No exams
German universities do not have entrance examinations. If competition is high, those with better grades on their school-leaving certificate are admitted. Our applicants need to submit, along with their certificate, their grades from their academic record for two years of study: two years of university study give the right to enter a German university. A domestic higher education diploma is considered equivalent to two years of study at a German university, and our diploma-holding specialists are very likely to be admitted without competition to the most prestigious faculty. If you do not have a higher education diploma, you will have to study in the same field as in your home country. In addition to the main subject, you will need to study two more subjects — such are the rules. For example, Natalya, a resident of the capital, having entered the University of Cologne after her second year of philosophy, took up political science and French philology in addition to philosophy.
You may have to struggle with the documents: German bureaucracy has already become a byword. Language proficiency is not a decisive factor. “We believe that it is much easier to teach a physicist or a lawyer German than to make a person with perfect command of the language into a good physicist, lawyer, and so on,” says Wilfried Bergmann, Deputy Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD.
Nevertheless, it is better to learn German in your home country: this will save a lot of effort, time, and money. “All foreigners must pass a language test,” notes Professor Stefan Bildhauer, head of the academic service for foreign students at the University of Cologne. “We offer preparatory German courses, but the competition for them is four people per place.” By the way, at the University of Cologne, one of the oldest in Germany, a tenth of the students are foreigners, and immigrants from the former Soviet Union are the third largest group among them.
Concepts such as “leading” or “most prestigious university” simply do not exist in Germany. All higher education institutions are roughly at the same level, but each has its own traditionally strong scientific directions.
The foundation will help
Some applicants enter German universities on their own; others come through the programs of the academic exchange service - the DAAD foundation. It helps young specialists, students, and postgraduates to study for one or two semesters and undergo professional practice at a German enterprise. The foundation’s scholarships (about 800 euros per month) are enough for housing, food, and current expenses; the ticket to Germany and back is paid. By inviting young foreign specialists to study, Germany pursues two goals: to prepare qualified partners abroad who know first-hand about the German work style and level of requirements, and to train personnel for joint ventures, foundations, and so on - those who will become intermediaries between Germany and their own country.
Grigory was in his fourth year when announcements appeared at the university inviting young lawyers, economists, and engineers for internships. It turned out that an employee of this foundation - a so-called DAAD lecturer - had long been working at his university. They are present at almost every major university, and from them you can get information on how to apply for a scholarship, fill out a questionnaire, and what documents need to be collected. The first time, Grigory did not pass the competition for the chosen program (there were six people per place), despite excellent grades: the Germans want to be 100 percent certain about candidates, so it is much more realistic to win a place with a scholarship on the third try. A year later, everything worked out.
Everything further depends on language proficiency. Those who know it well arrive at the start of the semester and immediately begin their studies. All others who have proven their subject-specific knowledge are invited by DAAD to an intensive language course two months before the start of the main program. Grigory, despite a year of intensive study at home, still had to take it. Then everything went well: based on the results of the first semester at the University of Bremen, the student had his scholarship extended to the end of the year, and then a leading professor offered him a place in a postgraduate program - also with a scholarship. He has already been studying financial accounting and the process of transition to international accounting standards in Germany for three years, after which he firmly intends to return home.
Self-financing
When preparing to apply to a German university on your own, you must remember: you will receive your diploma in at least five years. For several years you will have to live in a foreign country and go home only for vacations. Tuition is, of course, free - but you will need no less than 600-800 euros per month for food, housing, books, and other expenses.
For admission you need: certified copies and German translations of your school certificate, diploma, or academic record for two years of study; a completed university application form; a handwritten biography in German; a document confirming your language proficiency; a certificate of financial support (a letter from a private person in your own country or in Germany stating readiness to disburse 600 euros per month, or an account statement with 10,000 euros on deposit). True, the guarantor is not obliged to send money monthly: he or she must do so in case of need; most foreign students try to support themselves. They are allowed to work 180 half-days (four hours a day) per year. DAAD is seeking the removal of this restriction, but bureaucracy does not allow it.
Natasha currently works at the department; previously she worked part-time as a waitress. Sergei studies economics at the University of Cologne and works as a security guard. “It’s hard,” he says. “But even if I leave without finishing university, I have in my luggage knowledge of German and a couple of years at a German university.” Diana, a student at the University of Bonn, agrees: “It is hard to earn a living and study well at the same time, and it is hard to fight German bureaucracy. But the reward is a diploma from a university recognized worldwide and knowledge of three languages. It is worth fighting for!”