Studying with one or more children can be a real challenge, as you need to balance family, studies, and perhaps even a part-time job. The following page provides you with an overview of the options you have to successfully complete your studies with child(ren) at JGU. We have summarized the most important information for studying with a child below. As the central point of contact for work-life balance at JGU, we are happy to support and advise you. No guarantee is given for the completeness and accuracy of the information. You can also find helpful information in our brochure “Studying & Working as a Parent at JGU”.
The regulations of the Mutterschutzgesetz (Maternity Protection Act) also apply to students, meaning that pregnant and breastfeeding students have special rights. You can get all information about student maternity protection from the Central Contact Point for Student Maternity Protection (ZASM). The Guidelines for students of JGU who are pregnant or breastfeeding also provides you with an overview of the most important steps and regulations.
Notification of Pregnancy
You can officially notify JGU of your pregnancy online via JoGuStINe. As proof of pregnancy, you need the relevant pages of your maternity record or a medical certificate. You are not obliged to report your pregnancy, but the regulations of the Mutterschutzgesetz (Maternity Protection Act) can only be applied once JGU has been officially informed about your pregnancy. After you have reported your pregnancy, the general risk assessments for the courses in your subjects initially apply to you. You can view these on the ZASM website. In addition, your departments will be informed about your pregnancy or breastfeeding period, and they will create a specific risk assessment based on the courses and exams you attend during your pregnancy or breastfeeding period, which replaces the general risk assessment.
Maternity Protection Periods
The regular maternity protection period usually begins six weeks before the expected date of birth and ends eight weeks after the birth. The protection period after birth is extended to twelve weeks for premature births, multiple births, and (upon request) for the birth of a child with disabilities. During these protection periods, you cannot be required to participate in courses or exams, i.e., the university initially assumes that you will not attend any courses or take any exams during this time. However, the maternity protection periods are not mandatory for you, which means you are free to attend courses and take exams even during the maternity protection periods. Simply inform your department informally about this. You can revoke this notification at any time for the future, regardless of exam deregistration phases. You can also decide to participate in only individual courses or exams.
You can take a leave of absence for up to six semesters due to maternity or parental leave. Please note that you must submit a new application via JoGuStINe to the Student Services Center for each semester. Whether a leave of absence makes sense for you depends on your individual situation.
What Does a Leave of Absence Mean for My Studies?
A leave of absence has the advantage that semesters on leave are not counted towards your subject semesters. So if there are deadlines in your studies that stipulate that you must have completed a certain number of credits or finished your studies by a certain semester, semesters in which you were on leave will not be counted towards this deadline. However, during a semester on leave, you cannot attend courses or take exams (exceptions are state exams such as the Physikum). During a semester on leave, students generally do not receive BAföG, but there may be the possibility to apply for social benefits. Please contact the Amt für Ausbildungsförederung in good time with questions about your BAföG.
During the leave of absence, you continue to pay the semester fee and remain enrolled at JGU. You can continue to use offers such as ZDV courses or AHS services during this time.
Deadlines
The deadline for a leave of absence is the same as the re-registration deadline for the respective semester. In any case, you must submit your application before the start of the semester for which you wish to take leave (start of summer semester: April 1 / start of winter semester: October 1). A leave of absence during the current semester is only possible in exceptional cases, namely when unexpected events prevent you from continuing your studies properly. The same applies to leaves of absence in the first semester. You can obtain information on this from the Student Service Center.
Due to a pregnancy or caring for a child, you may not be able to meet certain deadlines or standard study periods. Therefore, you should consider in good time whether a leave of absence for a few semesters might be sensible for you. According to HochSchG RLP §26 (5), you have the right to at least the statutory maternity protection periods and parental leave periods. Please contact your Studyent Advising and Examination Office early on regarding the exact arrangements for corresponding regulations in your field of study.
Writing time extensions
A pregnancy is generally not a reason for an extension of the deadline for writing term papers or final theses. If you temporarily feel unable to write your term paper due to your pregnancy, this is treated equivalently to illnesses. This means that you usually need a medical certificate to get a possible deadline extension approved. If you have any questions about this, please contact your responsible examination office.
Whether you can be granted a writing time extension due to your parenthood (e.g., because your childcare falls through) is always decided on a case-by-case basis and depends on your individual situation as well as the corresponding regulations in your study and examination regulations. If you have any questions, please contact your responsible Student Advising or Examination Office.
If the preparation of your term paper or final thesis (partially) falls within the period of statutory maternity protection periods, you cannot be required to work on your term paper or final thesis during this time. A solution must be offered to you in this case. Please contact your examination office early for this purpose.
Missing exams
If you are unable to take exams due to your pregnancy, the procedure for this is usually the same as for an illness, i.e., you usually need a medical certificate and must deregister from the exam or report sick within the specified deadlines. Only during the statutory maternity protection periods before and after birth are you not required to take any exams.
As a parent, you often have smaller time windows within which it is possible for you to attend classes. Therefore, many subjects offer student parents preferential admission to courses to avoid delays in the course of study that arise from scheduling unfavorable for parents. To find out if your subject offers preferential admission to courses for you and how you can apply for it, please contact your Student Advising Office. There is no entitlement to preferential admission.
If your child is sick and you therefore cannot participate in exams or write your term paper, this is considered in most degree programs as if you were ill yourself. This means that in most cases you need a medical certificate to excuse yourself from exams or to request an extension for writing time. Some departments have their own forms and procedures for cases where students cannot participate in exams due to the illness of their own child. Therefore, we recommend inquiring early with your Examination Office about how to proceed in such a case.
A semester abroad or even a full study program abroad with a child? This certainly requires more preparation than a regular study abroad program, but it is possible. On the page “Studying Abroad with a Child” of the Association “Familie in der Hochschule (FidH)”, of which JGU is also a member, you will find numerous information on planning and preparing for your stay, funding programs, and experience reports from other international students with children. If you have any further questions or need support, please feel free to contact the International Office. Of course, we are also happy to provide you with advice.
Have you already been abroad with your child and would like to share your experiences with other student parents? FidH would be very happy to receive your experience reports.
