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Studying and Working in Germany: A Student Guide [book review]

Article · January 2002

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Falco Pfalzgraf
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REVIEW
Falco Pfalzgraf, The University of Manchester, Department of German,

Studying and working in Germany. A student guide.

by Peter James and David Kaufman.

Manchester University Press (2002)
Book (xi+200 pp.)
£ 12.99 (paperback)

ABSTRACT FOR THE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE (48 words)

The book, which consists of eight chapters and a quite helpful appendix, is certainly worth the

investment of £ 12.99. It provides a great deal of information for English-speaking students

who are considering living and studying in Germany, covering most aspects and possible

problems of the year abroad.

REVIEW / POSSIBLE PRINT VERSION (992 words)

The aim of the book is to help English and American students who are considering living and

studying in Germany for a certain time. It consists of eight chapters plus an appendix, which

represents one eighth of the whole content. For potential exchange students, the book is

certainly worth the investment of £ 12.99, as it provides a great deal of information on various

aspects of their planned year abroad. To see why, let us now have a closer look at the contents

of the book.

Chapter one provides a lot of helpful background information, such as remarks on

Germany’s federal structure and its influence on the different educational systems in each

Bundesland. Categories of higher education in Germany are described, as well as the nature of

the courses offered, plus the types of qualifications which can be achieved. One might find it

surprising, though, that the very common Magister Artium (MA) degree is not mentioned at
all, in contrast to Bachelor degrees which are rather exceptional in Germany. Here, the

authors should take the opportunity to make clear that the MA and its equivalents, like the

Staatsexamen, are usually the first degree. However, the authors usually point out clearly how

different German higher education is from the English or American one. One certainly cannot

make clear enough that German universities do not spoon-feed their students at all.

Consequently, the authors describe the difficulties very well which students can face when it

comes to organising one’s timetable, or in understanding the university’s administrative

procedures.

The second chapter gives practical advice on what should be done before the student

actually sets off to Germany: Experienced students who already have been abroad should be

contacted to provide help in finding the suitable higher education institution (HEI). Also,

accommodation and financial matters must be organised well in advance, as well as health

and other insurances. Here, the book gives detailed, helpful information.

The same is true for chapter three, which helps students to understand the procedures

necessary for registration (Einschreibung) and for finding accommodation in a

Studentenwohnheim. Here, appendices I and II provide helpful examples of application forms

for registration and accommodation. However, even though the authors briefly mention the

fact that such forms might very well differ entirely from institution to institution, this should

be pointed out more clearly. Nevertheless, chapters two and three, together with the

appendices, most certainly provide a great help.

The fourth chapter is probably the least helpful one. While explaining how to use the

internet as a useful means to gather information about all aspects of life and studies in

Germany, the authors go far too much into detail regarding general IT information. One
should expect students to have basic IT knowledge (What is a homepage? What does www

mean?), and if that is not the case, this chapter will not help either. However, some useful

URLs can be found here, and most of them might even still exist next year. One can only

hope that the URLs will be constantly under review for further editions.

Chapter five provides practical advice on a wide range of problems like enrolment

procedures, the German health system, banking, communication, media, and safety. The only

problem is that the currency the authors rely on is the DM instead of the Euro, which is of

course due to the fact that the book was written some time before its publication. But as a

yearly new edition is planned until 2010, one should expect that to be changed in the new

editions, especially because the price level has changed considerably for many goods and

services since the Euro was introduced.

The sixth chapter deals with the problem of finding temporary or part-time work in

Germany. The authors come up with some suggestions which are worth consideration by

exchange students. However, at the same time, the authors seem well aware of the rather low

chances to find such a job, due to the currently high unemployment figures in Germany.

Chapter seven gives the student some ideas about what he or she has to take into

account once they plan to return to Britain or the US.

More than half of the book consists of the eighth chapter which gives an overview

over most of Germany’s HEIs (universities, Fachhochschulen, and Pädagogische

Hochschulen), and the amount of information gathered by the authors is quite impressive. The

HEIs appear in alphabetic order of their location, and information is given both about the

town and the HEI. Concerning the location, students get contact details of the local tourist
 office, youth hostels, Chambers of Industry and Commerce, the local state health insurance

office (AOK), and the local newspaper, often including an email address and a website URL.

In addition, a range of information on the town, the area, and the local industry is provided.

For the HEI, contact details including email addresses of the International Office

(Auslandsamt), the Accommodation Office (Studentenwerk), the Students’ Union (AStA), the

Women’s Officer (Frauenbeauftragte), and the Disabled Students Officer

(Behindertenbeauftragter) can be found. Also, there is information on how to access

computers, where to find the English and German departments, and whether or not vacation

courses are available at the HEI. This stunningly helpful collection of material is most

certainly of immeasurable value for exchange students. However, as these details might

change regularly, one should expect the information to be updated for further editions of the

book.

The book ends with five appendices of which the first two were already described:

typical forms which need to be filled in for the Einschreibung and in order to apply for a place

in the Studentenwohnheim. Appendix III gives an example of how to write a CV in German,

and appendix IV does the same for a letter of application. The last appendix is a collection of

useful addresses such as embassies, places which can offer help in finding a job, and on

German language and culture in general.

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