The period before graduation is an important phase of your studies. You take your final examinations, write your thesis and make plans to enter your chosen profession or continue with a master’s degree or a PhD. Here we would like to explain all the important formalities in this last phase of your studies.
Important information upon completing your studies
You must observe a few important points when you complete your studies and leave the university or when you begin a subsequent master’s degree program. We have summarized them for you on this page. You can also seek advice at the Central Student Advisory Service.
Time of graduation
Your degree is considered completed when your last grade is reported in PULS or at the Office of Student Affairs/Examination Office. The date of the “determination of the overall grade” is the date on which you have completed your studies. This date is also indicated on your transcripts and diploma.
Final thesis & degree
Important information on your final thesis, including topic assignments, registration, submission and grading, is available here. In this connection, please read the information on the issuance of your graduation documents.
Verification of degrees to third parties abroad
The University of Potsdam can not fulfill your request for verification. Due to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, data transfers to third countries are excluded. Instead of a verification, we offer a pre-certification of the degree certificates issued by the university to have it certified for your use abroad. With the pre-certification the authenticity and the formal correctness of the document are confirmed, so that a further verification will not be necessary. If you're already planning to go abroad when issuing your final documents, we recommend by that time the pre-certification to obtain the Apostille.
Re-registering despite plans to complete your studies?
Are you about to complete your bachelor's or master's degree program and don’t know whether to re-register for the upcoming semester? Please go here for a few explanations that should help you in the decision-making process. Give careful consideration to the various arguments and make your personal decision. Our goal in offering these explanations is to make the requirements clearer. However, only you can make this decision.
You must re-register if you are continuing to pursue a university degree and still must complete examinations and supplementary examinations for which you have not yet registered.
This is based on the fact that, without being enrolled, it is no longer possible to register and take examinations and supplementary examinations because the formal prerequisite for registering for an examination or supplementary examinations is proof of enrollment in the degree program for which the examination or supplementary examination must be completed. Without registration, it is not possible to take part in an examination or supplementary examination. Examinations also include all module (sub-)examinations and the final thesis. Proof of enrollment must also be presented to register for repeating an examination, supplementary examination or final thesis; without being enrolled, you cannot register to repeat an examination. This also applies if you cannot take an examination due to illness and have to re-register for the examination.
Therefore, you should check to make sure before you decide not to re-register (or when applying for de-registration) that you can provide documentation for the completion of all of the necessary examinations and requirements, the completion of all required credit points, or at least registration for all outstanding examinations and supplementary examinations.
If you are not sure whether you have completed or are at least registered for everything required to complete your degree, please speak with the Office of Student Affairs / Examination Office.
Re-registration is also absolutely essential if you want to continue on, after gaining your bachelor’s degree, to a master's degree program at the University of Potsdam. If you are planning on applying to several universities or for a restricted-admission degree program, please come to an advising session at the Office of Student Affairs.
If you still have to complete examinations or supplementary examinations, you do not necessarily have to re-register if you are already registered for these examinations. It is fundamentally possible to receive a performance evaluation for all registered examinations and supplementary examinations, and the defense of the final thesis, even after de-registration, in the relevant degree program, insofar as registration was done while you were enrolled at the University of Potsdam.
Please note, if you have de-registered, that it is not possible to register for the repetition of examinations or supplementary examinations. Before making your decision, you can find out more at the Office of Student Affairs / Examination Office.
Tip from the Office of Student Affairs / Examination Office:
At the time when you register your final thesis (at the latest), you should check whether you have actually completed, or registered for, all of the requiremens necessary for your degree.
You should carefully consider whether you want to take the risk of not passing an examination, and then not be able to repeat the examination. You bear this risk if your actions result in de-registration, although the completion of your university degree has not been officially finalized.
Please note that, despite a failure to re-register and the de-registration that results, that you are required to participate in, or turn in, examinations and supplementary examinations for which you are properly registered, even after de-registration. The right to examination grounded in the registration for the requirement does not end with de-registration or when you switch to another degree program.
A withdrawal from examinations in accordance with the framework rules is also not excluded from possibility after de-registration. Please note, however, that, after de-registration, it is no longer possible to withdraw in the regular way, within the withdrawal deadlines, via the Campus Management System. If you want to withdraw, you can clarify this in writing to the Examination Office within the withdrawal deadlines. The applicable regulations are not affected by an extraordinary withdrawal due to illness or other hardship. Please note that, after withdrawing from an examination, you cannot register for a repeat attempt without being enrolled.
If you are completing your studies by the end of the semester, or, if applicable, have completed or ultimately failed to pass the final exam, please do not re-register. When you finish your studies, you go through official de-registration at the end of the semester in which you attained your degree, or immediately if you have filed a corresponding application for de-registration. If you have ultimately failed to pass an examination, then de-registration takes place promptly after the determination that you have ultimately failed to complete the examination. For questions related to de-registration, please contact the Office of Student Affairs.
Transition from a bachelor’s to a master’s degree program
Please go here for important information on the transition from a bachelor’s to a master’s degree program.
Transition from a master’s to a doctoral degree program
If you intend to do a doctorate after completing your studies, the following pages will provide you with information on Ph.D. possibilities at the University of Potsdam. Registration information is available on the following page.
De-registration
If you finish your studies and are still enrolled, you will not be officially de-registered due to the completion of your studies until the end of the semester. So if you complete your studies in October, for example, you will be de-registered on March 31 of the following year. However, you can apply to be de-registered at an earlier date (see above). Retroactive de-registration is not possible.
If you have re-registered for the next semester and finish your studies in the current semester, you will be officially de-registered at the end of the semester unless you continue your studies in another degree program. For questions regarding a refund of the semester fee, please contact the Office of Student Affairs directly.
Important note
Please note that you will no longer have access to PULS as of the last working day (Monday – Friday) before the day your de-registration comes into effect. This also means that you will no longer be able to obtain certificates or transcripts of records via PULS. Therefore, please remember to create the relevant documents yourself before your de-registration takes effect, if the de-registration has not already taken effect. After de-registration, you can request these documents from the Office of Student Affairs, but processing will always take some time in this case.
