Diplom - Germany

Germany

Before the introduction of the Bachelor's and Master's degree in Germany, the standard Science, Engineering or Business degree was the Diplom and could be, in several variations, obtained at several types of institutes of higher education.

Obtained at a university, the degree is simply called a Diplom or rarely a Diplom (Univ.) and took usually between four and six years (240 – 360 ECTS Credits), depending on subject and curriculum. Obtained at a so-called University of Applied Sciences (or Fachhochschule), the diploma degree is called a Diplom (FH) and took mostly four years (240 ECTS Credits). The following text deals with these two kind of degrees. (For further kind of Diploma degrees see the section below.)

The Diplom was usually awarded in the natural sciences, business and in engineering, while students of humanities, arts and languages finished with a Magister. (The degree in social sciences differed from university to university.) All kind of Diplom degrees were usually first degrees. However, the Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) was also the highest non-doctoral degree in science, business or engineering in Germany.

The duration of the Diplom degree programmes differed depending on subject and university. An official average duration (Regelstudienzeit) was set by law in each German state, usually being 4 years for a Diplom (FH) and 4, 4.5 or 5 years for a Diplom / Diplom (Univ.). In exceptional cases, universities were allowed to set longer average durations for certain subjects (HGRP1995 § 26 (3), NHG2007 § 6 (3), HmbHG2001 §53 (3)). However, due to the curriculum set by most universites in Germany, the 4, 4.5 or 5 years for a Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) were often exceeded. Although being a first degree, because of its actual duration, the Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) was and is in Germany not considered as an equivalent to a Bachelor's but rather to a Master's degree.

A holder of a Diplom obtained at a university is, depending on subject, for example referred to as "Diplom-Ingenieur" (Diplom-Engineer), "Diplom-Kaufmann" (Diplom-Merchant), "Diplom-Biologe" (Diplom-Biologist) and so on. In Bavaria, sometimes the postfix "(Univ.)" is added. If the Diplom has been obtained at a University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule), the postfix "(FH)" has to be added (e.g. Diplom-Ingenieur (FH)).

To obtain a Diplom at a university, students had to complete two separate periods of study. The first one was a two-year period of coursework in courses of mainly (but not only) introductory nature, the Grundstudium (meaning basic studying period). After (and during) this period, in addition to exams for passing the modules, students attained a series of usually four intermediate exams to obtain the Vordiplom (meaning pre-diploma). The second period, the Hauptstudium (meaning main period of study), consisted of two years of coursework in courses of advanced level, an additional period of several months in which a thesis had to be written and eventually a series of usually four final exams. It was not unusual for student to need more than two years for the coursework of the Hauptstudium. An obtained Vordiplom and the completion of the coursework of the Hauptstudium were the requirements to register for working on the thesis and for the final exams. However, access to courses of the Hauptstudium was usually not restricted to students who had already obtained the Vordiplom.
The extend of the final exams and the exams to obtain the Vordiplom was set by each university individually in its regulations. Normally, the content of two different modules of the preceding period of coursework was examined in each of the examinations, which could be oral or less often in writing. Most students needed approximately six months to complete the final exam period.
The thesis which followed an independent (although supervised) research project had officially to be completed in not more than 3 to 9 months (depending on subject and university). However, the actual time students worked on these projects could again exceed the official duration by several months.

The curriculum for a Diplom (FH) degree, obtained at a University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) used to be more application-oriented, in comparison to what was expected for a Univ. Diplom degree. The programme was slightly shorter and often one semester was spent by the students doing an internship.

The Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) is usually a prerequisite for preparing a doctorate (Doktorarbeit). However, under certain conditions, holders of a Diplom (FH) are also eligible for doctoral studies. In German speaking countries and countries, which Germany has bilateral agreements with—regarding the recognition of academic qualifications, the Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) is usually accepted as admission into doctorate programs.