Modules and Exams

Each semester the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers a wide range of modules. How do you choose the right ones? In the following videos our student Jenny explains what you need to consider when booking modules. 

Tips for module selection

Module selection: Example

• You agree on a topic with a supervisor in good time before taking on the Bachelor’s thesis. In this context you should also consult the module description for your study program and make sure all the requirements for booking are met. The supervision of a Bachelor’s thesis is governed by §27 of the program regulations.
• You must book your Bachelor’s thesis on the online booking system during the regular module booking period.
• Once the module booking period has elapsed you will be e-mailed a request (to your UZH address) to log in to our website to specify the provisional title of your thesis and the name of your supervisor. 
• You must submit your Bachelor’s thesis to your supervisor on 1 December (Fall Semester) or 1 June (Spring Semester) at the latest. If you’re unable to meet the deadline for submitting your Bachelor’s thesis, you will be deemed to have failed the module.
• Once the submission deadline has elapsed you will be e-mailed a request (to your UZH address) to log in to our website to specify the definitive title of your Bachelor’s thesis.
• If, before the deadline, an event as per §24 of the framework ordinance occurs preventing you from submitting your thesis, you can apply either for withdrawal from the assessment as per §25 para. 1 of the Framework ordinance or for the deadline for submission of the assessment to be extended as per §25 para. 2 of the framework ordinance.
• A deadline extension can be granted for only a short time. In the event of further extensions on compelling grounds, the module will be canceled and you will have to book it again specifying a new topic. For an extension of the deadline, find out the responsible offices on the websites of the institutes and departments and submit a justified request for an extension there. If in doubt, address your request to your Academic Advisor.

If you have earned at least 120 ECTS credits in a Bachelor's degree program, you are entitled, according to RVO § 38, to complete pre-Master's modules from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (PhF) worth a maximum of 30 ECTS credits. You can book these yourself during the module booking period. Modules that are part of the degree program «Teaching Diploma for Upper Secondary Education» («Lehrdiplom für Maturitätsschulen») cannot be pre-booked.

Please note that not all modules are suitable for pre-booking. If you book Master's modules that cannot be pre-booked, they will be canceled. 

Compulsory and core elective modules are marked in the module catalogues with the note "Dieses Modul ist als vorgezogenes Mastermodul geeignet." Modules that are not marked accordingly may not be pre-booked.

Suitable elective modules are defined by the respective Institute/Department each semester. In case of uncertainty please contact the academic advisor responsible.

The booking of pre-Master's modules for mobility students is carried out by the responsible mobility delegate of the respective Institute/Department. Please contact these, to check which modules can be pre-booked.

If the exams for two modules take place at the same time you can submit a request to cancel one of the modules outside the cancellation period. Please contact the Academic Advisors responsible at the institutes and departments, who will review your request. If your request is granted, your registration for one of the two exams will be canceled and you can registered for the repeat exam in the module in question, if a repeat exam is offered in the same semester. In this case the first exam does not count as a failed attempt. If no repeat exam is on offer, the module will be canceled and you will have to book it again the following semester.

To avoid clashes, find out the dates of the exams already when you’re booking modules.

In some study programs, acquiring language skills is a mandatory part of the training in the subject. The UZH and ETH Zurich Language Center offers selected courses for students with mandatory language proficiency requirements. However, the relevant modules cannot be booked using the module booking tool. Please directly contact the language center online for the courses in question. Make sure to select the target group “PhF-Studierende mit Spracherwerbspflicht” (Arts and Social Sciences students with language proficiency requirements). Other courses at the Language Center cannot be used to meet and be credited for the mandatory language requirement. You'll find more information on the Language Center website.

• You agree on a topic with a supervisor in good time before taking on the Master’s thesis. In this context you should also consult the module description for your study program and make sure all the requirements for booking are met. The supervision of a Master’s thesis is governed by §32 of the program regulations.
• You must book your Master’s thesis on the online booking system during the regular module booking period.
• Once the module booking period has elapsed you will be e-mailed a request (to your UZH address) to log in to our website to specify the provisional title of your thesis and the name of your supervisor. 
• You must submit your Master’s thesis to your supervisor on 1 December (Fall Semester) or 1 June (Spring Semester) at the latest. If you’re unable to meet the deadline for submitting your Master’s thesis, you will be deemed to have failed the module.
• Once the submission deadline has elapsed you will be e-mailed a request (to your UZH address) to log into our website to upload your thesis and specify the definitive title of your Master's thesis.
• If, before the deadline, an event as per §24 of the framework ordinance occurs preventing you from submitting your thesis, you can apply either for withdrawal from the assessment as per §25 para. 1 of the framework ordinance or for the deadline for submission of the assessment to be extended as per §25 para. 2 of the framework ordinance.
• A deadline extension can be granted for only a short time. In the event of further extensions on compelling grounds, the module will be canceled and you will have to book it again specifying a new topic. For an extension of the deadline, find out the responsible offices on the websites of the institutes and departments and submit a justified request for an extension there. If in doubt, address your request to your Academic Advisor.
• Print copies of Master’s theses must no longer be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs. They are no longer retained at Zentralbibliothek Zurich.

In order to complete a module, a timely booking is required (RVO § 20). When you book the module, you are automatically registered for the assessment or rather registered for it.

Please note the module booking and cancellation deadlines. All deadlines are binding; bookings, transfers, and cancellations are no longer possible once the deadlines have elapsed.

During the waiting list progression period you can book available places directly. This applies regardless of whether you requested the module during the request period or not. If you do not wish to participate in a module, cancel the booked module or free your position on the waiting list. This allows other students to book the module.

You can only cancel bookings for two-semester modules by the cancellation deadline for the first semester. If you do not do the assessment you will be deemed to have failed the module.

You’ll find basic information on booking modules under Module Booking on the UZH for Students website.

To prepare for booking modules, please read the legal basis, particularly the relevant program-specific annex to the program regulations, the module catalogue and the standard curriculum. If you have questions on choosing modules, you can contact the Academic Advisor for your program.

When you book a module you will automatically be given access to the course in question on the OLAT online learning platform. We recommend booking modules early so that you get access to all the relevant information regarding the course in good time.

Registering for a course in the OLAT e-learning platform does not release you from having to book the module in question. Only booked modules will be included in the assessment. If you have any problems, contact your instructor or OLAT Support directly.

Note: Students in their first semester must actively register on OLAT as quickly as possible to receive information from instructors via OLAT. (You can find instructions in the OLAT user manual.)

Please consult the information sheet Podcasts and Livestreaming at UZH: Information for Students from the Multimedia & E-Learning Services (MELS) department of Central IT. It contains important information about the technical availability of podcasts and livestreaming recordings. Please note that not attending courses on site and taking your own notes is at your risk.

As of Fall Semester 2022: When booking a module, you will no longer be automatically registered for the repeat exam. You must register for it yourself in the student portal.

The arrangements for repeating exams may vary from module to module. You will find the information on the possibilities for repeating a module in the course catalogue under «Requirements». If the repeat exam for a specific module is held in the same semester, you must register for it independently, provided you failed the first exam or your application to withdraw from the assessment was granted in accordance with RVO § 24 and § 25. You can register for the repeat exam within the designated period via the app "My modules" in the student portal.

If you have registered for the repeat exam and do not show up for it (except for withdrawal from the assessment according to RVO § 24 and § 25), this will be deemed to be a failed attempt. If this is your second failed attempt, you will have definitively failed the module. You will subsequently be barred from all study programs of which the definitively failed module is a compulsory module (RVO § 33 and 34).

Two-semester modules must be booked and canceled, if necessary, in the first semester. Consequently, you cannot cancel these modules in the second semester. The booking for the second semester is done automatically. 
The booked two-semester modules are displayed in the student portal in the app "My Modules", but not on the transcript of records. They will only appear there after they have been graded.
For modules where the second semester only involves writing a paper, the second semester remains in booked until the module is graded. In principle you have the option, in consultation with the person responsible for the module, of submitting the paper and having it graded already in the first semester. In this context please note the deadline for submitting grades for the semester in question.

If a reason for absence (e.g. illness) occurs before the start of the assessment, immediately before or during the assessment, the responsible office must be notified immediately, or, if the assessment is cancelled, the proctor must be notified (RVO § 24). 

If not already provided with the aforementioned notification, you must also submit a justified request for withdrawal with the relevant documentation (e.g. doctor's certificate) to the responsible office no later than five working days after the date of assessment (RVO § 25).

Please check the websites of the institutes and departments for details of the responsible office. If in doubt, address your request to your Academic Advisor. Please note that: 

• only an approved request for withdrawal will result in the cancellation of the module; 
• the cancellation covers all the coursework completed in the context of this module; 
• if applicable, you yourself have to registered for a repeat exam in the same semester; 
• an approved request for withdrawal of the assessment does not result in deregistration from repeating the assessment in the same semester. 

The subsequent assertion of reasons for absence, that relate to an assessment that has already been taken, is generally excluded. 

Please note that registering for graduation does not automatically lead to deregistration from the University. You must apply for this separately. You'll find all the relevant information on deregistration on the UZH for Students website.