Courses at FGS

The Feinberg Graduate School offers a wide variety of graduate-level courses in a number of fields as well as special non-degree programs. Areas of study include Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematics & Computer Science, Science Teaching, Science Teaching for Teachers, and Teaching Certification.

Course schedule and syllabi

The course schedule for the current year is available online. The new course schedule, for the new academic year, is usually published in September.

Online registration for courses

Registration is on the FGS mobile app only.

Registration is open until three weeks before the semester begins.

You are required to register for all the courses you wish to take. You must do so through the FGS mobile application.

You can change your registration and the courses you wish to take freely until the end of the registration period (three weeks before the semester begins).

Courses that are "Acceptance Required" - two weeks before the semester begins, the students accepted will be notified. Students who are not accepted will be placed on a waiting list automatically. 

** Accepted students - If you wish to cancel participation, you can do so up to three days after approval. 

Changes to the course schedule will not be allowed after the beginning of the semester.

 

Open to the public (auditors)

Most of the courses offered by the Feinberg Graduate School are open to the public and free-of-charge. Nevertheless, FGS may limit the participation in any of its courses to full-time students only.  
For more information re. auditors please see the relevant section under ADMISSIONS.

Language of instruction

All classes are taught in English, with the exception of courses in the Science Teaching and Teaching Certificate programs.

Study requirements

For comprehensive information about study requirements set by each Board of Studies please consult the MSc Study Requirements, or, PhD Study Requirements pages.

These pages present up-to-date information on current study requirements including details on the obligatory, core, and elective courses. 

In the Life Sciences sections of these pages, for instance, these pages also include lists of particular external courses that students may take (MSc and PhD students), as well as important information concerning online courses offered by Coursera (PhD students). To avoid misunderstanding, it is highly recommended that you double-check with the FGS Courses Coordinator about the current FGS policy concerning Coursera courses and about the reimbursement amount.

Please note that approved external courses will not be recorded in your FGS grade transcript. This is also true for intensive courses offered to participants at international conferences. If you wish to provide proof to a third party of your participation in external courses, you must request a transcript from the external institution, and keep it for future reference. More details concerning external courses may be found below. 

Assignments and other requirement

Information on assignments and other requirements are generally announced within the first couple of lectures/meetings of a course.

Course attendance

Course attendance is determined by each course’s Director. For absence due to fertility treatment, pregnancy, maternity leave or adoption, please see the school’s policy on Pregnancy and Maternity Leave.

Students of all religious denominations may be absent from a course on religious holidays officially recognized in Israel.

"No Show" for “approval required” courses

Cancelation of participation in “approval required” courses:

  • Courses that require approval send their acceptance/ waiting list/ rejection notices about one month prior to the beginning of the course. Early registration will not be a factor in the acceptance process in most cases.
  • Cancelation of participation to “approval required” courses is due within 3 days of the receipt of acceptance notice. Failure to cancel within this time frame will result in a failing grade.

Course length

Each course generally runs between 12-14 weeks. The length of a course must be at least 2/3 of a semester. If lectures are canceled for any reason, the lecturer may coordinate with the FGS the scheduling of additional lectures to cover the relevant material.

Feedback on courses

As an FGS student, you are requested to invest a few minutes at the end of each semester to write up your opinion on the quality of the courses and instruction, and submit your evaluation online. This feedback is considered by the FGS to be an important and useful tool for evaluating the quality of teaching. Although this report is filed via the Intranet, all steps have been taken to preserve your anonymity.

In addition to the online evaluation of courses, the FGS encourages you to contact the relevant Board of Studies if you wish to highlight a particular problem or offer constructive criticism. The results of the feedback provided are made public when the course is offered the next time.

Complaints and grievances

Complaints and grievances concerning courses and exams at the FGS should be addressed to the FGS Coordinator of Courses and Exams. The coordinator brings each case to the attention of the FGS Academic Secretary who usually consults with the Chair of the Board of Studies about the best way to approach and handle the situation and resolve the problem at hand

External courses - all students

You must receive authorization from your Board of Studies if you wish to participate in courses offered by other institutions of higher learning. The request to recognize such credits must be submitted in advance, no later than the second week of the semester. Only your Board of Studies is empowered to decide how many credits you will receive if you successfully complete the course (often independent of the number of credits awarded by the institution giving the course).

Approved external courses will not be recorded in your FGS grade transcript. This is also true for intensive courses offered to participants at international conferences. If you wish to provide proof to a third party of your participation in external courses, you must request a transcript from the external institution, and keep it for future reference.

Coursera Courses

Each Board of Studies has its own approach (please consult the Study Requirments pages under Academics). If you got approval to take a Coursera course for credit then:

  • Register for the course and purchase the right to receive a certificate upon successful completion of the course.
  • Upon successful completion of the course, please email the FGS Coordinator of Courses the course certificate and a receipt to the email.
  • The FGS will update your records with the newly gained credit points.
  • the FGS will reimburse you for partial cost of the certificate (up to $100 per course for one course only). Before registering, please double-check with the FGS Coordinator of Courses about the current FGS reimbursement amount.

External courses - students in the Life Sciences

PhD students

Approved external courses will not be recorded in your FGS grade transcript. This is also true for intensive courses offered to participants at international conferences. If you wish to provide proof to a third party of your participation in external courses, you must request a transcript from the external institution, and keep it for future reference.


The following procedure applies also to Coursera/edX courses:
If you are interested in taking external courses offered by other research universities in Israel (including the Interuniversity Center in Eilat), or by Coursera / edX, and your interest is endorsed by your thesis advisor, then the procedure outlined below must be followed. Please note that for each external course you will gain 1.5 credit points only, regardless of the course requirements and contact hours. You may accumulate up to 3.0 credit points, maximum, from external courses. Furthermore, you may gain credit points from one Coursera/edX course only.

Step 1: Application (the thesis advisor)
Ask your thesis advisor to write a short email of approval to the FGS Coordinator of Courses including an Approval Form prior to your registering for the course.

Step 2: Registration (the student)
Register for the course. If it is offered by an Israeli research university (except for the Faculty of Agriculture), you will need a special letter from the FGS Coordinator of Courses to waive the course fees (this benefit is allowed for one course per one university in the duration of your PhD studies).  If the course is offered by Coursera/edX, you will have to purchase the right to receive a certificate upon the successful completion of the course.

Step 3: Completion (the student)
Upon successful completion of the course, please email the FGS Coordinator of Courses a transcript listing the course. If it is a Coursera/edX course, you must attach the course certificate and a receipt to the email. The FGS will update your records with the newly gained credit points.

In the case of a Coursera/edX course, the FGS will reimburse you for the partial cost of the certificate (up to $100 per course for one course only).

Before registering, please double-check with the FGS Coordinator of Courses about the current FGS reimbursement amount.

Any application for reimbursement must include a copy of the official Coursera/edX certificate indicating successful completion of the course and a copy of the receipt.

 

MSc students
Students may take certain courses offered by the Faculty of Agriculture of the (Hebrew University), and by the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat. Please consult the relevant lists that are available at Courses and rotations>> Life Sciences - Biology.

No additional approvals are required to take external courses.
If there is a course that does not appear on the list and you wish to take it, please contact the FGS Course and Exams coordinator for further consideration and approval.