At JGU, you will encounter the following types of courses.

• Lectures
  In lectures, a single university teacher will hold presentations on a specific topic over the course of the entire semester – usually in front of a larger group of students. Lectures are primarily intended to give an overview of a specific topic.
• Practice classes
  A practice class serves to supplement and consolidate or practice the material conveyed via lecture. Interaction between practice class supervisors and students is possible and encouraged.
• Seminars
  In seminars, small groups of students examine a specific topic from several viewpoints, discuss questions and debate results – often after students have held presentations on the topic of that day’s class. Generally, a distinction is made between introductory seminars (Proseminar) for beginner students and graduate seminars (Hauptseminar/Oberseminar) for advanced students.
• Internships and lab courses
  Internships are mandatory in many degree programs, which is a good thing, as internships – also voluntary ones – can help with professional orientation and when transitioning to a profession. In an internship, you will put the theoretical knowledge you acquire in your program of study into practice and gain practical experience in potential future professional fields outside the university.
  In the natural sciences, internships often (but not exclusively) take place in university laboratories and practice rooms and, in this context, are generally designed to teach experimental skills.
• Field trips
  On field trips, you will explore the teaching subject on-site, e.g., in biology (research in nature), archaeology (visits to excavation sites), geography (trips to other countries/cultural areas), or art history (viewing artwork in museums). Field trips sometimes take place during semester breaks if they require longer trips.
• Tutorials/work groups
  Tutorials accompany lectures, practice classes, or seminars and offer additional help, especially for first-year students. The tutors in these work groups are usually students from advanced semesters or academic staff members.
• Colloquiums
  A colloquium is a roundtable discussion for students in advanced semesters (shortly before graduating). Oftentimes, professors personally invite students. During colloquiums, current research projects or final theses are frequently presented and discussed.

Location, duration, scope

Many – but not all – of the courses take place on-site and in person. Some courses additionally have mandatory attendance. At JGU, classroom teaching is supplemented by online teaching. For example, in many degree programs, lectures can be streamed whenever you like, class material can be used online, or entire courses can be hybrid or online.

The scope of courses at the university is generally defined in terms of semester hours per week. For example, a course with 2 semester hours per week will take place for two hours every week during the lecture period. Most courses meet every week during the lecture period (approximately 15 weeks of the semester). During the lecture-free period (semester break) at the beginning and end of the semester, there may be examinations, or, in exceptional cases, block courses. The remaining semester break can be used for internships, preparing for or following up on courses, additional or qualifying programs, or for vacation and leisure time.

Whether in classes, teaching, or research – the most important skill you need at university is the ability to adhere to good scientific practice. This includes working on and answering research questions in an objective and factual manner while taking into account existing research findings. Correctly citing sources and handling copyrighted material are essential for the scientific community – and therefore also for you in your program of study and examinations. As a member of the university, you are obliged to maintain academic integrity.

• Respect copyrights
  Only use sources which are freely available or for which the copyright holders have allowed use.

• Cite sources properly
  Indicate the external contents and sources you use in your work. Clearly and transparently mark which content, ideas, and results were taken from other sources, whether word-for-word or paraphrased, using your department’s standards for citation. External content includes everything from outside sources, e.g., text, audio, or visuals from publications (books, journals, etc.), the internet (including search machines, data bases, etc.) or other media.

• Do not plagiarize
  If you include external content either word-for-word or in paraphrased form and do not mark the sources according to the applicable regulations or wrongfully present them as your own, you are plagiarizing. This is a serious violation of academic integrity and good scientific practice. Accordingly, such cheating will be severely punished by examiners and examination committees. The copyright holders can also take legal action if their copyright is violated. Therefore, it is imperative you adhere to the principles of good scientific practice.  

Not sure which specifications apply to you or if you are doing everything right?

Don’t worry! You will learn what good scientific practice is, how to work academically, and how to correctly cite in your work during your first semesters at JGU. Additionally, you can ask your lecturers or examiners or your subject’s examination office. The Center for Academic Integrity (Kompetenzstelle Akademische Integrität, AkIn) can also give you further support and tips.

Attending courses and following up on them, preparing for and delivering presentations, studying for examinations and managing your own study time. You have already learned a lot of the working techniques that you will need for university at secondary school. However, universities do differ from schools in a few areas and have different requirements.

• General prerequisites
  A thirst to learn, openness to the rest of the world and other people, and the desire to immerse yourself in a subject – what was important in school is even more important at university. At university, you will get to the bottom of things. Scholarship refers to the generation of knowledge, which includes critically questioning and classifying facts. You will need to think and act flexibly and independently, and you should enjoy communicating and making decisions. If these skills are combined with an enthusiasm for your subject, you have all you need to find success at university.
• Managing yourself and your time
  Personal responsibility and self-management are key at university. For example, you will put together your own course schedule in most subjects, actively design your course sequence (including stays abroad, career orientation, and supplementary qualifications), and prepare for your examinations largely on your own. Self-management also includes motivating yourself to study, as external incentives such as regular performance monitoring or feedback from lecturers play a smaller role at university. Simultaneously, this also gives you more freedom and increases your ability to tailor your studies to your needs or to the demands outside the university.
• Reading, writing, speaking
  At university, the need to independently research literature, understand large amounts of text, and write longer papers increases. Independently filtering and finding relevant literature, selective reading, i.e., only reading the passages pertinent to your own research, and writing, structuring, and rewriting extensive texts – these are only a few examples of the independent work that will be necessary.
• Subject-specific work and learning techniques
  Researching sources and discovering artifacts, designing and evaluating questionnaires and experiments and analyzing the results – depending on your program of study, you will need a variety of strategies and methods to gain new knowledge and complete your studies. These skills are generally learned at university, not in school. In special (introductory) courses, we will teach you everything you need to know for your program of study. This includes a general ability to work in adherence with good scientific practice (see above). The examination requirements may also differ depending on your program of study: In some programs, the challenge is to memorize course material, while in others, the ability to understand complex connections and apply those insights to case studies is required.

As you can see, you either already possess the knowledge and skills you need to succeed at university from your school years, or you will learn them in your program of study. If you still feel you are struggling or need extra support for certain areas, study techniques can be learned and practiced.

JGU has a variety of support services, including

• advisory services from your academic advisory office – for questions about subject-specific requirements and techniques
• the campus-wide Writing Center – for questions about writing academic papers
• Mental Health Services for Students – courses on self-management, time management, preparing for examinations, etc.
• the University library – courses on how to search for literature and how to cite properly; literature on different topics regarding work and learning techniques
• the Career Service – a variety of events for learning soft skills (e.g., during the spring and fall university)