The study program and credit points
The study program is designed to be completed in one year and is based on credit points (CPs).
You need to collect 60 CPs to complete the program and get your degree.
To see how this can be done in 2 semesters, see the exemplary timeline below.
The CPs are distributed over:
The mandatory modules are, well… mandatory. You need to take these two modules to complete the program. These modules are offered at the Institute of Pharmacy and are:
1) Current Topics of Pharmaceutical Research (every semester)
2) Key Qualifications to Pharmaceutical Research (only summer semesters)
Elective modules can be used to customize your study program to your personal interests. These modules are often part of different master programs at FU Berlin and you can freely combine these.
You need to select a number x of different modules, since each module can count with a different number of CPs. Therefore, you need to complete enough modules to get a total of 10 CPs.
These modules can be distributed over different semesters. Elective modules can only be selected from a list of approved modules as shown in the electronic course catalog.
See selection of modules and registration.
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The research project will be your first hands-on experience in the lab.
In this stage you will be working on a project regarding current pharmaceutical research.
For this, you will be closely supervised by a lab member (e.g. a PhD student, PostDoc) to gain valuable experience.
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In your master’s thesis you will work on your own individual research project.
Exemplary Timelines: Structuring your studies
The study program is designed to be completed in 2 semesters, i.e. 1 year.
Not all modules are offered every semester
The study time of 2 semesters includes the time in between the lecture blocks, i.e. the “semester breaks”. Here, in the time where no lectures take place, the research projects and your master thesis can be completed. The study schedule can be adjusted to your personal requirements and preferences. Since not all modules and courses are available in each semester, your timeline might look different from your peers who started in a different semester. See the images below for exemplary timelines.
For example, the mandatory module “Key Qualifications of Pharmaceutical Research” is only offered every summer semester. So, depending whether you start your studies in summer or in winter, this module needs to be taken in your 1st or 2nd semester, respectively. Please make sure to take this into account when enrolling in modules to avoid waiting an extra semester for completing such a mandatory module.
For example, if you started your studies in the summer and did not enroll in the module Key Qualifications in the same summer, you need to wait until next summer semester to complete it and your studies will take 3 semesters instead of 2. In general, this is not a big problem but it might be inconvenient if you have already completed everything else.
Exemplary timeline for starting in summer semester
Here, the module “Key Qualifications” needs to be completed in your 1st semester.
Exemplary timeline for starting in winter semester
Here, the module “Key Qualifications” needs to be completed in your 2nd semester.
Official Examination Regulations
Structure and process of the master’s program are described in the study and examination regulations and can be found here. Please note that the English version of these regulations is for information purposes. Only the German version is legally binding.