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Many Ways to Reach your Goal
The traditional certificates offered at German universities are the "Diplom" and the "Magister Artium" (Master of Arts). Would-be teachers, attorneys, pharmacists and doctors also have to take the so-called "Staatsexamen", the German Civil Service Examination. The average degree in the "Diplom" and "Magister Artium" programmes supposed to take eight semesters to complete. But it actually takes longer in many departments, because the amount of work cannot be completed in the time available.
Students at universities of applied sciences usually graduate after six semesters, and are awarded a "Diplom (FH)".
Doctorate degrees and qualification as a university professor (Habilitation) can only be obtained at a university.
Internationally recognised
By 2010 the modularised B.A. and M.A. degree courses will have almost completely replaced many of the qualifications outlined above. This was what was set out in the Bologna Declaration of 1999. The aim of the Bologna Process is to create a common higher education landscape within Europe by 2010, one which guarantees a greater transparency in the comparability and quality of the degrees from different countries, as well as promotes academic mobility between countries.
At the moment there are more than 4600 B.A. and 3000 M.A. courses on offer at German universities, many of which are taught through the medium of English. In the winter term 2006/2007 B.A. and M.A. degree courses accounted for 60 % of all courses taught at German universities.
The introduction of these internationally recognised Bachelor's and Master's degrees a few years ago started a small revolution at Germany's universities beacuse the programmes give students the opportunity to complete their education more quickly, and so to move on into the working world. It generally takes between six and eight semesters to complete a B.A., and a further two to four for the M.A.
There are two major advantages to the shorter international degree programs: they give German students better chances on the international market, and international students are more likely to come to Germany if they know their degree will be accepted back home.
Nevertheless, the introduction of the B.A. / M.A. system does leave a few questions open at present: the degree programmes are intensive and strictly organised and many students feel they can hardly cope with the work load. Fianancing ones studies becomes a problem if there is no time left to work - especially with the study fees almost all German universities are charging today. And on top of that, many degree programmes do not include a study stay abroad, nor do they leave room for internships - counterproductive as the new degree programmes were supposed to faciltate just that.
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Hai Anh from Vietnam, who studies architecture in Dresden, on her fellow students from Germany:
"A lot of them have already been abroad, either for a work experience or on a job" (German)
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