Are you interested in taking part in a taster day? Or have you already registered for one?
We have answers to all your questions about our taster days on this page!
The taster days are designed for prospective students who have already identified a few potential subjects in their orientation process and have a targeted interest in a specific program of study. They are not meant to serve as a broad orientation, but to confirm individual preferences of subject or eliminate other subjects.
The Student Advisory Center at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is your first point of contact for all questions relating to your studies. The Center offers advisory services on topics such as the courses offered and choosing a degree program, application/admission processes and application strategy, planning your studies, and orienting your studies around your career goals. The Student Advisory Center supports you and accompanies you through the process of choosing your degree program and occupation by providing personal advisory services and various programs for study orientation.
As soon as you have registered, you will receive an automated email with a link to all the details about your taster day. It is important that you keep an eye on this page and check it again, at the latest shortly before your taster day visit, as it will reflect any changes to the schedule here (including any changes at short notice).
After you register, we will also process your data manually and enter it into our system.
We will send you a reminder approximately a week before your taster day.
You will receive detailed information about the taster day (venue, schedule, preparation instructions, etc.) with the notification confirming your personal participation.
We limit the number of participants to enable a more personalized experience. Some programs are in high demand, so unfortunately not everyone who is interested will be able to participate. Registrations will be considered in the order in which they are received. After all spots have been allocated, all further registrations will be assigned spots on the waitlist.
As a result of the automated registration process, it is possible that in rare cases you may receive a confirmation which we have to withdraw after manual processing. Should this occur, we will generally offer you an alternative date or a place on the waitlist.
The chances of moving off the waitlist for taster days depend to a large extent on the subject and are virtually impossible to predict. You are welcome to contact us by email so we can give you information specific to your registration.
In general, you may be offered a spot at any time, but we have found that the majority of cancellations are received in the last week and sometimes even on the evening before the taster day in question. As we always strive to ensure that as many participants as possible are accepted to our study orientation program, we still offer spots to those on the waitlist in the event of last-minute cancellations. This means that you should still potentially expect a confirmation up until the day of the event and also be ready to participate or let us know you wish to be removed from the waitlist in good time.
Our emails always contain the JGU Mainz logo, but some email programs and providers additionally display this an attachment. This attachment cannot be opened and does not contain any additional information.
The link in your confirmation email leads to individual information about the venue on campus and the corresponding campus map for each subject.
It also contains general information on how to get to JGU.
A taster day typically consists of the following:
- A talk with an academic advisor about the content, structure, and prerequisites for the degree course as well as potential professional fields and the importance of internships
- The opportunity to attend a specific course
- Conversation with a tutor about the program of study from a student point of view
Individual taster days also feature different program elements. You can find information about this under each subject description.
Each taster day is designed to be a complete study orientation event and is held accordingly. Partial participation or attendance of only individual parts of the event is therefore not possible.
For organizational reasons and because space is limited, it is not possible to bring anyone along to the taster day (such as parents, friends, or relatives).
If, despite careful planning, you are unable to arrive on time for a taster day, the staff at the JGU Student Services hotline will be able to assist you most easily. They will let you know how and where you can join the group. However, the organization team will not always be able to respond immediately to emails, depending on the day and time.
Student Services Hotline
Contact: +49 6131-39 22122
Service hours: Mon–Thu 9:00 am–4:00 pm, Fri 9:00 am–1:00 pm
The online taster days take place on the BigBlueButton conference platform.
If you would like to take part in an online taster day, you have to register for the desired subject program first.
To join the meeting, all you have to do is click on the link you received with your confirmation. You do not need to make an account. Please start early enough to ensure you are ready approximately 5–10 minutes before the meeting starts and can be sure that your equipment is working. You can find the most important functions and instructions for using BigBlueButton below.
You will receive more information with the confirmation of your participation.
1. Open the link at the scheduled meeting time. We recommend using Firefox (for both Windows and iOS) to ensure your participation goes smoothly.
2. You will then be forwarded directly to the conference room for the corresponding taster day. You can view the display using the “Psychology” taster day as an example here.
3. Please enter your name in the field provided and then click on Join.
4. If the conference has not started yet, a message will appear informing you that you will be automatically added to the conference once it begins.
5. As soon as the conference starts, you will be asked how you would like to join the conference.
Please select the option Microphone here.
6. You will then be prompted to do an echo test. Don’t worry, the other participants can’t hear you!
First steps:
The symbols shown above have the following function, from right to left:
- Start or stop screen sharing.
- Enable or disable video signal.
- Enable or disable audio signal.
- Mute or unmute microphone.
When you join a meeting, the video camera is initially disabled.
Sending a chat message and sharing notes:
When you are in the conference room, you will see an area on the left with an option for public chat and shared notes. You can also see the participants here. At the bottom of this area, there is also an option to write a message for the chat. If this area is not displayed, there is an icon in the top left-hand corner to expand it (see below).
Click on the chat input field at the bottom of the chat window and start typing. Press Enter to send your message to the chat.
Please note: Your chat messages will be sent to all meeting participants.
Additional settings:
To access additional settings, you can click on the three dots in the top right-hand corner.
