In the penultimate semester before graduation piles up on most of the piles to be settled. Also the to-do lists regarding the master are constantly filled with reminder notes. So that you still keep the overview and at the transition from Bachelor to Master nothing goes wrong, we have a checklist for you.

Good time management for master preparation

1. Observe the examination regulations

For a good overview you should at the latest in the penultimate semester check whether all services have been registered or note down, which are still outstanding, so you end up experiencing no nasty surprise and the study program change is in danger. In addition, it makes sense to write down all the modules with the number of events to be attended in order to be able to see at a glance how many seminars and lectures are still to come.

2. Planning: observe deadlines!

One semester at the latest before graduation you should think about which subjects you would like to study in the master’s degree. Because the NC subjects are generally subject to a registration period, which is endowed three to four months before the end of the semester. For admission-free you can, however, still enroll shortly before the semester. It is important to note that you have to re-apply for each Master and even with the same university and subject combination no automatic transition after obtaining the Bachelor degree and payment of the semester fee.

3. Prefer Master Courses

Students who do not change to university will have the option of having a certain number of master’s courses if they have enough ECTS credits. This makes sense especially if there are only a few bachelor’s seminars left in the last semester. Because either the study time of the master can be shortened or the stress in the last master’s semester can be prevented.

4. BA thesis registration – topic search – choice of lecturer

Early enough you should think about the Bachelor thesis. Because the time in the last semester passes faster than you think, and thus the deadline for the Bachelor’s work application is approaching. While the topic does not need to be finalized at the time of enrollment, lecturers must also be chosen in relation to the topic. In addition, it should be noted that some instructors have certain requirements to take over the correction. For example, this may be at least one written paper submitted to the lecturer within a seminar he has given. In addition, there are certain guidelines regarding the academic degree to which the two correctors must be selected.

5. Create schedule

In order to ensure that there is no transition into the Master, you should also inform yourself soon enough about the processing and correction time of the Bachelor thesis and accordingly plan the start and deadline. For some degree programs there is also an oral defense after the bachelor work, which also has to take place within the last Bachelor’s semester.

6. Correcting the Bachelor thesis

In some universities, the lecturers are granted a correction time of the bachelor thesis over several months. In order not to let this time pass uselessly, it makes sense to inform yourself at the beginning of the last Bachelor’s semester about the period in order to be able to plan specifically. For example, applicants can apply in advance for internships in order to complete the compulsory internship for the Master or a voluntary job-orientated internship during the correction period.

Transition from Bachelor to Master: Check the financial position prior to the Master’s program

7. Funding of the Master’s program by BAföG

In order to continue seamlessly between the change of study course, an application has to be submitted at the latest in the first month of the master’s program which, among other things, contains a certificate of enrollment for the master’s program and a certificate from the university confirming the passing of all examinations of the bachelor’s program. It can also be an advantage to ask this one month in advance. Because if one month lies between the date of the last Bachelor examination and the start of the Master program, there will be a financial support during this period.

8. Health and care insurance from 25 years

For some students, due to their age in the transitional period from Bachelor to Master, this is also an issue. The following applies: After reaching the age of 25, every student studying at a state or state-recognized university must take out insurance themselves. So it ends the free family insurance and now it is up to the students to decide whether they want to insure themselves legally or privately.

9. Child benefit in the master’s program

Master’s students who are not yet 25 years of age still receive. However, as in the bachelor’s program, no more than 20 hours per week may be worked alongside the studies, otherwise the entitlement to child benefit is waived. For students over the age of 25, however, this only applies in a few exceptional cases. These could be:

Legislative military service or civilian service was provided in advance

Voluntary military service for max. three years was completed

Activity as a development worker, which led to the liberation of the basic military or civil service, was perpetrated

The duration of one of these activities after the age of 25 influences the period, which is further financed by child allowance. However, since compulsory military service no longer exists since 1 July 2011, no voluntary military service or federal voluntary service can be claimed as a reason for further payment of the child benefit after this date.

Constanze Knahl and Benjamin Stark have been on a common mission since the bachelor’s degree: they want to improve information management in the healthcare sector. For that, both of them got a coveted Fulbright scholarship for their masters in the USA. Here they explain how to master the application.

Sun, beach and super computer for 32,000 euros

Constanze Knahl (23) and Benjamin Stark (25) have been pursuing the same goal since becoming acquainted with the bachelor “Health Information Management” at the Universities of Ulm and Neu–Ulm: “We want to optimize the interaction between IT, medicine and business administration in order to to make better decisions with regard to patients “. Now she has led the way together to America.

The two friends are currently doing their masters in “Innovation & Technology” at Florida Polytechnic University. He specializes in big data and she focuses on medical informatics. In Lakeland, they not only benefit from the modern equipment with supercomputers & Co., but also in their spare time that the beach is less than an hour away. Without a scholarship from the Fulbright Commission, however, the master’s degree would not have been possible in the US; the cost of tuition fees alone will be around 32,000 euros. The online application for the Fulbright program was not that complicated at first, according to Benjamin.

Info documents for application to the Fulbright Commission

• “Study Objective” Writing: What are the goals of studying? What interests do you want to pursue? How does the program you want to choose fit into the past and future goals?
• “Personal Statement” writing: description of the family background, intellectual development, special skills, interests and goals, commitment and how to understand his role as Ambassador in the US
• Letter of recommendation from two professors
• curriculum vitae
• Constanze Knahl and Benjamin Stark
• Constanze & Benjamin | Photo: private
• The selection day in Berlin

The more difficult thing was to prepare for the interviews in Berlin. “One has no idea what is being asked and is preparing for standard questions about the US, for example, presidents or states,” explains Constanze. Since the questions were ultimately much more detailed, the tip of the two is: “Keep up to date with what’s going on around the world with the US, and formulate your own opinion on these issues.”

Although they perceived the competition as “very strong and super–intelligent,” and it was a real “head–to–head” race, their ability to work in the team was crucial to the commitment. “We worked very well together in our interview group and had good discussions,” the two reflect. Her volunteer work and a semester abroad including an internship in Nottingham – which the two of them have already completed together – will have contributed to the successful application.

Since it was clear to both of them from the outset that they would not be able to make the leap across the pond without others, they finally had to shiver: “Only when Benjamin got his letter with the pledge, I was already disappointed, because I I thought it would not work for me. ” Fortunately, Constanze had good mail three days later. And now they can study in America until August – and revolutionize healthcare.

InfoThe Fulbright Scholarship short & concise

The Germany–America program is the largest of all Fulbright programs.

In 2015, for example, 375 Germans were supported.

It enables qualified students, for example, a master in the US.

Services include: flights, visa, participation in living expenses and tuition fees, seminar offers.

Next application period: end of April to end of June 2019

Go straight to work after completing a bachelor’s degree? Or maybe add a master? Why is it? With a dual Master, you have the best of your studies and career.

Study or job? Both!

Those who can not decide for themselves whether a master’s degree or direct job entry is the better way for the future should consider a dual master’s degree. With a dual master’s program, you can kill two birds with one stone, because it’s a combination of study and job.

Dual Master and dual Bachelor do not differ in principle: theory and practice alternate. Studying at a university gives you theoretical knowledge, which you then put into practice in the company.

The division of the dual study depends on the university: The most common is the model, in which theory and practice are divided into separate blocks. But it is also possible that you study at the university a few days a week and some work in the company.

An almost normal study

A dual Master is as full a degree as a normal full-time Master. Just as in the full-time model, the dual master is consecutively oriented, meaning that it is based on a subject-specific Bachelor’s degree. However, the professional competences acquired in the course of study are combined with practical work experience in the company.

Even otherwise, the dual master is fundamentally structured like the full-time master. It usually takes four semesters, sometimes one semester shorter, and ends with a master’s thesis. Normally, this should have a relation to the company in which you work.

Dual is coming

In contrast to the dual bachelor program, the dual master model is not yet widespread. That’s why the range of courses and companies is still quite limited. In the technology, business and social sectors, the dual master has so far been offered most frequently.

The need for qualified employees with work experience is constantly increasing, so it is to be expected that more and more industries and universities will offer a dual master in the future. Since the model offers many advantages for both students and companies, it is also expected that the offer will be expanded.