Brothers forever
Perhaps no other country allocates so many scholarships and grants to our students, graduate students, researchers and specialists on a regular basis. To see this, it is enough to visit the website of the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD (www.daad.ru), and this is just a small part of the opportunities available.
The increased interest of compatriots in German education has another explanation. In recent years, significant changes have occurred in the German university system related to the Bologna Process. By 2010, it was planned to unify all European university degrees according to a three-tier model: bachelor's - master's - doctorate. This model practically did not exist in Germany until recently. The main document of higher education was the university or Fachhochschule diploma for engineers and other technical specialties; the Magister Artium degree for humanities and the Staatsexamen for state-controlled professions (doctor, lawyer, etc.). Having obtained one of these documents, one could enter a graduate program and write a doctoral dissertation. These degrees still exist. But alongside them, many universities have opened a number of new programs, upon completion of which international bachelor's and master's degrees are awarded. These programs fit into strict time frames, unlike traditional diploma programs: after all, according to German rules, a student can take a course for an unlimited amount of time, and take the exam when he feels he is "ready"... So it seems that Germany will soon cease to be a country of eternal students. This may also solve the long-overdue problem of overcrowded universities in Germany.
Another attraction for foreigners is that many international master's programs are taught in English, at least initially, which many more people in our country are proficient in than German. Also in favor of German education is the fact that foreign graduates of German universities have the right to stay in the country for one year to search for work and later obtain a temporary residence permit for the entire duration of employment.
Admission Rules
Germans do not impose any supernatural or impossible requirements on applicants from abroad. Usually there are only three: fluency in German (or, depending on the program, English), equivalence of the secondary education diploma to the German Abitur, and proof of solvency at €600-800 per month.
But here's the rub: since our school education is not equivalent in duration to the German one (we study 12 years, while in Germany it's 13), our secondary school certificate does not provide direct admission to a German university. This admission (Zulassung) can be obtained:
- after completing two years of full-time or three to four years of evening or distance learning at a domestic university. Excellent students and medalists need only one year of full-time study and two years of evening/distance study;
- after passing the "qualification exam" (Feststellungsprüfung). It is conducted in German after one year of study at a pre-university college (Studienkolleg). Accordingly, excellent students and medalists are admitted to the college immediately after school, everyone else after the first year of university.
It is important to remember that universities have the right to set their own admission rules for foreign applicants: they may have their own language requirements, educational level requirements, and some hold additional exams. Therefore, first and foremost, you should contact the international office of the chosen university to clarify its requirements. Special admission rules exist for medicine, law, creative specialties, and some others. You can learn about them on the DAAD website.
But no matter where you apply - to the Studienkolleg or directly to a university, first of all you will have to confirm proficiency in the language of instruction: this is done through certificates of passing the DSH or TestDaF exams (TOEFL or IELTS for English-language programs). You can prepare and take the exam at Goethe-Institut branches, or you can go to a preparatory course Vorkurs at a Studienkolleg.
Some programs at German universities are so popular that there are not enough places. In this case, competitive selection is conducted based on the average grade of the certificate. In addition, there are so-called Numerus clausus - quotas for certain specialties. These are primarily medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, law, architecture, psychology, biology. Admission of foreigners to them is limited.
The deadline for submitting documents for the winter semester is July 15, for the summer semester - January 15. Admission to many English-language programs runs year-round.
Your first address on the way to your chosen university should be the international office. It is usually called the Akademisches Auslandsamt (Academic Office for Foreigners, abbreviated AAA). The international office is responsible for directing to the pre-university college (Studienkolleg) and organizing university language schools, helps with issues of admission to study and recognition of diplomas. Its services are free.
It is recommended to start the admission procedure for a German university at least six months before the start of the semester. As a rule, the university's website has a special page for the international office, which lists the basic requirements for foreign applicants. For clarification, you can inquire in German or English by email or regular mail, briefly describing your previous education and goals for studying in Germany. In response, you should receive a list of required admission documents and begin preparing them.
A couple of years ago, several universities introduced a mandatory document pre-processing procedure through a special service called Arbeits- und Servicestelle fuer Internationale Studienbewerbungen (abbreviated as ASSIST). ASSIST employees verify submitted documents (whether the set is complete, whether they meet the formal requirements for admission to study in Germany). After that, ASSIST itself sends the documents to the university. Through ASSIST, one can submit applications to several universities at once, with only one set of documents required. The service is paid: €50 for the first application, €10 for each additional university.
Always ready!
As already mentioned, special colleges - Studienkolleg - handle the preparation of foreigners for university. You cannot enroll on your own; you must obtain a referral from a German university (issued by the international office upon the applicant's request).
To enroll in a Studienkolleg, you will need certified copies and translations of your diploma, transcripts, and any available certificates of German language study. Additionally, you will need to take an assessment test in German. If you fail, you will be recommended to first take a language course (Vorkurs). Some technical preparatory colleges also require an assessment test in mathematics or physics.
Tuition at Studienkolleg is free. Only a semester fee of €30 to €200 is charged, depending on the college, which includes a student transit pass.
College lasts one year and prepares for a qualification exam. Both the language and academic programs are tailored to the chosen field. There are two types of colleges: those that prepare for entry into regular universities, and those for universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen). Both offer courses in various fields (humanities, technical, medical, etc.), covering the entire spectrum of possible specializations. Such institutions can operate in cooperation with universities or exist independently.
Upon completion of the college, a qualification exam is taken and a certificate is issued that opens the doors to any university in the chosen field. The qualification exam can be retaken only once, no earlier than six months after failure.
Since many people want to study in Germany, it is not surprising that new preparatory programs for foreign applicants have emerged in response to demand. One of them is VorStudium, which consists of a language course, college training (educational level requirements remain), passing a qualification exam, and actual enrollment at a university. Program participants are offered to take a basic course at a language school in any German state and, upon obtaining a certificate, move on to a preparatory course directly at the university in the same city or state.
The Uni Regio program involves trips to Germany to get acquainted with universities and the education system. The orientation program lasts two to four weeks, during which one can visit 4-8 universities (and even more upon individual request). Upon arrival, an information seminar is held, and throughout their stay, program participants study German in intensive courses and get to know life at German universities - they visit libraries, laboratories, eat at the student cafeteria, and even attend lectures.
Such programs are organized by the Coordination Center for Education in Europe Pro-Uni. This organization was specifically created to work with applicants from Eastern Europe and the CIS.
Another path, let's say right away, less common and more costly - to finish secondary school in Germany (or the German-speaking part of Switzerland) and obtain the German secondary school diploma Abitur, which is a ticket to university.
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