Education Q&A

Studying Petroleum Engineering in Germany.Can anyone can give me some information?

Q. I need some advice in regards to studying Petroleum Engineering in Germany. I did search for schools in germany through SPE ( Society of Petroleum Engineers ). I came across two (only!) viz TU Clausthal and TU Freiberg. TU Calusthal has an Anglo Saxon style undergraduate degree in PE ( Petroleum Engineering ) that lasts for 3 years. TU Freiberg however has a 5 years Diplom; I guess that is equvalent to a masters elsewhere in the world. I d request all those who have knowledge of the german educational system, and of these two mentioned universities in particular to calrify this difference in PE course durations.Moreover does it impact the quality of the course in any way? Which of the two universities mentioned above has more repute and recognition in Germany (among academia,pupils and employers) and in Europe in general. Which of the two has better research facilities. Lastly I d also like to know if there are any other universities in germany that offer a course in PE at undergraduate level.

A. from the material on the web site of TU Clausthal (see http://www.ite.tu-clausthal.de/p_e_studium_info3.php ) the course at Clausthal is 3 years BSc (taught in German), with an optional 2 year MSc (taught in English). Which should explain the difference to the 5 year program at Freiberg. Tradidionally German colleges/universities don't offer incremental degrees on the Bachelor/Master model but "Diplom" degrees of different program length. The difference is between Universities/Technical Universities on the one hand (courses of five year nominal duration) and Fachhochschulen (FH) on the other hand (courses of three or four year nominal duration). Both sort of "Diplom" programs are for students coming immediately from secondary education; there is no intermediate "college" institution - students are supposed to have got all their "general" education in secondary school. A _very_ rough comparison would be "Diplom" from Fachhochschule ~ Bachelor "Diplom" from University ~ Master An important difference between a five year "Diplom" and a Master program is: if you fail the MSc for some reason you have still got the BSc. If you fail the five-year "Diplom" just before the finish line you don't have the three-year "Diplom" - you have got no degree at all. Both universitites that you mentioned (Clausthal and Freiberg) are of the "university" (i.e. nominally 5-year) type. Both are technical universities that have grown from a former mining school. As for the Freiberg technical university I could not find a petroleum engineering course on their web site (they have got geology and such, though). A note on planning: degree courses on German universities have a nominal length which has a strong or a weak relationship to reality. Sometimes the degree cannot be completed in the nominal time; in a lot of programs students tend to take it easy and take the final exams a year or two later. You should inquire about the _actual_ average length of study for the degree - for established programs the universities do know the number; they don't mention it unless asked

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