Trial course
A trial course or trial course is an opportunity to participate in various courses of study at a university , vocational school or training institute within a limited time frame without being enrolled as a student or registered as a guest auditor. The participant is given an insight into the structure of the course, the course content and how it is conveyed in seminars, lectures and guided tours, and a detailed job description is presented. Within vocational schools and subject-specific training institutes, a trial course also offers a practical professional insight through the integration of practical tasks under the guidance of a lecturer or coach .
Many universities, in cooperation with secondary schools, offer pupils in grades 11–13 specially designed events in which pupils are introduced to the faculty through lecture series, experimental lectures, laboratory tours and their own experiments.
Lectures and internships within the trial course are usually free of charge, but the participant has to pay for food and any accommodation that may be required.
In some subjects, certain learning content is required as an entry requirement, which the participant must already know in order to be able to follow the courses offered. For participants who are not of legal age, a declaration of supervision is often required, signed by a legal guardian . There are now also special offers geared towards certain groups of participants, for example trial studies in natural science courses for women.
In some trial courses, there is an additional option for the trial course to be recognized as a study-relevant achievement, which can be taken into account when enrolling in the course.
As an alternative to a trial course, some institutes also offer the opportunity to sit in , where courses are only accompanied by the participant on an hourly basis.