Is there a big gap between FH and uni?

The difference is still huge.

Because in China, FH is translated as a junior college, or simply a junior college. In this way, it is easy for domestic friends to misunderstand the text, thinking that the difference between a junior college and a university is just like our domestic universities and junior colleges. The difference is the same. In fact, it is completely different. The FH diploma must be one level lower than that of a university. Nowadays, many people translate FH into applied (science and technology) university. Maybe the meaning is closer.

There are many differences between the two, and there are two main aspects that are closely related to Chinese students. One is the curriculum and learning process. The second is the future employment direction.

First, because many Germans also go to FH, the starting point from their home country is to allow some people to enter vocational studies in advance, and the same applies to foreign students in the school. Some majors are only offered in FH, while majors that are available in both FH and universities have different focuses when taught. FH is more practical. In universities, it is more theoretical. In terms of learning progress, FH is more in line with Chinese students’ class habits. Almost all FHs have a fixed graduation time and fixed elective courses, which is very similar to regular universities in my country. On the contrary, in regular German universities, you can choose courses according to your own situation, and the time is relatively long. Now, when you come to Germany to get a degree, you usually get one in five to six years, because the credits in the university are not easy to get, and it is not realistic to take more courses every semester. The study burden in FH is relatively light, and it usually takes four years to graduate.

Second, because FH courses are more practical, they are becoming more and more popular with employers. And a very important point is that in the last one to two years of FH, students will be arranged to go to corresponding companies for paid internships based on the courses they have studied. This is also a good thing for Chinese students who work hard. If your performance in the internship company is satisfactory, and depending on the company's staffing situation, you can stay in the job in the future. Compared with the hard work of finding a job after graduating from a formal university, it is still very attractive.

Third, the number of people in FH is generally small. According to data from DAAD, the average number is 4,000. Therefore, the scale is not comparable to that of ordinary universities. This is very similar to domestic colleges.

The shortcomings of FH, or more precisely, the places that are lower than ordinary universities

1. In terms of degrees, the degrees obtained in FH, such as Diplom, are the same as those in universities. Yes, but there will be the word FH at the end. Whether it is one level lower than a university diploma, we don’t think it is very comparable. Because countries that recognize German academic qualifications will definitely accept both, some places may think that the FH level is low, but it is definitely not as obvious as the gap between colleges and universities in our country.

2. When the same college students work in a company, from the perspective of legal protection, the salary of ordinary college students is higher than that of FH graduates. However, it is precisely because of this that some companies are more willing to give priority to FH students when the job distinction is not obvious. This is especially true in some computer-related companies.

3. It is difficult to transfer to another university after attending FH. Because you still have to pass the exam, and the most important thing is that generally speaking, you need to work for two years before applying to have the opportunity to study for a doctorate. Maybe it’s because FH itself is a vocational education that emphasizes practice. So work experience is more important. And when you want to continue studying for a Ph.D. in the future, different professors will have different requirements and will require you to take tutorials or exams in several courses. You can directly study for a PhD after graduating from university.

To sum up, if you want to work in Germany as soon as possible, then FH is the best choice. If you value a degree more and want to further your education, uni is right for you.

Would you choose a university of applied sciences (FH) or a comprehensive university (UNI)?

The study period at the University of Applied Sciences is short, the teaching arrangements are clear at a glance, and the teaching content is close to reality. Comprehensive universities provide more theoretical knowledge and more freedom.

Anyone who has studied mechanical manufacturing for four semesters and has not yet picked up a nail in his hand is bound to fall into hard thinking. “After finishing my basic studies, I often thought about a question: Should I transfer to FH?” Michael Heit, a graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Darmstadt University of Technology, recalled, “For 13 years I have been dealing with all kinds of theoretical knowledge throughout the semester, which I don’t need at all in my current job.” Six months ago, 28-year-old Michael started his career as an engineer at Mercedes-Benz. His female colleague, 26-year-old Kerstin Altrog, completed her studies in mechanical manufacturing at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg in just eight semesters: “The many experiments I did in the school laboratory provided the basis for my current work. Very good preparation.”

Go to a comprehensive university or a university of applied sciences? Hundreds of freshmen ask themselves this question every year. Currently, FH offers majors ranging from business management to biotechnology, and the number of FHs is also growing. Ten years ago, a total of only 54,000 freshmen chose FH, but now nearly 70,000 people study FH every year.

Unlike many crowded universities, most of Germany's 154 FHs are easily accessible and all courses are conducted with fewer students. During the prescribed internship semester, students prepare for future work. It only takes 8 semesters to get an FH diploma.

In the 1970s, some engineering schools and economic schools merged to form universities of applied sciences. At first, these FHs served as mediocre backup colleges. At that time, people had many prejudices against FH, such as "FH is full of second-rate professors without doctoral titles and uncompetitive college students without real secondary school diplomas" and so on.

In recent years, FH has made great changes: it has added emerging majors such as economic law or cultural management, and opened language classes and computer classes, thereby making itself more attractive. Today, not all applicants receive a study place. Many FHs have cited "enrollment quotas" as a measure.

FH's academic management is very strict - "It is simply too strict for real college student life," Kesting recalled,

"During the professional study stage, I There are more than 20 required classes every week. If you have to work after class, you won’t have time to party.” Michael’s college life was much more relaxed at that time. “I sometimes only had four classes a week in a semester,” he recalled. This was indeed the case: in stark contrast to the many universities that gave students a lot of freedom in choosing courses, FH students and Primary and secondary schools also have fixed course selections and timetables. Professors in FH give students more consultation and guidance, so the percentage of students who fail to complete their studies is twenty percent lower among FH students than among college students, where the percentage of students who fail to complete their studies is It's thirty percent.

It is easier for FH graduates to find jobs than college graduates. Statistics show that 3.9% of comprehensive university graduates are unemployed, while only 2.6% of FH graduates are unemployed after graduation. Dankirk, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at FH Hamburg, believes that small and medium-sized enterprises especially welcome FH graduates, because after recruiting university graduates, they must also be trained in their ability to think and solve problems based on actual situations. These are things that small and medium-sized enterprises are sometimes unable or unwilling to do. Nieders, the president of the Technical University of Hamburg, disagrees with this view. He believes that it is unfair to accuse university education of being far away from reality. "In many comprehensive universities, every student must complete an internship semester. We attach great importance to theoretical learning, because theoretical knowledge can enable people to independently find solutions to problems. It is necessary and worthwhile to cultivate this ability."

In the first year after being hired, the income of graduates from comprehensive universities is often higher than that of graduates from FH. However, subsequent promotion opportunities and income levels depend entirely on their abilities. It is no longer uncommon for FH graduates to enter the top ranks of companies. One example is Schlimp, the president of Mercedes-Benz.

However, if you want to find a job in the public service sector, FH graduates are at a disadvantage compared to graduates from comprehensive universities. These departments are divided into four different salary levels. Graduates from comprehensive universities have relatively high salary levels and are qualified to hold important positions, while FH diplomas are only suitable for some entry-level leadership jobs. Only in recent years have FH graduates had the opportunity to obtain a master's title by participating in a master's program, thereby reaching the highest leadership levels. In the field of research, FH always lags behind UNI. The main reason is: FH lacks funds and teachers. The state subsidies to FH are far less than UNI, so FH cannot hire researchers. In addition, if you study at FH, you cannot study for a PhD after graduation. Famous professors also don't teach at FH because the income there is less than that at UNI. In this way, freshmen who want to engage in research work in the future should choose a comprehensive university. On the contrary, freshmen who want to finish their studies as soon as possible and learn more courses that are close to reality and can make a difference in the company after graduation will find the studies provided by FH more interesting. When answering the question "Go to UNI or FH?", the decisive factor is your future career goals.