Examination | Completion of studies

Check your current status and duties with the FAQ item below (When are my studies completed) and the Flow Chart Completion of MSc in Climate Sciences (PDF, 46KB).

As soon as you have everything completed and ready, i.e. final exam taken, thesis graded and ratified, and all the courses of the 52 ECTS in the correct module or "Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen", proceed as follows:

• Click the menu button "Antrag auf  Bestanden stellen" in KSL/CTS, see the step-by-step instruction. No further changes can be made in KSL/CTS. Please write an email to the studies directorate (Peter Stucki) that you have done so, even if KSL tells you that the directorate has been informed - it's not actually true. The studies directorate then confirms in KSL that your studies are completed.
• Submit the  Application for Master Graduation (PDF, 82KB) including all enclosures to the Dean's office. Please check the deadlines for registration and office hours at the Dean's office.
• Pay the examination fee and extras (if applicable) according to the master programme completion form to Berner Kantonalbank, IBAN CH87 0079 0016 7091 7104 6, account no. 16 709.171.0.46, Dekanat phil.-nat. Fakultät, SWIFT-BIC KBBECH22XXX

After that, the Dean's Office issues the diploma and supplement.

The studies are completed as soon as
(i) the module of elective courses is completed. Concretely, all courses (52 or more ECTS) are 'green' in KSL.
(ii) the master's examination has been passed. The grade goes into KSL as 'Compulsory Module in Climate Sciences and Master's Examination', the specific classes of the module have been moved to 'Zwischenablage'.
(iii) the master thesis has been accepted and the grade has been ratified by the Faculty of Sciences. There is a 10-days period for objection by law, then the grade becomes 'green' in KSL.
Please refer to the flow chart for a comprehensive overview of the procedure.

Make sure that your courses at ETHZ (certified transcript to the studies coordinator) and – in case – the 10 ECTS extra-curricular courses are inserted in KSL/CTS and moved from "Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen/Zwischenablage" to the module elective courses. In the case that you have collected too many ECTS, you may always move courses (and related grades) from the module elective courses (Modul Wahlpflicht) back to "Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen". These courses will not be used for the calculation of the final grade (i.e. this is suitable for low grades in one course). However, the "Freiwillige Zusatzleistungen" courses cannot be deleted and will appear in the supplement for the MSc certificate.

The master examination takes 60 minutes and consists of a 30-minutes presentation of the master thesis and 30 minutes questions/answers (by the examiners and audience) or a 60-minute oral examination. Registration must be made with the Master's examination registration form (PDF, 282KB) latest 4 weeks before the master examination takes place. The master examination may take place up to two months before the master thesis is submitted to the deputy studies director. Pre-requisites for the master examination are the 8 ECTS compulsory courses. As a general rule, the master examination takes place during the semester (see information on the registration form). Fix the date for the master examination with the two (or more) examiners. Your examiners are: a chair person, your supervisor, your co-supervisor(s). The examiners must be members of the supervising faculty (see list, persons without asterisk). The chair person cannot be your (co-)supervisor. In case you would like an advisor or external expert to become an examiner, you need to fill in a request form (application form available from the Faculty of Sciences) and hand it in to the studies directorate. The studies directorate is notified by the examiners about the grade of the examination and inserts it into KSL/CTS.

The Master program leads to the degree of Master of Science in Climate Sciences, University of Bern, with an optional special qualification in six potential areas, see Art. 3 of the Study Plan 2018 (EN) (PDF, 360KB). Unless your admission is subject to restrictions (Study Plan Art. 12.7), the final specialization (or no specialization) will be determined by

• the choice of the master thesis (60 ECTS)
• your personal curriculum (30 ECTS thesis, internship, coursework)

The final specialization must be indicated on the Master thesis tracking form (PDF, 284KB),  and declared in selfservice.studis.unibe.ch when registering for the last study semester at the latest. Contact the directorate of studies if you are unsure.

The standard duration of the M.Sc. in Climate Sciences program is four semesters, full-time. The program must be completed within six semesters at the latest (RSL 05). An extension of up to two semesters requires a request and written permission from the studies director by the end of the sixth semester. Valid reasons for an extension include pregnancy, maternity leave, family responsibilities, employment of more than 25%, health issues, external language courses, and military or civil service of more than four weeks. Failure to pass exams is not accepted (UniSt Art. 84). Requests for an extension must be submitted in the semester prior to the end of the standard duration (December 10th or May 10th, respectively, to the studies director). See the guidelines here. The request must also include a written statement of the reasons for the extension and a detailed work plan for the remaining period of studies.

Under certain conditions, you can take the Master's examination in the first semester after exmatriculation from the University of Bern. Concretely, the master’s exam must be the last assessment of your studies, i.e. the master’s thesis and coursework are completed. Also, the completed and evaluated master’s thesis in PDF format, along with all required documents (see FAQ on master thesis submission), must be received by the Studies Directorate no later than one week before the semester begins.