The First Two Semesters

Organizing Your Studies

For many first-year students, starting a physics program means adjusting to a new environment compared to high school. In addition to the lecture formats typical of university, the department offers a wide range of seminars in which students apply the theoretical knowledge they’ve learned to specific problems, sometimes working in small groups.

Lectures

In lectures (typically 90 minutes long), instructors present new material on a given topic to all students in a given year in a lecture hall. Although questions during the lecture are always welcome, unlike what you may be used to in high school, two-way communication is generally the exception here. The density of the material covered in lectures is also significantly greater than in high school. Very few students therefore understand the lecture material 100% simply by attending the lecture. It is therefore essential to thoroughly review each lecture afterward, possibly with the help of additional sources.

Worksheets and Study Groups

Especially in physics and mathematics lectures, it is important to apply the knowledge gained in lectures to specific problems. To this end, you will receive a worksheet with practice problems each week, which you have one week to complete. The problems are then discussed in tutorial groups of about 20–30 students. The exercise groups in the first two semesters are usually led by two undergraduate students from higher semesters. Regularly working through these exercises is extremely important for successfully passing the module exams at the end of the semester.

Tutorials and Help Desk

To make the transition from high school to university as smooth as possible, tutorials are offered during the first two semesters. Attendance is voluntary, and these sessions provide an opportunity to discuss any topics that concern you. The tutorials are also led by undergraduate students in higher semesters.

Since the 2021–22 winter semester, the department has offered a Physics Help Desk, where experienced faculty members are available daily to assist you with questions and problems related to lectures or exercises.

Exams

For most courses (“modules”) in your degree program, there are two types of exams: the “course assessment” and the “module exam.”

Coursework

In most courses, you earn course credit by regularly submitting a sufficient number of correctly completed exercise assignments. Course credit is not graded at the end of the 15-week lecture period; however, you must pass it in order to register for the module exam.

Module Exams

In most courses, module exams are graded (2- or 3-hour) written exams administered at the end (or after the end) of the lecture period. In the Physics I and Physics II modules, there is usually also a midterm exam halfway through the lecture period. To account for the wide range of high school backgrounds, the first-semester module exams are not graded; students must simply pass them.

Important Online Platforms

To help you organize your studies, there are currently three main electronic platforms at TU Dortmund University. You can log in to all TU Dortmund University portals using the login credentials you received from the ITMC after enrollment.

lsf

All basic information (where, when, who, etc.) regarding the courses relevant to your program can be found on the lsf portal. Course registration is generally no longer done via lsf but through the Moodle learning platform:

Moodle

Moodle is a versatile learning platform used for most courses at TU Dortmund University. Every course that uses Moodle has its own “Moodle room” there. You can find it either by using the search function under “Moodle” or by clicking on the Moodle link listed for the corresponding course in lsf. However, this link is only available if the instructor has set it up, which is usually the case.

BOSS

The BOSS system is used to manage registration for and grading of exams. BOSS is relevant to you because you can use it to register for coursework and module exams.