Diplom vs. Bachelor
Nowadays, you can study for a Bachelors or Master Degree nearly anywhere.
At our uni, the traditional and reliable Diploma is still an option! How is this possible?
Between the late 1990s and the early 2000s, the EU countries decided to standardise higher education – the Bologna Process. Originally, the idea of the standardisation of grading and certificates was standing for the next step in European unification. Students were supposed to benefit from it. The main aims were a higher mobility and the comparability of certificates.
Many people and students’ representations criticise the economic pressure to perform which has arisen from the idea of the students’ flexibilization. International studies are as complicated as possible and the certificates are not comparable as well, proven by the countless admittance requirements for master degree programs. All in all, economy profits from this because of a Single European market for the workforce, pushing down salaries.
Since the reform has been mainly negative for the universities, the students of engineering and the faculty of mechanical engineering at TU Dresden have decided to keep the Diploma.
Why is there a Bachelor’s degree program if everyone prefers the Diploma?
As a result of political pressure, the Bachelor’s degree program has been introduced at our university. There are, however, no Master’s degree programs at our faculty and there won’t be any in the future!
What is better? Bachelor’s degree or Diploma?
The German Graduate Engineer is a quality brand of world status and the contents of engineering studies are better represented in a diploma program. To receive a diploma, ten semesters of studies have to be completed, offering more freedom to the students. After four semesters the majority of study programs can be decided. The Faculty students` council (FSR) supports the Diploma and considers it to be the better qualification.
The Bachelor’s degree program in Dresden is the same course of study as the diploma one in the fifth semester. Due to the difficult and often poorly graded exams during the basic studies, the Bachelor’s degree will be passed with a worse grade than at other German universities. There are no Master’s degree programs in Dresden – this means that you have to move to another city after your Bachelor’s degree. It will be hard to get into a Master’s degree program at another university though, since many universities try to fill their spots with their own students first.
From our point of view, the Bachelor’s degree program only has one advantage: if you decide to drop out of your studies, you can still obtain a degree. You would not have the problem of unfinished studies in your C.V.
I’m registered for the bachelor’s degree program and I would like to switch to Diploma. This is how it works (and the other way around)!
Since the Bachelor’s degree and Diploma programs are identical until the fifth semester, you can switch between the programs easily. Formally, it is dropping out from one program of studies and the enrollment for a new one with the recognition of old grades. This is why it involves some bureaucracy and sometimes also problems.
It is possible to switch study programs at the beginning of each winter term and it is not possible to switch in between. You will have to enroll and get your grades from the old program recognised before you can make the switch and this requires you to fill out some forms. Mrs Friedrich, working at the counselling service can help you with this; she is responsible for these conversions.
It is crucial that you get in touch as soon as possible if you want to convert.