Welcome!

Dear students,

welcome to the University of Vienna and the Environmental Science Master

Programme! The following information will help you get started.

Essential Top Four Tasks to Complete

There are a few things that you should do as soon as possible:

1. Pay your tuition fee/Students’ Union fee - You can check whether your payment
was successful in the study overview on u:space. Once you have paid your tuition
fee/Students’ Union fee, you are admitted for the current semester and can register
for courses.

2. Validate your u:card – the University of Vienna’s student ID card – at one of

the u:card terminals. Your u:card is then valid for the duration of the current
semester.

3. Plan your schedule and register for courses.

• The MES-website is a good starting point for planning your schedule. Here is
also a link to the curriculum. The curriculum outlines what achievements you
have to complete during your degree programme.
• In the course directory u:find, you can select the specific courses for the
current semester.
• Registration is possible via u:find. You can only register for courses and
examinations within certain registration periods (for courses with continuous
assessment, these are usually in September and February). Places for
courses/examinations are allocated after this period has ended. Certain
courses may have a limited number of study places.

We recommend the following courses for your first Semester:

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 a) MES 1: Introduction to Environmental Science (15 ECTS)*

Curriculum Courses that apply in 2022

VO Introduction to Ecology
(5 ECTS, 3SSt)
VO & UE Introduction to
Statistics (5 ECTS, 3SSt)
300435 VO Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems
Choose one of the following:
▪ 300193 VU Preparation and evaluation of
multifactorial experiments in Ecology
▪ 300205 VU Analysis of Ecological Data - univariate
methods
As both courses have limited spots, we recommend to register for both. Should you
get a spot in both courses, don’t forget to deregister the course you are not intending
to take!
CAVEAT: Registration period for both courses ends 21.09!

KU zu Introduction to System 280213 KU MES-1 Introduction to System Laboratories

Laboratories (2 ECTS, 1 SSt)

* The MES-1 course “SE & UE Scientific Writing” is ideally attended in parallel with
the MES-4 course “Individual Research Project” (we therefore recommend taking
both courses in the third semester).

b) MES 2: Introduction to Environmental Chemistry (15 ECTS): 280162

VU Introduction to Environmental Chemistry (15 ECTS, 8SSt)

• The record of examinations in u:space outlines the structure of your curriculum.

This way, you can see at a glance which achievements you have already
completed and which ones you have to complete next.
• The workload required to complete a course is indicated in the form of ECTS
credits. On average, completing a degree programme within its standard
duration takes 30 ECTS credits per semester.

4. Complete your courses. The first examination date for a course with non-
continuous assessment will usually take place after the last unit of the semester.
Subsequently, the university will offer three additional examination dates. The
fourth examination attempt has to take place before an examination committee.

Courses with continuous assessment (e.g. seminars, practical courses) do not end
with a final examination, but rather require you to complete two or more oral or
written partial assessments. These partial assessments are the basis for
determining your final grade.

You can find your grade in the record of examinations in u:space.

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Administrative matters and other useful information you should know

• The Directorate of Studies 28: Earth Sciences, Meteorology-Geophysics

und Astronomy (SSC) is your first point of contact if you have any questions
regarding legal issues and organisational tasks during your studies. They are
responsible for administrative questions around exams, curricular matters and
registration. The most important forms and information can be found on their
website and they can be contacted on ssc.gga@univie.ac.at.
• For some external authorities (e.g. financial authorities, insurance companies)
you will need confirmation of periods of study ("Studienzeitbestätigung") or
proof of academic success ("Studienerfolgsnachweis"). As an actively
enrolled student, you can print many of them via u:space.
• The academic year is divided into winter semester and summer semester.
Each semester consists of a period during which courses are held and a
lecture-free period. The dates are published here.
• The Accessible Studies website provides information about accessibility
matters for students with impairments, disabilities and/or illnesses.
• Moodle is the e-learning platform used at the University of Vienna. You can
check on u:find whether courses use Moodle or not.
• There is a lot of other useful information on the Studying at the University of
Vienna page.

We hope you enjoy your time here and look forward to meeting you soon!

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