Students / PhD candidates

General information - Studies at the Faculty of Science

ADMISSION OFFICE

  • The admission office is located at Uni Dufour. It answers all questions concerning registration, changes of faculty/registration in a second faculty, diplomas, semester taxes and ex-matriculation.
    More information: www.unige.ch/formalites

ACADEMIC CALENDAR

COURSES

  • The course timetables are managed by the administrative offices of the Sections respectively the Computer Science and Astronomy Departments and can be accessed via the online course programme.
  • Students must register online for their courses via the portail.unige.ch during the course registration period (see exceptions below).
  • Course registration is not necessary for students in Master of Science in Geology, doctoral students, mobility students, pre/co-requisites/extra curricular study plans, certificates, Master of Advanced Studies, students from other faculties and unregistered students
  • Course registration does not imply exam registration.
  • Students must register each time they follow a course.
  • Registration periods are in October for annual and fall semester courses and in March for spring semester courses.

EXAMS

  • Students must register online for their exams via the portail.unige.ch during the exam registration period (see exceptions below).
  • Students in doctoral students, mobility students, pre/co-requisites/extra curricular study plans, certificates, Master of Advanced Studies and unregistered students must complete a registration form and will be manually registered by the student office (Masters in Earth Sciences students register at the ELSTE).
  • Students are allowed to withdraw from a maximum of 2 exams for each exam sessions. (Students in the Bachelor of pharmaceutical sciences can only withdraw from second attempts and from two exams maximum).
  • Registration periods are one week after the course registration for the February and June exam sessions and in July for the August/September exam session.
  • Registration for the August/September exam session is not automatic.

 

REGULATIONS OF STUDIES AND STUDY PLANS

  • The regulations are authoritative for study plans, deadlines, examinations and the organisation of studies, from the first semester of study until the completion of the degree. It consists of a general regulation applicable to all students of the Faculty and of regulations and study plans valid for each title awarded.
  • All these regulations have been revised in order to comply with the Bologna process as of the beginning of the 2004 academic year.
  • Study plans are available on the websites of the sections and departments directly attached to the Faculty. They are also available on the course programme.

 ATTEMPTS

  • All students are entitled to two attempts for each exam and a single third attempt per year of study which is also called « Etape » (see exceptions below). The Bachelor has three « Etapes » and the Master has only one « Etape ».
  • The propaedeutic year (1st year of the Bachelor's degree) has only two attempts. It is possible to repeat the year once as long as the student has obtained between 20 and 59 ECTS and has not been admitted on conditional admission. In this case, two new attempts are allowed for examinations for which credits have not been obtained. Credits already obtained remain acquired.
  • Students in Master in Neurosciences, “compléments d'études en sciences” and  complementary computer certificate are entitled to two attempts only.
  • The students who fail an exam can decide to retake it during the August/September or the next regular exam sessions.

 GRADES

  • Grades are fixed to the nearest quarter of a point. The maximum grade is 6 and the minimum grade is 1. The grade 0 is attributed to unjustified absences, fraud or plagiarism.
  • The lowest grade that can be validated is 2. Specific degree regulations can be stricter or more precise (for example, for a given course the minimum grade for one semester could be required to be at least 3).
  • Depending on the course of study, grades below 4 can be validated and compensated depending on the conditions set by the regulations of a specific degree. There is no need to make a request for validation; the system will automatically take the grade(s) into account once all the courses are completed.
  • The Faculty distinguishes partial grades (semestrial or/and oral/written) and subject grades (one grade or the average grade between two semestrial grades or between an oral and a written exam or even the average grade between semestrial grades comprised of an average of written and oral exams.)
  • One exam = one grade (except for « contrôles continus »)

ECTS CREDITS

  • Each section/department sets the ECTS credits for their courses. ECTS credits are attributed by year of study as a bloc.

GRADE TRANSCRIPTS AND DIPLOMAS

  • At the end of each exam session, the grades are published on the student portal.
  • A grade transcript is sent by mail when a student completes a year of study (« étape »).
  • When a student completes his degree, the final grade transcript is sent by mail.
  • If a student requires a (detailed) historical transcript, he or she should request one from the Student Secretariat.
  • Diplomas are issued by the Graduation Office. They arrive by registered mail.

ELIMINATION AND FAILURE

  • The first year of study of the Bachelor (« année propédeutique ») is the only year that can be repeated. The repeating student is allowed two additional attempts for each failed exam.
  • During the other years of study (Bachelor or Master), the student, provided that he/she still has enough attempts, can either just retake the exam or take again the course and then the exam.
  • There is no eliminatory grade per se; a grade can lead to the elimination of a student only when it is no longer possible for him to improve his results in compliance with his degree regulations.
  • According to the regulations of the Faculty, students are eliminated from their degree, not from the Faculty.

DURATION OF STUDIES

  • The duration of studies is 180 ECTS credits (6 semesters) for bachelor's degrees, 90 or 120 ECTS credits (3-4 semesters) for master's degrees, 2 to 4 semesters for MAS degrees and 6 to 10 semesters for doctorates.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE REQUEST

  • A leave of absence of 4 semesters for a maximum of two periods of one year each may be granted by the Dean. Applications must be submitted using this form before the start of the semester.

 REQUEST FOR CHANGE OF DEGREE

  • Students wishing to change their degree must complete the degree change form, which must be sent to the Student Secretariat at the beginning of the autumn semester.

OBJECTION AND APPEAL PROCEDURES

  • In the event of an objection to a decision or an appeal against a decision taken by university bodies, please refer to the internal regulations governing objection and appeal procedures (RIO-UNIGE). These regulations can be consulted online.

PLAGIAT

The emergence of the Internet has considerably increased the opportunities for plagiarism. The temptation to "copy and paste" is great. You can be guilty of plagiarism through conscious dishonesty, but also through ignorance of certain rules. All plagiarism entails risks that can have serious consequences for your studies. Cases of fraud and/or plagiarism are governed by Article 18 of the General Rules and Regulations for Study, Faculty of Science. For more information, visit www.unige.ch/plagiat and consult the "Plagiat" module on the InfoTrack self-study site.