[DynamiteC101]

I am a 20 year old male who goes to DCU. I have just had an erasmus year introduced and Germany is one of our options. I would be interested in going to Germany, but I have heard that the standard of work expected over there is far higher.

I am wondering... Is the standard of work expected far higher than over in Ireland? What's the pass rate, etc? And is there a harder marking system and higher workload in general?

The course I am doing is Contemporary culture and society and I am currently in 2nd year.

[vamos!]

I found that the workload higher, because everything was in German! I also thought that the German students were taking very few classes a semester and their workload seemed to be less intensive! I had to collect certificates to say I had completed a class and get them converted to ECTS, because the uni I went to didnt operate a BA system. A lot of my work was assessed on presentation and essays rather than exams.My grades were quite low. I got a good few 3s and 4s, but I also got a few 1s from the nice lecturers! I was a doable year and a lot of fun. I wish I could go again!

[ValJester]

Originally Posted by DynamiteC101

I am wondering... Is the standard of work expected far higher than over in Ireland? What's the pass rate, etc? And is there a harder marking system and higher workload in general?
.

What you'll find as regard to Europe is that "different" is probably a better way to think of it than "harder", and that going from one to the other takes quite a bit of getting used to. It's still an undergrad you're referring to, and unless it's an outstandingly rigourous university it shouldn't be that much of a rise in standards(You might have to do some MA level courses though).

[Jennifer Parker]

Originally Posted by DynamiteC101

I am wondering... Is the standard of work expected far higher than over in Ireland? What's the pass rate, etc? And is there a harder marking system and higher workload in general?

Even though I can't compare it to the work load in Ireland, I can tell you: Studying in Germany ain't that bad, however, whether the pass rate is high or low depends on the classes you want to take up. The assignments and finals are fair and doable, if you put enough effort into it.

If you consider doing a course that is taught through English, you should be prepared to do extensive amounts of required reading (however as I said before, this really depends in classes)...

the marking scheme:

Grade| %
1 | 95.5
1.3 | 90.9
1.7 | 84.8
2 | 80.3
2.3 | 75.8
2.7 |69.7
3 |65.2
3.3 |60.6
3.7 |54.5
4 |50
if you get less than 50%, you usually fail.
However the percentage you need to get to pass can be adjusted by the lecturer.