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Introduction of Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Germany's universities gaining a broader base
The process of academic reform at Germany's universities has acquired a much broader base with the strong increase in the number of Bachelor's and Master's programmes offered in the winter semester 2005/2006. Compared with the summer semester 2005, their number has grown by 29 percent to now 3,797 programmes. This means that 34 percent of all degree programmes offered at German universities lead to Bachelor's or Master's degrees.The lion's share of this growth belongs to the field of Bachelor's programmes. It is becoming increasingly clear that numerous universities are now in the process of broadly converting the studies they offer to the new system. In previous years, it was the field of smaller and more specialised Master's programmes that had tended to predominate.
This development is even more pronounced at universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) than at traditional universities. Compared to the summer semester 2005, this equated to a 56 percent increase in Bachelor's programmes (universities: + 42 percent). Germany's universities of applied sciences meanwhile primarily offer Bachelor's and Master's programmes (53 percent compared to universities with 30 percent).
As far as the standard times to degrees are concerned, the 6-semester Bachelor's programmes and the 4-semester Master's programmes continue to dominate, even though the guidelines set by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz - KMK) allow universities to set a range from 6 to 8 semesters for a Bachelor's degree respectively from 2 to 4 semesters for a Master's degree. However, the 7-semester Bachelor's degree is becoming ever more important at universities of applied sciences. In the meantime, 36 percent of all the Bachelor's programmes run at universities of applied sciences are offered with a length of 3½ years. This means, for example, that a practical semester can be combined with 6 semesters of regular university study. The summer semester 2005 saw only 26 percent of the FH degree programmes leading to a Bachelor's degree use this option.
"Our figures clearly show that the new degree programmes are no longer a rare species," stated the President of the German Rectors' Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz), Prof. Dr. Peter Gaehtgens. "The academic reforms carried out within the scope of the Bologna Process have meanwhile practically encompassed the whole higher education system and are fundamentally changing the university landscape." The German Rectors' Conference will continue to follow and support the developments intensively and will, in the winter semester 2005/2006, once again publish a statistical report on the progress being made by the reforms.
The HRK database "Hochschulkompass" (Higher Education Compass) is the source of the current figures and can be accessed at: http://www.hochschulkompass.de. The database lists and provides information on the study opportunities offered at all state (public) and state-recognised higher education institutions in Germany.
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