F.A.Q

Well, for starters, you’ll get a first-class education (German universities are among the highest ranking in the world – right below a few of the American Ivy League and prestigious British universities) and a formal degree to show for it, that is recognized all over the world.

On top of that, the guiding principle of the German higher education being ‘The Unity of Teaching and Research’ (also the cornerstone of what is referred to as the ‘dual education system’), there is strong emphasis on ‘apprenticeship’ and hands-on involvement on the part of the student, in both the practical application of a large part of what gets learned theoretically and in researching novel ways of problem-solving (at many universities and ‘Fachhochschulen’ access to cutting-edge research facilities is available).

Finally, Germany is an important country and culture, so every international student stands to benefit greatly from familiarity with it (to say nothing of the tons of fun they are certain to have in the process

It is a one-year preparatory course which has to be joined by individual candidates who wish to study at a German higher education institution but whose school leaving diploma is deemed insufficient to apply for a degree program.

The course covers full-time education in the subjects of a degree program as well as the German language, for five days a week. A passing score on the final Assessment Examination qualifies you to apply for a degree program that is suitable for you at any German university.

International Degree Courses have been introduced by institutions of higher education in Germany with the express aim of facilitating the process whereby international student applicants realize their educational objectives in Germany. The medium of instruction is primarily English, with gradually increasing usage of German.

These courses, which have been designed to high academic standards and are available to not only international but German students as well, cover both undergraduate (6 to 8 semesters resulting with a Bachelors degree and postgraduate) (3 to 5 semesters resulting with a Masters degree – in some courses, 6 additional semesters lead to a Ph.D.) studies.

Yes, as a general rule, you need TOEFL or IELTS in order to apply for a program that is entirely taught in English at a German university. If, however, you’re applying for a postgraduate program and already hold a Bachelors degree with English as the language of instruction, you do not need TOEFL or IELTS; it goes without saying: no need for TOEFL or IELTS if you’re a native speaker of English.

Let’s first mention what they have in common: they both lead to Bachelors and Masters degrees (or their equivalents in Germany). However, ‘Fachhochschulen’ do not award Ph.D. titles; in order to earn a Ph.D. a postgraduate course at a university has to be attended.

Universities of Applied Sciences (a.k.a. ‘Fachhochschulen’) are so conceived as to maximize the practical utilization of theoretical knowledge; they are suitable for candidates who have no intention of pursuing academic careers, but are rather interested in the acquisition of as much practical experience as possible. Hence, the vast majority of degree programs taught in them are in the fields of engineering and hard sciences; programs in business administration get taught at ‘Fachhochschulen’ too, but to a lesser extent, whereas courses in humanities and social sciences are rarely offered.

Even in the last few years tuition fees were pretty much a non-issue in German higher education since they were ridiculously low compared to other developed countries. Also only two out of the 16 federal states (Bavaria and Lower Saxony) used to allow their higher education institutions to charge tuition fees – and when they did, they charged up to €1500 per semester. As of October 2014, Germany decided to waive tuition fees in all of the provinces making higher education literally free of charge.

Postgraduate courses (Master’s and Ph.D.) however, are liable for some extra costs, varying between €650 and a few thousand Euros per semester; it is advised that prospective foreign postgraduate students do their due diligence.

The fact that there are no tuition fees mustn’t lead you to jump to the conclusion that studying in Germany will be cheap. Yes, there are creative and commonsensical ways to significantly reduce your overall cost of life there, but first and foremost you need to realistically assess the resources at your disposal – take good stock of yourself financially. Don’t delude yourself thinking that working part time while studying in Germany, will take care of all your financial worries, as that’s highly unlikely to be the case – your student visa and residence permit entitle you to 120 full (or 240 half) days of work only. A scholarship and/or support by a sponsor (parent, relative, etc) may be necessary, in which case the sponsor has to explicitly state their intention of supporting you.

For more information please read:
https://india.diplo.de/blob/1862506/e7f6210a742e116697aee49593566e06/student-data.pdf

A foreign (not a citizen of an EU or EEA member country – with the exception of Bulgaria and Romania which face restrictions until 2014) student studying full-time in Germany is legally allowed to work a maximum of 120 full (or 240 half) days within a year, without having to obtain a permission from German employment authorities.

The legally allowed number of working days (half days) for foreign students also includes voluntary work placements, regardless of whether the placement is paid or unpaid. Also, foreign students face an additional restriction: while working the legally allowed number of days (or half days), they cannot be self-employed or work on a freelance basis. You can find more information here!

In Germany, a prerequisite (and also the traditional route) to enrollment into a tertiary level education institution (university, university of applied sciences a.k.a. ‘Fachhoschule,’ college of art and music, etc) is a passing score on the final examination whereby a certificate called the ‘Abitur’ (or Fachabitur) is obtained. As a general rule, Abitur – formally enabling students to attend a university – is necessary for enrollment into most universities, but exceptions to this rule are not infrequent (one of the alternative routes is a passing score on the ‘Begabtenprüfung’ a.k.a. ‘the aptitude test’).

As an international student, however, you need to apply well in advance in order for the International Students Office (Akademisches Auslandsamt) to consider your application – including previous academic record – and determine whether it meets all admission requirements; for this purpose you will need to produce proof of completion of secondary education (e.g. high school diploma, ‘Matura,’ ‘A-Levels,’ or if required in your country, proof of having passed a university entrance examination) that is an equivalent of Abitur.

As to whether your high school diploma gets accepted for purposes of studying in Germany, depends on what country it was issued in; if your high school diploma was issued in a EU or EEA member country, then it is accepted for direct application at a university, otherwise you may have to undergo (again depending on the country of issuance of your high school diploma) a ‘Feststellungsprüfung’ assessment examination, after having attended a Studienkolleg (preparatory course).

For further details go to https://www.daad.de/deutschland/nach-deutschland/voraussetzungen/en/6017- university-admission-and-requirements/?id=1&ebene=1

Certain universities of applied sciences a.k.a. ‘Fachhoschulen,’ may require that you complete a working internship prior to enrolling.

In order to be admitted to a post-graduate (Master’s or Ph.D.) program, a formal recognition of your university degree is required, from your home country or another country.

• Non-academic language course studies. A course lasting 3 – 12 months, with at least 18 hours of lessons in a week. The course must not be aimed to prepare you for further academic studies.
• Pre-academic measures. A course lasting more than 3 months, aimed to prepare you for full-time academic studies.
• Pre-academic German language courses. Participation on a preparatory course before sitting any of these recognized tests before studies must be a university prerequisite before your final admission in studies.
• Preparatory foundation course ‘Studienkolleg’ studies. The course has to prepare you for the qualification test ‘Feststellungsprüfung’. By passing this test you must expect to obtain a recognized university entrance qualification ‘Hochschulzugangsberechtigung’. (This applies if your foreign high-school leaving certificate is not recognized in Germany).
• Propaedeutic course studies. These courses must offer language and academic skills and specific knowledge regarding the education system and methodology in Germany. They must be held by the education provider you’ll be studying at.
• Partaking in a mandatory preliminary internship. Participation in an internship must be a precondition for admission in the study program, i.e. at the University of Applied Sciences.
• University degree awarding studies. You must have received the confirmation for admission in studies from a recognized higher education provider here. This is relevant for studies leading to a recognized higher education degree, such as Bachelor (BA, BSc, BSEng), Master (MA, MSc, MEng), or PhD.

A university admission confirmation letter is a written confirmation that verifies that you’ve been accepted as a student. The confirmation letter usually contains the following information:
Mainly two types – a. Conditional Offer letter and b. Unconditional offer letter. It will contain the following;

• Information on the University or Institution .
• The dates mentioning Enrollment deadlines. The student must finish the enrollment process in this given time period.
• Conditions and criterion if it’s a conditional admission.
• Details about the orientation day. The first day of action the university would like to meet the student in person at the university.

Please find the details on the language certificates recognised in Germany,

• TestDaF level IV. For having passed the TestDaF, Test of German as a Foreign Language for Foreign Students in all sections.
• DSH Certificate II or III. For having passed the DSH test, the German Language Test for Admission of Foreign Student Applicants.
• Assessment test at the end of institutional preparatory classes.
• DSD Certificate of level II. Language diploma of the permanent conference of ministers for education and culture affairs, level II.
• Goethe Certificate C2. For having passed the Goethe Test of level C2.
• Telc Deutch C1 or B2 Hochschule Certificate. For having passed the Telc C1 or B2 Hochschule tests.

To prove proficiency of English language, send any of the following certifications below:

• Official Score Report of TOEFL Test. The required scores: IbT-88, Pbt-66.
• Official Score Report of IELTS Test. Sent directly or to you by the British Council. The required group score in the IELTS Academic must be 6.5+.
• Cambridge Advanced English Certificate A, B, or C. Together with Cambridge Proficiency English Certificate A, B, or C.
• Alternative forms are exceptionally accepted.

All universities will mention their requirements in their websites, please look for the same.

It is your grades and marks from your university in your home country.

Notarization or certification of certificates are copies of your university documents from home legally certified from a Notary in your country or it can be certified from the German embassy in your country.

Please check this link : https://www.uni-assist.de/en/how-to-apply/assemble-your-documents/certified-copies-and-translations/