collagePrivate Medical Universities in Germany . It is an excellent idea to study in Germany , especially in a renowned institution of higher education. In the country there 110 private educational institutions, which carry out their work in accordance with the standards of international recognized organizations for quality assurance.
The most popular among foreign students are private universities because they offer courses in English and have advanced teaching methods that other universities do not. Also, some private universities provide scholarships for students who have good grades and are interested in research.
When it comes to private medical universities in germany, studying medicine in germany for nigerian students & heidelberg university medicine, there is no better place to get your hands on the information you need than on Collegelearners. Here, we bring you all the latest information on a level requirements for medicine in germany, public universities in germany & how much does it cost to study medicine in germany.
If you have been searching for the latest and best information on private medical universities in germany, studying medicine in germany for nigerian students & heidelberg university medicine, the article below brings you all you need to know and more. You will also discover up to date, related posts on a level requirements for medicine in germany, public universities in germany & how much does it cost to study medicine in germany on collegelearners.
Private medical universities to study medicine in Germany
There are four private German universities that offer medical studies. Unlike the public universities, they are not subject to the nation-wide NC and, therefore, the application process differs and is not only dependent on the applicants’ GPAs. You can still expect, however, to undergo some rigorous testing system in order to get admitted to these universities. On the downside, students need to pay fees to the private universities, which currently amount to 5,700€ – 15,000 € per semester, depending on which university you choose.
Regarding the quality of training that can be obtained at the private universities, the proximity to hospitals and focus on practical experiences in early stages of the career are praised. Partially, it is criticized that these universities are not as strongly focused on research as the public ones since they lack access to the German university hospitals.
When it comes to the students’ ability to practice as physicians in Germany after their studies they, as of now, should not be experiencing problems if they study at one of the private universities in Germany. These four private schools are German institutions and offer medical training that leads to the state examination, just like the German public universities do. Therefore, students have the approbation to work as doctors in Germany after their studies:
- Universität Witten/Herdecke.
- Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane (MHB).
- Health and Medical University Potsdam (HMU).
- Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University (MSH).
Foreign medical schools with campus in Germany – an alternative
There are other private options that are subsidiaries of other European universities. Students of these universities study in Germany under the regulations of the cooperating university’s local regulations. This means that, despite studying in Germany, they are trained as doctors according to the university’s country’s definition.
Often, the training at these foreign medical schools includes stays abroad at the respective superordinate universities. Because of an EU regulation, graduates from these universities, which are located in (former) EU countries, are able to work as doctors in Germany after their graduation:
- Kassel School of Medicine, subsidiary of British Southampton University.
- Asklepios Campus Hamburg , subsidiary of Hungarian Semmelweiß-University in Budapest.
- Paracelsus Universität Nürnberg, subsidiary of Austrian private university in Salzburg.
- Universitätsmedizin Neumarkt am Mieresch Campus Hamburg, subsidiary of Romanian public university in Neumarkt am Mieresch.
What is the best medical school in Germany?
To find the best university in Germany to study medicine as an international student, you might be interested in finding out how different universities and medical faculties fare in rankings. Overall, rankings can be a useful tool to compare certain aspects of different universities and you can obtain an overview of various rankings in our article.
If you are looking for the best German universities to study medicine in international rankings, we advise you to check out the subject rankings that are published by the different ranking agencies. For example, the QS World Universities Ranking, the Shanghai Ranking, and the THE World University Ranking allow you to compare the top universities around the world for medical studies and medical subjects. In these three rankings, Heidelberg University fares best.
Additionally, you can take into consideration national rankings that only compare German universities. The CHE subject ranking allows you to compare German universities that offer medical studies. After registering for free on the website, you can select criteria that are most important for you. This can be a broad array of things, such as how many students use their bike in that town, the number of seats available in the library, the amount of students graduating in time, or the research output. We recommend you have a look at this ranking, because it is partially based on student surveys and can give you a good idea on what it’s like to be a student in a certain city.
When you’re looking for a good university to study medicine in Germany, one thing you might use to narrow down your options is rankings. They can give you a quick overview of the most prestigious universities in the country and help you decide where to apply.
But don’t overrate them! The truth is that the level of education at German medical faculties is fairly homogeneous. Your future employer will not really care which medical school you went to, but rather be interested in where you did your internships and how good your grades were.
And besides, every faculty is specialized in different disciplines! So if you want to become a surgeon, for example, it won’t necessarily be the best idea for you to apply for Freiburg University—they’re known for their excellence in internal medicine.
Top 10 Biggest Medical Faculties in Germany
Ranked according to number of enrolled students in all medical programs of that faculty (as of August 2020):
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – 8,077.
- LMU – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München – 6,911.
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf – 4,366.
- University of Tübingen – 4,140.
- Heidelberg University – 4,033.
- University of Cologne – 3,600.
- Hannover Medical School – 3,521.
- Universität Hamburg – 3,450.
- University of Freiburg – 3,300.
- Ulm University – 3,234.
The role of university hospitals in Germany
Learning about the way that medical training in Germany is organized can furthermore help you to make a decision on where to study. Universities cooperate with certain hospitals for the practical portions of the medical studies. The 32 university hospitals (German: Universitätsklinikum) in Germany are some of the most important places for the exchange of theory and practice for medical students in Germany.
University hospitals are the flagships within the German health system, since they possess the highest technology and the highest degrees of specialization. They combine the practical care of patients with research and therefore provide a great environment for medical students who are looking to engage in research throughout their studies and acquire a doctoral degree. With support of other teaching hospitals (German: Lehrkrankenhäuser) university hospitals provide and organize most of the practical training for medical students in Germany.
Distribution of specializations and expertise throughout Germany
With these features, university hospitals are the best equipped and highest performing health care facilities in Germany. To operate at such a high level, specializations and expertise are distributed to different university clinics throughout Germany. Therefore, each university hospital with the associated research institutions and medical faculties is a hub for improving and researching certain illnesses or treatments. For an easy to grasp and interactive overview over, inter alia, research focuses of different locations, make sure to check out the Landkarte Hochschulmedizin.
Informing yourself on the research foci of different universities can be supportive of your decision on where to apply to study medicine, since being in a location that sets a focus on a topic close to your interests and beneficial for your planned career is a smart move. This can also be a very useful strategy for students who are not looking to finish their training to become a physician in Germany, but would rather engage in research activities and pursue doctoral studies or a master’s degree in health sciences.
Especially doctoral candidates might want to check out the so-called competence networks medicine which are locations for excellent and globally recognized research. For example, German nobel prize of medicine winner Harald zu Hausen is organized in one of them.
The next step: Getting access to medical universities
Knowing about the German higher education landscape is a very important first step to starting your medical studies in Germany. As a next step, you can find out more on how and if you can get access to one of the universities presented above.
Knowing about the German higher education landscape is a very important first step to starting your medical studies in Germany. As a next step, you can find out more on how and if you can get access to one of the universities presented above.
Is it hard to study medicine in Germany?
The sincere answer to this question is that yes, studying medicine in Germany requires lots of hard work, hours of studying, a skill set that reaches from understanding natural sciences to interacting well with patients, lots of resilience, the ability to cope with stress and passion for the subject and the profession. Not to scare you off, but the second part of the medical examination used to be called hammer exam (German: Hammerexamen) because it was perceived to be so hard that it hit you like a hammer.
On the bright side, there have been reforms so that some free periods to study for the examinations were integrated into the curriculum. Also, students of medicine quit their studies less often than those of other subjects, so it is demanding but doable. After all, training you to work hard and long hours, to deal with stress, and to take over responsibilities will prepare you for the work as a doctor, as well.
Become a Medical Doctor (MD)
When you start your studies in medicine, your goal will often be to practice as a physician after and to become a doctor to treat patients. So the question is: How does one get there?
In the regularly structured medical studies program, there are certain milestones that one can achieve throughout their studies. The first milestone, the state examination, is divided into three tests that medical students sit throughout the university portion of their medical training. Afterward, they are licensed physicians and have the approbation to work as a doctor in Germany.
Additionally, once they pass the state examination, students begin their specialist training, which you may also know as residency (German: Facharztausbildung). This portion of the training allows practitioners to specialize in a certain medical field and ends with another examination. The specialist training is necessary to work as a medical specialist and to open one’s own practice. This portion of the training is paid.
Within the German system, the degree format MD is equivalent to passing the state examination. Additionally and optionally, students of medicine may engage in doctoral studies to obtain an academic doctorate title. For medical students, this is a doctor of medicine, or in Latin, doctor medicinae.
Structure of medical studies in Germany
| Study/Training Phase | Content & Training Elements | Final Examination | |
| University Studies (regularly 6 years) | Stage 1 studies “prae-clinic” (German: Vorklinik). 4 semesters = 2 years. | Theoretical foundations of medicine (e.g. anatomy, psychology, biochemistry). First-aid-training. 3-months internship as a nurse. | First part of medical physician’s examination (so-called “Physikum”; German: 1. Abschnitt der ärztlichen Prüfung). |
| Stage 2 studies “clinic” (German: Klinik). 6 semesters = 3 years. | Introduction to medical subjects (e.g. neurology, orthopedics, gynecology). 4-months internship (so-called “Famulatur”) in a hospital, a general practitioner’s office, and an outpatient medical facility. | Second part of medical physician’s examination (German: 2. Abschnitt der ärztlichen Prüfung). | |
| Stage 3 studies “practical year” (German: Praktisches Jahr). 2 semesters = 1 year. | Practical work in a clinic or a hospital in the fields of internal medicine, surgery, and one elective field. | Oral-practical examination; third part of examination (German: 3. Abschnitt der ärztlichen Prüfung). | |
| Upon successful completion of the university medical studies (all 3 parts of the examination), students receive their approbation. Graduates may now call themselves physicians (German: Arzt/Ärztin). | |||
| Optional: Doctoral studies (German: Promotion) (1-3 years) | Writing a doctoral thesis. 2-6 semesters = 1-3 years. Often executed parallel to the university studies or specialist training. | Doctoral students conduct their own dissertation project (100 pages on average). | Upon handing in a doctoral thesis, students carry the academic title “Dr. med.” = Doctor of medicine. |
| Specialist training / residency (German: Facharztausbildung) | Specialization in one medical subject field. 5-6 years. | Practical work as a resident in different medical institutions relevant to the chosen specialty. | Specialist medical examination (German: Facharztprüfung) conducted by the state medical association (German: Landesärztekammer). |
| Upon successful completion of the specialist medical examination, the physicians can work as a medical specialist and open their own practice. Without special training, physicians can only treat privately insured patients or work in a field related to medicine and health science where they do not treat patients. |
To be able to apply to a university in Germany after their high school, most international students from non-EU countries have to visit a preparatory year, the so-called Studienkolleg first. This 2-semester course prepares students for studying in the German higher education system, helps them improve their language skills, and ends with the Feststellungsprüfung, an examination that allows international students to enter the German higher education system. Students who want to study medicine need to visit the M-Course at a Studienkolleg, which prepares them for studying medicine.
How to find the right medical university?
Rankings can be a good way to get an overview of your options or may sway your decision to choose one university over another. Still, we recommend to not overrate rankings. Especially when it comes to studying medicine in Germany, there is a fairly homogeneous level of quality. In fact, because of a system of cooperation and specialization, each faculty is known and leading in different disciplines, so informing yourself on areas of specializations of different faculties might be an even more promising strategy to identify the best medical university in Germany for your interest. Furthermore, no matter where you study, the employment rate for medical practitioners in Germany is very high.
Learning about the way that medical training in Germany is organized can furthermore help you to make a decision on where to study. Universities cooperate with certain hospitals for the practical portions of the medical studies. The 32 university hospitals (German: Universitätsklinikum) in Germany are some of the most important places for the exchange of theory and practice for medical students in Germany.
To help you make an informed decision on what university is the best to study medicine in Germany we wrote an article on different medical schools in Germany.
Which career opportunities do I have after studying medicine in Germany
Germany is a good destination for the study of medicine because Germany needs doctors which creates many career opportunities for internationals. Secondly, German medical training enjoys a great reputation around the globe and may allow you to start a career in other countries as well. Thirdly, studying medicine in Germany not only leads to a promising career with a stable and high salary, but it can also be the ticket to jobs outside the clinic, for example in insurance, medical technology, or as an advisor for public health.
Germany needs doctors!
Germany has one of the world’s fastest aging societies and even though the total number of doctors has increased throughout the past years, it is still not sufficient to address the medical needs of the society in Germany. Germany’s need for doctors becomes especially apparent when considering that an estimated 20% of doctors are to retire in the near future. Some German regions have even started initiatives to recruit medical doctors from abroad, e.g. Saxony (German: Sachsen).
Given this situation, the job market offers great opportunities and job security to doctors. Accordingly, being a doctor in Germany is compensated with a good annual salary. A specialist in a clinic earns around 82,000 €. The steady increase of doctors from other countries in Germany is welcomed by the government: In 2019 the number of foreign doctors in Germany increased by 7% and now totals around 58,000.
Diverse career opportunities for doctors in Germany – inside and outside the clinic!
Medical expertise is not only needed to heal patients but also to contribute to improving public health through good policies and innovations. Therefore, trained doctors also find work in respective government offices, insurance companies, or health tech and pharma companies. In 2019, 8.8% of doctors worked in government offices and other corporations.
For those who have their heart set on working in practices or clinics to heal people, job opportunities are easy to come by, as well. Especially outside the bigger cities in more rural areas, medical doctors are sought after. Some German states offer scholarships or salary increases for doctors who decide to work in rural areas as part of the scheme to attract skilled practitioners.
German medical training enjoys great reputation around the world!
Some of the strong suits of the German medical training are the combination of theory and practice, often achieved through the proximity of universities and university hospitals. This allows for students to combine practical skills with scientific qualifications and to scope out various possible career paths. This rigorous training is not just beneficial for students – it also enjoys an excellent reputation around the globe.
Medicine in Germany
The status quo of medicine in Germany is known for excellently equipped hospitals and highly skilled practitioners. Germany has one of the leading markets for biotechnological innovations. In international rankings for the subject medicine, the University of Heidelberg, the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the LMU Munich, and the Technical University of Munich make it in the top 50 universities to study clinical and health sciences in the THE ranking. With this high reputation, you will also be able to take your training elsewhere after studying medicine in Germany.
As an international student, you can apply for a degree program in medicine at a German university if you meet certain requirements. These vary from university to university but often include proof of a German or English language certificate as well as an entrance examination (Feststellungsprüfung). At most universities, international students are only accepted if they have already obtained a Bachelor’s degree.
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