Thinking Outside the Box General Studies

At Aalen University of Applied Sciences, as part of the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs for the General Studies module, students generally have to provide proof of 3 credit points for Bachelor's degree programs and 1 credit point for Master's degree programs. Exceptions can be found in the "Special Section" of your study and examination regulations.

The credits for the General Studies can be completed over the entire course of study. The module must be passed before you register your thesis.

How can I prove achievements in the General Studies?

• Attendance of lectures
• Participation in seminars and workshops
• Voluntary work on university committees
• Assistance with events of the degree program and the central university administration
• External voluntary work (please note the regulations)

Very simple: Collect workload → Write final report → Submit to the degree program

• You collect workload during your studies, e.g. by attending lectures and seminars or through voluntary work within the university.
• You write a short summary for each assignment. You hand in your final report at the end of your studies together with the proof of your credits in your degree program. Your degree program will inform you of the exact submission deadlines.

Please refer to the individual information on submission deadlines on the relevant pages of your degree program!

You can find a sample report in Canvas.

As a rule, you do not need to register in advance for lectures. Exceptions will be marked accordingly in the program. However, please register before and (if necessary) after the event with your student ID card at the entrance to the event so that we can also record the corresponding workload for you.

You must register for seminars in advance, as there are only a limited number of places available. Since the summer semester 2026, students must register for seminars via our SAP-based online portal. You can find instructions on our website.

Your registration is binding. If you are unable to attend the seminar for important reasons, please cancel your registration up to 14 days before the start of the seminar so that other students have the opportunity to attend.

Cancellations at short notice for important reasons (illness, postponement of a lecture, etc.) must be supported by a doctor's certificate or a certificate from the degree program.

Unexcused absence from a seminar leads to automatic exclusion from further seminars in the current semester. You will also be barred from attending seminars in the following semester.

If you still wish to take part in the event, you can remain on the waiting list. If a participant cancels, the next person on the waiting list will automatically move up. We will notify all new entrants by e-mail.

However, please unsubscribe from the waiting list if it is no longer possible for you to attend and thus give your fellow students the chance to attend the event.

Contents will follow shortly.

The event rooms are always published approximately one week before the start of the event under the corresponding dates.

For online events, the link to the meeting will be sent to you in good time.

An event may be canceled due to illness of the lecturer or an insufficient number of participants.

If a course has to be canceled, we will make every effort to find an alternative date. However, there is no entitlement to the allocation of workload only if a course is actually attended.

There is no entitlement to a course being held by a specific lecturer. The Career Center may change the lecturer, location and time of the course for objective reasons. Changes will be announced as soon as possible.

You can register until ten minutes after the start of the lecture. After that, the registration closes and unfortunately we cannot charge you any workload. Registration will also not open again until the event has officially ended. If you leave the event early, you will not receive any workload.

We want you to be able to experience the events in full. Therefore, in the interest of all participants, we ask you to come on time and stay until the end.

In special exceptional cases, external, continuous, unpaid and voluntary work of a social and charitable nature in associations or social institutions can be recognized by the Career Center.

The following conditions must be met:

• Continuous: period/duration usually at least one semester
• Voluntary: no expense allowance
• Responsible: active in organization and leadership, i.e. you must hold an office such as leader, chair, trainer, etc
• Only activities that have been completed since the start of your studies count. No honorary activities can be counted retroactively.
• The voluntary work must be certified by the association or a non-profit organization.

A certificate must contain the following in order to be recognized:

• Official letterhead incl. stamp and signature
• Name, matriculation number, start of studies
• Course of study
• Proof of voluntary and unpaid work
• Activities / tasks
• Workload in hours
• Period of time

Crediting is only possible after prior verification by the Career Center. Please submit your certificate via our post office box: Beethovenstraße 1, Career Center P.O. Box No. 215. We require the original, not a copy or scan. The P.O. Box is only for external volunteer certificates.

Verification may take some time, especially during the semester. You will receive an e-mail as soon as we have checked your application.

Important: We will confirm that the honorary post meets all the criteria of the guidelines. To pass the General Studies module, you must then write a final report. You hand in this report together with all certificates and evidence in your degree program.

Please submit the final report to your degree program. The head of the internship office will decide whether you have passed your General Studies module.

Your degree program can provide you with information about the exact submission deadlines.

Only central events from the Career Center's program are transferred to the online overview. Individual certificates, for example from degree program events, are also valid and can be attached to the final report.