Low Cost / Free online Masters programs from Germany

[sarahmac]

Do we know anything about acceptance rates? Are most of these universities fairly exclusive? Is it fairly difficult for non-Germans to be accepted?

I don't think we do, but I think it's probably not easy for non-Germans to get accepted. You'll probably be better off the more traditional graded credits you have. Germany is very, very old-fashioned in some ways. A school that has classes mostly/entirely online is likely to be more open-minded than others. Probably. But it may still be difficult for some students from this board to attend a German school.

I'm not saying this to discourage anyone from going for any of these German degrees, but I think it's a good idea to manage expectations and to have 2nd and 3rd choices lined up. I am also eyeing a couple of German Master's, but I expect I may wind up needing to get a Master's from the US instead of Germany, if I do decide to get a Master's.

Rachel you have been a big help to me navigating the US education context - if you need help with the German one, please feel free to message me when it is time to apply. I work in higher education in Germany, and I did my whole postgrad here.

To clarify a couple things based on this particular post:

"probably not easy for non-Germans to get accepted" - that depends. There are two types of degree program in Germany. Numerus clausus (NC), and non-NC. NC means admissions is restricted and you compete for places against other qualified applicants. Non-NC means they will admit as many people who want to attend as long as they prove they are qualified. The real hurdle in that case is proving you are qualified. Check if the courses you are interested in are NC.

"You'll probably be better off the more traditional graded credits you have" - this is accurate. You will need to check the Anabin database to know if your undergraduate degree/institution will be accepted here. You will see TESU is shaky, this is because they accept PLA for life experience. This is not acceptable in Germany. That said, I cannot see a few ACE credits being a hurdle. Someone with a UMPI degree is pretty likely to be accepted. 

"Germany is very, very old-fashioned" - sort of. I can see how it seems that way. On the other, there are reasons for everything. In Germany, the classes you sign up for in a given semester, and the exams you sign up for at the end of the semester are two different things. Think of it like: when you register for classes, you are registering to audit. Then at the end of the semester, you decide which finals to take and transcript. This means on the one hand you can wait to take an exam you are not ready for, and on the other, it means you can sign up for exams for classes you did not take.

This is why they don't like PLA - because in Germany you would just sign up for the exam if you really did have the knowledge. Think of it as every single course being available as a challenge exam.

Finally, if you are worried about meeting the admissions qualification criteria you should keep in mind: the point of ECTS is that they are comparable across Europe. This means you can potentially use your courses at XAMK to qualify. You should include your XAMK transcript in your application if your grades there are good, especially if you took some Masters level courses. Same with the free courses from U Helsinki etc.