Your Studies

You can complete your degree in either 6 semesters (full-time) or 8 semesters (part-time). Your studies start with an introductory day.

Start of studies

  • Autumn semester: week 38 (mid-September)
  • Spring semester: week 8 (middle of February)

The introductory day takes place in the autumn semester in week 37 and in the spring semester in week 7. The exact dates of the introductory days are communicated directly by the Secretariat of the respective degree programmes.

Annual structure

Autumn semester (from week 38 on)

  • Semester duration: 14 weeks (mid-September to Christmas)
  • Intensive week: during week 45
  • Exam period: Early January to early February

Spring semester (from week 8 on)

  • Semester duration: 15 weeks (mid-February to early June)
  • Intensive week: during week 14
  • Exam period: mid-June to early July

Timetable

You will receive further information about your timetable and the class list at the beginning of June (start of studies in autumn) or mid-January (start of studies in spring)

Credits

The number of credits indicates how much course work is expected.

One ECTS point (European Credit Transfer System) represents approximately 30 hours of student work for an average student.

A 3 ECTS module corresponds to 90 hours of student work.

The workload includes course attendance as well preparation and follow-up work, e.g. reading texts, exam preparation or group work.

Based on the ECTS, you can plan the workload for a module in advance and know how your grades will be weighted.
For your overall grade, this means that the grade of the bachelor thesis counts twice as much as that of a normal module.

In order to successfully complete the Bachelor’s programme at the FHNW, you must earn a total of 180 ECTS points.

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