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Here we go: For anyone in Leb looking to get to Germany, I’m splitting it into 3: Work, studying, and living.
Note: I have a German passport and didn’t go through certain processes & everyone's experience varies – pls do more detailed research if you’re officially pursuing this. https://twitter.com/freethebutts/status/1295307417492893696
Note: I have a German passport and didn’t go through certain processes & everyone's experience varies – pls do more detailed research if you’re officially pursuing this. https://twitter.com/freethebutts/status/1295307417492893696
Part 1: Studying – Some of this process can be a pain in the ass and varies based on: state you are applying to (Germany has 16 states), BA or MA, and your education history. I’m going to start with options, types, then language, financial, and visa requirements.
Corona: There are currently issues with accepting international students in Germany due to Corona and classes being online, but this is constantly being updated and hopefully by 2021 these temporary blocks are changed.
1. https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-foreign-students-on-online-courses-are-denied-visas-to-germany/a-54567800
2. https://www.studying-in-germany.org/coronavirus-information-for-international-students-in-germany/
1. https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-foreign-students-on-online-courses-are-denied-visas-to-germany/a-54567800
2. https://www.studying-in-germany.org/coronavirus-information-for-international-students-in-germany/
First, for some obvious info:
Germany has public and private universities like everywhere, public education is generally preferred and is of high quality, it is also MAINLY FREE in most states. I’ll be including info on both but assuming most of you would like the public ones.
Germany has public and private universities like everywhere, public education is generally preferred and is of high quality, it is also MAINLY FREE in most states. I’ll be including info on both but assuming most of you would like the public ones.
For example, in Bavaria public universities are free apart from a 115-250€ fee/PER SEMESTER. This varies per state, also they mainly do not discriminate based on if you are DE/EU or international. (I've heard of exceptions where some states can be up to 2k per semester)
On the other hand, private universities tend to have more English-speaking programs but can go around 3k-6k per semester, their fees can vary based on if you are DE/EU/International. They also have scholarships and financial aid.
Now here’s the thing: Certain public universities require you go through UniAssist ( https://my.uni-assist.de/ ) to apply to them (most private Uni’s do not require this), which can be a pain in the ass and cost per application, you make a profile there and input your diploma
Ex: adding Highschool for BA or BA for MA, and they evaluate their validity and judge what prerequisites you need - sometimes requires sending documents by mail!
You will also sometimes need to send your documents to other education orgs to get them evaluated based on the state
You will also sometimes need to send your documents to other education orgs to get them evaluated based on the state
you apply to, but generally UniAssist is the norm for internationals studying in German or directly via uni. For certain universities you also need to translate your degrees to english or german and get those notarized in Leb, there’s a lot of paperwork that needs to be done.
If you plan on studying in German you are required to have a language certificate and either do TestDaf or DSH. Now if you want to study in German and have the language down, you MAY also be asked to complete a year of “Studienkolleg” this is like a prep year.
(Ex: if you want to do engineering you’d be taking classes on math and physics in German).
Studienkolleg info example for Munich: http://xn--studienkolleg-mnchen-3ec.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/mb_zulassung_e.pdfstudienkolleg-münchen.de/wp-content/upl
When you apply to the program – some Uni’s will give a tentative acceptance and tell you you need to do this year first
Studienkolleg info example for Munich: http://xn--studienkolleg-mnchen-3ec.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/mb_zulassung_e.pdfstudienkolleg-münchen.de/wp-content/upl
When you apply to the program – some Uni’s will give a tentative acceptance and tell you you need to do this year first
If you want to study in English you need TOEFL or IELTS – rarely some uni’s will accept your previous education as proof of English or may ask for German but either way do the tests. But obviously studying in English is the easier route here. So after that here’s where to look:
Whether BA, MA, or PHD the best way to start is the DAAD website, especially if your goal is to study in English. DAAD is the German Academic Exchange Service and it provides information on study programs and scholarships https://www.daad.de/en/
To look up study programs use this search engine from DAAD to filter https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/studiengang/en/
or UniAssist for more German https://my.uni-assist.de/
or study-in https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/
or UniAssist for more German https://my.uni-assist.de/
or study-in https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/
In the rare occasion of them not having what you’re looking for and if you’re focused on a specific city I’d recommend just looking up that city’s universities and going through its offers (they tend to have an English program section).
DAAD’s Scholarship database: https://www.daad.de/en/study-and-research-in-germany/scholarships/
Also check the universities you want to apply to because they always have other financial aid and scholarship options too! Unfortunately most student loans aren’t applicable for non-DE, but there are still grants available.
Also check the universities you want to apply to because they always have other financial aid and scholarship options too! Unfortunately most student loans aren’t applicable for non-DE, but there are still grants available.
For general entrance requirements: Certain public universities also have their own requirements, for example some courses will not have a limit, others will require an entrance exam or only accept a certain quota – pls check the Uni’s program website directly or DAAD mentions it
Now for the financials and what may be the biggest hurdle especially with the economic situation: To be able to study here you need proof that you can fund yourself, this is either via placing a certain amount in a blocked account before arriving (currently 10,236€/year) OR
1. https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/germany-visa/proof-financial-funds-foreign-students-germany/
2. https://www.studying-in-germany.org/germany-blocked-account-foreign-students/
The other ways to get around that are:
2. https://www.studying-in-germany.org/germany-blocked-account-foreign-students/
The other ways to get around that are:
+ You can also get part time jobs and finance yourself, but non-EU students also have restrictions on how much they can work ( https://www.daad.de/en/study-and-research-in-germany/first-steps-germany/side-jobs/), the issue is that you need to prove you can fund yourself before even getting into the country
Next, Visas, as I said I don’t have first hand experience here but here are some resources of what you need with details (changes may be happening soon this is just rn)
1. Consulate: https://beirut.diplo.de/lb-ar/service/visa-einreise/-/2088438
2. https://www.studying-in-germany.org/german-student-visa/
3. https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa/kinds-of-visa/studying/
1. Consulate: https://beirut.diplo.de/lb-ar/service/visa-einreise/-/2088438
2. https://www.studying-in-germany.org/german-student-visa/
3. https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa/kinds-of-visa/studying/
The issue in Leb is that the German consulate ( https://beirut.diplo.de/lb-ar ) can be a bit tricky to deal with and again – needing to keep corona, explosion, and the economic crisis in mind. As I said there may be changes coming so stay updated!
You need to renew your visa and go through the financial requirements either by being given a 1 or 2-year permit so you may not need to go through this every year. When you finish your studies, you are given an 18-month grace period to find a job (holding a residence permit).
I think that is all I can provide a general overview on with studying, there may be details I missed or again please consider this can vary by university, state, study program, and the current crisis!! If you went through this process feel free to add your own experience.
