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The standard period of study for the degree programme is seven semesters, including the final semester in which the Bachelor's thesis is written.

Upon successful completion of the programme, you will be awarded the academic degree "Bachelor of Laws" (LL.B.).

The application for the degree programme Social Law takes place via the Hochschule Fulda. Information on the admission procedure (especially deadlines and forms) can be found on the homepage of our student advisory service at the Hochschule Fulda.

All in all, we recommend that students in higher semesters (e.g. those who have changed their place of study, those who have re-entered the university or those who have changed their course of studies) always seek advice from the study office of our university about the application and enrolment process in general and from the programme coordinator about the Social Law programme. If competences acquired at another university (e.g. in the context of a law degree) are to be recognised as equivalent to competences of the social law degree programme, the chairperson of the examination board will help you. You can find more information on the recognition procedure directly under this section.

If you have already completed coursework and examinations in another degree programme (e.g. a law degree), the question often arises as to whether such achievements can be credited.

In principle, this is possible for equivalent achievements. According to Section 18, Paragraph 5 of the Hessian Higher Education Act (HHG), study and examination achievements which have been completed at another higher education institution (or university) are recognised if there is no significant difference between them and the achievements they are intended to replace (equivalence).

For the equivalence, it is not important that the module/lecture/seminar of the other university and the University of Applied Sciences Fulda are called identical. The decisive factor is whether the competence(ies) acquired at the other university through the course and examination performance are equivalent to the competences to be replaced in the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. Which competences you acquire in the respective module of the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law can be found in the respective module description. There you will find the qualification goal and the contents of the module. You can compare these with the contents and objectives of the study/examination regulations of the degree programme in which you have already acquired competences.

For credit/recognition, a written application must be submitted to the examination board for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law. The application must be submitted to the secretary's office of the SK department, who will forward it and the required documents to the chairperson of the examination board.

In addition to the completed Application are

• the certificates of the achievements of the other higher education institution and
• the study/examination regulations of the other degree programme you have already studied and whose achievements you wish to have recognised as equivalent. It is important that the study/examination regulations are from the year of the study/examination to be recognised. For example, if you want to have an achievement from 2012 recognised, you must submit the study regulations and/or examination regulations of the year 2012 of the degree programme from which the achievement originated.

Once the application has been submitted, the chairperson checks whether all the necessary information for the assessment of equivalence is available. The persons responsible for the modules of the social law degree programme which are to be replaced by the achievements at another university shall give an opinion on the application if there is no fixed decision practice of the examination board. The latter exists only for individual partial aspects of law studies at universities. The chairperson of the committee will provide more detailed information.

The application is then discussed and decided upon by the committee. The decision is made in a closed session of the examination committee. The chairperson issues the decision in the form of a notice. A copy of the decision is sent to the Office of Student Affairs.

If examination achievements are credited, the grades are to be taken over - if necessary according to an equivalence regulation - and included in the calculation of the overall grade. Modules which do not show a grade are to be recognised with the assessment "participated with success" and are not to be taken into account in the calculation of the overall grade. Recognised modules which have been completed at other universities are to be shown in the supplementary certificate (as an attachment to the transcript). The details of this declaration can be found in Annex 3 of the General Provisions for Examination Regulations at Fulda University of Applied Sciences.

In law studies, two achievements (e.g. term paper and written examination) with two grades are sometimes achieved in one course (e.g. in an exercise). For example, the competences in the exercise in civil law are acquired through a successful term paper and a successful written examination. For the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law, however, only one module can be replaced by this. For the conversion of the examination results from the example case, the two individual grades in points from the university studies are now added to a total score and then divided by the factor 2. The total number of points calculated in this way is converted into an overall grade for the module of the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law at Fulda University of Applied Sciences for which recognition is granted.

For the crediting of grades by points from the law degree programme to modules for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law, the Examination Committee applies the following equivalence table:

Case: Double degree or change of subject at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. In the case of a double degree programme or change of subject, can I have achievements from one subject area credited in the other subject area?

The examination board of the new degree programme chosen by the student is responsible for such questions. On enquiries about significant differences in the acquired competences (so-called equivalence of module achievements) of the Social Law degree programme with module achievements of another degree programme of Fulda University of Applied Sciences, a statement on equivalence is to be submitted on request of the deciding examination board. The same can be done at the request of a student.

The statement is issued by the professor who is appointed as the module representative. If necessary, it is given after consultation with the teacher who conducted the relevant examination of the student's competence(s). After this consultation, the professor responsible for the module comments on whether, in his/her view, there are significant differences in the competences acquired in the respective module of the degree programme Social Law in comparison to the module to which the achievements are to be credited. This is a recommendatory statement to the examination board responsible for the decision.

The final decision on the recognition of the module achievements is exclusively incumbent on the examination board of the other degree programme (receiving degree programme).

The study programme is divided into a basic study programme and a main study programme. The latter also includes a one-semester practical training programme (BPS).

In order to terminate your studies, you must submit the completed application for exmatriculation to the Office of Student Affairs.

Exmatriculation can take place at your own request, ex officio or regularly by terminating your studies. When exmatriculation comes into effect, you lose your status as a student and thus also your rights and obligations as such.

You can find more information on exmatriculation at: https://www.hs-fulda.de/studieren/mein-studium/studium-organisieren/exmatrikulation/?L=0

Further information on exmatriculation is available from the Office of Student Affairs (Ms. Saskia Goldmann, Building 10, Room 103). You can find the application for exmatriculation is requested via horstl.

You can get an overview of horstl to get an overview. At the university, horstl serves as a module, examination and organisation system. Here you can register for and deregister from courses and exams online, view grade overviews and print out certificates (including study certificates). You can access horstl here.

The basic study programme lasts four semesters.

According to the examination regulations, the basic studies comprise the modules M 1 - M 5, M 7 - M 9 and M 12.

You can find a study plan as Annex 1 of the examination regulations for the degree programme in Social Law.

According to the standard period of study, the main course of study comprises three semesters (5th - 7th semester), of which one semester is usually spent in practical vocational studies (BPS).

Yes. Since winter semester 2018/2019, all students of the Social Law programme have the opportunity to choose two of four elective specialisations. The options are: social services law, social insurance law, specialisation in health law and migration social law. The specialisations can be chosen after the professional internship and extend over two semesters (6th and 7th semester). Together with the professional internship or the study abroad and with the Bachelor's thesis, the topic of which can also be chosen from the specialisation, you can thus form a profile or specialisation in social law.

The prerequisite for starting the BPS is the successful completion of five modules from modules 2 (Legal Methodology and Fundamentals of Civil Law), 3 (Constitutional Law), 4 (Social Law and Social Policy), 5a (Theory and Practice of Social Communication), 7 (Administrative Procedure and Administrative Process Law) and 8 (Social Law).

The BPS takes place in the 5th semester and lasts six months.

The practical semester serves to get to know the respective institution and the special tasks that graduates of the degree programme will face in their future professional work.

The qualification goals of the BPS are:

• Development of field competence, in particular knowledge of the professional field for social lawyers including the acquisition of experience in concrete organisations and working relationships.
• Application of the qualifications acquired in the basic studies in institutions and companies,
• In particular, development of confidence in one's own ability to handle specific cases and also to familiarise oneself with new areas of law.

The university shall endeavour to provide the required number of practical placements with suitable institutions and companies (hereinafter referred to as "practical placements") in good time. Taking into account the requirements for the practical semester of study, the students shall also propose their own practical places, which will be examined for their suitability.

In accordance with the examination regulations for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law, the BPS is to be completed at institutions and companies in Germany and abroad, in particular at:

• Social insurance institutions
• Local authorities
• Other social service providers
• Welfare organisations
• Other social service providers, e.g. hospitals
• Law firms
• Companies, trade unions
• Social welfare associations and other associations with social law interests
• Social law policy institutions.

The list is not exhaustive, so that in principle institutions not mentioned may also be permissible as practice places. When selecting the practical placement, it must be ensured that the tasks and objectives of the BPS, as prescribed by the examination regulations for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law, can be achieved (cf. § 2 of Annex 2 of the examination regulations for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law). Please be sure to consult the responsible module supervisor for the BPS on these questions.

The examination regulations for the Social Law degree programme provide for the working hours of a full-time employee. A scope exceeding this is possible depending on the employment relationship and must be agreed individually with the internship office.

The BPS is prepared, accompanied and followed up by the university. For this purpose, an accompanying seminar with 2 SWS must be completed. In this context, practical placements are also introduced that are already part of a pool of placements that the Fulda University of Applied Sciences has built up for students and is continuously expanding. The subject of the preparation is, among other things, the writing of applications, possible procedures and contents of job interviews, the negotiation of contractual conditions, behaviour at the internship site, etc.

This depends on the employer. In principle, employees are entitled to a wage under German labour law. However, special regulations apply to interns according to the Minimum Wage Act. Since the BPS is a compulsory internship based on a provision of higher education law (the examination regulations for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law), the employer is not obliged to remunerate the internship according to the Minimum Wage Act.

The Federal Leave Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz, BurlG) also applies to interns, according to which full-time employees are entitled to the statutory minimum leave of 24 working days per calendar year for a six-day week (five working days for a five-day week). This entitlement is not contractually negotiable.

No, not on the part of the university. However, the BPS can be a door-opener to a future employer, which is why it is worthwhile to make an effort to obtain a very good, qualified employer's reference.

Generally not. An exception may only be granted in exceptional cases, which must be explained and justified. Information on this can be obtained from the responsible module supervisor and the examination board of the degree programme.

In exceptional cases, the duration of the BPS can be shortened. Information on this can be obtained from the person responsible for the BPS module and the examination board of the degree programme.

As a rule, the examinations in the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law take place in the first two weeks of the lecture-free period, whereby, in principle, Saturday may also be set as an examination day. The examination board may also set examination dates outside this period. The examination registration periods as well as the examination dates, the examination venue and the duration of the examination are announced by the Office of Student Affairs. Special regulations apply to Bachelor's theses (cf. the topic Bachelor's thesis).

Where do I register for the exams?

Registration takes place during the exam registration phase (link to the study office) via <link studieren mein-studium studium-organisieren horstl internal link in current>horstl.

During the examination registration period, this can be done online without any problems. After the end of the registration period, there is no possibility to make any changes at horstl. Withdrawal from the examination is then only permitted with a valid reason, which the student must submit to the examination board immediately (=not without culpable hesitation). Upon written application, the board decides by written decision after the reasons have been explained and substantiated (e.g. in the case of the death of a close relative). A copy of the decision is sent to the Office of Student Affairs. The same applies if the examination date is missed. The examination is then deemed not to have been taken.

If you are ill, you must submit a declaration of incapacity for examinations to the study office online as soon as possible. The form is stored in horstl. You can find more information on examination incapacity here. If the inability to take the exam is recognised, the exam is deemed not to have been taken. Otherwise, the examination attempt in which you did not take part will be assessed as failed and you will lose one of your three attempts.

Yes, please bring your valid student ID with you. The identity check is often carried out during the exam. Put your ID on your desk so that it is clearly visible and you are not disturbed unnecessarily while taking the exam.

The examination regulations for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law do not provide for a shortening of the correction time (fast correction) for written examinations and the final thesis, as generally allowed by the General Regulations for Examination Regulations of Fulda University of Applied Sciences.

According to the General Regulations, written examinations must be marked no later than two weeks after the start of lectures of the following semester, final theses no later than 8 weeks.

The grades for the individual examination performances are determined by the respective examiners. According to § 16 Para. 2 of the General Provisions for Examination Regulations at Fulda University of Applied Sciences, a performance is graded with "5 = not sufficient" if the performance no longer meets the requirements due to considerable deficiencies.

In the case of examinations according to the answer-choice procedure, § 15 of the General Provisions for Examination Regulations at Fulda University of Applied Sciences applies.

Failure to attend an examination with sufficient excuse or withdrawal without good reason may also result in the examination being assessed as failed. § Section 19 of the General Provisions for Examination Regulations of Fulda University of Applied Sciences provides for corresponding regulations. According to this, an examination performance is assessed as "not sufficient" (5.0) if the student misses an examination date without good reason or if he or she withdraws from the examination after the start of the examination without good reason. The same applies if a written examination performance is not completed within the specified processing time.

A student who disrupts the orderly conduct of the examination may be excluded from continuing the examination by the respective examiner or invigilator. In this case, the examination performance in question will be graded as "not sufficient" (5.0).

If an examination has not been passed, this examination can be repeated a maximum of twice (cf. § 20 Para. 2 P. 1 General Regulations for Examination Regulations of Fulda University of Applied Sciences). Repeat examinations are usually offered every semester. Failed examinations must be registered within a period of 2 semesters after the semester in which the unsuccessful attempt took place. Crediting of maternity leave periods according to the MuSchG as well as parental leave periods are possible upon application (cf. in more detail § 21 of the General Provisions for Examination Regulations of Fulda University of Applied Sciences).

No. The free attempt means the voluntary repetition of a passed examination, which is sought by students for the purpose of improving their grades, for example. § Section 20, paragraph 4 of the General Provisions for Examination Regulations of Fulda University of Applied Sciences provides for the possibility that the examination regulations can make provisions for the free attempt. The examination regulations of the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law have not made use of this possibility. A free attempt is therefore not possible.

The Dean's Office. It also sets and announces the examination periods and the registration deadlines for the examinations. The announcement is made via the examination schedule. The Dean's Office may delegate these tasks to the examination board or its chairing member.

The examination board is responsible for the proper conduct of the examinations. It ensures that the provisions of the relevant examination regulations are observed and decides on questions of interpretation of the examination regulations in case of doubt. It also makes suggestions for reforming the examination regulations. In addition, it decides on all examination matters which are not assigned to another body or committee or to the chairing member by law, regulations or statutes.

In particular, it is responsible for the following tasks:

• Deciding on examination admissions
• Approval of the conduct of examinations in the answer-choice procedure
• Decision in the case of multiple or serious attempts at cheating
• Decisions in cases of missed examinations, withdrawal from examinations and disruption of examinations
• Decisions on the re-examination
• Decision in the event of exceeding the time limit for re-examinations
• Decisions on the recognition of modules
• Decisions on the recognition of competences acquired outside of higher education institutions
• Decisions on the suspension of the time allowed for the completion of the final dissertation
• Decisions on student appeals against the examination procedure and examination decisions in accordance with § 30 Para. 2 of the General Provisions for Examination Regulations at Fulda University of Applied Sciences, insofar as these appeals are not to be remedied.

The list is not exhaustive.

You must have successfully completed all modules of the basic studies (M 1 - M 5, M 7 - M 9 and M 12); it is recommended that you have previously acquired all the competences taught in modules 17 (studium generale), 20 (civil procedure law), 21 (management of social institutions) and 22 (extrajudicial conflict resolution in social law).

The student can propose the first examiner and the second examiner for his/her thesis. At least one examiner must be a professor at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. In addition, academic staff who have been commissioned with the independent performance of teaching duties, lecturers and lecturers for special tasks are entitled to take examinations. Insofar as the dean of the faculty has commissioned a person experienced in professional practice and education to take an examination, this person may also be proposed as an examiner.

According to the Higher Education Act of Hesse (in the version of 30.11.2015, GVBl. p. 510), examination performances may only be assessed by persons who themselves possess at least the qualification to be determined by the examination or an equivalent qualification. Persons from outside the subject area are therefore not permitted to act as examiners.

The Bachelor's thesis must be registered with the central examination office (Studienbüro, Ms. Boch). The study office will check whether you meet the requirements for registration.

You can find the registration form for the Bachelor thesis here.

No. Registration can take place continuously during the opening hours of the Office of Student Affairs. The previous practice that registration was only possible on the 1st of each month has been abolished.

The topic of the thesis shall be determined by the examiner; the student shall be given the opportunity to submit proposals. There is no entitlement to consideration of the suggestions. The topic is assigned via the study office. The date of issue, the topic as well as the processing period until submission shall be recorded in the study office.

The topic, assignment and scope of the thesis shall be limited by the examiner in such a way that the deadline for completion of the thesis can be met.

The processing time is 9 weeks.

The processing period begins with the receipt of the admission by the Office of Studies by simple letter (usually 3 days after registration of the Bachelor thesis with the Office of Studies). The letter contains the topic of the thesis, names the first and second examiners and the deadline for completion.

The theme can only be returned once and only within one month of issue.

If you need an extension for your Bachelor's thesis, you must submit an application to the examination board with a statement of reasons. You must have this application signed by your supervising professor. The examination board of the degree programme decides on the extension of the processing time. You can find an application for an extension here.

The General Provisions for Examination Regulations of Fulda University of Applied Sciences provide for a suspension of the processing period (cf. 24, Para. 3). According to this, the processing time is suspended if there are reasons for delay for which the student is not responsible. If the processing time is suspended for longer than three months, the thesis shall be deemed not to have been undertaken; the student shall be assigned a new thesis after the reasons for the suspension have ceased to exist. The decisions are made by the examination board.

For the Social Law degree programme, no extension application is necessary in this case, as the processing time of 9 weeks is extended by the number of working days during which the university library is officially closed during the processing period. This applies in particular to the Christmas holidays.

The thesis must be submitted in duplicate in paper form to the Office of Student Affairs by the deadline. An exclusively electronic transmission of the thesis or a transmission of the thesis by telecommunication devices is excluded.

Except in the case of examinations, an electronic version of the examination paper or thesis must be submitted at the same time in order to fulfil archiving obligations. Another electronic version of the examination performance or thesis must be submitted anonymously (without the cover sheet and other passages containing personal data) for the purpose of plagiarism control in a manner determined by the university.

The examination regulations for the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law do not provide for a shortening of the correction time (quick correction) for the final thesis, as the General Regulations for Examination Regulations of Fulda University of Applied Sciences generally allow. According to the General Regulations, final theses "must" be assessed after 8 weeks at the latest.

If the Bachelor's thesis is not passed, it may be repeated once (cf. § 26 Para. 2 of the General Provisions for Examination Regulations of Fulda University of Applied Sciences). In the case of a repetition, the topic of the thesis may only be returned if the student has not yet made use of this option when writing his or her first thesis.

For the Bachelor's degree programme in Social Law, each student has the choice of completing a professional internship or a semester abroad in the 5th semester.

If the practical module is replaced by a semester abroad, the expected contents and their creditability should be bindingly clarified before the start of the semester abroad within the framework of an individual Learning Agreement (LA). The Learning Agreement often consists of two parts: an LA from the Erasmus+ programme of the EU (please ask Marek Liwoch for this) and a compulsory agreement (Learnings Agreement) with the examination board.

The "Learning Agreement" agrees on the subjects or modules to be taken at the university abroad between the student, Fulda University of Applied Sciences and the university abroad. The coursework and/or examinations to be taken at the higher education institution abroad are based on what is offered there. The higher education institution abroad decides on the admission to the examination for the performances agreed in the "Learning Agreement".

Part of the learning agreement with the department is the obligation to write an internship report in either English or German. You will earn five credit points for this, which do not have to be verified by examinations abroad.

If you do not bring 25 points from your studies abroad, these can be replaced on the basis of an agreement with the examination board. The examination board decides on the application for substitution. The following can be considered: a six-week professional internship in Germany during the lecture-free period and/or a written term paper on a system or legal comparison.

Marek Liwoch answers all organisational questions about studying abroad. He also knows about possible scholarships (e.g. Erasmus+). The recognition of study and/or examination achievements is carried out exclusively by the examination board.