Very few countries offer such a diverse higher education landscape as Germany: students can choose between 160 locations and 383 institutions of higher education – and between more than 9,000 different courses. Major changes are currently taking place in German higher education: the Excellence Initiative is promoting competition between universities, many new subjects are being introduced and more foreign students are coming to Germany than ever before.
“Excellence Initiative” is the current buzzword in German higher education: the academic competition initiated under this name by the Federal Government and the Länder has given German higher education a powerful boost. A large number of new ideas and projects have already been realized as a result of this ambitious initiative: the Federal Government and the Länder intend to invest a total of 1.9 billion euros in top academic achievement by the year 2011. This education offensive is also providing substantial impetus to the trend towards internationalization: more than 400 international study programmes, predominantly in the English language, are already preparing students for jobs all over the world.
In addition, all higher education diplomas across the EU will be comparable from 2010. That is the goal of the Bologna Process, which was set in motion in 1999. The German Magister and Diplom higher education diplomas will then be replaced by Bachelor's and Master's degrees. “Credit points” and “modules” are already part of many students' academic routine in Germany since more than half of all courses have been restructured to lead to the international degrees. The great advantage is that students' qualifications are internationally comparable. Nevertheless, German higher education institutions want to preserve what makes them unique: the high degree of academic freedom and independence that is granted to and also demanded of students.
Also new is the fact that institutions of higher education in several Länder began charging tuition fees for the first time in the 2006/2007 winter semester. At a maximum of 500 euros per semester, however, they are much lower than the fees in the United States or in European neighbours like Britain or France. It should therefore come as no surprise that interest in campus Germany is skyrocketing. More than 20% of first-year students at German higher education institutions hold foreign passports. Almost 250,000 high potentials from all over the world are registered at a university or university of applied sciences – almost 100,000 more than 10 years ago. The range of subjects and academic training courses available in Germany is enormous. A total of 9000 study programmes – plus 2,900 postgraduate courses – were recorded by Hochschulkompass, a publication of the German Rectors' Conference. Academic excellence is not only found in large cities like Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt. Particularly academic centres in smaller cities – for example, in Heidelberg – are world-famous and also offer a lively student scene.
From applied informatics and environmental sciences to cell biology – German higher education institutions offer a broad and differentiated range of subjects. One German speciality are the Fachhochschulen, the practice-oriented universities of applied sciences: rigidly structured courses with a strong degree of practical orientation enable students to swiftly enter the world of work. At other higher education institutions there is a tradition of the “unity of research and teaching”. That means that professors and lecturers at general universities and technical universities have a duty to conduct research alongside their teaching commitments. The underlying idea is that if academics remain up-to-date as researchers, their students will benefit very directly from their new findings.
Changes are also afoot in the field of private higher education, which used to play only a subordinate role. Alongside the established private colleges and universities, such as Witten/Herdecke and the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel, a whole raft of interesting new institutions have been founded in recent years, such as the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg or the Zeppelin University on the shores of Lake Constance.
If you want to find your ideal university or college among this enormous diversity of institutions, you should begin clicking your way around the German higher education landscape on the Internet at least one year before you plan to start studying. Which courses have restricted admission and higher entrance requirements? Where will I find the course I want? Which kind of higher education institution will suit me best? These are questions you should clarify as early as possible. Otherwise you might find yourself without enough time to obtain the required application documentation. Places for certain subjects – for example, medicine and biology – are allocated nationally through the ZVS, a national clearing house for higher education places. Applications for all other subjects can be submitted directly to the relevant institution. Websites like www.hochschulkompass.de and www.university-ranking.de can help you to find the “right” university or college.
