Courses at WSoS

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

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.

Students accepted to courses marked as “Acceptance Required” will be notified up to 2 weeks before the start of the semester or up to 2 weeks before course begins.

Students who are not accepted will automatically be placed on a waiting list.

** Accepted students - If you wish to cancel participation, you must notify the WSoS Courses coordinator no later than after the first course session.

Failure to cancel within this time frame will result in a failing grade.

In the following cases, the failure to cancel within this time frame will NOT result in a failing grade:

• Reserve duty: Active reserve duty will only be recognized if the student presents official documentation of him/her being on reserve duty during the cancelation period mentioned above.
• Bereavement of a First-Degree Relative: A student whose first-degree relative (parent, sibling, spouse, child) has passed away (G-d forbid), and the date of death or the seven-day mourning period (Shiva) occurred during the cancelation period.
• Childbirth: If occurs during the cancelation period.

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 WSoS the scheduling of additional lectures to cover the relevant material.

As an WSoS 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 WSoS 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 WSoS 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 concerning courses and exams at the WSoS should be addressed to the WSoS Coordinator of Courses and Exams. The coordinator brings each case to the attention of the WSoS 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

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 WSoS 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 WSoS Coordinator of Courses the course certificate and a receipt to the email.
• The WSoS will update your records with the newly gained credit points.

• the WSoS 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 WSoS Coordinator of Courses about the current WSoS reimbursement amount.

PhD students

Approved external courses will not be recorded in your WSoS 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 WSoS 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 WSoS 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 WSoS 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 WSoS will update your records with the newly gained credit points.

In the case of a Coursera/edX course, the WSoS 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 WSoS Coordinator of Courses about the current WSoS 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 WSoS Course and Exams coordinator for further consideration and approval.