Studying with child and family

Pregnancy and raising a child during your studies are special circumstances. The RPTU takes care that your studies do not endanger you or your child. In order for your studies to succeed in these situations, we would like to inform you on this page about your options for organising your studies during pregnancy, maternity leave and parental leave and show you how we can support you.
The compatibility of studies and family also includes caring for relatives.

Reporting the pregnancy

The earlier you notify the RPTU of your pregnancy, the better they can ensure effective maternity protection for you and your child. An individual risk assessment can only be prepared after you notify the RPTU of your pregnancy. This is also the basis for compensatory and adjustment measures so that no disadvantages arise from the pregnancy during your studies.

Contact the SSC Kaiserslautern/Landau (depending on location)
Fill out and submit the “Notification of pregnancy or breastfeeding for students” form
The SSC will arrange for a risk assessment to be conducted for the courses and exams you have specified

Important Information

You may not attend courses or take exams during maternity leave if you have a doctor's note stating that you are prohibited from working for that period.

Organisation of studies

In our maternity leave guide you will find comprehensive information and legal principles regarding study organisation and examinations during pregnancy, maternity protection and parental leave.

If you are pregnant or a parent on parental leave and, in certain cases, during maternity leave you are generally permitted to attend courses and take exams that do not pose a risk.

If you wish to attend courses between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. or on sundays and holidays, you must notify the university.

During maternity leave

Attendance at courses and exams is generally subject to the specified protection periods. Therefore, there is no obligation to attend courses or take exams.

If you nevertheless wish to take exams during this time, you may do so unless you have a doctor’s note or a medical order prohibiting work. As usual, you must register for any exams you wish to take by the deadline. You may withdraw from registered exams in the normal manner.

Please contact the examination office.

During parental leave

There is no obligation to take exams. This applies to upcoming retakes as well as to exams for which the examination regulations specify a registration deadline for the first attempt. You may take exams. To do so, you must register for the relevant exams by the deadline.

Please notify your examination office in a timely manner that you are taking parental leave in order to meet the relevant deadlines.

You can find more detailed information in the maternity leave guide.

As long as courses do not pose a risk to you or your child, you may continue to attend them. For this reason, we assess the risk associated with the courses you are taking (risk assessment). If there is no risk, you may attend the course. If there is a risk, measures must be taken to mitigate it, or we will try to offer you alternative options. If that is not possible, you may be prohibited from attending the courses and will have to make them up at a later date.
The risk assessment is conducted by the instructors on a course-by-course basis.

During maternity leave and parental leave, you have the option to take a leave of absence. During this time, your university semesters will continue to count, but your full study semesters will be paused.

You can find more information about leaves of absence and how to apply on the website.

At RPTU, you can take parental leave while pursuing your degree. Parental leave allows you to study more flexibly: You may take exams, but you are not required to do so.

You are entitled to parental leave until your child turns 3 years old.

During parental leave, you are not required to take exams. This applies to upcoming retakes as well as to exams for which the examination regulations specify a registration deadline for the first attempt. You may take exams, but you must register for the relevant exams by the deadline.

Notify your examination office in a timely manner that you are taking parental leave in order to meet the relevant deadlines.

You can find more detailed information in the maternity leave guide.

If you are completing an internship while you are pregnant or breastfeeding, please inform the appropriate contact person at the internship site. The internship site is required to conduct an individual risk assessment for you. The university is not involved in this process.