Current Students

We recommend that you obtain up-to-date information and details from the Teaching/Lehre entries on the individual faculty websites as well as from the e-learning and cmlife websites.

Lecture courses and classes typically do not require formal registration. But the corresponding exams do (see below). Moreover, seminar courses require registration. Details and deadlines for this vary. They are specified by the respective docents. Check the online seminar descriptions and attend the corresponding introduction sessions. Note that these sessions often take place already at the end of the previous term; but many docents accept late registrations, especially from new first-year students, if the designated places haven't all been filled yet.

Registration for exams and de-registration takes place online at cmlife. You should log in well in advance in order to check exam dates and the applicable deadlines for registration (usually 8 days).

Also check when is your last chance of de-registering. Note that if you haven’t de-registered in time, don’t take the exam and don’t provide a medical certificate which proves that you couldn’t take it within three days after the exam then you will be automatically graded “5” (= “fail”) for the course.

If it is not too late then simply de-register. If the deadline for this has already passed then provide a corresponding medical certificate to the Prüfungsamt as soon as possible. Note that if you do not provide such certificate within three days after the exam then you will be automatically graded “5” (= “fail”) for the course.

You can earn up to 16 credit points for your Individual Focus by successfully completing any Sprachenzentrum language courses which are improvements relative to your Master’s application package.

So any courses that were already taken for credit as part of your Bachelor’s degree cannot be taken for credit. Nor can any English courses that fail to improve on CEFR Level B2. By contrast, English courses with a level above B2 can be taken for credit if you haven’t reached this level as part of your Bachelor’s education already. So if you didn’t take any C1 level course in your Bachelor’s, you can get credit for it. If you already took level C1 but not yet C2 then you can get credits for a C2 level course.

The same logic applies to, e.g., an Anfängerkurs Deutsch (you can get credits if and only if it is your first formal contact with the German language), courses in Chinese, Swahili, Arabic, etc.

No. The only exceptions are courses in mathematics, computer science, the natural sciences, or engineering which (i) convincingly complement your economics specializations (say, in mathematical economics, econometric theory, economics of climate change, regulation of energy markets, etc.) and for which (ii) prerequisites for attending the corresponding Master’s level course are impossibly demanding for an economics graduate.

If the instructor of the respective Master’s course is willing to admit you to his or her course, the answer is yes: you can obtain credits as part of your Individual Focus. Selected courses from the local Master’s programme in Betriebswirtschaftslehre can also give credits in your Economics Specialization (see FAQ on BWL below).​

Our default is that full-time students earn all 120 required credits during four semesters, i.e., two years. But you can decide to take a little more time and to extend this period by one or even two semesters. This is entirely up to you. However, note that the maximum total time is six semesters! (If you are approaching six semesters then better check details in §18 of the Prüfungs- und Studienordnung before it is too late.)

Not really. Your Economic Specialization is supposed to give you deeper knowledge in any of the diverse areas of economics that are represented by faculty of the Department. This may pertain to core models and methods of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and empirical economics; or to particular domains such as international trade and labour markets, governance, competition, the public sector, health, etc. You can combine any six Master’s level courses offered by the Department’s economics professors and lecturers as you wish – simply satisfy your personal economic curiosity and pursue your future professional interests.

However, if you already know you want to pursue doctoral studies in the future, we recommend you choose at least one sequel to each of the economics core courses in the “Foundations” module area. This is also ideal preparation if you plan to apply to structured PhD programs abroad.

You might also wish to specialize in a particular area of economics, such as international economics. Then it is a good idea to take at least three courses that cover the theory and empirics of international trade, of international labour markets, and of monetary and currency policies. Or if you prefer to specialize in economic governance, then take at least three courses on topics in governance, public finance, competition policy, environmental policy, or economic policy more generally. When you know which area of economics you want to specialize in, consider making an appointment with a Bayreuth professor who is working in this area. He or she can guide you not just regarding suitable lectures and seminars for your Economic Specialization but may also have suggestions for how to make the best of your Individual Focus.

Economics students who study under the new PSO can register for any of the BWL courses from “Basismodul B2” of the Master’s programme in Betriebswirtschaftslehre at University of Bayreuth and can obtain credit as part of their Individual Focus. Selected courses on capital markets or quantitative methods can also be taken as part of the Economic Specialization.

​The economics programme itself does not impose restrictions on which regular Master’s level BWL lectures and seminars outside “Basismodul B2” can be taken in your Individual Focus. But not all courses in the Master’s programme in Betriebswirtschaftslehre are open to students from other programmes! Whether a BWL professor opens a given course to you is entirely up to him or her. If you can make a convincing case for why you would like to be admitted to a specific BWL course then make it politely and directly to the professor in charge at or before the start of the semester. If you are successful, the obtained credits can be used exactly like those from “Basismodul B2”. You need not obtain any special permission from the programme director - you can directly get credits in your Individual Focus for any successfully completed, regular BWL Master's lecture or seminar course from the Prüfungsamt.

​Economics students who study under the old PSO can register for any of the BWL courses from “Basismodul B2” of the Master’s programme in Betriebswirtschaftslehre at University of Bayreuth and can obtain credit as part of their corresponding Spezialisierung or in their Individeller Schwerpunkt.

​The economics programme itself does not impose restrictions concerning credits from regular Master’s level BWL lectures and seminars outside “Basismodul B2”. But not all courses in the Master’s programme in Betriebswirtschaftslehre are open to students from other programmes! Whether a BWL professor opens a given course to you is entirely up to him or her. If you can make a convincing case for why you would like to be admitted to a specific BWL course then make it politely and directly to the professor in charge at or before the start of the semester. If you are successful, the obtained credits can be used exactly like those from “Basismodul B2”. You need not obtain any special permission from the programme director - you can directly get credits for a successfully completed, regular BWL Master's lecture or seminar course from the Prüfungsamt.

​First check the online course description (docent’s website or e-learning platform). In case the professor who offers or organizes the course has forgotten to specify the pertinent credit possibilities, contact him or her!
​Note that the professor in question may want to coordinate with a colleague listed under Responsible Unit in the Module Handbook or with the programme director in special cases before he or she will answer you.

You can get credits as part of either your Economic Specialization or your Individual Focus.
​
If you want to get credits as part of your Economic Specialization then the course will have to be accepted as a substitute for one of the regular courses by the professor in charge of the regular course. He or she will typically want to see a brief dossier – a single PDF file or printed folder including course description, reading list / recommended textbook, problem sets, etc. – that clarifies the topics and analytical level of the course, i.e., that it has Master's level or is even part of a doctoral programme, and then reach a decision. (Credits for a foreign course can also be accepted as a substitute for an already completed regular course if this improves your grade. But note that this substitution will be counted as a voluntary exam repetition, reducing your limited possibilities to do so for other courses.)

If you want to get credits as part of your Individual Focus, you may follow the same procedure as for the  Economic Specialization. The course will then be listed in your transcript under the title of the local course which it has substituted, with a comment that it was taken abroad. Alternatively, you can seek to obtain credit under the original title from the programme coordinator. Assuming your foreign host institution has high international reputation, you will merely need to prove that the completed course had the right level, i.e., Master's or higher, and complements your Economics Specialization. So the standard is the same as for local courses you choose in your Individual Focus.

​In any case better be safe than sorry: check the possibilities of getting credit for a particular course before studying abroad!

6 or 12 credits can be earned by a 6 or 12-week internship, respectively, as part of your Individual Focus. You should, however, check the possibilities of getting credit for a particular internship in advance. The University of Bayreuth’s Praktikantenservice will be in charge of accepting a completed internship or not. They provide detailed information on their requirements for Master’s students in Economics online and have regular office hours.

Not per se. But you will first have to find a professor from the economics department who is willing to agree on a topic and who then takes full charge of supervision and grading. It lies in the discretion of this university supervisor whether there can be an external co-supervisor, how often and in what format you are required to report on your progress, etc.