Teaching and Assessment
The program consists of lectures, seminars, workshops, laboratory sessions, excursions and projects. A mixture of assessment modes will be used: written and oral examinations, longer term papers, and field and laboratory exercises. The program is modularized and assessed according to the European credit transfer system (ECTS) standard.
Program Structure
The two-year program (4 terms) is structured in three phases: In the first phase (1st and 2nd term), the basic (inter-)disciplinary knowledge is the main focus in order to allow students with different backgrounds to obtain equal grounds in the different aspects of environmental science. Therefore, these first two terms mainly comprise mandatory courses, which cover 60 ECTS points in total. In the 3rd term, student will concentrate on the optional part of the curriculum. A wide variety of elective courses and project oriented research will be offered in each of the key areas of the program to meet the interests of the students. In the forth 4th term, the students will work on their master's theses, a 6-months research project in one of the research groups involved in IMES.
1st and 2nd term
Module | Course Structure (Changes might apply) | |
| Winter Term (1st Term) | Summer Term (2nd Term) |
Module Atmosphere I | ||
| Meteorology I | Meteorology II |
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Module Atmosphere II | ||
| Chemistry of the Atmosphere |
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Module Biosphere | ||
| Ecology I | Ecology II |
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Module Environmental Medicine | ||
| Environmental Medicine I | Environmental Medicine II |
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Module Environmental Law | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Law | International Environmental Law |
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Module Environmental Management | ||
| Environmental Policy and Management |
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Module Environmental Politics |
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| EU Environmental Policies and Policy-Making | Political Ecology |
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Module Environmental Cultural Ecology | ||
| Introduction to Human and Environment Relations | Basic Concepts of Research in Hazard, Vulnerability, (…) Risk Management |
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Module Environmental Economics | ||
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| Energy, Resources, (…), and the Economy |
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Module Environmental Education | ||
| Basic aspects of environmental education | Didactics of excursions |
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Module Geosphere | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Geophysics | Landscape Formation |
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Module GIS |
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| GIS |
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Module Physical Hydrology | ||
| Physical Hydrology |
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Others | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Statistics |
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| Excursions | Excursions |
3rd term
During the third term, each student is required to choose 2 advanced modules from the key areas of IMES, each module comprising 12 ECTS points and an integrated course of advanced environmental sciences (6 ECTS). At the end of the summer (2nd) term, a meeting is scheduled to discuss decisions on modules for the 3rd term.
For more details regarding the Modules (See Downloads).
4th term
During the last term, the student will work on an independent scientific project in one of the IMES-associated research groups. At the end of the 3rd term, a meeting is scheduled to discuss chosen master topics and supervisors as well as starting dates (preferably March 1st or April 1st). The topic is then officially issued by the IMES examination office. Within 6 month of the starting date, the student will submit 3 copies of the thesis (written in English) to the examination office. Preferably within 6 weeks of submission, there will be an oral defense of the thesis in front of a thesis committee consisting of the 2 referees and one professor from the examination office.