Education System and Universities in Germany

Each state is responsible for education in Germany.

• Kindergarten ie pre-primary education is provided between 3-6 years or age. Grundschule is Primary education. Nine years is compulsory education offered in various types of schools for secondary education.
• Gymnasium – Gymnasiums prepare students for university studies and generally are meant for academically stronger students. Students are prepared for Higher education and give their Abitur or the feststellungsprufung (university entrance qualification)
• Realschule – The Realschule for the intermediate students
• Hauptschule – Prepare students for the skilled education.
• Gesamtschule- a good combination of schools introduced late

Students now can study in either public or private universities. Education is imparted for free in the public universities. The private universities have tuition fees. Numerous options are available to students to progress in variety of fields like Engineering, Business, Science, Arts, and Design. They are offered to the locals as well as International students

Universities provide theoretical knowledge and are research oriented. They impart PHDs. The ones which give specialisations are the Technical Universities. A standard classification of universities can be Technical Universities and Applied Science Universities. Another classification can be Public Universities and Private Universities. There are some Dual programs by universities. These allow students to work full time as well as study. Such courses are funded by industries and students get paid for work and study in evening.

The public universities are funded by the state and the private universities are not. Students look to Germany with a hope of getting free education and many do get this opportunity.

Some of the popular Technical Universities are

• TU Berlin
• TU Munich
• TU Dresden
• TU Cologne

Applied science Universities are the ones which give industry oriented training. To give an example -F H Aachen University of applied Sciences

Applications to universities would require a minimum of first class. A few courses do require German language ability.