In the first semester, the following courses must be taken

• VO Introduction to Communication Science
• VO Professional Fields Communication and Media
• UV Basics 1: Introduction to communication studies
• VO/VU Basics 2
• VO/VU Basics 3

The module Study Induction and Orientation Phase is taken in the first semester.

Parallel to the introductory phase of studies, only the above-mentioned courses from the module “Fundamentals of Communication Science” as well as courses for the free electives can be taken in the first semester. Crediting (also of examinations from previous studies) is only possible after successful completion of the STEOP!

ATTENTION: In order to keep an overview of your completed and still to be completed courses at any time, please use the examination pass from the beginning. Enter every course you have completed, so you always know what you are still missing!

PLUSOnline checks whether you meet the respective admission requirements when you register for courses that are subject to examinations:

Admission requirement for all courses with the exception of the basic courses (1-3):
The positive completion of the Studies Induction and Orientation Phase (STEOP).

Admission requirements for seminars and bachelor seminars (SE):
For seminars the positive completion of modules 1-4, for the bachelor seminar the completed and in PLUSOnline credited compulsory practice and the completion of modules 1-8 (except KO Reflection Practice and SE Research Fields 4, which can still be attended at the same time as the bachelor seminar, but ideally have already been completed).

Access requirements for the methods course (module 4)
Successful completion of Methods 1 (VU Fundamentals of Empirical Research) is a prerequisite for participation in Methods 2 (PS Qualitative Methods). Participation in Methods 3 (PS Quantitative Methods) requires completion of both Methods 1 (VU Fundamentals of Empirical Research) and Statistics BA.

It is not possible to take methods courses from other subjects into account. Please note the chronological order of the individual methodological lectures (VU Statistics and PS Qualitative Methods only in WS, VU Fundamentals of Empirical Research and PS Quantitative Methods only in SS), which take place only once per academic year, especially if you are planning a semester abroad or a longer internship during the lecture period.

Please download from the department’s homepage the documents for confirmation of compulsory practice(Confirmation & Supplement) and complete them. Please note: these also include information that only your internship/employer can confirm by signature and stamp.

Please submit all documents (confirmation & supplement) to the office of the Department of Communication Studies.

After a positive examination, recognition of the compulsory practice takes place in PLUSOnline. You will receive a notification that you can pick up the documents you have submitted, together with the confirmation and the decision, at the Communication Science Secretariat.

Important: The person responsible for the substantive examination/confirmation of professional practice/internships is Boris Romahn(boris.romahn@plus.ac.at).

If you are not sure whether your internship can be recognized, please contact the above-mentioned colleague directly and in good time.

The KO Reflexion Praxis is mandatory – regardless of the type of internship (professional internship, semester abroad, participation in research project) you have chosen!

You fill in the form “Confirmation of compulsory practice” accordingly and attach the confirmation of the examination achievements of the university you attended (copy of the Transcript of Records). This must show which courses you have taken abroad, with how many ECTS and which grades. In addition, you must have the examination work completed abroad recognized as an internship in advance via a corresponding application in PLUSOnline. A guide for filling out the form (Guide Recognition Mandatory Practice) can be found here.

Bring the printed PLUSOnline application and the completed form to the office hours of Assoz. Prof. Dr. Thomas Herdin with. There you will receive – if the conditions are met – the signature confirming your semester abroad.

It is important that you include your e-mail address or telephone number on the printed application that you have created with PLUSOnline, as the application for recognition of foreign examination achievements will subsequently be reviewed by the Legal Department of the University of Salzburg. They will then contact you when you are ready to pick up the recognition notice from the Legal Department. Only when you have picked up the notice in person is the recognition successfully completed.

The ECTS earned at the foreign university (at least 15 ECTS) will be credited to you for the 18 ECTS required in the module upon appropriate application and approval by the head of the study area and the legal department. For this purpose, please come to the appropriate office hours.

Only if you have acquired more than 15 ECTS, these can be additionally credited for free electives or according to the learning agreement agreed upon before the semester abroad as compulsory subjects!

ATTENTION: Only courses that are relevant to the subject – i.e. courses that are related to communication science – can be credited in the sense of compulsory practice. Language courses or courses from other, non-communication science subjects cannot be credited!

The KO Reflexion Praxis is mandatory – regardless of the type of internship (professional internship, semester abroad, participation in research project) you have chosen!

The contact person for questions regarding the semester abroad as compulsory practice is Assoz. Prof. Dr. Thomas Herdin (thomas.herdin@plus.ac.at).

You fill out the form “Confirmation of CompulsoryPractical Experience” accordingly and submit it together with the “Supplementary Research Internship” to the head of the research project, who will confirm your achievements within the framework of the project. Completion of the compulsory internship in the form of participation in a research project must be approved in advance, i.e. BEFORE the start of the research internship.

Please submit all documents to the office of the Department of Communication Studies.

The KO Reflexion internship is mandatory – regardless of the type of internship (professional internship, semester abroad, participation in research project) you have chosen!

The bachelor thesis can only be written within the framework of a bachelor seminar. The bachelor seminar can be freely chosen according to the available places. For the current range of bachelor seminars, please refer to the study information available in the secretariats and PLUSOnline.

The paper has a length of 40 to 55 pages (100. 000 to 140. 000 characters, including spaces and bibliography). Formal guidelines when writing the bachelor thesis also include applying the citation rules in force at the FB.

The short report on the Bachelor thesis is filled out by the Bachelor supervisor (after the student has handed it in) and must be collected in person from the secretary’s office after one to two weeks.

Courses from all fields of study may be taken.

It is recommended to complete free electives as a major (36 ECTS) or as a supplement (24 ECTS) at the University of Salzburg. Free electives completed at the University of Salzburg must be credited. For this purpose, an application for recognition must be made in PLUSOnline, printed out and signed and submitted. Submit either in person during office hours (Tuesday, 3-5 p.m. in Room U36), to the Registrar’s Office, or as a scan via email to boris.romahn@plus.ac.at. Assistance with the application and an initial review of the application can be obtained in the office hours of the study assistant Franziska Jahn (registration via boris.romahn@plus.ac.at).

In general, examination achievements obtained at other domestic and/or foreign universities and at recognized, post-secondary educational institutions can also be credited as free electives. For this purpose, an application for the recognition of examination achievements must also be completed in PLUSOnline and submitted together with a copy of the proof of achievement (certificate, transcript of records, etc.).

Yes, it is possible to bring forward courses from the MA program. However, the prerequisite for this is that you have positively completed 90% of the module content of the bachelor’s degree. In the bachelor’s degree program in Communication Science, this is only possible if you have completed all compulsory courses, including the following BA thesis completed, and you are only missing a few Free Electives. Otherwise, advancement is not possible.

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To graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies, you must meet the following requirements:

• the positive completion of all compulsory courses from the nine modules of Communication Science amounting to 144 ECTS,
• the positive completion of all courses taken in the course of the free electives to the extent of 36 ECTS. These must be credited. The same applies to examination achievements for the free electives that have been acquired at other domestic and foreign universities,
• the crediting of compulsory practice,
• the positive grade of the bachelor thesis

If these criteria are fulfilled and the Bachelor’s program is to be completed, you must personally hand in all (completed and, if applicable, recognized) courses of the nine Communication Science modules as well as the recognized free electives in the Examination Office of the Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences on the second floor of the Unipark Nonntal (Erzabt-Klotz-Straße). Please make an appointment for this in advance.

In the period of two to three weeks, graduates of the Bachelor’s program in Communication Studies will be awarded the Bachelor’s certificate, thereby conferring the academic degree “Bachelor of Arts” (abbreviated “BA”). The certificate can then be collected in person from the Examinations Office. At the time of collection, the calculation of the average grade can also be requested and made.

The average grade is calculated as follows:

First, the average grades of each module are calculated by multiplying each grade by the number of ECTS spent on the course. The sum of all thus weighted grades of a module is then divided by the total number of ECTS of the module. Thus, the weighted average grade of the individual modules is obtained, rounded up or down to whole numbers without decimal places. If you have calculated the average grade for each module individually, all average grades of the nine modules, the elective module and, if applicable, one additional study module are again weighted with the respective number of ECTS, i.e. multiplied, and the sum of all intermediate results is divided by 180 (due to the 180 total ECTS). This result is rounded to two decimal places and is then your average grade for the bachelor’s program.

Upon personal request, the KGW Faculty Examination Office will calculate your average grade upon completion of your BA program.

In the examination passport all already completed examinations (incl. grade, course instructor and date of certificate issue) are entered. The exam pass is structured according to the curriculum. The main purpose of the examination passport is to provide an overview of which examinations or which areas (modules) of the program have already been successfully completed and which are still outstanding. Therefore, the department recommends that all students from the 1st semester onwards regularly enter the positively completed examination achievements in the examination passport and thus keep it up to date.

In addition, the completed examination pass in the Bachelor’s program Communication Science is a prerequisite for graduation, because it must be completed and handed in at the examination office of the Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences at Unipark Nonntal. The exam passport can be downloaded here.

It is not possible for departmental staff to check fully completed examination passes!

However, if you are unsure about the assignment of individual courses, please contact Franziska Jahn at the Student Advisory Service(boris.romahn@plus.ac.atoffice hours Wednesday, 11 am – 1 pm, room U36).

Whether the red cross or the green checkmark appears next to the respective examination achievement in the study status overview in PLUSOnline indicates whether this examination achievement has been assigned in the study tree or not. For Free Electives, the red “x” will remain even after the Free Electives have been approved.