<p>I’m considering a semester abroad in a German-speaking country. I’m planning on majoring in Bio and I think I want / need to take a course or 2 in my major while I’m abroad. I’ve heard that many universities in Europe teach science courses in English, since it’s the common language of science (journals, meetings, etc.). I want to improve my German by living in Germany or Austria (or maybe Switzerland), but my German’s not good enough to take science courses in it. Can anyone give me any advice or leads on universities in Germany / Austria / Switzerland with Bio (or related) courses in English? Danke!!</p>
<p>Check this:<br>
<a href=“DAAD - International Programmes - Homepage”>DAAD - International Programmes - Homepage;
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of similar websites for programs in Switzerland or Austria?</p>
<p>Do you know whether it’s common in Europe for students to be an RA/TA or work part-time to pay for living expenses?</p>
<p>I mean, graduate students. (master’s)</p>
<p>To clarify my original post, I am interested in undergrad science courses in English at German-speaking universities.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking into a few universities in Germany – I’m thinking of taking a fall semester there, but it seems like the fall semester runs from late September to February at these universities. Is this true for all German universities?
(If so, I will have to rethink my plans, otherwise I’ll miss the beginning of the spring term at my US university.)</p>
<p>In Germany, they don’t generally refer to it as fall and spring semesters, but rather winter and summer semesters. The fall semester just started here at the beginning of October. This is the way the schedule is for most universities, so you would either have to come for the whole year or the spring/summer semester. I have a DAAD meeting this weekend with a number of other US/Canadian students studying in Germany, and I will ask if any of them know of such programs.</p>
<p>@shrouded - In the German system, the master’s degree is generally a continuation of the bachelor’s degree. (It used to be called the Diplom, and it was the only degree offered; there was no bachelor’s degree.) Because of the German constitution’s requirement for free education, there is no tuition to worry about covering, though there is sometimes a semester few of up to a few hundred Euros. There isn’t generally TAing to pay for this, as far as I know. Often, though, the master’s will culminate with a master’s thesis, which will involve spending a significant amount of time in a lab to do this, but it’s not paid like a RA.
After completing the master’s degree, you are essentially done being a student. When you apply for a PhD, it is a paid position, and you apply to a professor to complete the PhD like you would apply for a job. Although you are still nominally associated with a university at this point, you might not have any real connection to it if you are doing the PhD in industry or at a research institution (like the Max Planck Institute).
Sorry, that’s a lot of information, but I hope that helps sort of explain how the system works in Germany (and a lot of Europe).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info nanotechnology – that confirms my suspicions about the German school year calendar.
It sounds like you’re on study abroad in Germany right now. Would you mind sharing any info on – what program, how you found it, your German abilities before and during the program, advantages / disadvantages – any info you could share would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I am in Germany, but I’m here for a research semester, so I’m working full-time at a Max Planck Institute instead of being enrolled in a German university.
I did get a scholarships from the DAAD, though, to help fund this (650€ a month plus some expenses for travel/books), so I would definitely look into that (the DAAD Undergraduate Scholarship). The DAAD also has some good resources about finding programs, as well.
As for language, my German was already quite good before I arrived, so I was not concerned with that aspect of things. I think all universities offer language courses, though, and in many cases they are free (or very cheap). It may also be possible to do an intensive language course before the start of the semester, but this would be most important if you were looking to take classes in German or have no German background.
If you’ve got some specific questions, I’ll tell you what I know or will get in contact with my secret network of fellow DAAD scholars in Germany right now and see if they have any additional information.</p>
<p>Any universities that provide Bsc in chemical engineering? Completely in english?</p>