Home
Architecture
Art
Beauty/Health
Beer
Business/Economy
Cars
Celebrities
Christmas
Dictionaries
Education
Fashion/Clothes
Food
Galleries
Gays/Lesbians
Genealogy
German Names
Germans Abroad
History
Holidays
Homework Help
Learn German
Law
Literature
Loveparade
Movies
Music
Nazi
News
Oktoberfest
Philosophy
Today in History
Traditions
Travel to Germany
Wines
More topics...
Facts About Germany
Armed Forces
Education
Economy
History
Geography
Mass Media
Politics
Society
German History
Early History
Medieval History
Thirty Years' War
Weimar Republic
Third Reich
Postwar
Honecker Era
Berlin Wall
Bismarck
German Recipes
Salads
Main Dishes
Desserts
Baking
German Chocolate Cake
Easter Dishes
Halloween Dishes
Christmas Dishes
How To in Germany
Articles
Quizzes
|
Tertiary or Higher Education in Germany
In the 1992-93 academic year, higher education was available at 314 institutions
of higher learning, with about 1.9 million students enrolled. Institutions
of higher learning included eighty-one universities and technical universities,
seven comprehensive universities (Gesamthochschulen), eight teacher-training
colleges, seventeen theological seminaries, 126 profession-specific technical
colleges, thirty training facilities in public administration (Verwaltungsfachhochschulen),
and forty-five academies for art, music, and literature. Nearly 80 percent,
or 250, of these institutions were located in the old Laender,
and sixty-four were in the new Laender. Baden-Wuerttemberg and
North Rhine-Westphalia had the largest share of these institutions, sixty-one
and forty-nine, respectively. In 1990 about 69.7 percent of students at
tertiary-level institutions went to universities and engineering schools,
and another 21.7 percent attended vocational training colleges (Fachhochschulen).
German university students can complete their first degree in about five
years, but on average university studies last seven years. Advanced degrees
require further study. Because tuition at institutions of higher education
amounts to no more than a nominal fee except at the handful of private
universities, study at the university level means only meeting living
expenses. An extensive federal and Land program provides interest-free
loans to students coming from lower-income households. Half of the loan
must be paid within five years of graduation. Students graduating in the
top third of their class or within a shorter time than usual have portions
of their loans forgiven. Loans are also available to students receiving
technical and vocational training. In the early 1990s, about half of all
students were obliged to work while attending university.
Unlike the United States, Germany does not have a group of elite universities;
none enjoys a reputation for greater overall excellence than is enjoyed
by the others. Instead, particular departments of some universities are
commonly seen as very good in their field. For example, the University
of Cologne has a noted economics faculty. Also in contrast to the United
States, German universities do not offer much in the way of campus life,
and collegiate athletics are nearly nonexistent. Universities generally
consist of small clusters of buildings dispersed throughout the city in
which they are located. Students do not live on university property, although
some are housed in student dormitories operated by churches or other nonprofit
organizations.
- Elementary
Education
- Junior Education
- Senior Education
- Vocational
Education
- Higher Education
- Geography (lands and
capitals, climate)
- Society (population, religion,
marriage, urbanization, social structure, immigration)
- Education (elementary,
junior, senior, vocational, higher)
- Economy (the Economic
Miracle, financial system, Bundesbank, business culture)
- Politics (government,
the Chancellor, the President, parties, Bundestag)
- Mass Media (newspapers,
radio and TV)
- Armed Forces (army,
navy, air forces, police)
|
|