The Science Portal for Schleswig-Holstein

The landscape for higher education in Schleswig-Holstein is very diverse: alongside three universities, four universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen), an academy of art and an academy of music, there are also several private institutions of higher education. The nine state-run institutions alone offer about 300 courses of study. Almost 49,000 students were registered with these in the winter semester of 2008/2009. The proportion of foreign students was around 8 per cent.

Higher education institutions in Schleswig-Holstein are currently in the process of introducing the modern, internationally recognised system of Bachelors and Masters degrees, a process that should be complete in 2010. The goal is to provide for the inter-institutional and international comparability and recognition of academic achievements.

Faced with the international challenge represented by global economic developments and demographic change, the Schleswig-Holstein government is planning legislation for a ground-breaking reform of higher education administration, intended to increase the autonomy of higher education institutions and confer greater responsibilities on their management, while promoting cooperation and profile development. In this respect, higher education institutions in Schleswig-Holstein are playing a pioneering role in Germany.

Campus Life at Kiel © Staatskanzlei

Founded in 1665 by Duke Christian Albrecht von Holstein-Gottorp, the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel (www.uni-kiel.de) is the oldest and largest university in Schleswig-Holstein and offers a wide range of courses. Its research strengths are in marine research and geo-sciences, molecular biology and medicine as well as lifesciences. Work in economics and in medicine too has gained international recognition. The interdisciplinary research projects "Future Ocean", Inflammation at Interfaces" and the Graduate School "Human Developments in Landscape" – all of them funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in the framework of the Excellence Initiative – are doing cutting-edge research of international significance. Furthermore there are some other keys of interest like the Nano-science, research about specific surfaces and in the range of humanities Ethics, Quantitative Economics, Globalization. The Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel has some international study programs as Materials Science and Engineering, Digital Communications, Environmental Management or Master of Science in Biological Oceanography.

Also in Kiel is the Kiel University of Applied Sciences ( www.fh-kiel.de), Schleswig-Holstein's largest university of applied sciences, which offers an attractive range of practice-oriented courses in the fields of business, engineering, social work and agriculture. Its MA in multimedia is also very popular. The university's activities abroad afford many opportunities for foreign study.

Founded in 1974, the University of Lübeck ( www.uni-luebeck.de) concentrates on medicine, informatics and the life sciences, and more particularly on their interfaces in bio-medical technology and in medical informatics, bioinformatics, media informatics, robotics and automation. The Bachelor/Master programme in Computational Life Science offers mathematical and computational skills applicable in the fields of biology and medicine. A great favourite with students is the cross-disciplinary Bachelor/Master course in Molecular Life Sciences, which looks at the molecular biology of the fundamental processes of life and its application. Since 2007 there is an new study-programm "Medical Engineering Sciences" at the interfaces of medicin and informatics.

In the field of medical technology the University works closely with Lübeck University of Applied Sciences ( www.fh-luebeck.de), more particularly on the innovative jointly taught Masters in Biomedical Engineering. The University of Applied Sciences also offers first-class training in the fields of construction, mechanical engineering and industrial engineering. A distinctive feature is the combination of different fields, as in medical technology, information technology and design, architecture with construction engineering, environmental engineering or industrial engineering. It also runs the internationally renowned e-learning platform www.oncampus.de.

The University of Flensburg ( www.uni-flensburg.de), which stands near the border with Denmark, is developing as a centre for teacher education in Schleswig-Holstein, offering a Bachelor in Teaching Sciences and a related Masters course for qualified teachers. It also offers courses in cultural studies and in economic sciences, unusual in being organised in close cooperation with the University of Southern Denmark. The Masters course in Sustainable Energy Systems and Management has gained an international reputation.

Flensburg University of Applied Sciences ( www.fh-flensburg.de) offers courses in the fields of business and technology. The focus of teaching and research is on regenerative energy, mechanical engineering, computer sciences - esp. new media informatics - , applied mathematics, and biotechnology. In business the emphasis falls on business administration, logistics and marketing, and an MA-course is offered "E-health“. The courses in marine engineering and nautical science impart competences to achieve the certificates as Engineering Watchkeeping Officer or/and Nautical Watchkeeping Officer.

The West Coast University of Applied Sciences in Heide ( www.fh-westkueste.de) enjoys a very distinctive profile, offering courses in international tourist management, business and law, management and technology and also industrial automation. It also offers business management with specializations in banking and taxation, and electrical/information engineering..

Schleswig-Holstein has two small but very good arts academies. The Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts ( www.muthesius-kunsthochschule.de) in Kiel and the Music Academy in Lübeck (www.mh-luebeck.de) have about 1,000 students between them. Intending students must sit a demanding entrance examination.

To cover the cost of student services, student government, travel pass etc. a student contribution of around 100 euros maximum per semester is levied. Twenty-one halls of residence offering some 3,000 places in total are available in Schleswig-Holstein.

As well as public institutions, Schleswig-Holstein has several private higher education institutions, among them the Wedel University of Applied Sciences ( www.fh-wedel.de), the Nordakademie UAA ( www.nordakademie.de) in Elmshorn and a distance-learning academy belonging to the AKAD network (www.akad.de).There are also two privately funded specialist institutions :

The Baltic Sea Virtual Campus is a trendsetting project ( www.bsvc.org), established by leading higher education institutions in the Baltic Sea Region, where students from all over the world will be offered on-line teaching in the areas of industrial engineering, business informatics and health care management, while also developing their inter-cultural skills. More online studies and continuing education via the internet you can find at oncampus www.oncampus.de/index.php?id=18&L=1. Oncampus offers access to online courses and continuing education at German and international universities.

Ministry responsible for higher education:
Ministry of Science, Economics and Transport
www.wirtschaftsministerium.schleswig-holstein.de
Düsternbrooker Weg 94, D-24105 Kiel,
Postal address: Postfach 71 28, 24171 Kiel, Germany
Telephone: +49 431 988-4760, Fax: +49 431 988-4700
E-mail: wimi.empfang@wimi.landsh.de