NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

I.2.3. Classes and academic year
Courses are held in the form of lectures, seminars, exercise courses,
practical courses and field trips. In lectures, the lecturer presents the
material to the students and does not generally enter into discussion with them. It is quite common for lectures to be attended
by more than 400 students. Generally speaking, attendance of a lecture is not ‘certified’, but in some subjects written
examinations are held at the end of lecture courses.
In all other forms of class, active student participation is expected. In exercise courses, generally speaking, students practise
the methods and skills required for the related disciplines (e.g. statistics for psychologists, stylistics for philologists); these
courses are often used to consolidate the material presented in lectures, which is discussed in smaller groups. Following
successful completion of an exercise course, a course certificate (Schein) is issued to certify the student’s participation (which
may take the form of a written assignment and/or presentation of a seminar paper and/or a written examination).
Similarly, in practical courses, especially in natural science disciplines, experiments are conducted and analyses carried out
etc. in laboratories. These serve towards practical student training.
Seminars are often divided into introductory seminars (Proseminare) and advanced seminars (Hauptseminare). Introductory
seminars are intended for beginners, and advanced seminars for students who have already passed the intermediate
examination (Vorprüfung or Zwischenprüfung). In seminars students discuss particular issues relating to their subject under
the guidance of lecturers, on the basis of their own work. Seminars thus serve as an introduction to independent academic
work. Successful attendance is again certified by a course certificate. Besides introduc- tory and advanced seminars, there are
also seminars for examination candidates or postgraduate students (Mittelseminare and Oberseminare); the titles of these
seminars define which participants are mainly addressed by these specific courses. The term Blockseminar is used in an
entirely different context: whilst seminar courses are usually taught in a prescribed number of classes (usually two) each week
during the semester, in block seminars several hours of classes are combined (often at weekends).
In some disciplines lectures have to be complemented by observation at first hand (e.g. in geography, art history). This takes
place through field trips, which are often undertaken during the breaks between semesters. Students often have to prepare and
hold talks on the particular objectives of these field trips.
The academic year is divided into semesters. The summer semester runs from April to September, the winter semester from
October to March of the following year. Lectures in the winter semester are usually held from early October/November until
mid/late February, and in the summer semester from early April/May to mid/late July. A period of three months without
lectures at the Fachhochschulen and five months at other higher education institutions allows students time to prepare for
seminars, undergo practical training and sit examinations.
I.2.4. Examinations
Students graduate from a degree programme either by passing an academic examination or State examination or, in the case
of theology, ecclesiastical examinations. A candidate who has passed an academic examination is awarded the Diplom degree
or a Magister Artium. Students who pass a first State examination usually go on to further practical training outside the higher
education institution.
In order to guarantee the equivalence of academic degrees and to enable students to move freely between higher education
institutions, the German Rectors’ Conference and the Standing Conference of the Ministers for Education and Cultural Affairs
of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany agreed on general conditions for academic examinations (Diplom
examinations at universities and Fachhochschulen and Magister examinations). For individual courses these are then
complemented by framework examination regulations (Diplom examinations) or by conditions specific to the subject
(Magister examinations). Framework examination regulations exist for 18 university courses of study.