The first day of classes in the upcoming winter term is scheduled for November 2. The lecture period will end on February 27, 2021. The Freie Universität has released a document with guidelines in order to partially resume on-campus teaching in the winter term (cf. “Planungsansatz für Studium und Lehre im WiSe 2020/2021”, released June 5, 2020). According to these guidelines, on-campus teaching should be prioritized for first-semester students and students who are close to finishing their degree (BA/MA). As a rule of thumb, the document suggests that most courses should be held online, with approximately one third of courses being taught on campus. The Academic Committee (Ausbildungskommission) of the JFKI and the Institute’s governing body, the Institute Council (Institutsrat), have discussed the FU’s document and have developed the following teaching framework for the coming winter term.

• Teaching will be based on a mixed format with some courses taught online and others taught on campus. For more detailed information, we recommend consulting the course catalogue once it becomes available. Further details will also be available on the websites of the individual JFKI departments soon.
• In-person participation will be limited based on the maximum capacity of each room (so that significantly fewer students than usual will be able to attend classes in the respective seminar rooms at the JFKI).
• Hygiene and distancing rules will have to be observed during on-campus teaching (e.g. 1.5m rule, a limited number of seats, face masks in hallways, airing rooms regularly, documentation of attendance).
• The JFKI will try to make space available in order to allow small groups of students to meet on campus (while following hygiene rules).
• The JFKI will set up a working group on online teaching in early October that will include members of all status groups (students, professors, and staff).
• Courses taught in-person may be concluded/continued online should the Berlin government decide to close the university again because of an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections.
• Course credits for the German winter term 2020/21 will be available for students who start their semester abroad in early 2021 (Jan/Feb). Students are encouraged to find solutions with their instructors.

In general, please regularly check the official FU Coronavirus info page.

The Digital Code of Conduct for all remote course offerings is available here.

Graduating students should stay up to date with the current procedures regarding BA and MA theses posted on the website of the Prüfungsbüro.