Study abroad

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A study abroad referred to a study period of usually one to two semesters in a country other than that in which the study was recorded and can usually also completed, but, increasingly, a study that fully than the home country of in another country students will be carried out .

Dimensions

At many universities in Germany, it is customary to spend part of your studies abroad. According to a study by the University Information System for the 2006/07 winter semester, around 23 percent of German students completed a study-related stay abroad. 30 percent of the university students and 18 percent of the students from technical colleges were abroad. About two-thirds of the students were in Western Europe, mostly Great Britain and France, 13 percent in North America and ten percent in Eastern Europe, mostly Poland and Russia.

Around 58,000 foreign students start studying in Germany every year. There are also students who only complete part of their studies here within the framework of exchange agreements.

motivation

There are several reasons that can come into play when studying abroad. Insights into your own subject from a foreign perspective are provided. Your own foreign language skills can be improved. You get to know a new country and its culture , develop a network of international contacts, e.g. B. through the alumni network of the foreign university, through student associations such as z. B. the fraternities and sororities of Anglo-American universities and through personal contacts. In addition, you gain experience abroad, which comes into play in later applications. A numerus clausus at German universities can be circumvented. In competition with German universities, an advantage can be drawn from the better-regarded framework conditions and study programs abroad. Furthermore, there is the possibility of acquiring an additional degree ( double diploma ), as well as the desire to move to the host country and start a career abroad.

In retrospect, 90 percent of the participants in the Erasmus program stated that their self-confidence had been strengthened.

options

University of California, Berkeley Campus

You can study abroad on the one hand in a foreign language and on the other hand in German. Many universities outside the English-speaking countries set up courses that are conducted entirely in English, so that it is no longer absolutely necessary to speak the national language of the host country in order to study there.

In 2004, German students abroad chose around 30% German as the language of instruction, around 30% English, around 10% French and around 10% Spanish. 20% chose other languages. The increasing tendency to study abroad in German has the following causes:

  • More and more foreign universities are setting up German-language courses.
  • German students want to be able to follow the lectures better.
  • German students want to complete exams abroad with better grades than before.
  • German students want to be able to participate in research projects abroad on an equal basis.
  • Admission restrictions ( numerus clausus ) at German universities meant that no place could be obtained in Germany. Abroad, however, a study place was available according to a different selection process (example: medicine in Hungary )

There are now over 700 German-language courses outside of the German-speaking area . You can find them in many countries, for example in Finland , the People's Republic of China , Hungary and the USA . These courses are largely unknown, although they play a prominent role in the current educational debate.

The offers offer German-speaking students the unique opportunity to gain international experience and at the same time complete an international degree without language barriers in lectures and exams.

Business administration alone can be learned in German at over 40 universities around the world. For example, law is offered over 20 times. You can even find something special like German-language media courses abroad 10 times.

In Austria and Switzerland you can of course also find German-language study opportunities.

For students who are aiming for a degree in Germany, the question often arises whether they should aim for a further degree abroad or whether only one or two exchange semesters without a degree are the goal. Exchanges via programs such as ERASMUS usually eliminate the tuition fees, but do not guarantee that a foreign degree can be obtained.

It is different in countries with tiered study systems. In France, for example, it is easy for the pre-degree or intermediate exam in the year of the license or after six semesters with the corresponding services of two major term paper in the year of Maitrise to be classified and to make the corresponding financial statements, which in its turn German to Final exams can be credited.

Portrait of Linus Pauling at graduation in the USA in 1922, 1926/27 studies abroad in Munich, Copenhagen and Zurich

Graduates of the Maitrise can generally do the German final thesis, for example the final thesis in the state examination, and a certificate for advanced seminars. Admission to the doctorate is also possible directly. A double integration of studies is also possible in the education system of the USA and the United Kingdom (and the countries that have adopted this system from the mother country ): Students from the German system become graduate studies with a preliminary diploma / intermediate examination and two semesters in the USA , thus admitted to the one-year course for the master’s . Here, especially in the humanities, you can often optionally do a master's with a thesis (final thesis).

After the conversion of the German courses to Bachelor / Master courses, it is easier to integrate into the following course.

Precise information and arrangements with examination offices and professors at the home university and the host university are advisable.

organization

There are a whole range of options for going abroad.

A well-trodden path is the use of an exchange program, which can be located at institute, faculty, university or state level. In all cases, the International Office will help , for example by offering advice or arranging a place at a partner university directly. Such an international office can be found in the administration of every university.

Another option is to apply directly to the foreign university. If there are no suitable exchange programs available or the number of places is limited, this form of individual planning is recommended. If you organize your semester abroad autonomously, you are referred to as a free mover (especially with the ERASMUS programs) . The International Office can also help here, especially by providing information material and individual advice.

financing

Most foreign universities have tuition fees that are often higher than those for nationals (e.g. United States, United Kingdom, Australia). Germany is one of the few countries in the world that charge little or no tuition fees. In the EU, German students have the advantage that they have to pay the tuition fees for residents, while the tuition fees for EU foreigners can be significantly higher (e.g. in Great Britain ).

When going abroad on an exchange program, there are often no tuition fees, which is what enables many students to study abroad in the first place, given the often very high fees. In some cases fee waiver is not granted for all courses, so in a few cases a degree / degree is not possible.

Other forms of funding are available for direct applications. Basic financial support is possible through BAföG or foreign BAföG or an education loan. In addition, there is a wealth of organizations and foundations that award scholarships , e. B. the DAAD , the Fulbright Commission for the USA or the Erasmus program of the European Community. In addition, all organizations for the promotion of talented students offer their scholarship holders foreign scholarships . A few universities, especially American ones, can also be financed through graduate assistantships or university grants.

recognition

Most of the time, studying abroad is linked to the aim of having courses attended abroad recognized for studying in your home country, so that the total duration of study is not or only slightly extended. Depending on the university and department, the recognition of courses taken abroad is handled very differently and sometimes depends on the personal assessment of individual professors . It is usually important that the course content, course intensity (number of hours per week in the semester) and examination intensity (duration of the examination) roughly match; general statements about recognition are difficult, however. Any recognition should therefore be discussed with professors or academic advisors at your own university before you start studying abroad. The recognition of academic achievements made abroad within the EU has become easier and more transparent thanks to the Bologna process and the Erasmus program. With the introduction of the tiered Bachelor / Master studies and the introduction of the European credit transfer system ECTS , recognition has been simplified.

The recognition of foreign academic degrees is regulated by law. The approval of degrees acquired outside the EU must be applied for from the responsible minister of education / science in the home state (subject to a fee, usually free of charge for students without income on application). The degrees are usually approved in their original form with the addition of the state or the awarding university.

statistics

According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 133,800 German students were enrolled at foreign universities in 2011 - 5,900 more than in the previous year. The most popular target countries for studying abroad in 2011 were Austria and the Netherlands.

  • Austria 22.9%
  • Netherlands 18.7%
  • Great Britain 11.2%
  • Switzerland 10.4%
  • USA 7.0%

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the interests of the students differ depending on the destination country. In the case of medical studies, Hungary and the Czech Republic are preferred in order to avoid the numerus clausus in Germany.

It also moves students to other countries abroad. The USA is one of the most popular countries for studying abroad.

  • USA 56%
  • UK 40%
  • Germany 27%
  • France 22%
  • Australia 18%

literature

  • "Studies, research, teaching abroad, funding opportunities for Germans", Ed. DAAD. This brochure of approx. 400 pages is reprinted every spring. It can be picked up at the International Office.
  • "Study Guide ...", edited by DAAD, is available for almost all European countries and the most important non-European continents. They are available in bookshops (W. Bertelsmann Verlag) and can be viewed or borrowed from AAAs.
  • "Language courses at universities in Europe", Ed. DAAD, addresses and Internet addresses of the providers to inform yourself.
  • Jörn Schulz: Studying in Australia: studying and researching as a Bachelor, Master or Ph.D. student at Australian universities; Study programs, application, funding and financing options .... 1st edition. MANA-Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-934031-43-2 (guide, which also introduces Australian universities, the education system and life in Australia)

Web links

Commons : International students  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. Handelsblatt - Karriere & Management, 11./12./13. May 2007, p. 7
  2. Financial Times Deutschland: International students, please check out ( Memento from February 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  3. Alexander Demling: Exchange students and love: "There are a million Erasmus babies." spiegel.de, September 22, 2014, accessed on September 23, 2014
  4. Financial Times Deutschland: International students, please check out ( Memento from January 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  5. German students, first-year students and graduates abroad in 2010 by country of study. (No longer available online.) Federal Statistical Office, 2012, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved May 5, 2015 .
  6. Preferred countries of foreign students (top talents) * for studying abroad. statista, 2010, accessed May 5, 2015 .