STUDY IN GERMANY

EDUCATION SYSTEM

Statistics state that one tenth of all the students pursuing international education come to Germany. The universities in this country are self-governed and focus keenly on new and innovative teaching methods as well as research. Germany has always been at the forefront of developing new and exciting technologies and discoveries. This is one of the main reasons why so many students prefer to study in Germany.
German universities have courses in myriad fields, including medicine, engineering, management, English, arts, etc. The country’s education system is designed to provide a great deal of academic freedom. Public universities do not charge students, be they local or international students, any fees. This makes Germany a big attraction among talented international education aspirants. The country, however, has state-run universities and colleges, private universities as well as cooperative universities. These schools, among others, offer a range of courses that are both full-time and part-time.
Undergraduates need to have a minimum of 13 years of education, 12 years of schooling plus one year of university. If they do not have the same then they can opt for a foundation course. If you are applying for a master’s program you need to have a certified bachelor’s degree and the duration of the course needs to be a minimum 3 years. A master’s degree is equivalent to a German ‘diploma’ or ‘magister’ degree. A bachelor’s degree can be obtained after six to eight terms of education. Some bachelor’s courses end with a state examination, or Staatsprüfung, instead of a bachelor’s examination. After taking the state examination a student can start preparing for the second state examination or for a doctorate. The examination regulations in German universities are governed by the state and not the university. A master’s degree lasts for two to four terms depending upon the course.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Students in Germany can work up to 20 hours a week during their term time. They can earn from 9 to 10 euros per hour and about 150-200 euros every week. Part time jobs are widely advertised in newspapers and university and college career cells. The universities, however, do not guarantee employment for students. Germany also offers students an 18 months job search visa after their graduation to facilitate their job-seeking efforts.
Over and above part time jobs there are a number of ways a freshly graduated student can look for jobs in Germany. Newspapers and magazines regularly advertise about openings in big and small businesses around the country. The Saturday edition of national dailies usually carry advertisements for openings in some of the biggest businesses in the country. The internet is one of the most popular means to get a job in Germany. Over the years websites have become the most popular means of applying for jobs in Germany. The labour offices or Arbeitsämter, are also quite popular in terms of sourcing jobs.
The German economy is among the most robust in the world. This plays a huge role in ensuring that graduates from German universities have ample opportunities to apply for careers in the country. Graduates from German universities also have their options open across the continent of Europe since the degrees are valid in all European Union countries.

SCHOLARSHIP

As there is no tuition fee or a nominal tuition fee, Universities do not provide any scholarships. But International students can apply for scholarships from numerous organizations such as:

• DAAD
  DAAD provides scholarship only to Graduate students pursuing Masters, Doctoral students pursuing PhD, for Post doctoral work/ research etc. Unfortunately DAAD does not provide any financial support to students for undergraduate studies.

• Politically affiliated foundations

• Religious institutions

• Business related organizations
  Check with the relevant organization for eligibility criteria & apply directly.
  Google to find scholarship databases.