General Questions

The University

One of the town's descriptions claims that Tübingen isn't a town, it's a university. This is no overstatement. Without the founding of the Eberhard Karls University in 1477, the town would look very different today.

The university is famous for its many developments and discoveries in both the humanities and the sciences, and it has successfully maintained its long tradition of excellence. Today its 14 departments host approximately 20.000 students in more than 80 courses of study, while also maintaining the university's tradition for world class research.

The Eberhard Karls University is also one of the most active German universities in international cooperation. It currently participates in international research programmess and student (and teacher) exchanges with 120 universities in 35 countries.

The Town

Tübingen is located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb, in the south-west of Germany. The famous old town centre with its crooked little alleys and canals, the green banks of the Neckar and the botanical gardens make it a charming place to live and study..
Students make up about a quarter of Tübingen's population. University buildings are spread all over the city, and students are never isolated from Tübingen's "real life", but nstead form an important part of it. The close connection between city and University is reflected in the city's rich and diverse cultural scene.

More information about the city and the university can be found on the University's main page.

The bachelor program takes 6 semesters, which span three years. The master program takes 4 semesters, which span two years.

Evaluation of overall student performance is made in accordance to the ECTS. For each course attended, there is a graded certificate with credit points. The final transcript then contains the total number of credit points along with the grade received for the thesis.

Each student receives a copy of the transcript, reflecting the student's progress (grades, credit points, etc). It can be found on Alma.

The ECTS, European Credit Transfer System, was developed by the European Union to standardise assessment of student performance. It provides a unified and consistent system for academic recognition of student performance. Mobility of students is therefore increased through international compatibility of degrees and criteria of student achievement. 

Every department participating in the ECTS must describe its course content and student requirements and calculate the corresponding number of credits accordingly. 

The student requirements include attending lectures and seminars, participating short internships or workshops ands sitting for exams.