Double Degree with the University of Münster

Alexandra Goryaeva, Ekaterina Belozertseva, and Evgenia Tselisheva – Master’s students in the School of Business Informatics (Master's programmes Business Informatics and E-Business) – share their impressions of the programme.

People say that in Germany it’s much easier to enter a university than to study there. Applying for a double degree programme is a serious task for students of the School of Business Informatics; they must create a portfolio and pass IELTS with a certain grade. Including us, there were 10 Russian students. Some of them were HSE graduates who entered the programme independently, and others came from St. Petersburg and other Russian cities. There were not as many students from other countries as from Russia, but some came from Europe, other former Soviet countries, and the U.S.

Although the university is trying to provide an English version for all pages on its website, it’s often the case that the information is only available in German. But fellow students are always ready to help; they never refuse to translate something or explain the difficulties of German bureaucracy. Most of the university administration speaks English well.

The main difference between the German system of education and the Russian one is the lack of strict deadlines in terms of graduation. There are no such things as ‘first’ or ‘second’ year of study; a student’s task is to get a certain number of credits during as many semesters as they like. This allows students to pace themselves and take as many subjects a semester as able to handle and pass. This is why it’s impossible to clearly say how many classmates one has: some of them are already writing a thesis by the fourth semester, and others only have a their lectures and seminars completed by the sixth. However, double degree programme participants don’t have such an opportunity; we have to choose five subjects to pass during the first semester, and five during the second, with at least one seminar.

By the way, the terms ‘lectures’ and ‘seminars’ mean different things than they do in Russia. Lectures are subject courses in which students who want to pass an exam go to classes and listen to the lecturer. Depending on the course organization, they can also assemble in groups and complete various assignments on the topic. A seminar is writing a research paper on a certain topic with an academic supervisor. The seminar is written by a student during the entire semester, during which they regularly meet and consult with the supervisor. At the end, they defend their paper before a committee and other students.

It wasn’t easy to get used to the German grading system. The highest grade is 1.0, and the minimum grade is 4.0; an unwritten paper is graded 5.0. The work can also be graded 1.3, 1.7, 2.0, 2.3, etc.

Studying takes a lot of time, not to mention preparing for exams. During the preparation, students often spend a lot of time at the university library. The atmosphere here is perfect for focusing and learning from dusk until dawn. During the ‘hot’ pre-exam time, the library opens at 8 am and closes at midnight. In the middle of the day, it’s difficult to find a vacant place.

Münster is a comfortable city for young people. There are all sorts of shops in the downtown, as well as a lot of parks and places for leisure. Street markets are held several times a year with carousels and fireworks, and during the coldest autumn months, all main squares in the city are full of Christmas markets offering roasted mushrooms and mulled wine in mugs. During the summer, there are barbeque tables on the lawns next to the lake.

People ride bikes all year round here. Almost all streets are equipped with bicycle lanes and bicycle traffic lights. German traffic rules are strictly enforced; you can’t ride a bike at night without a headlight and rear light, or transport a person on the luggage track. There are a huge number of youth organizations, including plenty of international student associations that organize parties and excursions, help find partners for learning foreign languages, and many other things.

Students have the opportunity to go to over 50 sports clubs, and some of them even have classes in English. The monthly fee ranges from EUR 20 to 50. You can pass a language evaluation test and learn any foreign language free of charge. However, the classes may take place at the same time as the university lectures, so one needs to make the right choice!

The winter semester starts after October 10, and continues until the end of January, with a Christmas break (end of December – beginning of January). Students take exams in February, and then there is a long Easter break, after which study resumes in the summer semester after April 10. This time can be spent for a trip home or across Germany. A student travel card provides free trips on regional trains. In addition to big cities like Cologne or Dusseldorf, this includes cities on the border with Holland. It takes less than an hour and a half to get from Münster to the country of tulips!

Studying and living in Germany as part of this programme is a unique experience in terms of the knowledge gained, both academic and practical, about life in another country and communication with students from all over the world. Try – it is worth it!

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