Germany - types of higher education institutions

Universities and equivalent institutions of higher education

In addition to the traditional universities, the Technische Hochschulen or Technische Universitäten, that specialise in natural and engineering sciences also enjoy university status. Also equivalent to universities are establishments that only offer a limited range of courses of study, such as theological colleges and Pädagogische Hochschulen. The latter, which still exist only in Baden-Württemberg, have been incorporated into universities in the other Länder or expanded into institutions offering a wider range of courses.

What these institutions have in common, as a rule, is the traditional right to award the Doktorgrad (Promotionsrecht). Academic and scientific research – particularly basic research – and the training of the next generation of academics are also distinctive features of universities and equivalent institutions of higher education.

Colleges of art and music

Colleges of art and music offer courses of studies in the visual, design and performing arts as well as in the area of film, television and media, and in various music subjects; both, in some cases, also teach the appertaining theoretical disciplines (fine arts, art history and art pedagogy, musicology, history and teaching of music, media and communication studies as well as, more recently, the area of the new media). Some colleges teach the entire gamut of artistic subjects, others only certain branches of study.

Fachhochschulen

Fachhochschulen (universities of applied sciences) were introduced in 1970/71 as a new type of institution in the system of higher education in the Federal Republic of Germany. They fulfil their own specific educational function, characterised by a practice-oriented bias in teaching and research, a usually integrated semester of practical training, and professors, who have, in addition to their academic qualifications, gained professional experience outside the field of higher education.

A relatively high proportion of them, more than 50 per cent of some 230 Fachhochschulen including Verwaltungsfachhochschulen, are not state-maintained, but are to a large extent subject to the same legal provisions as state Fachhochschulen. They vary considerably in terms of size, number of students and number of courses of studies, and consequently the individual Fachhochschulen have a specific regional character or particular area of specialisation. A special role is played by the 29 Verwaltungsfachhochschulen (Fachhochschulen for public administration), which train civil servants for careers in the so-called higher level of the civil service. They are maintained by the Federation or by a Land. Their students have revocable civil servant status.

Establishments outside the higher education system – Berufsakademien, Fachschulen

Berufsakademien (professional academies) form part of the tertiary sector and combine academic training at a Studienakademie (study institution) with practical professional training in a training establishment, thus constituting a duales System (dual system). The companies bear the costs of on-the-job training and pay the students a wage, which is also received during the theoretical part of the training at the study institution. Berufsakademien were first set up in 1974 in Baden-Württemberg as part of a pilot project and are now to be found in some Länder as either state-run or state-recognised institutions.

As an alternative to the dual courses of the Berufsakademien, several Fachhochschulen have developed so-called dual courses of study.

Fachschulen are institutions of continuing vocational education and upgrading training in the tertiary sector that, as a rule, require the completion of relevant vocational training in a recognised occupation requiring formal training and subsequent employment. Fachschulen exist in the following fields:

• agricultural economy
• design
• technology
• business
• social work

Whether on a full or part-time basis, they lead to a professional continuing education qualification in accordance with Land legislation. In addition, Fachschulen can offer follow-up and further courses, as well as career development programmes. Those who complete training at the Fachschulen act as intermediaries between the functional sphere of graduates and that of skilled workers in a recognised occupation requiring formal training.

source:
Eurypedia - The European Encyclopedia on National Education Systems
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/eurypedia_en.php