Announcements
The Studie commission as a commission of all subjects of the Faculty and the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, on the recommendation of the Board of Studies, revoke the resolutions of the Boards of Examiners of 24.10.2007 on the grading of examination achievements for main and upper seminars.
As of SS 2022, a grading system with gradations of plus/minus 0.3 (grading scale 1.0; 1.3; 1.7, .... 3.3; 3.7; 4.0; 5.0) is to be used for all seminars, also for numerical assessment.
The Studie commission as a commission of all subjects of the Faculty and the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, on the recommendation of the Board of Studies, revoke the resolutions of the Boards of Examiners of 24.10.2007 on the grading of examination achievements for main and upper seminars.
As of SS 2022, a grading system with gradations of plus/minus 0.3 (grading scale 1.0; 1.3; 1.7, .... 3.3; 3.7; 4.0; 5.0) is to be used for all seminars, also for numerical assessment.
In its meeting on 18.11.2020, the Faculty Board of the Faculty defined the responsibilities for the recognition of study and examination achievements and the issuing of equivalence certificates for students with a minor in physics and physics teaching degree.
As of the winter semester 2014/2015, every doctoral student of the faculty shall participate to an appropriate extent free of charge in the teaching of the faculty in the area of compulsory courses and the elective courses determined by the two institutes.
This is to support a holistic education in research and teaching. Each doctoral student should regularly participate in teaching (exercises, supervision of internships, etc.) to the extent of at least 2 SWS (equivalent to approx. 850 TP) per academic year.
The Faculty Board passed the following resolution in its meeting on 15.10.2014:
Resolution:
"The Faculty Council of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy adopts the present concept of 10.10.2014 for the appropriate participation of doctoral students of the Faculty in teaching and asks all members of the Faculty to participate in the implementation of the concept."
All full-time and external university teachers and lecturers of the faculty are requested to observe this.
The Faculty Board of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy points out that purely cumulative doctorates should continue to be avoided altogether. The adoption of parts from one's own publications incl. illustrations (under consideration of the copyright) is possible in principle with simultaneous clear labelling. Irrespective of this, the guidelines for good scientific practice (GWP) of the University of Würzburg must be observed.
The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy is committed to the highest quality standards in research and teaching. For this reason, diploma, bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses should always be carried out at the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, i.e. the regular presence of students at the faculty and supervision by a university teacher (professor, private lecturer) who is employed full-time at the faculty (full member) is a prerequisite.
Under certain conditions, externally conducted diploma, bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses are also permitted after approval by the respective examination board chairperson.
For all externally conducted final theses/doctoral dissertations, the following documents must be submitted to the Dean's Office of the Faculty before work begins:
- Informal application to the responsible examination board for permission to conduct an external examination,
- informal work plan/short description of the thesis,
- written confirmation from the supervisor on site,
- Registration of the thesis or application for admission as a doctoral candidate.
1) Supervision by a faculty member (first reviewer) who is not a full member (second membership)
Proper and timely registration before the start of the thesis is mandatory. The second opinion for diploma, master and doctoral theses must be written by a university professor who is a full member of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy. At least one of the reviewers must be a university professor.
The registration for the thesis or the application for admission as a doctoral candidate must state that it is an external thesis.
2) Supervision at other faculties, other universities or non-university institutions
Externally conducted theses/doctoral dissertations without direct supervision by a faculty-affiliated university lecturer on site are only permitted if there is scientific cooperation between the external working group and the supervising university lecturer or if the completion of the external thesis is of recognisable benefit to the faculty.
Approval will only be granted if a university lecturer who is a member of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy has satisfied himself/herself that sufficient supervision is guaranteed and has declared in writing that he/she is prepared to undertake the initial assessment. The external supervisor on site, who must have at least a doctorate in the relevant subject area, must provide a written commitment at the time the thesis is assigned that he/she is prepared to support the first examiner in the evaluation of the thesis by providing an opinion of the nature of an expert opinion. The candidate is obliged to inform the first examiner about the progress of the work as long as it is not yet completed. The issued topic of the dissertation must be essentially physical in nature and must be of such a nature that it can be dealt with within the given time limit.
In this context, it is also pointed out that the on-site supervisor (postdoc, if applicable) may not be a second reviewer.
In total, no more than two diploma, master's and doctoral theses and no more than three bachelor's theses may be worked on at the same time in an external working group, regardless of how the supervision of these theses is distributed among different university teachers of the faculty.
Exceptions to these guidelines must be applied for in writing by the candidate via the dean's office to the respective examination board/doctoral committee and must be recorded in the dean's office.
At its meeting on 23.11.2011, the Faculty Board adopted the following regulations on the conversion of grades for the recognition of examination results obtained abroad.
Conversion of grades in the recognition of foreign examination results
1) USA and Canada
Grades from partner universities in the United States of America and Canada are converted according to the following table.
USA / CDN | WÜ |
|---|---|
A+ | 1,0 |
A | 1,0 |
A- | 1,3 |
B+ | 1,7 |
B | 2,0 |
B- | 2,3 |
C+ | 2,7 |
C | 3,0 |
C- | 3,3 |
D+ | 3,7 |
D | 4,0 |
F | 5,0 |
2) France
Grades 16-20 correspond to the grade 1.0. Grades 0-9.9 correspond to the grade 5.0. Grades between 10 and 16 are calculated according to the formula
NWue=9−NF/2
converted. The first digit after the decimal point is truncated. This corresponds to the conversion formula according to §17 ASPO with
Nmax=16,Nmin=10.
3) Scotland
Grades from Heriott-Watt University, Edinburgh, are converted according to the following table.
GB | WÜ |
|---|---|
A | 1,0 |
B | 2,0 |
C | 3,0 |
D | 4,0 |
BA and MA theses should in principle be carried out at the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, i.e. the regular presence of the student at the faculty and supervision by a full-time university lecturer (full member) working at the faculty is required.
Under certain conditions, externally conducted BA or MA theses are also permissible after review by the Dean's Office:
1) Supervision by a faculty member who is not a full member
Proper and timely registration before the start of the thesis is mandatory. The second opinion of an MA thesis must be written by a full member of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy.
The number of theses supervised by the university teacher may not exceed three in the case of BA theses and two in the case of MA theses.
2) Supervision of external work at other faculties, other universities or non-university institutions
Work carried out externally without direct supervision by a faculty-affiliated university lecturer on site is only permissible if there is scientific cooperation between the external working group and the supervising university lecturer or if the completion of the external work is of recognisable benefit to the faculty.
The supervising university teacher must be a full member of the faculty and be able to guarantee the feasibility of the work as well as regular supervision. The (initial) report prepared by him/her may be accompanied by a supplementary statement by the on-site supervisor. Proper registration with a declaration of consent from the supervising university teacher in good time before the start of the work is obligatory.
In total, the number of papers carried out in an external working group at the same time may not exceed two, regardless of how the supervision of these papers is distributed among different faculty members.
Exceptions to these guidelines are to be clarified by the Dean's Office in consultation with the Examination Committee.
3) Doctoral theses at the Faculty
For doctoral theses, the guidelines for MA theses under 2) and 3) apply accordingly. In particular, care should be taken to ensure that at least one university professor employed full-time at the faculty is represented on the respective committee.
