Studying in Germany - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Throy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2015, 06:26:49 pm
content: I'm hoping some of our native German speakers could help me out here. I was looking into getting my masters for electrical engineering here in Germany, however, my BS in Electrical Engineering from the States isn't recognized here. So I was thinking, if I have to redo my Bachelor again I would do it in software engineering instead of redoing my EE degree since that doesn't make sense to me. My questions are, under what does software engineering fall here? Is that considered Informatik? The other question I have is if there are any Fernstudiumen that are ran by the state or are they mainly just private?

author: MiataMuc
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2015, 07:13:24 pm
content: Hi, depending on how good your german is, there is the Fernuni Hagen, which is in a way state run:http://www.fernuni-hagen.de/studium/studienangebot/bachelorstudiengaenge/

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 14, 2015, 07:38:17 pm
content: Did they give a reason for not accepting your BSc? What college did you receive your degree from? It is highly unusual, they should at least accept some of the courses you did, so you don't have to start from scratch. A BSc in Informatik covers the basics of computer science, information theory, math and software engineering. There are more specialized degrees depending on which university you plan on going to. The more practical degrees are at "Fachhochschule" (think of community college). With some of those, you might have trouble doing your MSc with a proper university.Generally studying at a German university is more strict and theoretical than you might be used to from the states. Prepare to learn a lot from books and lecture notes not so much from courses and people. My biggest advice is to get acquainted with the rules and formal requirements of your university. Otherwise it might bite you in the ass.That might not apply to Universities that don't profit from the "Exzellenzinitiative" (what it sounds like). I got my BSc from one of those and it wasn't too pleasant.

author: Throy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2015, 08:10:06 pm
content: As I was renewing my residency permit this year, the foreigner's office had tried to get me an EU Blue Card (IIRC) and was trying to give me an indefinite residency permit. For that they asked for a copy of my degree from the states. The guy looked it up in some database and said that it wouldn't be recognized here since it wasn't listed. From there I just assumed the universities wouldn't recognize it either. I even talked to a lady that helps people with getting their degrees recognized. I suppose I should just talk to a university and see what they say.I had studied at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. It was a four year college with 12 trimesters.I had gotten that impression talking to people that the colleges here tend to be stricter and more theoretical. Not saying MSOE wasn't theoretical but most of the work done was working on lab projects.As far as my German goes, people tell me it's good but I know I still have problems with the der, die, das and the different prepositions. I can hold a normal day conversation with people and understand what they are saying. It's just the written part that I occasionally have problems with. I'm working for a small family company here so the entire day is in German, and when I go out with friends it's all German. The only time I get to speak English at work is when I talk to a customer from England.

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 14, 2015, 08:41:59 pm
content: Quote from: Throy on September 14, 2015, 08:10:06 pmYes, such things are handled case to case. It is even different between universities. I know a lot of foreign students at German universities and do a bit of teaching in Austria. I have yet to hear from one, who didn't at least get credited for the basic first year courses. Just ask the respective Dean of studies.If you worked before, you might even be able to pass that off as an internship.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2015, 09:28:30 pm
content: You need a "Gleichwertigkeitsbescheinigung" that is usually done on a state level where you reside in Germany.In Baden Wuerthenberg for instance it is this:http://www.service-bw.de/zfinder-bw-web/lifesituations.do?llmid=0&llid=1480773Each one of the 16 German states does it a little differently and it is possible, that your certificates will not be accepted in one state, another state might accept them.If you have been to a real college and finished a 3 year course, there is a very high chance that your bachelor degree will be accepted here.But you might have to fight for it, since it is not perfectly black and white.

author: Throy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2015, 05:15:45 am
content: Thanks for the input. Talked to Uni Hagen yesterday; they didn't give me much hope either. They said doing my masters would not be possible, and doing another bachelors would probably not be possible either. They would have to compare my high school diploma to a an Abitur Abschluss. Going to give FH Lübeck a call later since they have a program with my college where the students can get a diploma from both FH Lübeck and MSOE. Hopefully they can be of some help.

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2015, 09:09:43 am
content: I talk about Belgium here. If not homologated automatically, people in your case have the possibility to proove their knowledge by EVC and EVK.if succesful, they are given the possibility to:-just start the masters.-start the masters and take some (missing) study-points with you.-fill the gaps in a customized one-in-all-year, then do the masters.Restart completely your bachelor is never the case, except if it's a suspicious post-order degree, of some dodgy mountain-village diploma.I assume this is the case in every country of the EU.

author: AndreasF
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2015, 01:48:08 pm
content: Quote from: Throy on September 17, 2015, 05:15:45 amThat might be your best bet, especially if they already have some sort of program with your previous school. However, they don't seem to have a Master's degree program in electrical engineering per se.The advantage of any FH is that you don't need the "Abitur" as a requirement to get into one one of those. And AFAIK in the engineering field FH degrees are not necessarily worth much less than degrees from 'proper' universities (unless of course you want to start an academic career).

author: sunnyhighway
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2015, 06:59:14 pm
content: Have you asked the US embassy in Germany? They should be able to help you on this matter.Ask them you need a "Statement of Comparability" (= Zeugnisbewertung) for the qualifications you obtained in the US.Most likely they will point you to the ZAB (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen)http://www.kmk.org/zab/kontakt.html

author: aargee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2015, 11:00:45 pm
content: Here is another angle... have you tried going through your alma marter?Here in Aus a lot of the Universities have departments set up to help students study overseas as part of their course and also for attending ongoing studies such as masters, etc. They have a lot of knowledge about course equivalents and universities that are 'compatible'.

author: Throy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2015, 05:48:21 am
content: Quote from: sunnyhighway on September 17, 2015, 06:59:14 pmI can give that a shot. My experience with the embassy in Frankfurt hasn't been too good. The last couple times I called asking for help they said they couldn't help or give me any advice because they're not there to help with understanding the German laws...Quote from: aargee on September 17, 2015, 11:00:45 pmThanks for the advice, I'll make that call this afternoon.

author: Neganur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 18, 2015, 08:06:31 am
content: Quote from: Throy on September 17, 2015, 05:15:45 amBy all means try and have your diplomas recognised by the state you're in / want to study in.The folks at the uni will only be able to give advice and not give any binding answers, if you can't prove that you have the right to study in Germany.Edit:From what I could read, you will have to prove your proficiency in German. There are certain recognised certificates.For the FH Lübeck you can read up on the required documents on the following website:https://www.fh-luebeck.de/studium-und-weiterbildung/bewerbung/mit-auslaendischem-bildungsnachweis/and you will have to apply to the uni via a centralised service atuni-assist

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2015, 08:42:59 am
content: If you really want to go to the FH Lübeck, then you should call them and ask about details. It should be much easier for you to be accepted in a FH than a Universitiy. Usually they are very helpful when you call. If you don't trust yourself language wise, send me a PM and I will call them for you.

author: Throy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2015, 09:03:28 am
content: Quote from: HighVoltage on September 18, 2015, 08:42:59 amThanks for the offer! My girlfriend had contacted them yesterday. They said that she should email them the question. She sent the following:QuoteSo now I just have to wait and see what they say.

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2015, 09:17:24 am
content: Could it be a good idea to ask the question to multiple Universities?Maybe they give a different answer, or give you more info about this.