5.10.2009
Increasing demands for PhD study at German universities of applied sciences
Traditionally, the German distinction between state-funded universities and universities of applied sciences was drawn to a considerable extent by the fact that only the former can award doctoral degrees due to a greater research focus. Universities of applied sciences, or FHs, as they are referred to in Germany, have typically a greater vocational and practical orientation, while research is the domain of universities, and FH professors are generally not allowed to supervise a doctoral thesis. Students graduating from a university of applied sciences thus often have to overcome greater hurdles to gain a place for doctoral studies than their colleagues from a state-funded university. In order to circumvent this hurdle, many FHs have entered into collaborative agreements with universities to enable their graduates an easier transition into a doctoral programme, however, increasingly calls are made to allow research focused universities of applied sciences to administer their own doctoral programmes. In July this year, the UAS7, a collective of universities of applied sciences in Germany has made demands for the right to administer doctoral programmes to be extended to FHs on a case-by-case basis. A growing number of private universities have received this privilege in recent years, among them Steinbeis Hochschule in Berlin, Bucerius Law School and the Otto Beisheim School of Management and many research focused FHs feel such a privilege should be extended on an individual basis to those universities of applied sciences that offer sufficient research capacity and focus to their students. To date, FH graduates are required to fulfil more stringent stipulations for PhD programmes at a regular university, such as additional coursework or admissions tests, thereby creating a two-class society among PhD students. It is not surprising then that of the 24,000 doctoral graduates annually in Germany, only 500 are from a FH. The signs of our times, however, indicate that a change in this structure is inevitable in the long run. More information on this topic is available on: http://www.zeit.de/online/2009/31/dr-fachhochschule?page=1 and http://www.spiegel.de/unispiegel/studium/0,1518,649334,00.html |
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