Germans Do It Differently

While Brenda Rudiger was on a Fulbright scholarship in Germany last fall, the executive director of alumni relations at Michigan Technological University learned some surprising things. For example, in Germany, students must decide in middle school whether they plan to attend a university or a vocational school. Once the decision has been made, it is very difficult to change.

Rudiger travelled to Germany on a Fullbright International Education Administration Seminar Scholarship this past October. She was there two weeks. While in Germany, Rudiger, along with 19 other higher education administrators, visited various facilities including the Institute for German Language and Culture at Martin Luther University.

German Universities

“There is not a lot of hand-holding,” Rudiger said about the German universities. “Student activities are organized by the students,” she explained. Rudiger said that compared to US universities, which offer students benefits such as career and counseling services, Germany has just a few student services. Another fact she found interesting is that residence and dining halls are operated by a central administration for the whole country.

Rudiger said there were several schools offering higher-level education engineering courses in English. “This could make studying in France or Germany more attractive to some of our engineering students,” she observed.

German Culture

Of course it was not all work, Rudiger and her group did get the opportunity to take in some of the culture of Germany, including a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony performed by the Berlin Philharmonic.

“This Fulbright program provided an incredible opportunity to get a comprehensive overview of the German education system and the country’s rich culture,” Rudiger said. “I especially appreciated the chance to get to meet so many wonderful people in Berlin, Wittenberg, Bayreuth and Strasbourg. I am continuing my German language studies in preparation for a return visit!”

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.