A lession in geographics

1.8 million students around the world go abroad to attend a university. Nearly one tenth of those students choose to come to Germany. Germany has a lot to offer to foreign students, be they first-year students or postgraduates.

Germany's universities combine age-old traditions with modern technologies. More than 300 universities are featured on Campus Germany: from time-honored institutions offering students the classical repertoire of subjects such as Medicine, Law, English and German to innovative new institutions of higher education with inter-disciplinary study programs. German universities are open to anyone who fulfills the prerequisites and academic freedom is one of the basic principles of the German university system. That's also one of the reasons German universities don't charge tuition fees. You'll only have to pay for your education at a few private schools.

Universities here combine research and study. They've been the scene of many groundbreaking discoveries and they're internationally renowned. German universities attract faculty and students from around the world. Modern German universities also combine theoretical work with its practical application. They both educate and train - basic research is augmented by applied research. Interdisciplinary cooperation is common and many co-operate closely with multinational firms and other research institutes in Germany and abroad. In the end, this increases the graduates' chances in the job market.

Many of today's students no longer want a purely theoretical education. A variety of comprehensive universities and universities of applied science in Germany offer balanced academic training necessary for a professional career. Practical experience in regional companies is often part of the curriculum. German companies are interested in attracting well-trained graduates from abroad. In many cases, these former students can continue to work for the company as a foreign spokesperson once they return home.

Students coming to study in Germany can choose between various kinds of higher education institutions; these are basically: the universities and university-status institutions, e.g., the Technical Colleges, and the German Fachhochschulen. In addition to these forms, there are the Colleges of Art and Music.

There are no study fees in Germany. German institutions of higher education welcome students from all nationalities.

Knowledge is international and transcends all frontiers. This is why one of Germany's natural education policy goals is to attract qualified international students from abroad to complete a period of study at one of the country's universities.

The proportion of foreign students among the total student body in Germany has risen strongly the last years. Germany has meanwhile moved to third place in the table of most popular host countries, behind the United States and Britain. Preferred subjects for foreign students are economics and business administration, German studies, electrical engineering, computer science, and music.

If you are a national of an EU country, you do not require a visa for entry into Germany. This regulation applies similarly to nationals of the following countries: Australia, Canada, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, San Marino, and the United States. All other foreigners do need a visa. The German diplomatic representations abroad (embassies and consulates) will provide information on the visa requirements to be met.

The required residence permit must be obtained within the first three months of arrival in Germany. A residence permit is required by all foreigners, including nationals of EU or EEA countries (Residence Permit for Nationals of a Member State of the EU).

If you wish to study at a German university, you must hold a higher education entrance qualification:

• Foreign citizens who gained their school-leaving and higher education entrance qualification in Germany are regarded as educational nationals (Bildungsinländer) and are admitted to higher education study on the same basis as German applicants.
• If you are an EU national, your higher education entrance qualification will generally be recognised as equivalent to the respective German qualifications, meaning the same admissions conditions apply to you as they do to Germans. Besides EU nationals, nationals of the non-EU EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) are also essentially treated on the same basis as German applicants.
• Other foreigners must have their higher education entrance qualifications evaluated to determine equivalency with the respective German qualifications. If the qualifications are not adjudged to be equivalent, applicants will be required to take the Feststellungsprüfung, a higher education assessment test. Preparatory Courses are offered which provide applicants with two/three semesters of preparatory studies leading to the Assessment Test (Feststellungsprüfung), which includes the Language Proficiency Test as a constituent part. However, prospective applicants wishing to be admitted to a Studienkolleg must already have some knowledge of German before they can be accepted.