Before the beginning of each semester, the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science holds “Bridging Courses in Mathematics” to prepare students in mathematical and natural science fields for their introductory lectures. These bridging courses are block courses which last 2-3 weeks and aim to refresh and supplement the mathematical knowledge learned in upper secondary school.
Participation in one of these block courses is strongly recommended for all first-year students whose program of study includes one or more of the subjects listed below.
The bridging course for mathematics and computer science is a two-week course that always starts three weeks before the beginning of the lecture period (the week right before the lecture period is reserved for introductory events). The bridging course begins in the morning with a lecture and concludes in the afternoon with joint exercises designed to consolidate the acquired knowledge.
IMPORTANT: We strongly recommend that students in the Bachelor of Education with the subject combination Mathematics/Computer Science and Physics attend the mathematics bridging course for physics and meteorology.
In addition to the daily lecture component, collaborative learning and problem-solving supervised by tutors is the most important part of the bridging course. In the exercises, students can check their current knowledge level and, if necessary, close existing gaps before the beginning of the lecture period.
Beyond the purely academic aspects, the bridging course is a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with the university and to meet your fellow students.
Monday, March 23 until Thursday, April 2, 2026
- Time: Monday, March 23, 10:00 am until 3:45 pm, all other days: Lectures from 10 am to 12 pm, joint exercises from 1 pm to 4 pm
- Location: Lecture hall N 1 (“Muschel”), Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 23 (view on the map)
- Lecturer: Dr. Anton Malevich
- Calculating with integers, fractions, exponentiation, and square roots
- Equations: quadratic equations, systems of linear equations
- Geometry: lines in the plane, distances and angles, circles, solid geometry
- Functions: graphs, trigonometry, limits, exponential functions, and logarithms
- Differential and integral calculus: derivatives, integrals, integration techniques, applications
- Sets and logic, basic proofs, combinatorics
Please register using this link:
Registration for the mathematics bridging course
www.staff.uni-mainz.de/amalevic/vorkurs-sommer26.html
The bridging course takes place in close coordination with the student council’s preliminary course for first-year students, so you won’t miss anything. Further information is available at fachschaft.mathematik.uni-mainz.de.
If you are unable to attend our Mathematics bridging course before the start of the lecture period, we recommend participating in the free online courses offered by the STEMfit initiative from Hamburg. This offer is free of charge and only requires a one-time registration. After your registration, you will find a test and learning offer that includes the free use of the e-learning platforms OMB+ and viaMINT. There, the topics listed above can be worked on independently after completing an initial test for optimal classification.
www.mintfit.hamburg/en/tests/mathematics
Please note, however, that this option should only be considered under the circumstances mentioned above. Participation in the aforementioned on-site course is essential for the best possible start to your studies.
This bridging course (Physics A) is primarily aimed at first-year students in the subjects Physics and Meteorology (including B. Ed. Physics) who will take the “Experimental Physics I” lecture in their first semester. For first-year students of the subjects Biology, Molecular Biotechnology, Chemistry, Biomedical Chemistry, Geosciences, and Environmental Sciences, a separate bridging course (Physics B) is offered in parallel. Those with a particular interest in mathematics may also participate in Course A.
The bridging course for meteorology and physics is a three-week course that always starts three weeks before the beginning of the lecture period. The bridging course begins in the morning with a lecture and concludes in the afternoon with joint exercises to consolidate the acquired knowledge.
Although the bridging course is not a compulsory course, participation is expressly recommended for all first-year students. Our many years of experience show that first-year students, having attended different schools, possess very heterogeneous mathematical knowledge. Furthermore, the mathematical knowledge of recent graduates often does not reach the level required for introductory physics lectures. For these reasons, a mathematical preliminary or bridging course is offered in Mainz and at many other universities before the semester starts, aiming to compensate for school-related differences in mathematical knowledge and to close gaps. Here, the mathematical methods covered by the lecturer in the morning lectures are applied to concrete problems in smaller groups during afternoon exercises, allowing students to practice the corresponding calculation skills.
Experience shows that this bridging course is not only useful but also vitally important for a good start to your studies. In the bridging course, you will not only refresh your mathematics knowledge from school and learn new lecture-relevant mathematics, but also establish important social contacts (with fellow students, tutors, and lecturers), receive study information in accompanying events, and familiarize yourself with campus life.
Physics lecturers teaching the introductory lectures will assume that all their attendees have the mathematical knowledge level of the bridging course.
Monday, March 23 until Friday, April 10, 2026
- Time: 9 am – 1 pm lecture, 2 pm – 6 pm exercises
- Location: Lecture Hall N 2 (“Muschel”), Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 23 (view on the map)
- Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Tobias Hurth
- Sets and numbers
- Sequences and series
- Vectors, matrices, and determinants
- Functions and their derivatives
- Functions of several variables
- Integration and integrals
- Differential equations
No registration is required for this course.
If you are unable to attend our Mathematics bridging course before the start of the lecture period, we recommend participating in the free online courses offered by the STEMfit initiative from Hamburg. This offer is free of charge and only requires a one-time registration. After your registration, you will find a test and learning offer that includes the free use of the e-learning platforms OMB+ and viaMINT. There, the topics listed above can be worked on independently after completing an initial test for optimal classification.
www.mintfit.hamburg/en/tests/mathematics
Please note, however, that this option should only be considered under the circumstances mentioned above. Participation in the aforementioned on-site course is essential for the best possible start to your studies.
This bridging course (Physics B) is primarily aimed at first-year students in the subjects Biology, Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Biomedical Chemistry, Geosciences, and Environmental Sciences. A different bridging course (Physics A) is offered for the subject Physics (also in B. Ed. in combination with one of the aforementioned subjects) and the subject Meteorology. Participation in bridging course (Physics A) is, of course, optional for those with a particular interest in mathematics.
The bridging course for Environmental Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, and Geosciences is a three-week course that always starts three weeks before the beginning of the lecture period. The bridging course begins in the morning with a lecture and concludes in the afternoon with joint exercises to consolidate the acquired knowledge.
Although the bridging course is not a compulsory course, participation is expressly recommended for all first-year students. Our many years of experience show that first-year students, having attended different schools, possess very heterogeneous mathematical knowledge. Furthermore, the mathematical knowledge of recent graduates often does not reach the level required for introductory physics lectures. For these reasons, a mathematical preliminary or bridging course is offered in Mainz and at many other universities before the semester starts, aiming to compensate for school-related differences in mathematical knowledge and to close gaps. Here, the mathematical methods covered by the lecturer in the morning lectures are applied to concrete problems in smaller groups during afternoon exercises, allowing students to practice the corresponding calculation skills.
Experience shows that this bridging course is not only useful but also vitally important for a good start to your studies. In the bridging course, you will not only refresh your school mathematics knowledge and learn new lecture-relevant mathematics, but also establish important social contacts (with fellow students, tutors, and lecturers), receive study information in accompanying events, and familiarize yourself with campus life.
Physics lecturers teaching the introductory lectures will assume that all their attendees have the mathematical knowledge level of the bridging course.
Monday, March 23 until Friday, April 10, 2026
- Time: 9 am – 1 pm lecture, 2 pm – 6 pm exercises
- Location: Lecture Hall N 3, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 23 (view on the map)
- Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Friedrike Schmid
- Sets and numbers
- Sequences and series
- Functions and their derivatives
- Integration and integrals
- Vectors and matrices
- Functions of several variables
- Statistics and measurement errors
- Differential equations
No registration is required for this course.
If you are unable to attend our Mathematics bridging course before the start of the lecture period, we recommend participating in the free online courses offered by the STEMfit initiative from Hamburg. This offer is free of charge and only requires a one-time registration. After your registration, you will find a test and learning offer that includes the free use of the e-learning platforms OMB+ and viaMINT. There, the topics listed above can be worked on independently after completing an initial test for optimal classification.
www.mintfit.hamburg/en/tests/mathematics
Please note, however, that this option should only be considered under the circumstances mentioned above. Participation in the aforementioned on-site course is essential for the best possible start to your studies.
