The German University System Explained (rankings, degrees, types)

There are more than 400 different universities in Germany. Well, how am I supposed to pick the right one for me? It's really confusing for us students. So I'm gonna give you everything you need to know about the system here I think a lot of you guys care about German university rankings and this is necessarily not a bad thing. Rankings can be an indicator of the quality of that university. They can be. One of the most commonly asked questions from you guys revolve around the top universities in

Germany. Can I study bachelor's, master's and PhD at the same time? No. So here's the truth about the university rankings and prestige. Naturally, when studying abroad, you wanna make the most informed decision possible, right? But answering this isn't straightforward because there are so many factors when it comes to evaluating universities. In general, getting a high quality education in Germany is not difficult. It's widely available across the universities. You can go to almost any universit

y in Germany. The standards are gonna be high. But yes, some institutions stand out for their exceptional programs. So naturally, the first thing we do is look at rankings. You know, we open the pages QS World University Ranking or Times Higher Education's Rankings. I'm pretty sure you've done this before if you're interested in studying in Germany. This is a good place to get a rough overview when you don't know anything about the system here. If you are a student, it's really interesting to kn

ow that Germany has an extremely strong position in global university rankings. So for example, on the THE World University Ranking, you'll discover 23 German universities within the top 200. Following behind the US with 60 and the UK with 28. That's pretty good and solidifies Germany's third place spot in the rankings by country. But when you look at these fancy international rankings, you might have noticed that the German universities on there are mostly public ones. Unlike the US or UK, you

won't spot many private or applied sciences universities from Germany there. These rankings focus a lot on research and reputation and not so much on teaching quality. So please don't put all your eggs in the ranking basket, because it doesn't always reflect how great the teaching is. Even if your dream university in Germany doesn't show up on these rankings, don't get sad. Chances are they still offer top quality programs. The thing is, in Germany, all universities have to meet certain quality

standards set by the state. If top-tier research and prestige, so the name of the university is your thing, if you want to say, "Oh, I graduated from TUM", it's a good idea to look at the university rankings. But otherwise, it's a secondary thing. But you might ask, "What about national rankings?" Within Germany, there is also an official university ranking. Well, Germany doesn't care too much about this ranking thing compared to some other countries. I know people love to rank everything, but h

ere in Germany, yes, there is a ranking, but it's kind of seen as not giving the full picture of what a university is about. A university is about teaching and that it fits you well. So don't worry too much about rankings and the name. If you're really skilled in a subject, you will get a good job here. But hey, if you're looking for the top ranked ones within Germany, I made a video about the five most prestigious ones in this country, the big names. Check it out after watching this video. So n

ext, there's the type of university. There is not only one, but actually four different types of universities, each with its own vibe and special features. It's quite important to know about all four because depending on your preferences, you might want to pick a different one. First up, we have the classic universities called Universitäten. They're basically the big players here in Germany. They offer the complete package, bachelor's, master's and PhD programs, everything from medicine to law a

nd physics. They cover a ton of subjects. The Universitäten are all about the academic scene and they focus a lot on research. At classic universities, it's all about studying knowledge and getting familiar with the theories. They basically train you to become a researcher in the first place. A lot of lectures, classic exams and a big university campus. After I graduated from high school, I started studying physics at a Universität the Technical University of Munich, better known as TUM, officia

lly the number one university in Germany, officially. And yeah, while I was going there, I had a lot of lectures, solving math problems, all that stuff you would expect from a university. Then there are the universities of Applied Sciences or Fachhochschulen. These are more hands-on and focus a lot more on projects and knowledge you can apply in the real world. Universities of Applied Sciences are really strong when it comes to engineering, business and social sciences, you know, practical stuff

. They are less about hitting the books and more about real world applications. Don't worry, you still get an official degree when you finish. Bachelors, masters as you know it, and even some universities of Applied Sciences recently started offering PhD programs. They're usually a bit smaller than the classic universities and more organized like schools. After studying at TUM, I changed universities and right now I'm studying computer science and design at the University of Applied Sciences in

Munich. And yeah, we work on a lot of projects and connect with a lot of companies in the industry. If I'm correct, that university is number one in Germany when it comes to startups and entrepreneurship. We even have an internship in the fifth semester where we will spend time actually working in the field. That's the power of the University of Applied Sciences. But there might be a chance that art or music is your thing. So for these students, there are colleges of art and music in Germany. Th

ey are known as Kunst und Musikhochschulen Dance, music, fine arts, that's what they teach there. It's all about getting as much practical training as possible. And yes, you also get official degrees here when you're done. Getting into these colleges can be quite tough because they only accept a small number of students every year. To get accepted, you usually gotta pass a test and show off your skills. Or they often ask for portfolios. And as the fourth type, many people overlook this one. Ther

e are some universities that focus on dual studies. As a student, you typically spend part of your time at a university or a vocational school where you study the knowledge. But the other part is spend time working at a company related to your field of study. This combo helps you pick up skills that are super relevant in the workforce. And at the same time, you're getting a solid education. On top of that, you usually get paid during your time at the company. Which can definitely help cover the

study expenses. Dual studies are a win-win. You can gain practical skills, work experience and a degree all in one package. My cousin finished her bachelor's degree in a dual study program with Mercedes. And damn, she basically didn't have any free time. I can say out of these four, the classic universities, are the most popular ones. They have the most number of students and also appear on the rankings. But there are so many different career paths and different ways to get a job and make money.

So here it's up to you to decide which approach, which type of university is the most attractive for you. Now for a couple of months, I keep on getting the question, should I go to a public or private university in Germany? And this is a really good question. In Germany, the education system has a strong tradition of public universities. Some of them have existed for hundreds of years until now. Like Heidelberg University, which was founded back in 1386. Like, that's quite old. So this sets it

apart from many other countries. Because education in Germany is considered a public good, it gets a lot of funding from the state. And this means that studying in Germany is typically tuition free, Private universities, on the other hand, are quite new to the German university scene. They only emerged in the late 1900s. Here I have a collection of some famous private universities in Germany. But even though the private sector is growing, public universities are still supreme. About 90% of stude

nts study at public universities. And they offer about 18,000 out of 20,000 study programs, which is just massive. And notably, all top ranked German universities in major global rankings are public institutions. Ah, here we have the ranking thing again. But don't let a single reason keep you away from your dream program. Having the whole picture will definitely help when it comes to making a good decision. There are solid reasons why some students go to private universities. So I'm gonna show y

ou the pros and cons for both. And then I'll let you decide what you find more attractive. The most well-known factor that attracts us students to most of the public universities in Germany is free tuition. At most of the public universities in Germany, there is no tuition for students, including non-EU international students. Only the small semester fee that every student in Germany has to pay. In my case, I pay 85 euros per semester at my university, which is nothing. When it comes to educatio

n, many public universities in Germany are known for the high quality programs and research facilities. And they have a strong global reputation. When you look at all the programs that the university offers, it's usually gonna be more than 100 across various disciplines. Public universities are often bigger and have way more students and diverse communities. For example, the Technical University of Munich has 52,000 students. So you get a lot of really good networking opportunities for students

from different backgrounds. And if you're interested in high quality research, public universities in Germany have the best research programs and resources. This is where basic research takes place, where Nobel Prize winners also give lectures, or where there's more a possibility to do a PhD. Here you just get a lot of opportunities to engage in research, even as a student. But there are also some downsides. There is a chance that your dream program is not available in English. For example, find

ing a completely English taught computer science degree at a public university in Germany with no tuition is really, really difficult. So yeah, this makes everything more challenging for non-German speakers. And keep in mind, since German universities are public and in theory, everyone can join, the competition is also going to be really high, especially in the more popular degree programs. I saw it with my own eyes in the first semester at TUM. There were more than 1000 students in computer sci

ence and the lectures were just extremely overcrowded. Or degrees like medicine and psychology are very popular and there are limited available spots. You can imagine where that leads. But on the other hand, private universities often have more programs in English. The International University Berlin is a good example. And I get a lot of comments about this one. You can actually study computer science and English there. And this makes them accessible to international students. And I assume there

will also be a lot of students from outside Germany. The advantage is that private universities tend to have smaller class sizes. I mean, the difference in the quality of education is not that big compared to public ones, but at private universities, there are usually fewer students. And this means that you get a lot more individual support and interactions with the professors. The access to study facilities tends to be better as well. I have heard of 24/7 co-working spaces, for example, and yo

u might also get other extra services such as organized accommodation and prestigious internships or extra chances to network. And private universities are good for specializations. There are private business schools, law schools, medical schools and more. Attending a private one can mean that your program has a specialized focus. And this can be beneficial if you're looking for more specific study programs. And yes, there are some courses that are mainly offered by private universities. Some ex

amples are special courses in the field of entrepreneurship, digitalization and special health topics. Since the private ones are smaller, they can be more flexible in their curriculum and teaching methods. They might be more innovative and use different, maybe better approaches to education. And yeah, as an international student, getting into a private university is probably going to be easier, less competition, less crowded. And if you can pay the tuition fee, But yeah, private universities, y

ou guessed it, they are expensive. The fees can range from a few thousand euros to more than 20,000 euros per year, which is a lot of money for education, by the way. And this depends on factors like the reputation of the university, the field of study and the level of education. So is it a bachelor's or master's degree? Some of them offer scholarships or financial aid, but for most students, it means that you got to pay a bunch of money. And private universities might not have the same level of

research funding or resources as public institutions. So next, I'm going to give you a complete overview of the types of degrees you can get at German universities and how valuable they are. One common worry that I've seen in the community and the comments is whether a degree earned from a German university will hold up abroad. Well, you can relax. The good news is the degrees from German universities are recognized worldwide. Now, there are a few exceptions, especially in the fields like medic

ine, law and teaching, where you might need specific qualifications for certain jobs. This makes sense, right? If you study law in Germany, you cannot just simply go to New Zealand and become an attorney there. But apart from those cases, programs in Germany are pretty much recognized anywhere. All right, so let's break down the study timelines for each degree. For a bachelor's, you're looking at about three to four years of that university grind. You might have an internship, fail exams or take

a break. But if you're fast, three years, it's going to rack up around 180 to 240 credits. Now, if you're stepping up to the master's level, that's going to take you one to two years. You're going to collect about 60 to 120 credits. And then there is the PhD stuff or as they call it in Germany, the "Promotion". That's a whole different game. It can take anywhere from one to three years, depending on what you're diving into. And as a fourth type of degree in Germany, there are these special prog

rams where students gotta face a state examination, a big exam before they can get their official certificate. Kind of like how in the US law students have to tackle the bar exam before practicing law. In Germany, it's called the "Staatsexamen" And they are a must if you're prepping for regulated careers like medicine, pharmacology, law and teaching. But listen, this is very important. To be honest, in Germany, it doesn't matter that much which university you attend. After attending the TUM Germ

any's top ranked university, I switched to a smaller university in Munich and my career opportunities are still fantastic. You just need to get good at what you're doing. Always remember, the best university is the one that fits you well. With that said, love you and stay focused.