Leave of Absence
Terms and conditions
If, for one of the following reasons:
- illness
- pregnancy, maternity leave or parenthood
- study-related internships outside the plan of studies
- military service or community service
you are completely prevented from coming to the courses for at least four weeks, you can be granted a leave of absence.
A leave of absence applies to one semester and can be taken max. twice in total within a course of study.
A leave of absence is also possible for self-organized periods of study at a foreign university which are not part of the standard exchange program.
An internship must bear relevance to your studies; but it cannot be recognized as an attainment in your studies and cannot be made obligatory in the plan of studies. Attainments during self-organized periods of study on the other hand can be counted toward your studies. In the case of a language course that is not part of an exchange program, no attainments are counted toward your studies.
If you are on leave of absence for a semester you cannot attend any courses and cannot take part in performance checks. During the semester you are on leave of absence, you cannot register for your degree.
It is not possible to have leave of absence at the start of your studies, between bachelor's degree and starting a master's degree program as well as after you have completed your master's degree and before you start a doctorate/PhD as well as during a doctorate or PhD.
Leaves of absence do not count towards the total time of study.
When a leave of absence is not possible
- at the beginning of the study
- between a Bachelor's and a Master's degree program
- after completing a master's program and before taking a doctorate / PhD
- during a doctoral or PhD program
Fees - Accident insurance - Unisport
The leave of absence fee is CHF 121.- (up to and including fall semester 2024) and CHF 125,- (from spring semester 2025) for members of the SUB, and CHF 100 for non members. Please note that if you are on leave of absence for a semester you are not insured against accidents.
Students on leave of absence may use Unisport for an additional fee; see the Ausweisreglement Unisport Bern.
Deadlines for a request
| Fall semester | Spring semester | |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic application in self-service | August 31 | January 31 |
| Submitting the required documents | September 15 | February 15 |
Request for leave of absence
- Leave of absence can be applied for as part of the renewal of your semester registration in self-service. Select the option "grant me leave of absence".
- Leave of absence because of illness, maternity leave, parenthood or military service: After submitting the re-registration form, hand in the document required on time to the Admissions Office.
- Leave of absence for an internship or a language course: After completing the re-registration form, hand in on time the completed "Request for leave of absence" form together with the required document first to the dean's office and thereafter to the Admissions Office.
Without documents, a leave of absence cannot be approved.
Information for students of medical subjects
Please note
Students of medical subjects submit, at the same time and within the dates specified by the faculty, a request for a guarantee of a place directly to the Faculty of Medicine, Studiendekanat, or the Curriculum Coordination & Students' Office of their faculty.