Tips for new students
Welcome to the University of Bayreuth! As a new student you can look forward to ideal study conditions that regularly achieve top marks in the official rankings. It’s not just careers that begin here, but also friendships. You will soon find your way around our friendly university. To make the start of your studies easier, we have compiled some tips and information on this site.
Studying is an exciting time in your life. Before you can really get started, there is still a lot to organize and certainly one or the other question that is on your mind. For this reason, the Central Student Advisory Service has created an information page with a lot of basic information about the start of your studies. There you will find, among other things, the dates for preliminary courses and introductory events, tips on creating a timetable, and an overview of all the counseling services offered by the University of Bayreuth.
Events and contacts for the start of studies
For all interested first-year students, the Central Student Advisory Service of the University of Bayreuth offers a digital information event on two to three alternative dates at the start of the semester. There you will learn, for example, how to find your way around campus, where to find the introductory event(s) for your degree program and why you need the campus card. In addition, you will get an initial overview of which documents are important for the preparation of your timetable, where to eat, how to access the WLAN or books, and where you can find a lot more information. There will also be time for your questions.
Some departments and degree programmes offer first-year students the opportunity to refresh their knowledge, especially in the field of mathematics, before the start of the lecture period. As a rule, the preliminary courses last one to two weeks. Registration is not necessary.
Online Mathematics Bridging Course OMB+
Whether you are studying engineering, economics, science or computer science, mathematics plays an important role in many degree programmes. For independent preparation, you can also use an external online offer: the Online Mathematics Bridging Course OMB+.
The OMB+ consists of 10 chapters and 3 additional modules, each containing the following components: Recap of the mathematical content with explanatory texts and interactive images, exercises, training tasks, quizzes for comprehension and "final exams". All concepts are explained in the course and therefore no additional aids are necessary. The course is designed to take a total of about 60 hours to complete. The OMB+ offers the greatest possible flexibility: work can be done online where, when and how often it is individually desired. All that is needed is an Internet connection with a standard browser. Students can choose to learn alone or together with other course participants in a virtual tutorial.
As a special bonus, a specially trained team of tutors is available daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. - even at weekends - at the OMB+ call centre to answer any questions about the course.
The study support is your direct contact point in the faculty. At the beginning of the semester, this event helps you to get answers to faculty-specific questions about starting your studies. It is only offered at the beginning of the winter semester. Participation is voluntary.
Each degree programme and each teaching subject offers its own introductory event. These usually take place around the beginning of the lecture period, i.e. about two to three weeks after the start of the semester. You should definitely attend the introductory events. Here you will not only get to know important contact persons for your studies, you will often also receive a ready-made timetable and valuable tips on planning your studies.
The enrolment hour is a university-wide event right at the beginning of the lecture period. Take the opportunity to get to know your future fellow students in a relaxed atmosphere and find out which student initiatives suit you. Because with your commitment, you make our university even more colourful, liveable and lovable!
There is a "Welcome Event" for the new students of the three degree programmes in Kulmbach. It takes place before the general Enrolment Hour, in the Dr. Stammberger Hall.
The orientation weeks prepare new international students for studying in Bayreuth and Kulmbach with a focus on intercultural aspects, explain the infrastructure and processes of the university and impart important regional knowledge about Germany. Thus, they represent a central element of the first weeks in Bayreuth and Kulmbach and help to successfully and positively shape the beginning of their studies. Participation in these events is compulsory for all international students!
For further information, please send an email to welcomeservices@uni-bayreuth.de.
The Student Representatives also offer new students a wide range of events to help them get to know each other. These range from a welcome event to campus tours, pub crawls and city rallies to first semester weekends and buddy programmes. This makes making contacts child's play.
Sitting in the sun on the Rondell, eating together in the Cafeteria, first-year events, pub crawls, and flat-warming parties – in Bayreuth there are many opportunities to take part in student life and meet new people. But you can also connect virtually:
As a digital alternative for social campus life, some students have set up a Discord server to exchange ideas and make new contacts in an informal way. Online events such as game nights, discussion groups, and other virtual campus culture take place regularly. University initiatives can also be reached via this channel. The offer is free and voluntary; a download is not necessary.
- Feel like getting involved? The University group Enactus Bayreuth e.V. has opened the Instagram account @hochschulgruppen_bayreuth, where many University groups introduce themselves. Take a look, find out about the various University initiatives, and get inspired by the sheer diversity of the University of Bayreuth!
The most important information and tips
Be sure: You will soon know your bt user identification inside out! You will find it on the back of your University of Bayreuth Campus Card (bt...). With the bt user identification, you can authenticate yourself with all online services of the University, for example e-mail, VPN, intranet, e-learning, MyFiles etc..
All students at the University of Bayreuth receive a campus card. You can use it for many different services. Among other things, it serves as a ticket for public transport, as a library card, and for cashless payments in the Cafeteria. You will receive your Campus Card by post after successful enrolment. Before the start of each new semester, the card must be re-validated, for example in the Central University Administration building or the Central Library.
cmlife is your central point of contact for the administration of your studies. With your bt user ID and the password you have set, you can log in and register for courses and exams, create your timetable, or print out certificates. You can find an overview of the self-service functions for students on the homepage of the Student Administration Office. You can also log in here with your ID and password.
A manual and a help page on how to use cmlife are linked below. If you have general questions about cmlife, the Campus Management Office will be happy to help.
The e-Learning platform enables the virtual exchange of information and materials, and the handing in of submissions.
Also of interest: Students have the opportunity to take online courses from various providers. The examination board of your degree programme will decide on their crediting.
Information for first-time users and on coronavirus-related restrictions in the University Library and the departmental libraries can be found on the website of the Bayreuth University Library.
A lot of content is accessible electronically off campus for University members (incl. students), such as the comprehensive range of e-books, electronic journals, or databases. To further reduce the load on the VPN service, it is currently no longer necessary to activate a VPN client for library searches from off campus. Instructions for activating the Proxy Add-on in the Firefox browser can be found under this link.
Fancy learning a new language? The Sprachenzentrum at the University of Bayreuth makes it easy for you to take language courses to complement your studies. And the selection is impressive: from ancient languages such as Ancient Greek and Latin to world languages such as English, Spanish, or French, to rarely offered languages such as Bambara, Hausa, and Swahili.
Sometimes the abbreviations that are commonplace for senior students and University employees cause confusion for first-year students. When we talk about RW, AI, Geo, or GW, we are referring to the buildings on campus. To help you find your way around, we recommend that you take a look at the campus map. By the way, the map is printed in miniature on the back of your campus card!
Also good to know is that you will often find the abbreviation c.t., the so-called academic quarter hour, next to the course details. It indicates that the course scheduled for "6 p.m. c.t." does not start until 6:15 p.m.. The abbreviation s.t., on the other hand, stands for "sine tempore", meaning that the course scheduled for "18 s.t." actually starts at 6 pm.
UniNow makes it easy for you to organise your everyday university life. Whether it's e-mails, appointments, the cafeteria menu, or your current grades, you'll find everything clearly arranged and up-to-date in your app. UniNow has been certified by the TÜV technical inspection agency, and meets the recognised requirements for software quality in terms of functionality and data protection/data security. The campus app is available as a free Apple or Android version.
With Scrit, you receive important messages from the University of Bayreuth directly on your mobile phone, for example, if a storm will prevents you from attending classes. Messages via Scrit are sent to specific target groups. For you, this means no "spam", but only messages that really concern you.
As an internationally active university, we in Bayreuth are continuously working to improve the general conditions for everyone on campus. That's why we attach great importance to students actively participating in the opinion- and decision-making process. Of course, there are sometimes differences of opinion, but at the end of the day, constructive cooperation always prevails.
Maybe you would like to get involved in the Student Parliament (StuPa) or work on one of the faculty commissions. If you would like to find out more about StuPa or one of the working groups, the best thing to do is to get in touch with one of the Student Parliament contacts.
Student Advising will be happy to help you. You can find a lot of useful information under the heading "First-year students". The Student Administration Office has also compiled important information about starting your studies online for you.
You can also find the latest information from the IT Service Centre on the use of digital services and IT solutions at the University of Bayreuth.
Digital on campus
You can't be at the University of Bayreuth (yet)? No problem! Just click your way across campus virtually.