Examination Board Cognitive Systems

Contact modalities

Advice is given during the consulatation hours or by email email (eb-cogsys(at)uni-ulm.de). Please always provide a transcript of records listing all study and exam achievements (available on campusonline.uni-ulm.de). Depending on your case, further documents might be required (see below). Use your Ulm University email address for emails. 

Please pre-fill all forms as much as possible before contacting the examination board. For email attachments, please name the file(s) according to the following pattern [Surname]_[First name]_[YYYYMMDD]_[1,2,3,...].pdf, e.g. Denver_John_20200121_1.pdf.

The subject examination board does not provide individual academic advice, for example on how to plan your studies or choose a suitable study programme. Please contact one of our course advisors regarding these matters.

Remarks for Typical Requests

For students who are or were enrolled in a course in summer semester 2020, winter semester 2020/2021, summer semester 2021 or winter semester 2021/2022, the deadline for completing the course is extended by one semester for each of these semesters, but with a maximum of three semesters in total. The extension of the deadline was implemented by changing Section 32 (5a) of the State University Act (§32 Abs. 5a Landeshochschulgesetz).

Please take note of the instructions for conducting exams. For the computer science exams, the exam planning system gives an overview of the planning status. 

To apply for the recognition of achievements from other or previous study programmes and semesters abroad, please bring the following documents to your appointment and send them via email.

  1. The forms 'Application for recognition of academic achievements' and, if needed, 'Additional pages for the application for recognition of academic achievements' (see Recognizing Achievements) filled in according to our guidelines. Please take a look at the module handbook provided online in the HIS (university information system) and specify a rough classification, the specific module with number as well as the examination number as which you would like your achievements to be recognised and enter that information in the respective column on the right. The forms must be filled out as much as possible and submitted as pdf via email before your consultation. Before sending the document, please make sure that the information provided was saved correctly and that the files are editable and readable with Acrobat Reader.
  2. The transcripts of records for the previous and the current study programme. Externally gained achievements require certified proof. In some cases, an electronic verification process may be available.
  3. For achievements that are not listed in the module handbook as well as externally gained achievements you need to provide the respective module descriptions.

In principle all study achievements that are not older than ten years and that were not needed for admision in the currently studied programme may be recognised. According to the General Study Regulation of Ulm University, you have to engage into the recognition procedure until the end of one semester once you have started your (new) study programme or obtained a test result.

According to a decision of the examination board, students are classified in a higher semester if the sum of credit points of the recognised achievements attains 30 credit points. For integer multiples the classification is calculated accordingly. The increase is also triggered, if the sum of achievements attains relevant thresholds later throughout your entire studies.

Attention: Open examination processes cannot be closed by a recognition!
Example: You have already failed the examination 106 77 "Analysis I für Informatiker und Ingenieure" (Analysis for Computer Scientists and Engineers) and now try the exam 100 00 "Analysis I" (for mathematicians). Even if you pass the latter exam, we can not recognise it for the exam 106 77. A recognition is only possible if you have not yet tried the exam 106 77.
This was not handled correctly in the past and, for fairness, we will only enforce this from December 1st, 2020 onwards (this is an extension of the original deadline of July, 1st since due to the Corona pandemic the examination period was extended to cover the whole summer term).  
 

If you are planning a stay abroad via Eramus, please coordinate the Learning Agreement with our Erasmus coordinator Prof. Dr. Jacobo Torán. The subject-specific examination board is then only responsible for the recognition of the achievements agreed in the Learning Agreement after your return.

If you are planning a stay abroad as a free mover, you can clarify in advance with the subject-specific examination board which recognitions are possible and record them (similar to the Erasmus procedure) in a learning agreement.

The forms for the graduation grant (Studienabschussförderung) are processed by the student's office (Studiensekretariat). 

Generally, a thesis deadline can extended due to two different reasons for which the following documents are required:

  1. Extension due to subject-related reasons: The time limit may be extended for a maximum of four weeks for the Master’s thesis based on a well-founded application that outlines researched difficulties not cuased by the applicant. For this to be approved you need to provide the examination board with a detailed plan that shows which tasks are yet to be completed until the submission of the final thesis, how much time each of these require and when each of them will be done. This plan must be confirmed and signed by the supervising teacher
  2. Extension due to interruption of the thesis work: If you have to interrupt the work on your thesis through no fault of your own, e.g. due to your own illness, in the event of a first-degree death, illness of your own children, long-term care of a relative, an extension by the interruption period is possible. In the event of illness, a certificate (e.g. certificate of incapacity for work or sick leave) must be provided, which shows the exactly dated period in which you were unable to work, study or take an examination. The certificate has to be submitted without delays. The extension will be granted for this period. In other cases of a complete interruption of your work, you have to explain what interrupted your work completely and for how long. Suitable proof of this is to be given. Note that a complete interruption of all thesis work is needed for this kind of extension.

In both cases, you apply (without a special form) as soon as possible and always before the thesis deadline is reached. 

Please submit a transcript of records including all study and exam achievements. In the case of incapacitation due to illness, please provide the original attestation that certifies your temporary – with start and end date – inability  to study.

Attestations must be verified by a doctor but do not need to provide details on the type of illness.

Please contact the subject-specific examination board immediately, when it becomes clear that you are not able to obtain the required number of credits. An extension for reaching credit points can only be grantedif the reason for not obtaining sufficent credits is not your own fault. 

There is an official form (available in German and English, see 'Forms for students') for the attestation of a student's inability to attend an examination. This has the following reason: the final decision to acknowledge that a student was sufficiently incapacitated by their sickness to not attend an examination is not made by the treating doctor but the examination authority (as opposed to labour law, where it is the other way around).

This approach follows a judicial recommendation (Verwaltungsgericht Sigmaringen, administrative court) according to which it is admissible to request a description of the actual symptoms of illness from the treating doctor. This supposedly makes it easier to assess the submitted medical certificate and therefore the decision to acknowledge or dismiss the inability to attend an examination.
(Bruno Franz, Office of the Registrars, Circular from 27 October 2017)

Please bear these conditions in mind when applying for an extension of time limit. 

The subject-specific examination board has curated some guidelines regarding plagiarism.

We expect that you familiarise yourself with the general provisions and the subject-specific examination regulations for the MSc Cognitive Systems, but for your conveniance, the subject-specific examination board has summarised some important rules in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Throughout the consultation process and decision making, personal data is collected, stored, and processed.

It might be partially passed on to the following instances:

  • Members of the examination board, who are regularily employed, as well as their subordinates (office staff, e.g.) - entire file/case information
  • Relevant co-addressees of decisons (office of the registrar, Studierendenwerk, foreign universities, e.g.) - decision and transcript of records for recognitions of achievements

All documents relevant to a decision are stored both electronically and on paper for up to five years after the final exmatriculation at Ulm University and are thereafter expertly destroyed.

Consulation Hours

The exam board Cognitive Systems is available via email. In-person consultations are only offered on demand. Please check which documents are needed for your case (at least a transcript of records). 

Members

Professors
Prof. Dr. Marc Ernst (chair)
Prof. Dr. Birte Glimm (deputy)
Prof. Dr. Enrico Rukzio
Prof. Dr. Cornelia Herbert

Research Staff
Dr. Nicola Dominici
Daniel Schmid

Students
Leon Wallner