Today we will tell you what Studienkolleg is and what to do there.
Studienkolleg is a college of pre-university education. If you graduated from 12-13 years of school in Germany, then you are quite ready to study in a German university, but if you graduated from 11 classes in your native country, then you will not be able to do it right away. You need to tighten up your level.
It is worth noting that after a minimum of two years of university in your native country, you can enter the German university for the same specialty without preparation.
These schools are usually free. The study there is divided into 2 semesters (6 months each). They offer different courses depending on which specialty you have chosen for higher education:
G-Kurs (Geistes- und gesellschaftswissenschaften – humanities and social sciences) for those who want to study art, humanities or social studies;
W-Kurs (Wirtschaftswissenschaft – economics);
M-Kurs (Medizin);
T-Kurs (technical sciences);
S-Kurs (Sprachwissenschaft – philology).
In addition to obvious things like biology for medical professionals or literature for philologists, you will receive Schlüsselqualifikationen (key qualifications / skills). Learn how to record information in the lecture room, how to listen and structure the material in your head and on paper. This work with texts, writing and presentation of analytical materials. Samples of writing diploma and coursework. In general, everything you need for successful studies at the university.
Pre-university training does not exist as a separate institution, it exists at a certain university and you send the form for admission to the university
Requirements:
To know German at level В1-В2. It depends on the specialty, technical knowledge requires less language knowledge because it will have to work with figures and international words, humanitarian ones require a higher level, because it is supposed to work with German texts;
For T-Kurs, you will need knowledge of mathematics;
Some courses require knowledge of English.
Usually, to do, you need to prove your knowledge on the test. They want to be sure that you are ready to study, because, as said, the training is mostly free. There are private institutions that help you prepare for the tests at Studienkolleg. Usually, at the end of the preparatory courses, specialists help you with the admission, and after graduating from Studienkolleg you are helped to enter the university.
After two semesters, you pass the final test (Feststellungsprüfung), which will show that you are already ready for higher education – successfully mastered the courses you listened to, and that your level of German is already B2-C1 (as required in most universities).
Then the documents on graduation are sent to the university and, hopefully, you get a place.
Do you think that you are ready and you do not need to spend a year of your life? There is an opportunity to take final exams from school records without having to study there for a year. It will be very difficult, therefore it is recommended that applicants enter Studienkolleg.
Knowledge of German is necessary. Even if you found the program in English, but did not finish a minimum of 2 years of university in your native country for the same specialty, you need German for the successful entry and graduation of Studienkolleg. And the entry into the country with some of the best, and even more importantly, free, universities in the world is a very tempting prospect. In addition to a free and very prestigious education, Germany offers all kinds of scholarships to foreign students. In 2010 alone, the Academic Exchange Service supported 67,000 students, scientists, and students in their studies and studies. 43% of them were foreigners.