Seeking entry to colleges in Germany

Updated on: Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Last week we discussed the general aspects of higher education in Germany. Let us now look into the practical steps for confirming eligibility for admission as well as further procedure for securing admission.

Uni-assist

The uni-assist is an association of more than 85 German higher education institutions. It helps international student applicants to check whether foreign student applicants meet the minimum qualification for admission. There is an added advantage. You can apply simultaneously to several universities through uni-assist. This saves you time and money; certificates and other documents have to be translated and certified only once. The uni-assist would also help and guide you at all stages of processing your application for admission, through e-mail or hotline. A list of the universities that are members of uni-assist is available on the web site www.uni-assist.de/english.html. You will have to pay 55 euros for the service and 15 euros for each additional university.

While filing the applications for Master’s or doctoral programmes, certain universities may not be satisfied by the pre-check of uni-assist. In such cases, the acceptability of the uni-assist recommendation should be confirmed from the university of your choice. Sometimes you may be directed by the university to send your application directly to the university and not through the uni-assist.

It is desirable that you contact your chosen university and confirm your eligibility for admission. In case of doubt on matters of eligibility for admission or any procedure involved, you can contact the International Office (Akademisches Auslandsamt – AAA) of the university for help and guidance.

For doctoral programmes, you have to identify a competent supervisor before filing your application for admission. If you have no contacts with any faculty in any of the German universities, you may first find out universities that permit research in your chosen area, and then locate professors who would be your supervisor for dissertation.

There is the slf asessment international—a student service arranged by nine Technical Universities in Germany (TU9). It helps international students make a self-assessment of their suitability for technical studies in Germany. You have to take an on-line test for 90 to 120 minutes. The results are given soon after the test. You may note that the assessment is not a substitute for the assessment by your chosen university. It is only a form of online student advice. You may first register for the test by giving a user name and password. Intimation will reach you through e-mail.

The nine major technical universities covered by TU9 have excellent facilities for studies in engineering and sciences are: RWTH Aachen, TU Berlin, TU Braunschweig, TU Darmstadt, TU Dresden, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Universität Karlsruhe (TH), TU München and Universität Stuttgart.

Web site: www.tu9.de/studies

German language proficiency

A great majority of Indian students go to Germany for studies in the English language medium. As hinted earlier, it is desirable that they have some knowledge of the German language for practical purposes. However, those who go for programs in the German language should prove their proficiency in German. The Goethe institutes / Max Mueller Bhavans at Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune give training in the German language at different levels.

Those who desire to pursue education / research in the German medium may take the TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache) at Max Mueller Bhavan, Delhi.

If a university asks for evidence for your English language proficiency, you may have to show your scores in TOEFL or IELTS.

Fees and scholarships

Fees are in general low compared to those in many other countries. It may be from 500 to 800 Euros per term. The rates of fees are not uniform in the 16 Federal States.

For example, Berlin, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern may not charge any tuition fee. In Schleswig-Holstein, you may not have to pay any fee. However, several universities and other institutions of higher education do charge fees for tuition, unlike in the past.

For securing admission in institutions of higher education in Germany, you may have to show evidence for financial resources. While working out the budget, you will have to consider living expenses including those for study materials, health insurance and travel. Courses in subjects such as medicine and interior design may require higher amounts towards study materials.

In the DAAD web site on scholarships for ‘foreign’ students, there is excellent facility for identifying sources for financial assistance. The available scholarships can be identified by searching on the bases of subject, country of origin, and status (UG / PG / Ph.D.).

Once you identify a possible source for financial support for your studies from the site, you can directly get in touch with the organisation concerned for proceeding further.

Seeking entry to colleges in Germany

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