Universities in Germany

                                         

 I guess that there is no need to talk about or introduce education in Germany, because this country's reputation does very much all the talk. I also cannot just get to stress more on the fact that there is such an amazing opportunity to get an education in the 6th most developed country in the world and the richest economy in Europe for virtually free tuition fees. An education that can completely transform your life, and open up more opportunities to you in Europe and in your home country than you can imagine.

 So let us talk a little more in detail about the higher education in Germany:

1. Educational System: Germany follows the Bologna process, which is a system of credit hours and quality of education followed by all European countries to ensure the comparability and closeness of the quality and standards of European universities. There are two types of universities in Germany, the Universitäten (Traditional Universities) and the Fachhochschulen (Universities of Applied Science). Usually, the Universitäten are more focused on research and offer masters and PhD to students while the Fachhochschulen offer degrees which are more focused on the practical side of things. The degrees offered by the Fachhochschulen are generally more suited to the job market and industry, especially for engineers. The duration of a bachelor's degree in Germany is between 3 and 4 years for most programs except for Medicine which lasts 6 years and 3 months. The duration of masters degrees is between 1 and 2 years while the PhD can take a period of 3 to 7 years to finish.

2. Tuition Fees: Germany is a country consisting of 16 federal states, with each state having its own federal government. As for 2017, the tuition fees of universities in 15 out of the 16 federal states vary between 150 and 500 € per semester. Recently, the universities in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg decided that they will set a tuition fee of 1500 € per semester for international students. Therefore, for anyone wishes to study in Germany it might be wise to make this decision sooner than later before other states decide to set tuition fees for international students.

3. Language Requirements: like I said in the previous post, the importance of learning (or teaching your children) German or French, German language at a level B2 is usually required for those who want to study a bachelor's degree in Germany. This is because most bachelor degrees in Germany are studies in German language. However, for those who have finished their bachelor degree here in Egypt on anywhere else in the world and wish to pursue a masters or PhD degree in Germany, I can say that most masters and PhD degrees in Germany are also offered in English. 

4. Cost of Living in Germany: Life in Germany is quite expensive but still cheaper than many other European countries. One can live in Germany with an estimate of 600 to 900 € per month, depending on the lifestyle and the size and location of apartment or dormitory one lives in while studying. One of the obstacles that face many students who wish to study in Germany is the fact that they have to open a bank account in Germany which contains 8640 € to live on for the first year. The German Embassy will ask students to prove that they have this kind of money for their first year of study. The good news is, however, that many students in Germany work on-campus or off-campus in part-time jobs such as working in the university library, cafeteria or information center or even as a research assistant for professors. Such jobs can pay students between 500 and 800 € per month which can be enough to cover some or all of their living expenses.

 Here is the link to the official website sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research which contain valuable information about universities in Germany:

Home - Study in Germany - Land of Ideas

 If you have any specific questions you can comment on this post in the comments section with your questions and I would be more than happy to answer. Viele Grüße!