All about taking an undergraduate or Master’s degree in Germany

Brazilians have yet to discover that Germany is one of the best destinations in the world to study. This article explains everything you need to know about taking an undergraduate or Master’s degree in Germany.

When Brazilian students think about studying abroad, the countries that automatically come to mind are Canada, the United States, England, or Australia, because of the academic programs in English. However, there are thousands of courses taught in English here in Germany, and you can attend undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D. programs without knowing any German.

Even though the courses are in English, all universities offer free German language courses. If you are interested in staying in Germany after your studies, learning the language adds even more value to your experience. But if you want to return to Brazil, the chance to learn German at the university during your university program allows you to bear with other language experiences.

In Germany, 90% of the universities are part of the public education system. It means that the cost is practically zero. See below for details on the higher education programs in the country.

Undergraduate Degrees

Undergraduate programs in Germany usually last three years. However, since 96% of the degrees at the country’s public universities are taught in German, you will probably have to choose a private university if you want to get a bachelor’s in English.

Germanics represents 12 private universities throughout Germany that offer hundreds of degrees in English. Many of them accept Brazilian students who have taken ENEM without requiring additional exams.

These courses are frequently cheaper than those found at universities in English-speaking countries. For example, to take a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design taught in English in Germany, the student will have to pay between 5,000 and 7,000 euros per year, which is almost half the cost of the same program in the United States or the United Kingdom.

But what are the prerequisites for taking a degree at a German public university?

Speaking German is mandatory. Germanics, in co-operation with a partner university, offers a one-year academic German course called the University Pathway for the student who is aiming for a bachelor’s degree at a public institution.

While in Brazil, regular High School lasts 12 years; in Germany, it is 13. Therefore, the student who has completed high school in Brazil will still have to take an additional year here before entering the undergraduate program at the public university. This extra year is called a Studienkolleg, aiming to equalize the education systems’ content between the two countries.

If the student has attended high school in an international school in Brazil and has obtained the IB diploma (International Baccalaureate), they will be exempt from the Studienkolleg. But he will need the German language proficiency exam. Then it is only necessary to study German for one year and get an undergraduate place at a public university.

Master’s Degree

When it comes to Master’s degrees, the picture is entirely different from the undergraduate one. There are thousands of Masters in English at German public universities. And they are practically free for international students.

The German public university system is divided into three types of institutions:

• Universität (Uni) – a more research-oriented university with a more academic, theoretical, and scientific focus.
• Fachhochschule (FH) – University of Applied Sciences. It has fewer courses than the universities, and its main distinguishing feature is its focus on practice. Many universities of applied sciences are private.
• Kunst und Musikhochschule – School of art, film and music. It teaches arts, such as design, film, music, or fashion.

If you want to do an academic master’s degree at a German public university, Germanics has an outstanding mentorship. Germanic’s Mentorship consists of an orientation process that helps you choose a master’s program and apply to the best public universities in the country.

Suppose you want a master’s degree focused on the professional market. In that case, Germanics can help you pick the right one from among the hundreds of courses in the most varied areas of knowledge offered by its partner universities.

It is worth remembering that among the advantages that Germany offers to international students are:

Benefits of a study visa;

• Permission to work up to 20 hours a week;
• Visa to look for work for 18 months after the end of the course;
• Cheaper student living costs than in Canada, the UK, the US, or Australia.

Whatever your choice of a university program in Germany is, Germanics is the ideal agency to help you reach your dream. Contact Germanics for more information.