Master’s Degree in Germany: How to Enroll from Nigeria

Truth is Germany is fast becoming one of the most popular destinations of those seeking for foreign education opportunities. If you are a Nigerian and you need to obtain your master’s degree in any field of study, you will find Germany one of the best places to go for that.

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Germany has relaxed some of her restrictions regarding immigration and it will not be so difficult to get admitted into many of their institutions of higher learning for your master’s degree program. On global level, many of the universities in Germany are top class. Their reputations also set them apart.

Education in Germany is not just about classroom education; it also includes professor-student interaction. You can register with any of the universities in Germany, be it in Bonn, Hannover, Stuttgart, Munich or Frankfurt. The information below will hint you on some of the very important things to consider when seeking for admission in Germany.

Advantages of studying in Germany

It is not necessary to learn the national language in Germany; classes can be offered via English language medium. This does not mean you should not learn about certain German words as this will help you to communicate properly. You will be surprised to find that many Germans speak English fluently.

No discrimination of any form regarding education in Germany; all the universities are now open to international students.

Some schools even provide free or very cheap education in Germany.
The certificate you obtain in a German school is recognized globally.
There are over 16,000 courses you can choose from for your master’s degree program.

How to apply for master’s degree

In Germany, master’s degree program can be categorized as “Consecutive” or “non-consecutive”. In the first category, the knowledge you have gained during your undergraduate days are further developed on.

In the other category anyway, your professional development is the main concern and you are required to possess both your undergraduate certificate and relevant work experience in order to qualify for this.

The program usually takes 4 semesters to complete and this is about 2 years. There are however times when the time can be longer or shorter.

Language requirements

Many of the courses in Germany are delivered via German medium. This means international students desiring to study any of such courses will have to learn the German language.

Even if you will not have to learn the language, you are required to show evidence of good understanding by submitting any proof of proficiency in German. The student is required to sit for Deutsche Sprachprufung fur den Hochschlzugang (DSH). This translates to “German language examination for university entrance”.

The second test is TestDaF, which was formerly called test Deutsch als Frendsprache, which means “test of German as foreign language”. You will have to sit for the first test when you arrive at Germany and you will have to sit for it in the university you register at.

The second test on the other hand can be taken in Nigeria; it is actually offered in over 90 countries across the world, including Nigeria. First find out if the particular test is offered by your university of choice before you apply for it. Not to worry anyway; there are so many courses offered via the English medium to master’s degree students.

How to apply

You need to have good understanding of higher education entrance qualification as it obtains in Germany. You can use your Nigerian undergraduate certificate to seek admission for master’s degree program in Germany. But make sure that the said certificate is obtained from an accredited Nigerian university.

All universities in Nigeria approved by the National University Commission is an approved Nigerian university.

Aside your Nigerian university certificate, you are expected to also provide some other documents and these supporting documents may vary from one university to the other. It is therefore important that you find out what obtains in the particular university of your choice before you register with them.

The course you want to study from and the country where you obtain your undergraduate certificate will determine to a great extent what the required number of credit will be.
You can get your application submitted via the online portal of the university or you submit by airmail to the university.

Uni Assist is a centralized service via which you can submit your application online. Uni Assist is also able to screen your application to find out if it fits with the requirements of the school and the specific requirements of the course you want to study at master’s degree level in Germany.

The service is however not used by all German universities for screening their applicants. It will be proper to confirm from the school of your choice if they are using this service or not.

Other documents you are required to submit during application are:
Official copy of your academic qualifications
Passport photo
Copy of your international passport
Copy of language proficiency examination result
Application fee when applicable.

Right time for application submission

You can submit your application at two different times in a year when applying to any German university for master’s degree program. You can decide to either apply during the summer or during the winter semester, depending on what works best for you.

The summer semester starts from the month of March and ends in the month of August if you are applying to Fachhochschulen. In other schools, it runs from April to September. On the other hand, the winter semester begins from September and ends in February or from October to March.

Needless to say, you must prepare yourself for the cold if you are to study at Germany for your master’s degree program, either you are applying during the summer or winter semester.

As a Nigerian, you are required to obtain visa in order to study in Germany for you master’s degree program or any other level of education. You need to apply for the said visa before you arrive in Germany.

If you are already given admission by any German university, you can apply for student visa at the German embassy in Nigeria. If you are wafting for admission confirmation on the other hand, you should apply for Applicant Visa. Visa issuance can take some months. You should therefore apply as early as possible.

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