Beginning of your studies

• Study programmes without admission restriction: If you submit your application for enrolment completely and in time, and if it is positively assessed, you are enrolled immediately. As a means of confirmation, you will receive the thoska card (short for Thüringer Hochschul- und Studierendenwerkskarte)—your student ID—in time, but usually not earlier than six weeks before the beginning of the semester by post.
  
  
• Study programmes with admission restrictions: After applying for a study programme, you will receive a notification telling you whether you are admitted for the study programme or not. If you have received a positive answer, you confirm your place by enrolling at the University.

In Jena, the average cost of living is just under 700 euros per month. There are many possibilities to finance your studies, e.g. scholarships, the BAföG student loan, part-time jobs, study loans, and education funds.

See here for more information on financing your studies.

Where do you want to live—in a shared apartment, in your own flat, or rather in a dormitory? Browse through apartment advertisements. The earlier you start, the better, because the demand is usually quite high at the beginning of the semester.

For new students, the student services organization Studierendenwerk Thüringen is the most important point of contact. Here, affordable living spaces throughout Jena are available for are rent. The Studierendenwerk maintains almost 30 student residences all over Jena.

Our students start their studies with different levels of prior knowledge. That is why in a number of subjects there are courses to prepare students for their studies before the semester starts.

In the preparation courses, gaps in knowledge from students’ high school education will be remedied and existing knowledge refreshed. In addition, these courses provide an opportunity for new students to get to know the university and their new fellow students.

In a number of subjects involving languages, compulsory placement tests also take place before the semester starts.

You may have to register for both types of activity. If you have any questions, please contact the respective academic advisor. You can find the contact details in our course database.

• The University of Jena offers you the possibility to sign in to the video conferencing tool Zoom using your University login credentials. Zoom is currently the preferred solution for interactive web conferences (e.g. for working groups, seminars and practical courses). The University Computer Centre has preconfigured the privacy settings in Zoom. See here for more information on the use of Zoom (in German).
  
  
• In addition, the Writing Centre of the University Jena has published some tips for students on how to handle digital teaching well. Their tips can be found here (in German).
  
  
• In order to support students of our University in participating in online lectures, the number of study spaces with internet access has been extended.
  
  
• Do you urgently need a laptop or tablet for your studies? Then take a look at the Laptop Donation Campaign.

If you still have questions or if problems regarding the start of your studies suddenly arise, please contact our advisory and consultation services—currently best done by telephone or email.

After moving into your new apartment, you must register with the city within 14 days. Registration takes place at the registration office (Bürgerservice). You will need to bring your ID or passport and a certificate by your lessor confirming the tenancy. It is best to make an appointment online.

Jena is a wonderful, active student city, surrounded by picturesque limestone rocks, which are perfect for hiking and climbing. In addition, the city located at the river Saale offers many recreational activities. Exploring the city is worthwhile!

You can also explore the University Main Building, the Main Library Building, or Jena’s beautiful landscape online with 360° tours, or go on a virtual discovery tour with an app.

The thoska is a multifunctional chip card, which serves as your student ID and confirms that you are a student at the University of Jena. You can use it as library, copy and printing card. It also serves as an electronic wallet for paying your meals in canteens and cafeterias. You receive it by post together with your starter package.

Learn more about the thoska

You can access your e-mail inbox at https://webmail.uni-jena.de. With your user name and password from your student account you can log in. Before the start of the semester, we will inform you regularly by e-mail about important information and dates for the upcoming semester.

We organize Orientation Days to make sure all new students quickly find their feet. You can get essential information about the organization of your studies, pick up some insider tips from experienced students enrolled on your study programme—and ideally meet fellow students.

Programme of the Orientation Days

Dates and information for international students

More than 350 instructors usually offer 80 different kinds of sports and disciplines in more than 700 courses per week. Everybody will find something to their liking—no matter if you prefer well-known sports or if you want to try something new.

See here for the programme of the University Sports Centre de (in German only)

More information

Students of the University of Jena organize their studies themselves via the online course management system Friedolin. The Faculty of Medicine is an exception to this; here, the system in use is DOSIS. Students of Pharmacy are asked to refer to fsr-pharmazie.uni-jena.de.

In Friedolin, you will find module descriptions, recommended study plans as well as the course catalogue for all bachelor’s, master’s, and teacher training study programmes. Enrolled students can organize their timetables via the ‘apply for modules’ / ‘schedule of classes’ menu, register for examinations, and view their grades.

Information and training videos

To help you find your way around Friedolin, we offer online information and training sessions.

• Video 1 - Introduction to Friedolin
• Video 2 - How to register for courses in Friedolin
• Video 3 - How to register for exames in Friedolin
• Video 4 - Certificates and personal data in Friedolin
• Video 5 - Additional helpful resources

In addition, there is a help centre in Friedolin where you can find an FAQ section submit an online inquiry.

Learning platform Moodle

The University of Jena also works with the learning platform Moodle (moodle.uni-jena.de). It supports studying, but also work in research projects and at chairs and other organizational units. The system is suitable for supplementing classroom teaching, for blended learning, for distance learning courses, as a knowledge store and as a communication and cooperation platform.

First steps in Moodle

Different course formats:

• Online: a course that takes place exclusively online and does not require on-site attendance.
• Präsenz (on site): a course that is only held on site and not recorded
• Online-Plus: a course that takes place partly online and partly on site, and that is not recorded
• Hybrid: a course that is held on site for a limited number of participants, and that is streamed live and recorded.

You will find more information about the semester on our FAQ page on the coronavirus.

Here, you can look up which facilities you can already use without any restrictions.

For all members of the University wearing a mouth and nose cover in the buildings and on the premises of the University is mandatory:

In the hygiene and infection prevention plan [pdf, 405 kb] de of Friedrich Schiller University Jena, you can see what you have to observe in the buildings and on the premises of the University.

Every winter semester, we organize a usually welcoming ceremony for new students.

You can watch the recording of the welcome ceremony here. de