Transition Studies
Basic Information
Transition Studies Chemistry is a pre-master program for students who already hold a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Molecular Sciences or a closely related discipline but are still lacking significant skills that expected for admission to FAU’s MSc programs in Chemistry and Molecular Science.
The fee based 1-year program provides students with the necessary theoretical and experimental background in Organic and Inorganic Chemistry. Besides these advanced Chemistry courses which constitute the major part of the program, students will take classes in Math for Natural Scientists as well as in English. An Introduction to Studying in Germany and a module of free choice complete the rich offer.
To ease the financial pressure on students, the first semester is taught remotely with the help of online courses on FAU’s digital learning platform. For the second semester students will come to FAU and focus on improving their lab skills.
After successful completion of Transition Studies Chemistry students will be eligible for FAU’s MSc Programs in Chemistry and Molecular
Quick Information:
- Program type: Pre-Master
- Teaching Language: English
- Duration: 2 Semesters (1 year)
- Application: All interested students have to apply for a Master’s program in Chemistry or Molecular Science first (Deadline July 15th). Application deadline for Transition Studies Chemistry is September 15th (earlier applications highly recommended).
- Start: Winter semester
- Tuition fees: 2000 Euro for the whole program
- Student Service Fees: 118 Euro
Structure
Transition Studies Chemistry starts in the Winter Semester and has a duration of two semesters.
We consider the first semester (October-February) as “Digital Semester”. Students can study from home and do not have to be present at FAU. They will receive online courses in Experimental Chemistry and Lab Safety, Calculus and Basic stats, Academic English and on studying in Germany. At the end of Chemistry and Math Courses students will take self-assessment tests. They will receive recommendations based on their test results.
In the second semester (March/April-August) students will take courses at FAU. They will work practically on organic and inorganic synthesis to get additional lab experience. Furthermore, they will deepen their knowledge on reaction mechanisms and analytical tools. For the module of elective module, we recommend to concentrate on English or German language skills. To complete the second semester successfully, students will have to pass examinations in both chemistry modules.
| Module | Courses | Semester | ECTS | Workload | Examination | |
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| Experimental Chemistry and Lab Safety (digital) | e-Course: Experimental Chemistry and Lab Safety | x | 15 | 450 | Online-Assessment 90 min Online-Test | |
| Maths for Natural Scientists | e-Course: Calculus | x | 10 | 300 | Online-Assessment 90 min Online-Test | |
| e-Course: Basic Stats | x | |||||
| Culture and Language | Living and Studying in Germany | x | 5 | 150 | N/A | |
| B2 Online Academic English | x | N/A | ||||
| Advanced Molecular Synthesis | Tutorial Advanced Organic Synthesis | x | 15 | 450 | Written examination
90 min |
|
| Tutorial Advanced Inorganic Synthesis | x | |||||
| Seminar Reaction Mechanisms and analytical tools | x | |||||
| Lab Course Molecular Synthesis | Lab Practicals in Organic and Inorganic Synthesis | x | 10 | 300 | Oral colloquium 30 min (40%); Evaluation of 10 synthesized materials (30%); written laboratory protocols (30%) | |
| Transition Studies Elective Module | Course of free choice12 | x | 5 | 150 | Depending on the module3 | |
| Total ECTS | 60 | 1800 | ||||
1 Transition Studies Elective Module is to be chosen out of FAU’s course offer without any restrictions.
2 Alternatively, several courses with a lower number of ECTS credits may be chosen.
3 Method, scope and duration of examination depend on the chosen module and can be found in the respective examination regulations or module handbook.
Cost
Students will close a contract with FAU for the whole duration of the program. The total program cost is 2000 Euro. It is to be paid in two installments of 1000 Euro.
The first installment is due on 1st November, the second installment is due on 1st March. In addition, students will have to pay the obligatory student service fee of 118 Euro before being allowed to enroll at FAU for the second semester.
As Transition Studies Chemistry is not a regular Bachelor’s or Master’s degree program FAU is legally obliged to charge students tuition fees. The Master’s Degree is still free of cost apart from a student service fee of 118 Euro per semester.
Admission
You have to apply for the Master‘s programs in Chemistry or Molecular Science, first. If you lack the required qualification for the Master‘s program but are eligible for Transition Studies Chemistry, you will receive a respective invitation with your rejection letter for the master program. Please contact the e-mail address nat-international@fau.de as stated in the rejection letter.
As a next step, you will close a contract with FAU that will guarantee you a status as student of Transition Studies Chemistry for the 1-year duration of the course. In the meantime, please register yourself for the Transition Studies on campo.fau.de and upload your rejection letter with the invitation (no other uploads needed).
Additional requirements for Transition Studies Chemistry are:
- proof of English language skills on Level B2 as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference (no need for uploading documents, proof was already provided when applying for the master studies)
- proof of 3 months practical experience in a relevant field (no need for upload, proof can be obtained through an internship at FAU during the second semester. If you already have the required practical experience, you can hand in the proof at the beginning of the second semester to the admission committee, please contact nat-international@fau.de)
You will receive the necessary logins for FAU’s online learning platform StudOn after completing this registration.
Admission will be revoked if students to not meet the terms of payment.
Additional Information (Visa, Enrolment, Master’s Degree)
Even though you can study the first semester remotely from your home country, we recommend you to apply for a study visa early enough. Depending on your home country, processing times can be considerably higher than one would expect. Therefore, we provide you with an admission letter early in the process that states clearly that you we expect you to arrive in Erlangen at the beginning of April at latest and embassies can issue your visa accordingly.
During the second semester you will be enrolled as regular student at FAU and have access to all facilities and advantages as all other FAU students.
Please be aware that only students who passed the final examinations of the Transition Studies Chemistry successfully will be eligible for the Master’s Program. Students who failed the final examinations cannot be admitted to one of the Master’s Programs. For further information, please see the module handbook and the study and examination regulations.
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