FAQ
Tuition fee (students are charged CHF 850 each semester) is according to the rules of Unibas.
Further the application fee amounts to CHF 100.-.
For living costs see information on budget advice.
A forgotten course registration can be done later (additional fee). For further information please contact the managing office MSD.
During the regular teaching period, there are no classses on public holidays. Other university facilities are closed as well. You can find more information about the public holidays under the following links:
Academic work (exams, essays etc.) is graded. The MSD usually uses numeric grades from 6 (= best mark) to 4 (= lowest mark to pass). Grades of 3.9 to 1.0 are fails. Sometimes pass/fail is used instead of numeric grades. The scale for every single course is fixed, see details in the entries of the course in the detailed course directory, section "assessment".
If the criteria for admission regarding mathematics, statistics, or methods of empirical social research are not met or are met only partially, students may receive conditional admission to the master’s program. The relevant
courses must be successfully completed within the specified deadline.
Conditions must be met before admission to the master’s program.
If you do not have a minimum final grade of 5.0 (Swiss scale), the results of a completed Graduate Record Examination® General Test (or GRE® Test) from the following two test areas can be provided as alternative:
- Quantitative reasoning: among the top 30%
- Analytical writing: among the top 20%
This option is only available to those with a first university degree. Details for
this test – test dates, location, frequency, content, and conditions – can be found at http://www.ets.org/gre/.
The test results must be submitted before admission to the master’s program.
Students are responsible for having attained the required language skills (level C1 or higher) to successfully pursue the MSD. A language certificate is not requiered. Examination failures cannot be justified by insufficient language skills.
Learning Agreement (LA) – MSD 2017
An LA records the choice of courses for a specific module. It is submitted once all courses/assessments of the module have been passed.
See Templates here.
1) Modules requiring an LA by default
- All students: Focal Areas in Sustainability Research (FASR).
- Students with focus area in natural sciences must create a LA for the Preparation Master’s Thesis in Natural Sciences module.
2) Complementary Knowledge modules
If one of the following applies:
- your focus area differs from your bachelor's subject (study guidelines, section 4.3.1), or
- you have an interdisciplinary background (study guidelines, section 4.3.2);
and if the student no longer has any courses to choose from the published list of courses for the selected module.
Learning Agreement (LA) – MSD 2026
An LA records the choice of courses in a Complementary Knowledge module. It is submitted once all courses/assessments of the module have been passed.
See Templates here.
1) Students without a major by default
The selection of courses for the Complementary Knowledge modules must always be recorded in an LA (study regulations, § 9 para. 1 no. 4 d).
2) Students with a major must select the courses from the list of courses published in the medium-term syllabus and the course directory. If one of the following applies, students need an LA to replace the relevant Complementary Knowledge course(s) with suitable master's courses:
- if the student no longer has any courses to choose from the published list of courses for the selected module.
- the major differs from the subject of the first degree (study guidelines, section 4.3.2), or
- students have an interdisciplinary first degree and have already completed equivalent courses (study guidelines, section 4.3.3)
With the learning contract (LC) students agree on a specific form of assessment for a particular module.
Within the MSD 2026 the following modules need a LC (for details see study guidelines and regulation):
- All students:
- Master's Thesis module. The details of the master's thesis (topic, reviewer(s), duration) are fixed in the learning contract (fact sheet on master's graduation and template of this LC are available as downloads, see here);
- Seminar paper that is not written within a seminar
- academic performance outside of courses (Internships, tutoring or activities in the academic self-government)
- Students with focus area in natural sciences: Within the Preparation Master’s Thesis in Natural Sciences module students have to create a LC for the "practical work" (and the "seminar paper"). This LC is to be created on online services;
- Students with focus area in social sciences: Within the Preparation Master’s Thesis in Social Sciences module students have to create a LC for the free "seminar paper". This LC is to be created on online services.
Learning spaces offered at Unibas
Learning spaces and meeting rooms for group work for MSD students at the Vesalianum/2nd floor (usually from Monday to Thursday: 9-18h):
- seminar room 02.02: For teaching, group meetings and working groups. To be booked beforehand; check the availability: https://rauminfo.unibas.ch (Link guides to the corresponding website, you still have to do the login: top row on the right. Only works when you are connected to the Unibas VPN). Booking also possible by email to coordination-msd@unibas.ch, phone: +41 61/207 04 20 or at the office MSD (when open). Ad-hoc use of the room possible, if available - please ask at the office MSD.
- meeting room 02.10: Mainly for working groups . Ad-hoc use possible, if available. If you like to book the room for group work beforehand, you send an email to coordination-msd@unibas.ch;
- student's room 02.03 and connected room 02.03A: For individual use, no booking possible. Room 02.03A with working places.
Students have to submit an application for the master's thesis project. During a former semester they attend the course "Research Design Master's Thesis" and are trained in how to do so. All information on the master's thesis and the final graduation are to be found in the fact sheet "Master's graduation" (see downloads MSD 2026).
For more information see here.