Information for Freshers
Dear students,
Welcome at the Faculty of Life Sciences! On this website you will find the information you need to start your studies.
General information
The website
General information for students - from the semester periods to the examination phase - can be found on this website:
https://www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/academics/students
Checklist
The checklist will help you to complete the necessary steps before starting your Bachelor studies at the Faculty of Life Sciences. Use the links and instructions provided for detailed information and necessary steps, which you can find as a PDF document in the download area or directly via this link: Checklist.
Faculty Day/First-Semester Day
The introductory day for first-semester Bachelor's and Master's students will take place on September 25, 2025. On this day, as part of the "Enrolled - What's Next?" event hosted by the Faculty of Life Sciences, you will receive an overview with all the important information for the start of your studies and have the opportunity to ask questions. Among other things, we will explain which points are particularly important and provide you with information about the examination periods. In the afternoon, there will also be short welcome and introductory sessions for some degree programs as part of the "Introductory Event: What is Your Degree Program About?". During this day, you will have the opportunity to get to know your fellow students and the university, receive lots of important information for the start of your studies, and ask questions.
Day's Program - September 25, 2025
1) "Enrolled - What's Next?"
Speaker: Study Guide Laura Preisker
Daily Schedule - 25.09.2025
In German: 09:30 - 11:00 a.m., Building 01 | Ground Floor | Room 005
In English: 11:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m., Building 01 | Ground Floor | Room 005
2) "Introductory Event: What's your degree program about?"
Duration: approx. 30 minutes (Presentation of the degree program & welcome to the first-semester students)
- Agribusiness: The event will NOT take place on 25.09.2025, but in the second week of the lecture period during the Marketing lecture by Prof. Dalhaus, on 02.10.2025 at 10:00 a.m. in Building 12 | 1st Floor | Room 015.
- Bioengineering: 3:00 p.m., Building 12 | Ground Floor | Room 008.
- Bio Science and Health: 11:15 a.m., Building 11 | 1st Floor | Room 009.
- Quality, Environment, Safety and Hygiene: The event will NOT take place on 25.09.2025, but during the first week of the lecture period in Prof. Schumacher's lecture on the "Fundamentals of Quality Management" on 30.09.2025 at 10:00 a.m. in Building 16 | Ground Floor | Room 015.
- Sustainable Agriculture: This event will NOT take place on 25.09.2025, but in the first week of the lecture period. It will take place on September 29th at 1:00 p.m. in Building 14 | Ground Floor | Room 007.
- Biological Resources: 1:30 p.m., Building 11 | Ground Floor | Room 011.
- Health Sciences and Management: The event will NOT take place on 25.09.2025, but during the first week of the lecture period in Prof. Renner's class on 01.10.2025, Building 09 | 1st Floor | Room 019.
- Food Sciences: 11:30 a.m., Building 11 | Ground Floor | Room 011.
For more information, visit the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences website for the First-Semester Day:https://www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/de/studium/studierende/willkommen/freshers-week
3) Program of the FSR (Faculty Student Body) of the Faculty of Life Sciences
On 25 September 2025, starting at 12:00 noon in room KLE 11/01/014, the FSR will hold its semester kick-off programme. Plans include a Life Sciences campus tour from 10 am to 11 am , then the experiment/ Q&A from 12 to 2pm and lastly a Photo off competition from 3 pm to 5pm. In addition, during the first week of lectures, the FSR will organise a sale of lab coats for €5 each.
E-mail, Moodle, HISinOne & Co.
Setting up all the necessary access early on is an important prerequisite for a successful first semester.
You can find an overview and assistance on the university's IT Services website:
Student Counselling
The university's central student counselling service can help you with general questions about studying and offers numerous events on various topics.
Student Service Point:
https://www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/academics/students/study-adviso…
Faculty-specific information
Timetable
The current version of the timetable can be found online on the homepage of the Faculty of Life Sciences at
https://www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/faculties/life-sciences
Modules, Exams, Curriculum...
You will find the examination regulations, module descriptions and curriculum plans on the website of your degree program (on the right by the quick links). These can help you organize your studies as they contain important information, e.g. about the modules and examination types.
Lab IDs
To enter the laboratories, students need a laboratory ID. The IDs will be given out during the lab courses. The prerequisite for receiving the ID is a passed general safety briefing for the laboratory. The safety briefing has to be completed online via Moodle.
Lernportal HSRW: Alle Kurse (hochschule-rhein-waal.de)
Preparatory internship
Information about prerequisites and recognition of preparatory internship can be found on this website: https://www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/page/preparatory-internship
Learning Agreement
Did your Bachelor's programme only last 6 semesters (180 CP) instead of 7 semesters (210 CP)? Then you are still missing 30 CP, which you must make up by the time you register for your Master's thesis. You can clarify questions about the type and scope of the Learning Agreement with the Examination Board.
If you study Biological Resources and need a Learning Agreement please join the moodle course "BR3 5099 Learning agreement" (Kurs: BR3 5099 Learning agreement | Lernportal HSRW) for further information instead of reaching out to the Examination Board.
Student Council
The student council represents the interests of all life sciences students and acts as an interface between the public, faculty, staff and students. Further information can be found here:
https://www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/faculties/life-sciences/faculty-student-body