I am currently pursuing two undergraduate degrees in physics and neuroscience and I wish to do further research by getting a doctrate.
I am an international student and money is a huge issue. And since i am adamant on pursuing these two degrees for my research, I am thinking of transfering to europian universities (such as germany) that focus on research and are relatively much cheaper. I am curious about how the credits would transfer. I am in the 2nd year of my college. Also how difficult would it be transition back to US for masters?
I am not confident about how the education system works there and if it would be a good option to shift out or not.
You need to contact German universities directly to find their transfer policies. But because their programs are very different from the US many German universities won’t transfer any of your credits. In that case, you’d be essentially starting your undergraduate education over again.
As for a master’s degree (or PhD) you wouldn’t be “transferring” back to the US. You’d be applying as an international student, taking the GREs and competing like everyone else.
I can almost guarantee you that German universities will tell you to apply as a first-year student. “Two years of college” is one of the ways in which applicants from the US can qualify for freshman entrance to a German university. (Others being 1 year of college + a certain SAT score, or the right combination of 4-6 AP exams, to include calculus.)
They may evaluate your transcript for transfer credits after you have been accepted, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high. Odds are you’ll essentially start your undergraduate degree from scratch.
A few more things to keep in mind:
You'll need to be fluent in German to get your undergraduate degree at a German university.
German universities would not let you double major in two relatively unrelated fields such as physics and neuroscience. Gotta pick one or the other.
Since neuroscience overlaps with medicine, admission will be extremely competitive. As in, competitive enough that many high school valedictorians won't have grades high enough to qualify. Other biology-related major will be similarly competitive. (I would be happy to elaborate on why that's the case if you're curious.) Physics, on the other hand, is a relatively unpopular major and should be easy to gain admission to.
German universities don't have a concept of undergraduate research. Undergraduate students are mostly a nuisance to faculty who'd rather be working on research than teaching.
German culture stresses the importance of university students learning to work independently. Don't expect your instructors to follow a textbook, or to cover everything in class that could be on the exam. It's your responsibility to learn everything on the syllabus.
Since many students have a hard time adjusting to the "you gotta learn on your own" mentality, drop-out rates are high. Typically about 50% of science majors will drop out or change their major after the first year, and as many as 80% in some departments.
Applying to an American graduate degree after doing college abroad will put you at a severe disadvantage. One of the reasons is that letters of recommendations count a lot for graduate admissions. You will have a hard time getting meaningful letters since faculty rarely interact with undergraduate students in Germany. If you do get letters, the letter-writers will most likely be unknown to the American professors evaluating your application, and hence carry less weight than letters from trusted colleagues.
Please also keep in mind that some American universities (public universities in particular) don't accept 3-year Bachelor's degrees from Europe for graduate admissions. Applicants from Europe would be advised to complete a Master's degree in Europe first before applying to graduate school (Master or PhD) in the US.
To give you a better sense of how your current background might compare to the curriculum at a German university, here’s the suggested sequence of courses for a Bachelor in Neuroscience at the University of Koeln:
Neuroscience Year 1:
Organic Chemistry, Statistics, Physics (a review of AP physics C, essentially), Neuro-Anatomy, Neuro-Physiology, Cognitive Science (with an emphasis on research methods, including imaging studies), Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, and a hands-on seminar on live animal research (how to raise, dissect, image, draw blood from… a rat)
Neuroscience Year 2:
Biochemistry, Developmental Neuro-Biology, Human Physiology, and a full-time semester-long internship
Neuroscience Year 3:
Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases, Cognitive Science (with an emphasis on learning and memory), a choice of seminars taught by graduate students, 2 electives for relevant professional skills in other fields (e.g. computer science or a foreign language), and writing a Bachelor’s thesis
Most American undergraduates would not cram that many courses from a single field into their schedule in the first 1-2 years. That’s why the standard advice is that American undergraduates should expect to start their degree from scratch in Europe. On the flip side, American colleges are famous for their flexibility and some students may be years ahead of the curve. Maybe you’re one of them?
You wouldn’t “transfer”. They MIGHT consider a fee courses but you’d probably have to choose your major and go through all three years regardless.
Scotland may give you the first year of their 4-year degree. In France, itd depend on the program, " Ecoles", which are eager to get international students, may be more flexible than typical “Universities”.
OP since you’ve already invested in two years of your education, and money appears to be an issue, I think it makes more sense to think about transferring to a cheaper school in the US, where you won’t lose (as many) credits. Also, you seem very focused on research: that too is less common in Europe on the undergraduate level. Between the difficulty of transferring to a European university, and the relative lack of research opportunities (compared to the US) I’m not sure how this plan would meet your needs.