Curriculum structure explained

How study periods, focuses, elective groups, and modules stack into a program blueprint — with a worked example and credit-point logic.

A curriculum is not a flat list of courses. It is a layered academic blueprint: study periods (semesters or terms in the program sequence), optional focuses (tracks or specializations), elective groups (rules for optional modules), and module slots (specific module versions with credit points). This page walks through that structure in plain language so program coordinators and curriculum offices can design a coherent degree path before assigning it to a cohort.

Why structure matters

Examination regulations and accreditation texts almost always describe a degree as:

• a sequence over time (Semester 1 … Semester 6, or Year 1 … Year 3),
• a mix of required and elective study,
• sometimes one or more specializations a student must or may choose,
• and a credit-point total for the whole program (often 180 ECTS for a three-year bachelor’s, or 120 for a master’s — exact targets depend on your regulations).

FuxamCMS mirrors that design so planning, student study plans, and elective sheets all share one source of truth.

How the layers fit together

When you assign a curriculum version to a cohort, that whole structure is cloned into each student’s study plan. Required slots become obligations; elective groups become election options.

Study periods and terms

Study periods are the curriculum’s own time axis — “where in the program does this module belong?” They are not the same as institution calendar terms in Chronology, though the two connect later.

That separation matters:

• The curriculum can say “Introduction to Economics belongs in Semester 1” without hard-coding a calendar year.
• When Cohort A starts in winter 2025 and Cohort B in winter 2026, each cohort maps Semester 1 to a different organization term.
• Election windows on organization terms interact with election mode on the curriculum version.

Credit points per semester

In European higher education, a full-time year is commonly about 60 ECTS, so a semester often targets roughly 30 ECTS of required plus elective load — always check your own regulations. Use study periods to review balance:

• Sum Credit Points on required rows in each study period.
• Add expected elective load for that period (from group rules or advising guidance).
• Flag semesters that are overloaded or underloaded before you assign the version to a live cohort.

Version Settings can surface overall credit totals for the blueprint; semester balance is still something curriculum designers should review period by period.

Required vs elective modules

Optional columns such as Introductory Module help you mark foundation or orientation modules in the layout; they do not replace the required vs elective distinction above.

Focuses and pathways

Focuses are tracks or specializations inside one curriculum version. In program design terms they answer: “Does every student follow the same path, or do they choose a major / profile?”

Two common patterns (aligned with how pathways work in the curriculum model):

On the module table, the Focus column assigns a slot to a track. Combine focuses with elective groups when a specialization includes both fixed modules and a choice pool.

Elective groups and module clusters

Elective groups are named clusters of optional modules plus behavior rules (credit caps, course counts, unlock thresholds, overflow, re-election). Full rule reference lives on Elective groups.

Structurally, remember:

1. Create the group on Curriculum Structure.
2. Assign optional module rows to it via the Elective Group column.
3. Set Election Mode on the version so students know when they may elect.
4. On cohort assignment, groups clone into each student’s study plan.

Institutions sometimes also maintain reusable module groups in the academic catalog (bundles of related module versions). Those catalog groups are a planning aid; in the curriculum itself, what students elect against are the elective groups (clusters) defined on the curriculum version.

Module slots and credit points

Each row in the curriculum table is a module slot: a specific module version placed in the blueprint with:

• Term — study period placement,
• Focus — optional track,
• Elective Group — optional cluster,
• Credit Points — ECTS (or institutional credit) value for that slot.

Credit points on the slot should match the module version’s intended ECTS value. Program-level totals are the sum of required credits plus the credits students must earn from elective groups (per group rules), not necessarily the sum of every electable module listed in a pool.

Program credit total vs pool size

Example: an elective group “Major electives” may list 12 modules × 5 ECTS = 60 ECTS of options, while the rule says students must select until 30 ECTS. The degree only counts the 30 ECTS students actually elect, not the full pool.

Worked example: six-semester bachelor’s blueprint

Imagine a B.A. Business Administration curriculum version labeled PO 2025, targeting 180 ECTS over six semesters.

1. Study periods

2. Focuses

• General Management — selectable focus
• Digital Business — selectable focus

Students pick one focus; some Semester 3–6 modules are tagged to a focus, while shared core modules have no focus or sit on a fixed core path.

3. Elective groups

4. Sample module placement (excerpt)

Required core across six semesters might total 155 ECTS; the two elective groups add 25 ECTS of required elective load → 180 ECTS program total. The elective pools can be larger than 25 ECTS of listed options.

5. From blueprint to study plan

1. Curriculum office finishes PO 2025 and reviews credit balance per semester.
2. Cohort WS 2025/26 is assigned curriculum B.A. Business Administration, version PO 2025.
3. Cohort administration maps Semester 1 → organization term WS 2025/26, Semester 2 → SS 2026, and so on.
4. Each student receives a study plan: required rows appear immediately; elective groups appear as election sheets when windows and unlock rules allow.

When regulations change for WS 2026/27, the office creates a new curriculum version instead of rewriting PO 2025, so the 2025 cohort keeps its original obligations.

Design checklist

Before assigning a version to a cohort, confirm:

• All study periods exist in the right order.
• Required modules have terms (and focuses, if used) and no accidental elective group.
• Optional modules sit in the correct elective group with sensible rules.
• Credit points match module versions; semester and program totals look realistic.
• Election mode matches how your institution runs elections (and Chronology windows are set if you restrict timing).
• Version name matches the intake or regulation year staff will select later.

Common structural pitfalls

• Treating study periods as calendar dates — they are program sequence labels; calendar mapping happens at the cohort.
• Putting every optional module in the table without elective groups — they become required.
• Counting the full elective pool toward the degree total instead of the rule amount students must complete.
• Mixing two specializations’ required modules without focuses — students cannot tell which path they are on.
• Assigning an unfinished skeleton to a cohort — incomplete study plans appear immediately for new members.

FAQ

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