When will the next allocation round take place?
The current allocation round is for the practical courses in the first half of the Winter Semester 24/25. The preference submission began on 02.09.24.
The next allocation round is expected to start on 02.12.24, with the first fixed places being allocated on 16.12.24.
What are practical courses?
Practical courses are an introduction into methods and proceedings required in all fields of engineering. Students are taught typical problems of the day to day work of engineers and which tools and software they use to manage them. Complementing the focus of study, a further specialisation of the students skills in practical oriented or fundamental knowledge is provided in these courses.
Practical courses are usually held in small groups, enabling students to develop solutions to realistic challenges alone or in small teams. With close guidance and councelling by the courses lecturers, they can resolve emerging issues and debate further questions. This way, the approach of independent learning of the project seminar in the bachelor's degree is continued in the master's study.
How many credits do I get for participating in a practical course?
Most practical courses have a workload of 4 ECTS credits. This correlates to 60 hours of attendance in classes and 60 hours of self-study.
Which practical courses can I choose?
You choose your desired courses from a catalog of currently about 150 modules depending on your field of study. You can find a complete list of all modules in your study tree in TUMonline.
Please note, that not all courses take place every semester. If a course appears in your study tree, this does not mean that it is offered in the current term.
In which semester do I need to do the practical courses?
You can pass your two practical courses in an arbitrary semester. There are no general requirements regarding the study progress or the semester of your participation. Furthermore, there are no requirements wether the courses are held over the semester or during the semester brake.
Can I do a practical course instead of my mandatory internship?
No, practical courses are modules that complement the individual focus of study in a master's degree. They cannot replace a manufacturing or engineering internship in the bachelor's degree.
How do I register for practical courses?
All places for practical courses are allocated in central registration procedures in TUMonline.
The easiest way to find them is via the "Courses" tab on your TUMonline home page. If you search for "Practical Courses" in the desired semester, a single course linked to all current registration procedures appears.
By clicking "Go to course registration" these procedures are displayed.
Here, you can choose between three independent procedures. One for the practical courses accompanying the semester and one for the block courses in the first and second half of the semester, respectively. Because the registration periods usually differ between them, not all procedures are necessarily open for new registrations at any time. If the button "Continue" is displayed, this means that the procedure is currently active and open for registrations. However, if the Button "Show Details" is visible, this procedure has no active registration period at the moment.
If you select a procedure with an open registration period, you find a list of all contained practical courses. Here, you can select the groups you would like to participate in and assign a priority to your registration. Then, your selection has to be confirmed at the bottom of the page.
How does the central allocation process work?
Generally, there are two registration periods per semester. During the first one, all places for the courses accompanying the semester and the block courses of the first half of the semester are distributed. In the second period, the places for the block courses in the second half of the semester are allocated. In both cases, the procedure is the same:
First, all students get the chance to register their priorities in a two-week time window. At the end of this period, the first fixed places are allocated regarding the criteria, listed in the paragraph below. Usually, most places get distributed at this this time.
However, for all students who did not receive a fixed place during this first allocation, the registration stays open from this point on. They can still change their preferences and remain on the waiting list for already filled groups. From there, everyday at 10 pm, new places are distributed between all participants. The registration process closes when the last course in it begins.
Students are informed about all upcoming registration procedures and deadlines via email in advance.
What factors determine wether I receive a fixed place or not?
Places in all registration procedures are allocated after the following criteria:
- Master's before bachelor's
- Completed semesters
- Chance
What are the deadlines of the current registration procedures?
The exact dates and deadlines for an upcoming registration phase are always announced by us via email a few weeks in advance.
The expected dates for the winter term are:
Courses accompanying the semester
Selection of preferences: Late August to September
Allocation of fixed places and free registration: September
Block courses (Beginning between 01.10. and 31.12.)
Selection of preferences: Late August to September
Allocation of fixed places and free registration: September
Block courses (Beginning between 01.01. and 31.03.)
Selection of preferences: Late November to December
Allocation of fixed places and free registration: December
The expected dates for the summer term are:
Courses accompanying the semester
Selection of preferences: Late February to March
Allocation of fixed places and free registration: March
Block courses (Beginning between 01.04. and 30.06.)
Selection of preferences: Late February to March
Allocation of fixed places and free registration: March
Block courses (Beginning between 01.07. and 31.09.)
Selection of preferences: Late May to June
Allocation of fixed places and free registration: June
Does the time of my registration influence the allocation?
No, the allocation process does not work on a "First Come First Serve" premise. Alone the demand and aforementioned criteria influence the likelihood of receiving a fixed place.
During the free registration phase, after the first allocation, the new registrations of each day are also processed with the same criteria.
How do I make sure that my preferences are registered correctly?
In the tab "My courses" on the "Courses" page in TUMonline you can find all preferences and fixed places associated with your account. Here, every course group you want to register to should be displayed at least with the status "requirements met". This means that your registration has passed the requirements check and is pending for a fixed place allocation.
Can I deregister from a single group inside a registration procedure?
No, unfortunately this function is not (yet) available in TUMonline. Students can deregister from whole registration procedures, but not from individual groups. If you want to deregister a single group in a procedure where you received multiple fixed places, please contact that courses supervisor or hochschulpraktika@ed.tum.de.
If you want to deregister from all of your fixed places in a procedure, you can use the button on the bottom of its group view.
Can I receive another fixed place in a registration procedure after I've already been assigned one?
As soon as you receive a fixed place in a registration procedure, you can not get assigned further places. However, this does not affect other registration procedures.
If you want to register for an additional group in a procedure with an active fixed place assignment, please check the available capacity of that group in TUMonline and contact either the courses supervisor or hochschulprakika@ed.tum.de.
Will I have better chances to get my preferred course, if I just register for a single group?
Our registration procedures will always try to assign you the groups with the highest priority possible. However, some of the courses in our procedures have up to 50 times more applicants than available places. Therefore, you might also need some luck to get into one of the highly demanded groups.
If you just register for a single course in one of our procedures, your registration will not be treated with a higher priority.
The number of set priorities does not affect the allocation process.
Who can I contact for further questions?
We are glad to answer your questions at hochschulpraktika@ed.tum.de.