Frequently askes questions
Exam attempts - How many are there?
You have 3 attempts per course.
An attempt is counted if you:
- pass the exam
- do not meet up for the exam
- fail the exam
- withdraw during the exam without having documentation from a doctor
These cases do not count as attempts:
- withdrawal without documentation from a doctor
- you are ill and have documentation
- withdrawal before the deadline to withdraw, the date can be found on the semester web-page
If all your attempts have been used without a passing grade for the course, you must reach out to your programme coordinator.
Guidance - Where can I get help?
Who you should contact will depend on what you need help with, but as a programme student at the Department of Physics, our programme coordinator will be your primary contact.
If you have questions related to your degree, contact your programme coordinator. Questions such as, which courses you can choose, whether you can take the courses in a different order or not, study abroad for your programme or what happens if you fall behind, are common,
Computational Science - Espen Murtnes
Electronics, Informatics and Technology - Espen Murtnes
Physics and Astronomy - Grete Stavik-Døvle
Honours-programme - Helena Båserud Mathisen
Nuclear physics and Science - Grete Stavik-Døvle
Contact: studieinfo@fys.uio.no - Remember to state which program you are attending and your full name. We ask that you send the request from your UiO email.
Other points of contact:
- If you have questions related to a course, you should contact the course owner, i.e. the department which offers the course. You will find contact information on the course web-page.
- MN-studieinfo, the faculty's information centre, can help you with confirmations and general matters relating to the science subjects.
- Knutepunktet - international student reception can help you with questions about admission, study qualifications and semester fees.
- ForVei can give you guidance on everyday study and study techniques.
- SiO can help you if you find that student life is becoming difficult.
HSE-courses - What is it all about?
Some of our programmes have compulsory HSE courses which are either completed to get the degree approved or which are required to complete compulsory subjects in the degree.
You will find which courses are compulsory for you in your education plan in Studentweb and in the plan for the structure of your study on the programme web-page.
Read more about Health, Environment and Safety (HSE) on the faculty's pages.
Reach out to MN-studieinfo if you have any questions to HSE courses.
Leave or accommodation - How do I apply?
Students who need leave or accommodation apply for this via a common online form. You can find more information on our website.
It is not a given that you can get leave from the master's degree, so contact the program coordinator if you have questions about this.
Recognition of courses from other universities?
You can apply to have courses from previous education recognized, for more information see information about Recognition of education.
Apply as soon as possible, specially if you need recognition of compulsory courses for your programme or programme option. I can take several months to get your application assessed, as your application will be handled by both administrative and scientific staff.
If you have applied for recognition of courses to replace compulsory courses, the study administration will normally add these. If the approval applies to free subjects, you will normally be told to contact the study administration to add the courses you want to include.
Semester and course registration - What do I have to do?
You must remember to register for the semester and pay the semester fee by the deadline each semester, and you must also register for classes and exams each semester. If you cannot register for certain courses, you must contact the program coordinator before the application deadline for courses expires.
The study administration pre-registers you for teaching and exams in the compulsory subjects you have until the fourth semester, with the exception of Exphil. You must register yourself for Exphil, free subjects and all subjects from your fifth semester.
As long as you have not been placed for teaching or assessment, it will say "admission in progress" until the admission for classes is finished. Publication of the admission normally takes place during the weekend before teaching begins at the MN faculty. Note that you must also register for the exam after you have been admitted to teaching.
Other matters you ought to know
Admission to bachelor's or master's
It is Samordna opptak which performs the admission to bachelor's studies in Norway. Questions about our bachelor's programmes can be addressed to us, but questions about admissions must be taken to Samordna opptak.
Admission to master's studies is done locally at UiO. You will also find good information on the program pages.
In general, with regards to the master's admission, we can say that the requirement for a C average applies to the subjects that are part of the admission requirement and not to all subjects you have on your bachelor's. C average means closer to C than D. We include all relevant subjects you have taken, regardless of whether they form part of a degree. Subjects with pass-fail can be included, but do not normally count towards the average. Most fields of study will have competition, thus in practice a higher average is required to be ranked high enough for admission. We recommend using the three application options you have, to increase the probability of admission.
Change in programme structure
The programme board makes changes to the educational plan for the programme from time to time. This can be as simple as replacing a subject, other times there are larger changes such as several subjects being replaced or study areas being created or closed. Any changes apply to students for the year they started the programme. A student must follow one structures in order to get their bachelor's degree approved. You can therefore not mix a new and an older structure.
On the programme web-page, you will find structure and implementation for the current year. Students who belong to previous educational plans will find their structure further down on the same page.
In cases where courses replace others, it will be outlined how implementation of a discontinued course is used in the new structure.
Compulsory attendance
There will be compulsory attendance at the information meeting for the study programme and some courses have compulsory attendance at the first lecture. In addition, there will be parts of the teaching that require attendance. At the physics department, this typically applies to laboratory classes.
Information about compulsory attendance at meetings and teaching will be available on programme pages, course pages and semester pages. It is important that you read through the information on the websites before the teaching begins so that you get the latest updated information about what applies to your programme and your courses.
Course and semester web-pages
Courses have a course page and a semester page per semester the course is taught.
The course page provides information about what you will learn in the course, how it is taught and how assessment is carried out. The page also describes the criteria for admission, recommended prior knowledge, whether there is overlap with other subjects and details about the exam, such as permitted aids and the possibility of a new exam (account).
The semester page provides information that applies to the semester in question, such as timetables, exam times, syllabus and other information that the course supervisor has chosen to publish. Many subjects also use Canvas and add teaching material there.
Diploma registry - Vitnemålsportalen
On the Vitnemålsportalen website, you can share diplomas and individual grades with, for example, employers. You can choose what you want to share.
Diploma
UiO has decided that digital diplomas will be the standard from 2022. Students cannot choose to have paper diplomas printed. It is still possible to apply for it, but it is only granted for international students where it has been proven that digital diplomas in their home country pose a problem or for students who have applied for admission to studies in countries where there is a requirement to document degrees with paper diplomas.
Your diploma consists of the courses you have in your education plan when you complete your degree.
Courses which are not part of your degree will be visible on transcripts.
Education plan
All programme students have an education plan, which you can find in Studentweb. The education plan is a plan of which courses you will take as part of the degree and when you will take them. The education plan is a plan, and you are not automatically registered for a course after adding it to the plan.
Bachelor students can only have 180 credits in the plan and may add free courses to their plan by themselves. Master students have 120 credits and shall not edit their own education plan as this is entered by the programme coordinator when the master's agreement is approved.
When you complete the degree, it will be the education plan that defines which courses will be included and which will be included in the diploma.
All students get an e-mail account from UiO and it is to this address we send all the important information you need. If you plan to use your private email, you must forward from the UiO address.
When you send an email to the study administration, you should state which programme you belong to and remember to sign or otherwise state your full name.
My studies
minestudier.uio.no/en is a website and an app that collects information about timetables, exams and submissions. You will also receive messages from subjects you are registered for, and messages from the study programme.
My studies can also be connected to your calendar if you want to synchronize with your other activities.
Service declaration for University of Oslo
You are obliged to have read it, and if you no longer remember what it contains, it might be a good idea to have a refresher.
Speak up!
We want the students to have a good time!
If you experience something that you think is out of the ordinary, we want you to report it to us via our Speak up system.
It is also possible to reach out to the learning environment contact at the department for advice. The learning environment contact at the Department of Physics is Grete Stavik-Døvle.
StudentWeb
StudentWeb is the platform where you manage your own studies at UiO.
It is here, among other things, that you register for the semester, find payment information about the semester fee and request a transcript of grades. You will also get an overview of which courses are included in your education plan.
Studentweb is the place to register for classes and exams. If you are in the wrong group and want to change, you can do so if there is a vacancy in the group you want to change to, and you are within the registration deadline for subjects (1 September and 1 February). If you want to withdraw from an exam or choose a field of study, this can be done in Studentweb.
When signing up for courses, we recommend using the "Active courses" tab.
