Germany

Basic Information about Germany

Germany lies in the center of Europe. It is the largest member state of the European Union, with over 82 million inhabitants. Cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart and many others are renowned for their cultural diversity, vibrant lifestyle and historic heritage. Museums, concert halls, theatres, opera houses, galleries, cinemas… – the wide range of cultural activities offers something for everybody. And a trip across Germany is a journey through just about every cultural epoch.

Germany ranks 1st in Europe for the highest number of newly registered patents, and it ranks 2nd in the world, after the USA. Germany is the largest economy in the European Union and the 3rd largest in the world.

The most widely spoken mother tongue in Europe is German.

Germany is home to some of the world’s leading companies in many areas, such as information technology, health care, biotechnology and the automotive industry, making it the world’s leading export nation. Germany is Singapore’s most important European trading partner. At present, more than 1000 German companies are located in Singapore.

• around 10% of all Nobel Prizes ever awarded went to German scientists; for instance, a total of 28 German researchers received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 24 in Physics, and 15 in Medicine?


• more than 300,000 people in Germany earn their living as musicians, performing artists, and specialists in the arts?


• there are around 6000 museums in Germany?


• the athletic shoe was invented in 1920 by the German Adolf (“Adi”) Dassler, the founder of adidas.


• no other national soccer team made it to the World Cup Final as many times as Germany?


• the Computer was invented in Germany? German inventor and engineer Konrad Ernst Otto Zuse developed the first modern computer called 'Z3' in 1941.

The Higher Education System

Germany has a long tradition of academic excellence in education, science and research.

Today, about 250,000 foreigners are studying in Germany, making it the 3rd most popular host country for international students after the USA and UK.

There is hardly another country in the world that boasts such a density of higher education institutions: More than 350 universities, universities of applied sciences as well as colleges of art and music cover over 400 disciplines and, thus, offer the possibility of pursuing almost any specialization or research project you may have in mind (www.study-in.de).

Many German universities offer courses that are taught in English and lead to international degrees, such as Bachelor, Master or PhD (www.daad.de/idp).

German universities combine theoretical learning with practical application, often in an interdisciplinary environment. In addition, many universities cooperate closely with multinational companies as well as with other research institutes in Germany and abroad.

With over 350 research institutes, Germany offers all students, scientists, doctoral and post-doctoral candidates one of the finest academic environments available in the world today (www.research-in-germany.de).

Prominent fields of study popular with foreign students include: Engineering Sciences, Natural Sciences, Economics and Business Administration, as well as degrees in the Arts, Music, Architecture and Design.

Tuition fees at public German universities are very moderate. For most universities, only a small administrative fee is levied. Some charge tuition fees of ca. EUR 500 (~S$ 1.000) per semester. Living expenses amount to around EUR 650-700 (~S$ 1.300-1.400) per month, depending on the region.

Tuition fees and living costs

German universities charge only very moderate tuition fees or even no tuition fees at all. What is more, international students are subject to the same fees as German students. Where fees are charged, they currently range from SGD 700 – SGD 1300 per semester which means that a full Bachelor's programme often costs as little as SGD 6000. A Master's degree frequently costs no more than SGD 4000 and at PhD level there are generally no fees at all. As for the living costs, on average students will need about SGD 1280 to cover their cost of living.

Scholarships

Scholarships are primarily managed by the German Academic Exchange Service / Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) and other public foundations.

DAAD offers more than 200 programmes, which range from short-term exchanges for research or teaching purposes through to doctoral scholarships lasting several years. A comprehensive list of funding options is available at the scholarship database: www.funding-guide.de

This database contains details on the programmes offered by DAAD as well as by other scholarship awarding organisations.

A list of all German foundations is available at
www.stiftungsindex.de.