A Good Opportunity: Further Education in Germany

A wide variety of study and research opportunities await you in Germany. German institutions of higher education enjoy an excellent reputation around the world, providing stimuli for innovation and progress that are significant even on the international level. This makes Germany one of the most popular destinations for international students.

In Germany, there are three different types of higher-education institution: traditional universities for distinctly academic studies; universities of applied sciences for studies with a greater practical focus; and art, film and music schools for artistic studies. Most German institutions of higher education are state-funded. There are also privately supported institutions and others that are financed by the Catholic or Protestant Church. German institutions of higher education offer programmes of study suitable to all interests and academic levels. All together, there are over 16,000 programmes available. A database containing all of these programmes is available at www.hochschulkompass.de/en.html. Another database containing over 1,000 international bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes – most of them conducted in English – can be accessed at www.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programs/en/.

By the way: Many international students wish to benefit from the academic quality and reputation of a foreign institution of higher education – but without having to leave their country. This sector of the academic market is growing, and the demand for "local" educational options is showing dynamic growth. In cooperation with partner institutions – predominantly in Asia, Central Europe and Eastern Europe – German institutions of higher education offer numerous German programmes of study in other countries. Binational institutions have also been established, such as German University in Cairo (GUC) and German Jordanian University (GJU), as well as offshoots and extensions of German institutions – such as GuTECH Oman, an institute connected to RWTH Aachen.  

The increasingly popular dual programme of study and vocational training is not a pure programme of higher education in the traditional sense, since prospective students must also apply – as with an apprenticeship – directly to companies cooperating with the higher-education institution. Successful applicants complete alternating periods of practical training in a company and periods of theoretical study at an institution of higher education or a university of cooperative education. As a rule, the qualification obtained corresponds to a bachelor’s degree combined with a vocational qualification.