Continuing University education in Germany

Hey,

I'm currently living in Herrenberg and working for HP as part of my degree in CS. There are other guys (no gals) here doing the same thing (albeit with CoCreate, Integral, Agilent etc etc).

I like it here and I'm considering coming back out here to read for a masters degree. I was wondering if there was anybody that has gone this route and could give me their opinions on it.

Cheers,

Matt

Hi

Computer science is rather removed from the field I lecture in so I can only give you general tips based on my experience of working in UK and German universities. But in case it helps:

1) Normally, a BSc would have been recognised as equivalent to or slightly higher than a Vordiplom/Zwischenprufung (depending on the university). The major snag in doing a masters in Germany for people having done a single honours UK degree has often been that their Diplom are based on two subjects. So you might have to do some pre-'Vordiplom/Zwischenprufung' work in another subject as well as the Hauptstudium work. In my subject it takes on average 3 years for a German student to complete Hauptstudium but it has to be said this is doing a lot less work that a British undergrad is used to doing per semester so it is possible to do it in 2 years. Check the small print of exam regulations carefully - more traditional German universities often have nasty reuirements lurking there like so much maths, extra foreign languages etc. You also have to pass a German language proficiency exam before matriculating - the Goethe Institut website has info on the standard needed.
2) The way round learning another subject from scratch and a very long Masters degree used to be the 1-2 year specialised Masters (there's a list somewhere on the DAAD site www.daad.de along with much other useful advice) sometimes taught in English but often with relatively high fees and I have been told anecdotally some recognition problems within Germany.
3) The possibly good news: German universities are very slowly changing to a Bachelors-Masters model, which would make what you want to do MUCH easier. Some universities have been keen about this and have moved ahead rapidly and modernised their degrees at the same time others haven't. The ones that have been quite progressive on this tend to be in Nord-Rhein Westfalen because their state government is insisting this is in place by 2006-7 (Essen and Bochum are probably the furthest ahead). Greifswald in the north-East is another good example.
4) There are massive differences between study in Britain and Germany - you will not have much contact at all with academic staff, no personal tutors, very large seminar groups etc. The facilities vary from place to place but be aware that underfunding in German universities is causing major problems everywhere (avoid Berlin like the plague on this factor). It is however largely free of charge and if you're careful in your choice of university you can have a good experience. I would go for the smaller universities rather than the big city ones and check the ranking in the likes of Stern, Wirtschaftswoche etc to find out where is rated by students, employers and academics.
Hope it helps a bit

Thanks for such an in depth reply!

To be honest having researched further I'm rapidly going off the idea. There are too many hurdles for what feels like too little return... Lots of effort to comply with the German education system, qualifications taught in English seem to be viewed as inferior to their German counterparts, and yet more debt (in one form or another). Of course debt problems are just as likely to (if not more so?) bite me in the neck back in the UK!

I must say however that the idea of little contact with academic staff, no personal tutor (eh?! "Personal"... "Tutor"... Nope, the words just don't fit together) and being nothing more than a face in the crowd doesn't scare me that much. It sounds quite like what I'm used to really.

Though I would like to further my education at the same time I would like to enter into a professional lifestyle: Earn money, ride a fast motorcycle & actually live somewhere habitable with a shower that works. I guess I'm too mercenary to be that good a scholar :)

I feel there are other ways to get myself back to Germany.

Once again, many thanks!

Matt

Matt
Yes German higher education is certainly not for the faint-hearted or uncommitted (that's why their drop-out rate is so horrendous - 70% don't complete their degree in my subject and that's not the worst!) and you (not the university) will be the one having to fit in. It is really tough too coping in a seminar group of 80+ if your german's not very good.
How about the Open University? Or plenty of British universities offer 2 year Masters that run classes in the evenings so you can work alongside it. You may find that you need a Masters degree to get taken seriously in the German labour market (especially at the moment with the high level of unemployment) if as it sounds from your post you're interested in graduate level jobs in your field. Good luck anyway!

Matt,

You could try Heidelberg Uni, they offer courses in English, anyway here is the website...also in English.

http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/index_e.html