Study Cultural Studies in Germany

The field of study cultural studies focuses on the meaning of culture and the interaction between culture and other subject areas. The fields of study “media culture” and “culture and technology”, for example, examine the relationship between culture and media/technology. Other areas in this field include:

• Intercultural studies
• Cultural history

In your studies, you will acquire professional, methodological, and social skills to analyse and compare culture in different dimensions and from different perspectives. Depending on your specialisation, you will examine relevant subject areas such as art, history, philosophy, ethnology, or archaeology. In doing so, you will acquire intercultural competence, raise your awareness for cultural diversity, and increase your overall cultural sensitivity.

Higher education institutions offer a wide variety of degree programmes in cultural studies with different focal points. Thus, some programmes offer different regional specialisations, while others approach the topic from a historical or an empirical point of view.

It’s very likely that you will at least have to read English if not talk in English during your cultural studies programme: English literature is commonplace in many degree programmes. Some courses of study are also taught entirely in English – or even in other languages. In addition, stays abroad are often recommended and are even integrated into the curriculum of some of the degree programmes. You can sometimes gain a double degree if you complete a study period at a partner university – however, this offer is not available for every course of study.

In order to be eligible to apply for a cultural studies programme at a public higher education institution in Germany, you first need a general or subject-specific higher education entrance qualification. Admission with only the Fachhochschulreife, i.e. the university of applied sciences entrance qualification, can be difficult in some cases but is sometimes still possible.

Some degree programmes are completely free of additional admission requirements. However, there may still be restrictions for a required minor subject. For degree programmes with restricted admission, you can expect different procedures. The following selection procedures can be implemented, for example:

• language tests, proof of foreign language proficiency in up to two (modern) languages at a minimum level
• proof of proficiency in Latin, Ancient Greek and/or Hebraic
• essays or written work sample
• motivation letter and/or interviews
• subject-specific tests
• numerus clausus (NC), a minimum grade average, sometimes close to the best possible grade in the German grading system

Whether your application is successful can also depend on your CV: At some higher education institutions, you can score extra points with volunteer work, (social) projects, stays abroad or internships and positively influence your admission.

If you pick a course of study at a public higher education institution, then in most cases your studies will cost you nothing; there are no tuition fees. However, it is important to note that in some cases tuition fees may be charged and to find out in advance what exceptions there are in this regard at the higher education institution of your choice. Distance learning programmes or studies at a private higher education institution, on the other hand, generally always come with tuition fees.

Nevertheless, you will have to pay so-called semester contributions at public higher education institutions. Depending on the institution, you should plan on paying between 100 and 400 euros per semester. These contributions are used to pay for administrative work, student services and often also for your ticket for local public transport. Depending on where you study, this may be valid for the city, the region or even for all of Germany. Ask your higher education institution whether such an offer is currently available. You should also bear in mind that you will have to pay for books and learning materials; however, these costs are usually not significant.

The biggest items in your budget will probably be your rent payment and costs of living. Here, the number depends not only on where you are in Germany but also on your lifestyle. In large cities, housing is often scarce and expensive, while in smaller cities it is comparatively affordable. Though, if you are prepared to mainly cook for yourself or eat in the refectory and rent a room in a student hall of residence or shared flat, you can already save a lot of money! However, you should start looking as soon as you have decided on where you want to study, as halls of residence can fill up quickly. Here, you can find information on local halls of residence and the respective application process for most cities.

To finance your studies in Germany, you should also find out about scholarships. There are many different scholarship programmes and excellent grades are not the only deciding factor. You can learn more about scholarships here and find suitable programmes directly on My GUIDE.

Your future field of work will strongly depend on your chosen specialisation in the degree programme. With a humanities degree programme, it is often very important for you to prove additional qualifications in order to kick off your career more quickly and easily.

With a degree in this field, you can of course go into teaching and research, but museums, archives or libraries are also classic areas of employment, as are tourism, marketing or the media. You can also work in cultural institutions and administrations, in the public sector and in political consulting, but also in event and project management, in development cooperation or with NGOs.

Your future salary depends on the field of work, the size of the company and/or your qualifications. While you can expect a higher salary in cultural management compared to adult education, for example, in the public sector there are regulated incomes according to collective agreements. Overall, however, you can expect an average starting salary.