Studying at Fachhochschule Dortmund: Do we fit together?

You will generally find more theoretical courses at universities. If you are aiming for an academic career, it is easier for you to study at a university.

With us, on the other hand, you will be prepared for a career. It is primarily about applying knowledge in very well-equipped laboratories - perhaps in the form of a 3D printer, a car, a robot or another practical application. For example, you no longer have to prove that Pythagoras was right with his mathematical statements.

We often work on issues together with companies from the region. And because our lecturers have worked in a company for at least three years before their teaching assignment, you are very close to the developments and requirements of the professional world - to whichat least 20 weeks in a company as an internship semester in the course of your studies also contribute and open up very good job opportunities for you later on.

In our engineering degree programs, there are industrial projects for which you work in a company for at least 10 weeks, supervised by your professor.

You can also do a dual study(Opens in a new tab)  program with us, which largely takes the form of training in a company. And with a job guarantee - very practical!

The contact between lecturers and students is very close in all our faculties(Opens in a new tab) . Small groups enable a very good supervision ratio for everyone, which is often the exception at large universities.

Here, you not only know your professors, but they also know you. This means you always have competent contact persons around you who can help you individually. And they make sure that your learning workload remains realistic.

The cohesion among your fellow students is of course also closer than in a confusing, anonymous mass, because you get to know each other quickly in small study groups and friendships can develop more easily.

Even though the word "university" contains the word "school", quite a lot will be new to you when you start your studies, some things may be confusing at first and you will feel more challenged. At a university, you are usually expected to have particularly independent organizational skills right from the start so that you can keep track of your tasks and goals in the jungle of numerous courses and examination regulations.

At our university of applied sciences, on the other hand, the curriculum is generally more fixed and you don't have to organize as much yourself - this makes it easier for many students to transition into their studies, which are generally more "scholastic" and therefore clearer than at a university. In this way, we accommodate all those who appreciate a predefined framework.

Every degree course always has stressful phases. At our university of applied sciences, we have therefore developed various tools to ease the stress of everyday exams. For example, we try to avoid a concentrated examination period at the end of the semester and instead offer more accompanying examinations spread over the semester.

We have also set up many counseling and support services to help you in your personal situation - for example with the Career Service(Opens in a new tab) , the "Math HelpDesk", the Family Service or the Psychological Counseling Service.

We focus on you as a student and take our guiding principle "We focus on students" very seriously.

At our Fachhochschule Dortmund, you will receive the academic degree "Bachelor of Arts" (B.A.), "Bachelor of Science" (B.Sc.) or "Bachelor of Engineering" (B.Eng.), depending on the subject group.

If you don't want to start your career after successfully completing your Bachelor's degree, you can continue your studies to obtain a Master's degree(Opens in a new tab) . Your advantage: Bachelor's degrees from universities of applied sciences and universities are equivalent. This means that you have the option of continuing your studies with us or at a university.

Of course, you can take your time with this choice until the time comes. But it should already be interesting for you to know that you will have this freedom and flexibility later on.

In higher semesters, many of our students already conduct research together with their professors, even though applied sciences are clearly the main focus at our university of applied sciences. Perhaps you will come to like the theory quite a bit over time. And once you have become an expert in a particular subject, you may want to do more in-depth and independent research.

In this case, we will continue to work together even after you have completed your Master's degree: With the help of our Graduate Center(Opens in a new tab) , we support you in cooperation with a university on your way to a doctorate - from brainstorming to the honorable appointment with a Dr. title!