploma examination in civil engineering or a related subject at a university within the scope of application.

The degree programs are not subject to admission restrictions. You can enroll online for the winter semester here.

(1) Applicants can be admitted to the master's program

a) who have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering or a comparable degree from a university within the scope of the German Basic Law after at least six semesters of study (three years of study), or

b) who have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering or a comparable degree from a university outside the scope of the German Basic Law after at least six semesters of study (three years of study), provided that the equivalence or comparability of the degree is determined by the examination board.

(2) The submitted bachelor's degree must include method and research-oriented content amounting to at least 18 CP from the field of mathematics and at least 18 CP from the field of mechanics/fluid mechanics. The examination board can determine supplementary study and examination achievements up to a maximum of 30 CP, as well as the period for their achievement. A provisional admission is granted for the period of performance. After the third semester, registration for master's examinations and the master's thesis is only permitted with fully passed requirements. The examination board decides on exceptions on the basis of a justified application. Anyone who has definitively failed a master's examination in civil engineering or a related subject at a university in the area of application is not admitted to the master's program.

The course of study is free of admission. Nevertheless, an application is required. More detailed information on the individual deadlines can be found here.

The internship is a prerequisite of the bachelor's program and must be completed and approved by the Internship Office at the latest before the start of the bachelor's thesis. Part of the internship can also be completed during the course of study. In this case, the practical work can be divided into sections comprising at least 2 consecutive working weeks. However, it is recommended to complete as much of the internship as possible before the start of the studies, since the lecture-free time during the studies is needed for exam preparations as well as for the exams themselves. The internship shall cover at least 8 weeks. It is usually to be performed by working on construction sites, although 3 weeks may also be performed in a technical office of a construction company, an engineering firm, a building authority or a comparable office. Further information on the internship regulations can be found here.

Credits for the internship are awarded by the faculty's Internship Office. Information about the Internship Office can be found here.

Students are expected to be able to understand and process English texts. Other foreign language skills are not required.

A change to another examination regulation is not provided. If an examination regulation expires, a change to the new, present examination regulation is possible upon request.

The standard period of study until the bachelor's degree is obtained in 6 semesters, and another 4 semesters until the master's degree.

The aim of the study program Civil Engineering is a scientific and basic-oriented study, which provides a broad basis of professional knowledge as well as comprehensive methodological competence. The characteristic of the study program is to enable students to conduct research in the field of civil engineering in combination with several disciplines from the fields of natural sciences, engineering, economics and social sciences. The primary goal of the program is to impart analytical, creative and design skills, as well as application-related skills in the use of modern building materials and calculation methods, with the aim of developing new or further innovative problem-solving concepts. Great importance is also attached to the teaching of general application knowledge (economic, work science and legal contexts) as well as the integration of social competence (ability to work in a team, leadership and communication skills, sense of responsibility, strategic thinking).

The program consists of two degrees. The first degree is the "Bachelor of Science" (B.Sc.), the second the "Master of Science" (M.Sc.). In the bachelor's degree program, students must complete a total of 180 credit points in coursework and examinations. This includes a bachelor thesis of 12 credit points. Furthermore, compulsory modules amounting to 156 and elective modules amounting to 12 credit points must be completed.

In the Master's program, study and examination achievements amounting to 120 credit points must be completed. The Master's program consists of compulsory  modules, compulsory elective modules and elective modules. It includes a master thesis with 30 credit points. Curricula for the Bachelor and Master program Bachelor BI, Master BI; Bachelor UI, Master UI can be found here in the download area.

The basic elements of the program are called modules, which consist of one or more courses. A module usually extends over one or two semesters and concludes with all examinations.

Courses are generally held in German, with exceptions for electives. Information in which language a module takes place can be found in the module handbook. The CE and SSE courses are held in English.

All information on compulsory courses can be found here in the examination regulations as well as in the curriculum.

Any subjects from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum's range of courses, such as foreign languages or modules from other Bachelor's or Master's programs, can be taken. The scope can be taken from the curriculum. The elective modules listed in the curriculum and module handbook are particularly recommended. Further information can be found here in the respective current module handbooks.

The specialization/deepening only takes place in the Master's program. In the UI program, a specialization is already selected in the bachelor's program.

Examination achievements that have been completed in the same course of study at another university or in another course of study at the same university will be recognized upon application, provided that with regard to the competencies acquired there is no significant difference to the achievements that are being replaced; an examination of equivalence will not take place.

If the student does not wish to continue his studies at the Ruhr-University Bochum, he will be issued a certificate of achievement upon application and upon presentation of the relevant evidence. It contains the completed examinations with the acquired credit points, as well as the examinations still missing to pass the bachelor examination. In addition, it indicates that the bachelor's examination has not yet been passed.

A clearance certificate is a confirmation that is required when changing universities, if the new course of study is related to or the same as the previous course of study. With the certificate, the examination office confirms that the applicant has not lost his/her examination entitlement. This gives the new examination office the formal assurance that the new applicant may take all the required examinations. The clearance certificate can be found on the transcript of records and reads: "The Bachelor's examination has not yet been completed. The studies may be continued.".

The international perspective is provided by semesters abroad at one of the partner universities, for example in the European ERASMUS program. In cooperation with the International Office of the Ruhr-University Bochum, the faculty supports its students in the first steps towards a stay abroad. Information about exchange programs can be found here.

In order to enroll in a Master's program at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, proof of participation in an obligatory counseling interview is required. This is always conducted by the Student Advisory Service shortly before the enrollment deadlines for the new semester (March/September).

Advising sessions are conducted by Student Counselors.

Examination performances vary depending on the module and may include the following components: Written examinations, oral examinations, seminar papers, written assignments, project papers, and course-related assignments. Furthermore, the use of multiple-choice procedures is permitted for parts of examination performances. Examination regulations can be found here.

In addition to the regular exam dates, special testing dates are offered in some subjects, which take place around Pentecost as well as January. Subjects offered on Pentecost include: Math A, Mechanics A, Math C, Fluid Mechanics, Physics, Chemistry, Measurement, as well as Electrical Engineering. Subjects that can be written in January include: Math B, Mechanics B, Thermodynamics, Materials, and Control Engineering. The student must register independently for this additionally offered date. Deregistration can be done up to two weeks before the examination date. The participation counts as a complete examination attempt.

Students must register independently for all examinations and course work. Registration for examinations is possible from November 15 in the winter semester and from May 15 in the summer semester. The registration deadline for examinations in the regular examination period is January 15 or July 15. Unless otherwise announced, this registration deadline also applies to examinations during the semester, such as seminars and specialized laboratories. Different deadlines apply for special dates.

The registration deadline for preliminary examinations (PVL) in the Bachelor's programs ends five weeks before the start of the regular examination period. For examinations with PVL, in deviation from the above deadline, registration is still possible up to two weeks before the examination date.

Registration for a module examination is only permitted if the requirements defined in the current version of the module handbook are met.

Students are allowed to deregister from any module examination on their own without giving reasons. The deregistration period ends seven days before the respective examination date. Subsequent registration or deregistration is not possible. It is not possible to deregister from course-related assignments.

If an exam is not passed, students must register independently for the retake exam.

If the student forgets to deregister from an exam and does not attend, the exam will be graded 5.0 "failed" and you will have one less exam attempt.

If a module examination has not been passed, it can be repeated. A maximum of three examination attempts (three written attempts) are possible. In case of failure of a written retake, a supplementary oral examination is offered for the second examination attempt. The result of the oral supplementary examination is a maximum grade of 4.0. For the bachelor's and master's thesis, there is only one retake attempt. If a module examination is not passed even after three attempts, the module examination and thus also the bachelor's examination are deemed to have been definitively failed. The same applies to the master's program.

Oral supplementary examinations according to §10 (5) of the ER are offered in all compulsory and elective modules of the bachelor's and master's degree programs in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering exclusively in the penultimate repeat examination, i.e. after the second of three possible attempts. Students are admitted to this supplementary oral examination if they have achieved at least 35% of the score required to pass in the written examination. Bonus points may not be counted for this purpose. Registration for the oral supplementary examination is made with the examiner. Registration must be completed no later than one week after the written examination, otherwise the examination entitlement will be forfeited. The oral supplementary examination should not take place earlier than one week after the date of the examination. The dates for the oral supplementary examinations are to be set in such a way that the results can be reported to the examination office by April 30 for examinations in the winter term and by October 31 for examinations in the summer term. In case of non-attendance due to illness, an alternative date for the same examination attempt will be offered upon presentation of a certificate. If attendance is also not possible on this date, the examination entitlement is forfeited.

As a rule, the repetition of an already passed written exam is not permitted. Upon request, however, the Examination Committee may allow students a single attempt at improvement for a maximum of three passed module examinations. In this case, the best result is taken into account.

If the candidate is unable to take an examination due to illness, he/she must submit a medical certificate confirming that he/she is unable to take the examination. Certificates are to be submitted to the examination office immediately after the corresponding examination, but no later than one week after the examination date. For this purpose, only forms of the faculty will be accepted (Certificate of Incapacity for Examination). This exam then does not count in the trial count.

The course of study is definitively failed if the examination has not been passed within the three examination attempts. The candidate will be informed in writing about the failure of a study program.

Students who obstruct the proper conduct of examinations to be taken, even after a warning, may be excluded from the continuation of the examination. In this case, the examination in question will be graded with 5.0 "failed" and the reason for the exclusion will be made part of the record. In serious cases, the examination board may exclude the candidate from further examinations. The submission of plagiarism in project work, bachelor's and master's thesis is considered cheating and will be dealt with accordingly.

The result of an examination is usually announced no later than four weeks after the date of the examination, taking into account the data protection regulations, by posting or via FlexNow. The result of an oral examination  is to be announced no later than two days after the exam and the results of examination performances rendered in another form are announced in an appropriate form no later than 2 weeks after taking the examination. The assessment procedure of a bachelor's thesis may only exceed the period of 4 weeks in justified exceptional cases. Further information can be found here in the examination regulations.

In PO 21, elective modules factor once into the overall grade.

The individual module evaluations with numerical grade, the topic, as well as the evaluation of the final thesis and the overall grade are included in the certificate. The number of examinations taken and the duration of study are not included.

The "Diploma Supplement" is an addition to the higher education certificate. This supplement to the certificate has the function of promoting transparency in higher education, facilitating academic and professional recognition in other European countries and supporting the assessment of professional qualifications. The Diploma Supplement contains the following information: individual data of the graduates, status of the awarding higher education institution and information on formal and content-related characteristics of the study program for which the Diploma Supplement is issued (study program, objectives, content, progression and qualification). A description of the German education and higher education system.

A "Transcript of Records" lists all of the student's achievements in an easily understandable comprehensive form so that a transfer to another university can be made without difficulty. The recognition of study achievements abroad requires the issuance of a ToR. The Transcript of Records contains the following  information: All completed examination achievements, the ECTS points achieved, the examination grades and the weighting of the grades.

The first degree is the "Bachelor of Science" (B.Sc.) and the second is the "Master of Science" (M.Sc.).

The bachelor's thesis is a written examination paper which is intended to show that the student is able to work independently on a challenging problem in civil engineering within a specified period of time (3 months, 360 working hours). The methods acquired in the bachelor's program are to be applied.

The issue of the topic of the bachelor's thesis can only take place after the student has completed at least 120 CPs and proof of the completed company internship.

According to the standard period of study, the bachelor thesis is scheduled for the 6th semester.

The student has the right to propose the topic of the bachelor's thesis. After hearing the student, the examiner names the intended topic to the chairperson of the examination committee. The final issue of the topic is then made by the chairperson of the examination board.

The written documentation of the Bachelor thesis must be submitted to the examination board in duplicate, as well as an electronic version usually after three months. Early submission is possible after two months at the earliest. The Bachelor thesis is to be evaluated by two examiners, whereby one of the examiners should be the topic author. The overall evaluation is formed from the arithmetic mean of the individual evaluations. However, if there is a difference of more than one whole grade in the individual evaluations, the examination board will determine the overall evaluation.

The Bachelor's examination is passed when all required modules, as well as the Bachelor's thesis, have been successfully completed. When calculating the overall grade of the Bachelor's degree program, an average assessment is carried out. The overall grade of the Bachelor's examination according to PO 21 is calculated as the weighted arithmetic mean (weighted with the LP) of all graded module examinations. The grade of the Bachelor thesis  is additionally weighted with the factor 2.0.

The student receives a certificate of passing the bachelor's examination if he/she submits an application and can show at least 180 credit points. Together with the certificate, the candidate will receive the bachelor's degree certificate with the date of the certificate. Furthermore, it certifies the award of the bachelor's degree.

It is possible to change from the bachelor's program Civil Engineering to the master's program Environmental Engineering (and vice versa).

No, this is not intended.

Students must register independently for all examinations and course work. Registration for examinations is possible from November 15 in the winter semester and from May 15 in the summer semester. The registration deadline for examinations in the regular examination period is January 15 or July 15. Unless otherwise announced, this registration deadline also applies to examinations during the semester, such as seminars and specialized laboratories. Registration for a module examination is only permitted if the requirements defined in the current version of the module handbook are met.

I would like to write Master's exams, but I have not yet finished the Bachelor's program. Is this possible?

Elective modules in the Bachelor's programs in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering can be freely selected and registered for in the amount of 12 LP according to the curriculum. Additional elective modules are recorded in the study section "Additional Elective Modules". In this study section, modules with a maximum volume of 15 LP can be registered. These can also be master modules. The registration takes place in the examination office. Taking additional elective modules must be approved by the examination board.

Master's examinations may only be taken after the bachelor's degree. It is not possible to take them earlier.

The master's thesis is a written examination paper that is intended to show that the student is able to work on a complex problem independently and with the help of scientific methods within a given period of time (6 months).

The issue of the topic of the master's thesis can only take place when the candidate has obtained at least 70 CP.

According to the standard period of study, the master's thesis is scheduled for the 4th semester. It is strongly recommended to register the master thesis in the 6th semester at the latest.

The student has the right to propose the topic of the master's thesis. After hearing the student, the examiner names the intended topic to the chairperson of the examination committee. The final issue of the topic is made by the chairperson of the examination board

The written documentation of the Master's thesis must be submitted to the examination board in duplicate and in an electronic version. The Master's thesis is to be evaluated by two examiners, whereby one of the examiners should be the topic creator. The overall evaluation is formed from the arithmetic mean of the individual evaluations. However, if there is a difference of more than one whole grade in the individual evaluations, the examination board will determine the overall evaluation.

The Master's examination is passed if all required modules, as well as the Master's thesis, have been successfully completed. The overall grade of the Master's examination is the weighted arithmetic mean (weighted with the LP) of all graded module examinations. In addition, the grades of the elective modules and the grade of the project thesis are weighted with a factor of 1.5 and the grade of the master thesis with a factor of 2.0.

Upon application by the student, a certificate is issued confirming that the student has passed the master's examination, the module evaluations, the topic of the master's thesis, and the overall grade of the master's examination. Furthermore, the master's certificate with the academic degree "Master of Science" is handed over to the candidate.

After graduation, candidates are given the opportunity to inspect their examination file. For this purpose, they must submit an application to the chairperson of the examination board within one month after the examination certificate has been issued. The chairperson will then determine the place and time of inspection.

If the candidate has cheated in an examination and this fact only becomes known after the certificate has been issued, the examination board can subsequently correct the evaluations and grades for the examination  accordingly and declare the candidate to have failed the examination. In this case, the bachelor's degree or master's degree must be withdrawn.

Test papers can be returned to the examinee after two years!

Within 30 years, in case of loss, a duplicate of a degree certificate can be requested from the Examinations Office for a fee of 25€.