Studying in Germany
Why this page and why studying abroad?
According 
to my point of view this page is very important and
hopefully useful. Foreign students who are interested in studying abroad
are confronted with appreciable difficulties when they consider a stay in
Germany due to the federalistic structure of the German educational system.
Home students usually face the same difficulties but they are more used to
the underlying structures. Universities in Germany differ quite a lot. So
I try to give all those who are seeking information a concise starting
point.
My story. I studied in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was a gigantic experience
for me. I think these academic exchanges are a wonderful opportunity to
develop one's personality and get another point of view on the world and on
one's home country. Likewise the people in the host country profit lots of
these people seeing different cultures. Because of all this I like to
encourage everybody to endeavour something like this. Germany is of course
just an opportunity among a plenty of others. For all those who choose it
I present this hopefully useful page covering hopefully all aspects of
life.
Why studying in Germany?
Germany has a interesting approach towards education the
so-called Humboldsche Bildungsideal (Humbold's ideal of
education). To achieve this there is the Akademische Freiheit
(academic freedom) meaning that the professors are not bound to rules in
their work. Furthermore there is the Einheit von Forschung und Lehre
(unity of research and teaching).
This concept of an university does not resemble at all to the
Bachelor/Master model. At a university there is no fixed timetable
for each year. Instead here are suggestions a so-called
Studienordnung (Rules for studying) which tells you what is necessary
for your degree and which courses are suggested for each semester. You are
free to take them in a completely different order. There are only few
courses that are obligatory. Most courses you can freely choose
according to your interests. The exact rules for doing exams are available
in another booklet the Prüfungsordnung (Rules for exams). This
one is very boring to read. It covers all possibilities that can be
encountered before and during a set of exams. Both booklets are specific to
the degree and are available at the departments.
There is a book available for each university the so-called
Vorlesungsverzeichnis (prospectus). This is a list of all lectures,
tutorials, etc. given in a semester. Each department usually issues a
commented version of its own lecture program, a Kommentiertes
Vorlesungsverzeichnis, KVV for short which is usually sufficient
if you have already a „full“ copy of the Vorlesungsverzeichnis. You can
usually find the KVV on the departmental WWW servers.
How to get money?
A big advantage of studying in Germany is that it is cheap.
No tuition fees have to be paid. Under certain circumstances
you can get scholarships from German institutions to cover your living
expenses.
An incomplete list of institutions. Many of these institutions are
associated with another institution. Some of these associations
are denoted in square brackets. See below for information about German
politics.
Universities in Germany
A
list of all universities and Hochschulen in Germany.
The universities in Germany differ quite a lot. Some, like Heidelberg, offer
the degrees Master some offer a Bachelor in addition to the
traditional German degrees Diplom and Staatsexamen which are
roughly equal to a Master.
Learning German
Many students from other countries worry about their level of German
especially whether it is sufficient for surviving in everyday
life and for understanding the lectures. No
need to worry. If you do not know any German at all,
certainly, you should attend a course in a term break before. If
you had several years in school there is no need to do so. Few weeks of
staying in Germany teach you easily what is important to know. Lectures
are mostly given in German, but physical German is easy
German. You should find out beforehand whether the university you would like
to attend requires a language certificate.
For information on language courses, language certificates and
German culture there are the pages of the Goethe Institut.
German culture
A good impression of German culture give following links
German Cities
There are plenty of big German cities. They usually have a long history and
are full of interesting things.
German politics
For all those who are interested in this, a couple of standard links. The
Bundesregierung (Government) of Germany.
Mayor German parties
© 2008 
Christian Buth
[homepage @ christianbuth.name]
