<p>Recently I came across an interesting article which provides a quick comparison between university education models (both undergraduate and graduate) in the UK, the US, and Germany. The author got his bachelor's degree (in math and philosophy) from Oxford University in the UK, and his master's and PhD degrees from UC Berkeley in the US. Now he's a full professor in a (relatively new and not particularly well-known) German university, so I guess he appears to have first-hand experience with all three models. </p>
<p>Some of the author's opinions are probably controversial, but the information he provides seems to be reliable and in line with the general consensus we have seen in other threads.</p>
<p>A very interesting read, thanks, Bruno. A succinct and useful comparison. I'm also not so sure what he wrote is so controversial, either, since he sticks to facts and expert opinions which don't enter the fuzzy realm of evaluation.</p>
<p>I disagree with a lot of what he writes about German universities. </p>
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The number of places for students in a Studiengang (course of study) is not fixed by the available departmental resources -- students may enter (and leave) at will
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Not true except in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In the rest of Germany, departments can and often do limit the number of first year and transfer students (usually with a local "numerus clausus"). </p>
<p>
[quote]
Diplomarbeit (undergraduate thesis) ...
Diplom degrees in my group RVS can be equivalent to good Master's degrees from good universities in the UK.
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And I thought a Master's degree is considered a graduate degree???</p>
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[quote]
Teaching quality is not assessed by students.
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Teaching quality may not be assessed by students in Bielefeld but it is certainly done at other German universities.</p>
<p>
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There is no formal record of which subject students may wish to specialise in, so alternative universities are assigned without assessing this need
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Only true for the places assigned by the ZVS - biology, medicine, psychology and NC subjects in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I disagree with a lot of what he writes about German universities.
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</p>
<p>He also said/wrote that "there is no standard curriculum" in German universities. From what I know however, that is not true, at least not in engineering. Can you confirm that ?</p>
<p>Bruno, I am almost positive that there is no standard curriculum in engineering because it's a field with many possible concentrations. Oh well, I guess one could argue about the definition of a "standard curriculum".
German science students learn pretty much the same subject content in the first two years (up to the "Vordiplom"). For example, math majors at all universities I am familiar have to take two semesters each of linear algebra and analysis in their first year and two semesters of an applied math branch and more analysis in their second year, plus courses for a minor. The situation is similar in engineering (though more complicated which is why I chose math as an example). After the Vordiplom, every university pretty much does its own thing.
Social sciences and humanities usually offer more flexibility right from the beginning.</p>
<p>And vanessama, German universities used to be free until half a year ago but now they are allowed to charge tuition. Most universities collect 500€ (~$700) a semester, which is ridiculously little in comparison to American universities but a big shock for many German students who live paycheck to paycheck (half a year ago, there were virtually no monetary scholarships or student credit programs to help defray the sudden rise in expenses)</p>
<p>The whole standard-curriculum discussion sounds very similar to the US, if you consider that the first stage (the standard part) is the equivalent of the standardized US bachelor's and the extra studies are similar to the master's degree, which is rarely standardized in the US.</p>
<p>What about UK universities other than Oxford or Cambridge? Those two operate a unique system, and his experience there is over 30 years old in any case.</p>