Study Geography in Germany

A degree programme in geography will help you comprehend the spatial systems of earth. You will learn about the different types of systems, how to analyse them, and ultimately how to evaluate them. You will also explore the interplay between people and the environment. How does the environment shape people and how do people shape the environment?

In this way, geography can be divided into two main areas:

• Physical geography: This subject area approaches the earth as a habitat from the perspective of the natural sciences. You will learn about, e.g., different landforms and soils and deal with climate and various climatic zones. Typical topics in this area are natural risks and landscape development.
• Anthropogeography: This area is also called human geography. It approaches our world from the perspective of the social sciences and deals with earth as a social space. You will examine the interactions between people and earth – as mentioned above – and deal with topics such as urban growth, migration, and spatial inequality.

Depending on your specialisation, you may also learn about IT solutions for surveying and take part in lab and field research. This varied project work will bring you into contact with methods of cartography or geoinformation systems, for example. You will go on international excursions to apply what you have learned. Most higher education institutions offer these kinds of worldwide excursions.

Depending on your desired orientation, in-depth knowledge of, e.g., mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics or sociology may be helpful. You will most likely also use your English skills in your studies; English significantly expands your choice of specialised literature.

Degree programmes in geography are usually offered at (technical) universities and universities of applied sciences. At most higher education institutions, the Bachelor’s degree has a standard period of study of six semesters and the Master’s degree has a standard period of study of four semesters. Teacher training programmes in geography are generally completed with a state examination. In this case, your standard period of study increases by a few semesters.

At some higher education institutions, the degree programme is subject to local admission restrictions. In such cases, you should expect a numerus clausus (NC), i.e. a minimum grade requirement. Other admission restrictions may also apply, but they are rare. However, there are also geography degree programmes that do not have any restrictions and for which just your higher education entrance qualification or equivalent is sufficient for admission.

You can study geography as a minor, major or two-subject Bachelor’s degree. However, not all institutions offer all three options. It is therefore best to find out in advance about your options and the contents of your preferred study programme so that you can optimally shape your studies according to your wishes.

Regularly, you are not expected to complete any pre-study internships. Instead, compulsory internships – and as already mentioned, excursions – are usually scheduled during the course of study.

If you decide to study geography, you will most likely do that at a public higher education institution, where you usually do not have to pay tuition fees. However, semester contributions are usually due, which can vary greatly depending on the higher education institutions. On average, the fees are between 100 and 400 euros, but they can also be lower or higher. Still, compared with studying somewhere else, that is not a lot. Sometimes your semester contribution covers a ticket for local public transport or you can purchase a discounted ticket. 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.

There are a few private higher education institutions that offer specialised Master’s programmes in this subject area. If you choose a private institution or a distance learning programme, you should expect to pay several hundred euros in tuition fees per month.

Another regular expense for you will be your rent payment. This can vary significantly within Germany. Student halls of residence or shared apartments always offer good opportunities to save money. In general, however, large cities and cities that are popular with students are always more expensive on average. As soon as you have decided on where you want to study, you should start looking, 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.

Another budget item for geography students is excursions. As a rule, excursions do not take place too often, but they can be relatively expensive depending on the duration and destination country.

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.

Depending on your specific degree programme, you will graduate with a Bachelor’s/Master’s of Arts or a Bachelor’s/Master’s of Science.

There is no such thing as a typical job for graduates of geography degree programmes. Your future career will highly depend on what focus area you chose to specialise in during your studies and also on the types of internships you complete. You may find employment in public administration or development organisations. You could also become a teacher, though, in Germany, you must also study a subject that explicitly qualifies you for a teaching profession to do so.

You can also work in planning positions, for example in local, regional and state agencies as well as in transport or location planning companies. Another option is pursuing careers in logistics, environmental management, water and energy management, geoinformatics, tourism or consulting. Especially in the fields of planning and consulting, you can also start your own business.

Your salary depends on your specialisation, but also on the company. As a rule, the natural science area of geography pays slightly better than the humanities area. Nevertheless, you generally have a good chance of finding a satisfactory job.