Diplom - History

History

The Diplom originates from the French Diplôme (Diplôme de l'ordre impérial de la légion d'honneur ) describing a certificate devised during the Second French Empire to bestow honours upon outstanding citizens and soldiers of the imperial French army to promote them into the Legion of Honour since 1862. The Magister degree was the original graduate degree at German speaking universities. In Germany the Diplom dates back to the pre-republican period: In October 1899 the engineering degree Diplom was announced by a supreme decree of the German emperor Wilhelm II in his function as the King of Prussia on the advent of the Centenary of the Prussian Technical College in Berlin. The Diplom was subsequently adopted by the Technische Hochschulen (Institutes of Technology) which had received university status following this Prussian decree. Later, all German universities adopted the Diplom as their degree in Science or Engineering.

In East Germany, the Diplom was the only first degree and was also granted in disciplines such as medicine or law, which at West German universities were completed with a Staatsexamen. Nowadays such diploms are still granted to students of such disciplines, although most universities only grant the diplom status (for example "Magisterjurist" in law) on request. Some universities also grant a master's degree to such students on request.

With the implementation of the Bologna process, the Diplom and Magister are increasingly being replaced by Bachelor's or Master's degrees. In Germany Bachelor's degrees, rarely called Bakkalaureus, are awarded in most cases after three years of regular studies. Master's degrees are awarded in most cases after five years of study. Master's degrees are sometimes called Magister, like the former German graduate degree, but they differ in structure.