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The German advantage: graduate studies for international students
Studying abroad is the dream of many, and Germany represents one of the best destinations for a study abroad experience of all the European countries. It means getting to know new people, a new country, a new culture, a new language, a new way of thinking.
What most people overlook is that a learning experience abroad, in a new environment, ultimately contributes to learning more about yourself and your own country. Comparing your home culture to your adopted culture teaches you to understand and respect the differences, to see the strong and weak points of both and, most importantly, allows you to adapt some of these insights for your own personal growth.
Exposure to, and tolerance for, others is what has made modern, post-war Germany an ideal learning environment. A vast spectrum of institutions of higher education, including research universities and universities of applied sciences, are increasingly coordinating their academic and research activities. They have established networks at home and abroad to both disseminate their own work and access the scientific findings of others. This exchange of "man and material", if you will, has placed German postgraduate programs in particular, in the enviable position of offering foreign students a unique blend of internationally recognized academic excellence and intercultural expertise.
Germany is interested in promoting young, international elites at well over 300 German higher education institutions and research facilities. Why? There are a number of reasons and among them is the idea of "helping others help themselves." This is a way of providing long-term assistance to other countries in areas of learning that can make a tangible difference later in the visitor's home country: how to build roads, machinery, canals, sewer systems, electric utilities and much more. Furthermore, it promotes an understanding of Germany, of scientific cooperation in general, and can help sustain or improve good political and business relations with the countries from which the student has come. For the student, this translates into a good education in Germany, exposure to German culture, business and people and a rewarding career at home or possibly even in the host country.
The German university system is consistently internationalizing its study programmes to increase their universal appeal. With better counselling, project support, language assistance, scholarships and recognition of university work done elsewhere, it is now easier than ever before to take advanced degree courses and conduct research in Germany. Changes in immigration legislation have made it notably easier for foreign students to come to Germany and stay on for post-graduate or post-doctoral work and even pursue a career.
A German higher education offers foreign students a chance to earn a Master's or a Ph.D. - in many cases with English as the study language - that is compatible with and comparable to the formats of other countries.
It is recognized internationally, opening up a wider range of career opportunities or further study. In general, there are currently no or only low tuition fees at German universities and the general cost of living for students is below that of many other western countries. Studying in Germany essentially costs the same as in Britain or the United States, it's just that in Germany the tab is picked up by the taxpayers and not the individual.
For students who qualify, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as well as a number of public and private foundations have scholarships available. The German Foundation Index (www.stiftungsindex.de) is a good link to scholarship sources. The “funding guide” is another database recently established by the DAAD giving an overview of the various types of funding offered by the DAAD or of the programmes offered by other funding organisations for a study stay in Germany (www.funding-guide.de). In addition, it is also possible for good students to earn a little extra money on the side as a teaching assistant; in particular, in the natural sciences and engineering faculties. Special offers for postgraduates or post-doctoral students who want to conduct research in Germany can be found at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (www.avh.de) and the German Research Foundation (www.dfg.de).
- Links:
www.campus-germany.de
www.daad.de