Germany's law regarding foreign (DL) degrees

This is Germanyfs law regarding the use of university degrees awarded by non-German universities- in existence and use since 1937:

1. this law applied to all of German nationality and those foreigners living in Germany permanently

2. all degrees awarded by non-German universities which the receiver wishes to use in Germany MUST be gnostrifiedh. A title not nostrified must not be used, and would be a criminal matter. Only titles from institutions accredited or recognized by the respective foreign ministry of education can be nostrified.

3. this means that the German ministry of education will evaluate INDIVIDUALLY, case-by-case, for each applicant, if the foreign degree is equal in the depth and range of study to a German degree. Proof must be provided by the applicant, such as work completed, the thesis etc.

4. If yes, the foreign degree title will be changed (nostrified) into the German equivalent: i..e John Student, PhD : Dr. John Student or John Student, Doktor der Philosophie

5. If not, than this is because of two reasons:
a. it is equal but there is no such German title, e.g. John Student, Ed.D. : can not be changed into German, as there is no such degee. In this case, the original degree title must be used AND the place of origin must also be clearly mentioned : John Student, Ed.D. (UCLA, USA) and NOT Dr. John Student
b. in all other cases the use of any other degree title is illegal, a criminal matter, fraud, and MUST not be used in public, such as letterheads, business cards, etc.
c. It is assumed, as Germany has only one DL university with limited areas of study (Fern University Haagen), that any DL degree would usually not be regarded as "nostrificable" (5.b.) or, if it comes from an accredited institution, could only be used in the original form (5.a.)

adelheid

 

Greetings.

Thanks for taking the time to describe the law(s) on the use of degree titles in Germany!

Regarding item 5.c

Since legitimate distance degrees, in the good old U. S. of A., anyway, are meant to be absolutely identical with their residency counterparts, why would a U. S. distance degree not "usually" be "nostrificable"? Is the non-"nostrificable"ness of DL degrees actually part of the law or was that your opinion? I imagine that the question is rather academic (<g>), since so few Americans migrate to Germany -- or so I'd imagine -- and so few of that tiny percentage are likely to have DL degrees. Just curious.


Cordially,
Richard Kanarek
Destined to be forever nostrificable-less, but coping well. <g>

 

1. I described the law, which was actually implemented by Nazi Germany in order to prevent Jewish profesors, most of whom had degrees from outside Germany, to continue working in academic institutions in the "Sauerkraut"-country.

2. Nostrification is only neccessarey, if you
a. want to continue studying at a German university or
b. do not want to use the original title (John Student, Ph.D. UCLA, USA), but want to be addressed simply as "Doctor John Student".

3. This would apply not only to immigrants to Germany, but also
a. foreign and native graduates wishing to continue to study at a German university
b. foreign business people staying on a longer duration in Germany

4. Properly accredited / properly recognized foreign universities:

a. post-graduate degrees (Master's and Doctoral level): With regard to ALL foreign DL degrees, the "scope of study and mode of delivery" is NOT equal to any German university, and as such, can not be nostrified, and only used in the original form with a clear reference to the place of issue (John from Underland, MBA, USQ, AUstralia). However, if the student can proof beyond doubt that the contents of studies were equal to the on-campus counterpart of the issuing university, exemptions may be made case-by-case by the ministry of education in Germany. This must, however, also be identical with the time of length of study of a German degree - so this would practically be very difficult to proof. This does not only apply to DL degrees, but also on-campus. For example, Oxford offers a Master of Studies (M.St.) degree with a one year duration, and this title could only be used in the original form.

b. Bachelor's degrees: whether DL or not, Germany does not issue Bachelor level degrees, they start only at the masters. Therefore, they can be used but not nostrified.

5. Not properly accredited / properly recognized universities: the use of these degrees is without exemption illegal.

Nota bene: a German friend of mine made an MBA degree from W.......... University (no names in this forum, please), as he thought that they were a. an Irish university and b. they have all these tutors from Oxford, and they started at Oxford, and so forth, you know, and he was told by the official in the German ministry of education in a very plain and simple way: "Go ahead - use your degree - if you want to go to jail. Yes, we will put you in there. Don't worry."

Hope that this answers your questions. And you think that Oregon is tough?!

adelheid

 

Dear Adelheid:

Thanks for the additional information! It's nice to read that German law now deals capriciously only with degrees; some decades ago I had an aunt that was non-"nostrified" (not her degree, her person), and they did a lot more than just put her in jail.

Cordially,
Richard Kanarek

 

Very interesting bit of history/law. Do you know what the time-frame is foreigners? Is this required upon formal residency, or would it be required for say a 3-month visa holder?

Cheers,
Tony