The latest studies confirm it: A veritable wave of students is overwhelming the German colleges and universities. There are not enough study places available in German public higher education to meet the demand.

• In Germany there are approximately 2 million students at the moment.
• Each year, about 400,000 students graduate from secondary schools.
• By 2020 the student population will have increased to 2.5 million students.

Source: Results of a CHE (think tank for higher education) study, “Prognosis of the student capacity surplus and shortfall in Germany up to the year 2020”; Dr. Florian Buch, Yorck Hener, Thimo v. Stuckrad; Centrum für Hochschulenentwickelung 2006.

Foreign orientation of German students continually growing

• In the last decade, from 1996 to 2006, the number of German students abroad rose from 43,000 to 82,000. Currently, 4.8 percent of all German students are studying abroad.
• The most popular countries are the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, USA and France.
• The motivation driving the international mobility of German students in the years to come is harmonisation of the third-level educational framework in Europe (conversion to BA/MA system).

Internationalisation of the third-level education system in Germany

• Many German third-level educational institutions are presently in the process of reorientation (conversion to the BA/MA system).
• The first step taken was the introduction of fees for state universities.
• From the point of view of many German students, foreign universities offer more possibilities and advantages than German universities concerning further education and career opportunities in the international market.

The expected consequence: a rapidly growing market for international colleges/universities with attractive Bachelor & Master programmes.