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General info on third-level education in NRW (Germany)
German education on all levels (from primary school up to university) is regulated by each state individually, the German Constitution forbids federal involvement in educational regulation. If there are any common rules, these are either considered common sense or defined by agreement of all states' governments. Few rules are set in stone (or rather law) for Germany as a whole, so consider all similarities between states to be just that. This page only describes with some certainty how things work in the state of NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia).
Where can I study?
- Universities and Fachhochschulen (universities of applied sciences) are the institutions that do tertiary education in NRW/Germany
- Fachhochschulen (abbreviated FH) are more focussed on technology-related studies and are more practical than theory-driven universities. FHs weren't allowed to take PhD theses and issue PhD titles (or rather Doktortitel Dr. in German) in the past and weren't as research-focussed, so they were considered a lower-tier university by definition. This boundary between FHs and universities is disappearing in recent years though, and many FHs have changed their names to be allowed to issue PhD titles.
- University names in Germany often contain historic and/or regional notions which are sometimes dropped in their English names. Some universities' use their full names usually (like the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf always uses its full name even in English) while others abbreviate them both in German and English (the University of Bonn is officially called Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn what probably even most of its students and researchers don't know).
- University names suggest their "tier" whether it's a university or a Fachhochschule, but that suggestion has got very muddy over the years. The RWTH Aachen (TH standing for Technische Hochschule) is a "proper" university and a leading research facility in many fields, but most other Technische Hochschulen are in fact Fachhochschulen with the permission to issue PhD titles (but no habilitations).
- Most German universities are state-owned and all regular courses are free. There are quite a few private universities and similar facilities, but unlike other countries, those don't have any special prestige here.
- Public universities do all regular bachelor, master and PhD courses for free bar a minor "Semesterbeitrag" (usually ca. 300 euro every six months) which is used for student services like operating dormitories and cafeterias. The Semesterbeitrag at NRW universities basically always contains a public transit ticket (Semesterticket) that has been valid for the whole of NRW up until the introduction of the Deutschlandticket. Since then, most Semestertickets have been extended to the whole of Germany, but sadly, the future of the Deutschlandticket is uncertain.
- Private universities do require you to pay significant tuition fees. Public universities only require tuition fees for so-called "Weiterbildungsstudiengänge", specialist courses focussed on professionals seeking a different degree suiting their jobs.
- German public universities (thankfully) aren't considered to have a status as a whole. It matters only fairly little whether you did your degree at a very big university or some small-town university. What matters more is the degree itself and, if you or your profession care about prestige, then it's the university's prestige in the specific research area that may matter. Only the two universities in Munich in Bavaria (LMU and TU) might be considered prestigious as a whole, but e.g. the RWTH Aachen is a leader in many engineering & natural science areas, Bonn is a leading uni for maths and economics and Münster is one of the best when it comes to law
How does studying in Germany work?
- Studying in Germany usually consists of bachelor's degrees taking 3 years, master's degrees taking 2 years and PhD studies
- The only common exceptions are law, pharmacy and medicine (both human and veterinary), these usually in the Staatsexamen (examination by the state) and have very different rules.
- It very much depends on your profession which degree is recommended to easily get a good job. In IT, a bachelor's might be sufficient, most professions expect master's, but a few areas even expect a PhD for one to be a "proper" expert.
- Course structure vary not just by university, but by faculty and subdivisions. At German universities, it's almost always the faculties who set the regulation of how a degree has to be earned, and often even the subdivisions of the faculty request the faculty to have specific rules for their specific courses. The classes you have to take vary for the same degree vary significantly between each university, and the precise rules for earning a degree may vary between courses of the very same faculty.
- Getting a PhD works quite differently across the universities. Most universities still offer "classic" PhD studies involving you writing your thesis while maybe being part-time employed at the university. Some universities however do PhD courses like a continuation of a master course where you have regular classes to some extent.
How can I sign up for a university course?
- Admission to university depends on the course you want to sign up for.
- A school leaving certificate (German Abitur, ROI Leaving Cert, UK A-levels, Scottish Higher) is almost always required at universities, Fachhochschulen also accept German Fachabitur, a medium-level certificate similar to GCSE/SQC.
- Bachelor courses are first of all open to all admissible students. Many courses do have a selection process though, and most often, 80% of admissions are given based on the leaving cert's average grade only ("NC-Verfahren" or "Numerus Clausus"), and 20% are given based only on waiting time, i.e. semesters after leaving school without studying ("Wartesemester"). Selection purely based on grades is a regular cause of contempt as some courses got virtually inaccessible even to people with very good grades. Only few courses demand a motivational letters and/or an admission test, but they do exist.
- Master course admission differ from university to university, faculty to faculty. The only common requirement for a graduate course is having a bachelor's degree suitable enough for the master course. The same is valid for PhD studies requiring an adequate master's degree, often with some minimum master's degree grade set by the faculty.
I'm very interested about studying Irish culture and/or language – where to go?
Head over here to get a list of all universities in NRW (and partially beyond) where you can study Irish culture, Irish language or English language in the context of Ireland.